rewrite this title Homemade Stevia Extract

Liquid stevia extract is a relatively easy tincture to make at home. Plus it’s a less expensive alternative to the store bought versions! We like homemade stevia extract to sweeten smoothies and cheesecake, but it also tastes great in coffee or sweet tea!

If you grow your own stevia, you can preserve the fresh leaves to make a most potent extract. This is my basic stevia recipe, and it’s suitable for kids and pregnant women since the alcohol cooks out.

I get dried stevia leaf from here in bulk, or you can preserve your own.

What is Stevia and How to Use It

Pure stevia (stevia rebaudiana) has a sweet taste and is a sugar-free way to sweeten foods and drinks. It ranks much lower on the glycemic index compared to other sweeteners like maple syrup or sugar. The plant itself can have a slightly bitter aftertaste, so companies have created a highly refined white powder from it.

These store bought powders are a concentrated and refind version of the steviol glycosides responsible for stevia’s sweetness. They’re made by processing stevia with GMO micro-organisms to create a fine, white stevia powder. While stevia has gained popularity as a sugar substitute not all brands are the same.

Many contain additives and fillers like maltodextrin, erythritol, dextrose, and other artificial sweeteners. However, some brands of liquid stevia, like Sweet Leaf have pretty clean ingredients.

Stevia is more than just a sweetener though. Researchers are studying stevia and it’s compounds for it’s health benefits. Stevia has been shown to help reduce hypertension, promote a healthier weight, have insulin supporting and anti-diabetic effects, and it’s an antioxidant. It’s also been studied for it’s role as an antimicrobial and in helping fight Lyme disease. A cup of sugar can’t say the same!

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Growing Stevia

Stevia does well in warmer climates where temperatures don’t dip below 45 degreess. You can grow your own stevia plant in the summer if you don’t live in a tropical environment. A sunny windowsill works too!

Using Fresh vs Dried Stevia

I often have fresh stevia in my garden and that’s what I use when I make homemade stevia extract. Dried stevia leaves work well too, but you’ll need to adjust the recipe. Since the dried leaves soak up more moisture from the alcohol you only need to fill the jar 1/2 full. When using fresh stevia leaves I pack the jar about 2/3 full. Making your own stevia extract is more of an art than a science!

Places like Amazon sell powdered stevia leaf (not the processed white stuff). However, powdered stevia is much harder to strain out so I prefer to use the cut and sifted leaf to make stevia sweetener.

Recipes to Try with Stevia

Stevia extract is my go-to sweetener at our house. And by making it ourselves, we avoid the bitter aftertaste. Try it in one of these recipes! It’s also great in coffee, tea, chai lattes, or pumpkin lattes.

Do you use stevia? Ever made it? Share below!