How to Make Brown Sugar with Molasses

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You never know when you’ll be in the middle of a delicious recipe and realize you needed just a little more brown sugar than you have! Learn how to make brown sugar with molasses using pantry staples you already have on hand! This is a great trick to have in a pinch, for sure.

Looking for something specific?

How to Make Light Brown Sugar with Molasses
How to Make Dark Brown Sugar with Molasses

At this point, I use it all the time. Since I make water kefir with my homemade brown sugar, we always need some on hand! We also love to use it in recipes like our wedding day apple crisp and our butterscotch pudding pie!

Since organic brown sugar is more expensive anyway (I saw a 1.5 lb bag for about $7 recently, we find this quick, 5-minute recipe helps us keep it in stock all the time.

We get the 10 lb bag of organic white sugar from Costco and I have a bottle of organic blackstrap molasses from Wholesome.

TIP: I highly recommend making this with a stand mixer and a paddle attachment.

If you do not have a stand mixer, the next best method is with your hands! I have used this strategy a lot and it works; it’s just messier. You’ll need to squish the little pieces of molasses into the sugar to get it to spread evenly.

How to Make Brown Sugar with Molasses

I honestly don’t even have any measurements for you! Just take your container and fill it about 2/3 of the way, maybe a little more, with white sugar. This will ensure you have the right amount. Since we are going to be mixing the brown sugar with air, it will puff up a bit!

After mixing, my brown sugar was almost overflowing this nearly 2 quart container! If you gradually push the brown sugar down, it’ll fit!

Pour the white sugar into your bowl attachment.

Don’t bother using a measuring spoon to add the molasses.

Molasses is so thick and sticky that measuring it with a spoon is already a messy process. The molasses will get stuck to the spoon, so you’ll take a spatula to get it out and then the spatula will be covered in molasses…Nah. Not worth it.

1. Eyeball about a teaspoon of molasses into the bowl. It should be about the size of a quarter.

2. Turn on the stand mixer at the lowest setting. If you go any higher, the sugar will start to fling out!

You’ll notice the molasses separates out into these little clumps. That’s okay — keep mixing!

3. Pause when it looks like the sugar is starting to integrate to lift the head. Scrape molasses off the paddle attachment and off the sides of the bowl.

4. If the color seems too light, add another quarter-sized blob of molasses and repeat the cycle.

Depending on the amount of brown sugar you are making, you may need a lot more or just a little. I added about 4 of these quarter-sized blobs in total for my container.

How to Make Light Brown Sugar

At a certain point, you’ll notice the color of the sugar changing. Personally, I like a lighter color and stop when the mixture is like the shade of caramel candies. This is light brown sugar.

How to Make Dark Brown Sugar

If you want really dark brown sugar, simply keep adding molasses. It should look like there is some cocoa powder in it when it’s done!

For me, this method works well enough! As long as your mixture has a tan shade, you’re good. I don’t know why, but this golden brown shade always makes me hungry so I stop when the sugar looks delicious.

That’s it! No messy hands. No messy spoons. Just a mixing bowl and a spatula for scraping the paddle and sides!