How to make powdered sugar from unrefined sweeteners to preserve the minerals and nutrition as a healthy alternative to highly refined confectioner’s sugar from the store.
Many people, even those who may prefer to cook from scratch, have no idea how easy it is to make homemade powdered sugar. This important ingredient in so many dessert recipes. Unfortunately, most choose heavily commercialized, refined white powdered sugar. On top of being highly processed, store-bought powdered sugar is more likely than not of genetically modified (GMO) origin. This is especially true if you live in North America.
Paying the premium price for organic powdered sugar to avoid the GMOs is smart. However, the resulting product is still a highly refined sweetener with no redeeming nutritional value. It also has a sky-high glycemic index, which guarantees an enormous blood sugar spike. Moodiness and fatigue generally follow.
Whenever you need to make frosting for that birthday cake or icing for the cinna-buns, don’t ever consider buying powdered sugar from the store again. If you own a blender, you are good to go!
A healthy, mineral-rich granulated sugar of your choice can be easily milled into powdered sugar in seconds!
I typically use evaporated cane sugar to make my homemade powdered sugar using my Mom’s stainless steel retro blender made in the 1950s. I’ve used palm (coconut) sugar and maple sugar to make powdered versions with great success too.
The only drawback to DIY powdered sugar using a whole sweetener is that it has a very rich flavor that can compete with the overall flavor of the dessert you are going to make. For example, vanilla frosting made with powdered sucanat has a decided molasses tinge to it.
Commercial powdered sugar just tastes, well, sweet, with no flavor because all the minerals have been stripped away. If you want to make powdered sugar that doesn’t have any flavor, I would suggest using plain granulated cane sugar. Don’t buy plain granulated sugar (without the word “cane” clearly specified) as it most probably contains GMO beet sugar or is a GMO beet sugar/cane sugar blend. At the very least, you will save money as homemade powdered sugar is much cheaper than anything you can buy, organic or not.
Homemade Powdered Sugar
This simple recipe for healthy powdered sugar will likely surprise you. In a few seconds, you can use a wholesome sweetener and still achieve the light, feathery texture of refined commercial versions. Note that the better your blender or food processor, the more finely the powdered sugar will turn out.
Note that you can also make homemade sweetened condensed milk. This is another common dessert sweetener that almost everyone buys commercially.
This powdered sugar recipe is great to use in all your favorite icing and frosting recipes!
Two of my personal favorites are a delectable butter frosting recipe that I use for devil’s food cake.
The brief video clip included in the recipe shows me making homemade powdered sugar start to finish using sucanat in my retro blender.
It only takes seconds!
My guess is that after seeing this you won’t be buying commercial powdered sugar ever again!
Healthy Powdered Sugar Recipe
An easy way to make powdered sugar at home in seconds using a wholesome sweetener.
Ingredients
- 1 cup sucanat
- 1 Tbl arrowroot powder optional
Instructions
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Pour granulated sugar into a blender or other food processor.
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Add a tablespoon of optional arrowroot or nonGMO corn starch to prevent clumping if you intend to make a large batch and store in the pantry.
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Turn on the blender to high speed for about 30 seconds. You may need to switch it off, open the lid, stir, and repeat if all the sugar did not get powderized during that time.
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Pour the powdered sugar into a small bowl. Sift it first before using to make it extra lightweight.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
Coconut sugar or another granulated sugar of choice may be substituted for the sucanat (evaporated cane sugar).
NonGMO corn starch may be substituted for the arrowroot powder.
Hi Sarah,
I am impressed by your terrific information! I just subscribed and will buy some of your books. I have a question and would value your opinion. I am on a strict no-sugar diet (combating candida) and know I can safely use stevia (leaves and green powder) which has no toxic chemicals from processing or bad effects from using sugar. Someone recently told me about a product called Just Like Sugar made from chicory root and orange peel. I was unable to find any third-party research on the product, but don’t see any negative reports on it either. Have you heard of this? Do you know if this is a safe product to use with no bad health effects? Thank you!
Nancy
I have not investigated that particular product but green stevia powder is fine!
I’m wondering the problem is more the blender.. would a vita mix work better?
Thanks! This sugar recipe is really helpful. I found a new great recipe after several trials at home.
Curious you use evaporated cane sugar I thought Sugar was evil?? I mean raising glucose levels and all?
Great question. The evaporated cane juice I use is dark brown (sucanat), so it has all the minerals present. True, the glycemic index is higher than other sweeteners like raw honey, but it is significantly lower than white sugar or white powdered sugar.
Why not using Xylitol instead? It even fights caries and is suitable for diabeticians. And it looks like sugar and can be used like that, but it is a bit sweeter, so use lesser.
Xylitol is not a good option as it is very unbalancing for the gut environment. https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/xylitol-not-as-sweet-as-its-cracked-up-to-be/
This doesn’t work. I tried it using my blender and my food processor. It doesn’t make it fine like the store bought. I let it go a LONG time in the blender and food processor and then beat the icing forever. I ran out of time to go buy some in the store. The icing ends up being gritty and it’s embarrassing explaining to a large group of people what’s wrong with the icing.
What granulated sugar did you use? I use sucanat typically and as you can see from the video, it gets very fine (the powder is even seen seeping slightly out of the closed top of the blender) and the icing turns out great. Also wondering if you sifted the powdered sugar after making it? Perhaps also you tried to powderize too much at once. In my experience, don’t try to make more than 1 cup at a time.
I used cane sugar. I tried doing a small batch and then tried doing a big batch thinking it needed the volume to get it to blend around more. I don’t know why it didn’t work. I tried 2 different times .. the second time just to see and I ended up dumping it in my sugar cannister and used it for baking.
Thanks for this information, but why does Starch have to be added to this to make Powder sugar?
Thanx.
It prevents clumping as mentioned in the instructions. It is optional … you don’t need to use it unless you are going to make a bunch and store it.
I am so excited to try this recipe! Over the past number of years the quality of 10X sugar has gone down dramatically. Store bought brands–even the non generic— have no sweetness factor at all. I have found it impossible to make proper icing for birthday cakes or other items. They just don’t taste as I remember things tasting as I grew up. It is so bland! I don’t know at what point things changed over ( the 90’s??) but I have even written to Dominoes Sugar on various occasions to ask what they have done differently with their powdered sugar, but they have no answers. I assume they think I am nuts. It is so frustrating not to be able to get the results you want when you are making something special! So I am delighted to try to make my own powdered sugar with non GMO cane sugar. Thanks, Sarah!
I think much of the decline in quality has to do with the rise of GMO beet sugar that is now used in just about everything … labeled as plain “sugar” of course 🙁 Most people have NO IDEA about this and if they did know, would purchase cane sugar or make their own.
I’ve done this with my coffee/spice grinder. I makes a little at a time, but so worth it. I’ve wondered if I could do the same my Vitamix. Looking forward to trying! Thanks, Sarah!
A Vitamix would work very well! The good news is that a basic blender does the job too.
This looks interesting! I’m going to try this powdered sugar idea. Thanks for the insight. I really like your blog!
Thanks Joanna! Let us know what granulated sugar you choose to try and how it turns out for you 🙂