How to Make Stevia Powder to Replace Sugar

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

Everyone knows stevia is a healthier alternative to sugar. It has zero calories, it’s up to 300 times sweeter than sugar, and doesn’t spike blood sugar levels which makes it ideal for people with diabetes or anyone trying to cut carbs.

You can buy stevia in the store, but if you’re a gardener, you should know that growing stevia and making your own stevia powder is significantly cheaper. And it’s easier than you think. With a few simple steps, you can process fresh leaves into a fine, shelf-stable green powder perfect for teas, baked goods, and other recipes.

This tutorial comes from UrbanAgMike on YouTube, where he demonstrates how to harvest, dry, grind, and sift stevia into a sweet, natural powder. But first, here’s a stevia-to-sugar conversion guide.

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Keep in mind that this will vary depending on the quality of your stevia plant, how fine you grind the powder, etc. Start with less and adjust to taste, and remember that it’s easy to overdo it.

• 1/4 teaspoon of stevia powder = 1 tablespoon of sugar
• 1 teaspoon = 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon = 3/4 cup sugar
• 4 teaspoons (1⅓ tbsp) = 1 cup of suga

Now here’s how to make it:

Step 1: Harvest the Leaves

Stevia is ready to harvest when it’s about 90–120 days old or just before it begins to flower. Use gardening scissors to snip branches off your plant. Then strip the leaves by pulling from the bottom of each stem upward, collecting them in a container.

Step 2: Dry the Leaves

There are three ways to dry your stevia leaves:

1. Air Drying (Sun) – Spread the leaves in a sunny area until they’re crisp. Simple, but weather-dependent.
2. Oven Drying – Place the leaves on a baking tray and dry at the lowest heat setting. This works but may degrade nutrients.
3. Dehydrator (Best Method) – Use a food dehydrator set to 120–125°F. This preserves the sweet compounds without damaging them. It’s best to separate leaf sizes for even drying.

Sort the leaves by size:

• Large leaves are better for storing whole.
• Small leaves are ideal for grinding into powder.

Step 3: Grind the Dried Leaves

Once the leaves are completely dry, grind them into a powder using:

• A commercial grinder (if you have one)
• A blender, NutriBullet, or coffee grinder

Any of these will work. Blend until you get a fine green powder. You may need to pulse or shake the blender to ensure even grinding.

Step 4: Sift the Powder

Pour the ground stevia into a fine mesh sifter to separate the finest powder from larger flakes. The powder that falls through is your final green stevia sweetener.

The leftover bits that don’t sift can be stored separately for use in teas or re-ground for another batch.

Final Product

Your finished stevia powder will be bright green and very fine. A little goes a long way, and it can be used in nearly any recipe that calls for sugar. Just adjust quantities according to the conversion ratio.

Be sure to check out UrbanAgMike for more gardening projects and recipes.

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