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Homemade Stevia Extract

Katie Wells Avatar

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natural tincture remedy recipe
Wellness Mama » Blog » Recipes » Condiment Recipes » Homemade Stevia Extract

Liquid stevia extract is a relatively easy tincture to make at home, and it is a less expensive alternative to the store bought versions. If you grow your own stevia, you can preserve the leaves while still fresh to make the most potent extract. This is my basic stevia recipe, and it is suitable for kids and pregnant women as the alcohol cooks out.

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

natural tincture remedy recipe

Homemade Stevia Extract Recipe

A sweet extract made from stevia leaves, useful for sweetening tea, coffee, and baked goods such as cheesecake. 
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 day 12 hours 35 minutes
Author Katie Wells

Servings

0

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Sterilize the glass jar and lid in boiling water. 
  • Put enough fresh or dried stevia leaf in the jar to fill it 2/3 full.
  • Pour alcohol of choice over the leaves to fill the jar and put the lid on tightly.
  • Put in a place where you will see it and let it sit for 36 hours, shaking occasionally.
  • Strain the liquid into a small saucepan.
  • Turn the heat on low and bring to a simmer. Do not boil! It will ruin the taste!!!
  • Simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring constantly and making sure not to boil. It will thicken. When it gets to your desired thickness, remove from heat.
  • Store in small jar in the refrigerator for up to 3 months.

Notes

Stevia can be grown outside in a garden or in a pot on a sunny window sill. 

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This can be used in baking recipes like Crock-Pot cheesecake or pumpkin cheesecake. It is also great in coffee, tea, chai lattes, or pumpkin lattes. It is pretty much the only sweetener we use in our house and by making it ourselves, we avoid the bitter aftertaste in the bleached store versions.

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

Stevia is a naturally healthy sweetener and this homemade stevia tincture provides natural sweetness without the chemicals.

Sources

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Katie Wells Avatar

About Katie Wells

Katie Wells, CTNC, MCHC, Founder of Wellness Mama and Co-founder of Wellnesse, has a background in research, journalism, and nutrition. As a mom of six, she turned to research and took health into her own hands to find answers to her health problems. WellnessMama.com is the culmination of her thousands of hours of research and all posts are medically reviewed and verified by the Wellness Mama research team. Katie is also the author of the bestselling books The Wellness Mama Cookbook and The Wellness Mama 5-Step Lifestyle Detox.

Comments

113 responses to “Homemade Stevia Extract”

  1. Hakim Avatar

    i’m a bit confuse on the last part of the instruction which is “to store it in small jar in the fridge for up to 3 months”
    Does it means i need to wait for 3 months before i can use it?

  2. Nanna Avatar

    1 star
    I was excited to make this stevia and made it exactly the way your recipe states and it did not sweeten my tea what so ever i kept pouring more and more in till i realized it didnt work I was very disapointed i was really looking forward to making my own and egar to see if it tasted better than the store bought if its to good to be true I guess it really is then

  3. Julia Avatar

    I have been using it for years in all of my tea, coffee and some cooking (not baking).
    Only use liquid extract, but have a huge Stevia plant in back yard and am thrilled to find this recipe! Thank you for sharing!
    The extract is expensive and have never seen how to make my own!

  4. Alexis Swearingen Avatar
    Alexis Swearingen

    Does the jar you initially put the Stevia Leaf and Alcohol in and leave for 36 hours need to be an Amber Glass Bottle? Or is that only needed for the final storage?

    Thank You!

  5. Lori Avatar

    I have been eating a paleo diet for about 18 months and it has greatly helped my autpimmune disease (narcolepsy). I have been reading lately about ketogenic diets being very beneficial, especially for neurological conditions. Some sources say using a bit of natural sugars like honey and maple syrup or dried fruit is okay and others recommend no sugars at all and to use stevia to sweeten things. I’ve never used stevia but I’d love to hear your thoughts. Thanks!

  6. Julie Avatar

    3 stars
    I made some with vodka & some with rum. The one with vodka tastes a wee bit grassy–like others said. Wonder if it is too many leaves?? I bought the stevia from Mountain Rose, so it isn’t a different kind of leaves.

    1. Julie Avatar

      A second thought–the stevia leaves I bought from Mountain Rose tasted great, but I saw a number of stems in with the leaves. Wondering if I should have sifted more carefully? I’d really love to make this work. So, if anyone has any great ideas, I’ll try them. I have 1 lb of leaves to use; might as well try figuring it out.

    2. Julie Avatar

      4 stars
      Update: I tried again and it worked. Here’s what I did differently. First, I carefully sifted through my dried stevia leaves from Mountain Rose Herbs. I took out dirt, pebbles, sticks, twigs, and bark-looking stuff. Honestly, there was a lot of junk in that stevia leaf. Then I used a better vodka (which shouldn’t really make a difference), and I steeped it for a bit more than 18 hours–maybe closer to 22? It tasted much, much better. No more herby, grassy flavor–maybe because I wasn’t steeping grass this time. It even passed muster with a fast-food, junk-loving teenager.

      1. Kim Avatar

        4 stars
        I make a lot of tinctures and thought that the instructions should have been for a longer steeping period. Thank you for validating that!

  7. Stacie Avatar

    2 stars
    Has anybody tried this with good results? I followed the instructions but thought it tasted really “herby” or like a super sweet tea, not anything like what I normally buy 🙁

  8. Andrew Avatar

    This process works fine for normal stevia extract liquid. But is it possible to make it considerably more concentrated than this, like the commercial companies can do with powder?

  9. Peg Avatar

    I’ve tried making this myself twice with fresh stevia leaves and both times couldn’t concentrate it to get it sweet enough. Tasted a lot like the alcohol and not very sweet. Any thoughts?

  10. Sarah Avatar

    Hi. I was wondering about the thickness? Like syrup or vanilla extract or somewhere in between? Thanks to anyone that answers. :-)?

  11. Denise Passero Avatar
    Denise Passero

    I made this using a pint jar. it evaporates a LOT so I only cooked it about 20 minutes. Any longer and there would be none left. is that OK? Also, is this for your coffee or for cooking?

  12. AJ Avatar

    Any idea if this could be made with Apple Cider Vinegar or just water? I prefer non-alcohol based tinctures. Thanks!

  13. Emily Avatar

    Can you provide some more information on stevia itself? I saw on webmd that it can prevent pregnancy? It also suggested avoiding use altogether during pregnancy and breast feeding. What do you know about that?

    1. Tammy Avatar

      Katie answers a similar question a few posts up. ^^ Might be helpful to you. 🙂

  14. Kristine Charbonneau Avatar
    Kristine Charbonneau

    5 stars
    I bought a green stevia powder (the leaves are pulverized, I’m assuming). How does that translate, measurement-wise with your recipe? Plus I won’t be able to strain it as it is already small particle. Should I even bother with trying to use it for the extract?

    1. Tanja Odzak-Goppold Avatar
      Tanja Odzak-Goppold

      You know… I was just thinking the same thing. I would just weigh it. In some of the comments, WM says “4oz of stevia leaves”. So, just measure 4 oz of the dried pulverized stuff.

      I was also thinking about running the mixture thru a coffee filter to clear the powdery stuff out.

      just some thoughts.

    2. Kasey Avatar

      I have a few pieces of tightly woven muslin (finer mesh than cheesecloth) that I use for filtering powders. Just line a funnel with it and pour slowly!

  15. Colin Acres Avatar
    Colin Acres

    This is a cool recipe… so, there are 16oz in a pint, 64kcal per oz of vodka (I think that is the least caloric). So per tablespoon its about 32kcal?

  16. Deborah Williamson Avatar
    Deborah Williamson

    I simmered the stevia liquid for an hour and it did not thicken. I finally just put it in a tincture bottle and into the fridge. Will it do what it needs to to be good? I did everything else right, I believe, accept that a family member opened the bottle once (for a second) before the 36 hours were up, thinking it was a jar of pickles. Will that interrupt the process?

  17. Kelly Avatar

    Do you have any advice in flavoring? Looking to make this for gifts for coffee drinkers in my family who like flavored syrups. Could you add vanilla or mint extract or various spices and when in the process would you suggest doing that? Thanks so much, new to the DIY and loving everything I’m trying on your site!

3.89 from 26 votes (15 ratings without comment)

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