How to Find the Best Meal Replacement Shakes Without Stevia

📌 Overview and Key Takeaways

This is a Dietitian’s guide on how to find the best meal replacement shakes without stevia.

Discover how to meet your dietary needs without stevia.

Last Updated
Feb 5, 2026

Author and Medical Reviewer

Written by Jack, Founder

Jack is the Founder of Drink Wholesome.

Medically reviewed by Brittany, MS, RD and Jenn, PA-C

Kayla is a Registered Dietitian with a MS in Nutrition.

Jennifer is a Physician Assistant with a BA in Nutritional Sciences.

Meal Replacement Shakes Without Stevia

What is Stevia and Is It Bad for You?

If a company makes meal replacement shakes without artificial sweeteners, it probably uses stevia, an inexpensive, zero-calorie sweetener.

Stevia is over 100 times sweeter than table sugar and considered by many to be a natural alternative to sucralose, acesulfame potassium, and other artificial sweeteners.

That said, stevia may not be as natural as you think!

Stevia is extracted from the stevia rebaudiana plant using chemicals like ethanol and methyl alcohol.

This, some argue, makes it no more natural than the artificial sweeteners that it seeks to replace.

In fact, a class action lawsuit filed in California reached a $6.1 million settlement because it was ruled that the company in question falsely labeled and advertised its stevia sweeteners as “natural.”

Why Should I Choose Monk Fruit?

Instead of using stevia, artificial sweeteners, or sugar alcohols like erythritol, we sweeten our Meal Replacements with pure monk fruit.

Monk fruit, also known as luo han guo, is a melon-like fruit native to Southeast Asia.

Its intense sweetness, which is about 200 times that of sugar, comes from non-caloric compounds called mogrosides.

We chose monk fruit sweetener because is the most natural sugar substitute on the market.

It is made by removing the seeds and skin, crushing the fruit, and collecting the juice, which is then dried into a powder.

Moreover, unlike other sugar substitutes, it is sweet like sugar.

Stevia, on the contrary, activates sweet and bitter taste receptors, giving it an unpleasant aftertaste (J Neurosci, 2004).

This is the leading reason why more and more people are looking for stevia-free meal replacement shakes.

It is worth adding that monk fruit sweetener has only been commercially available for about a decade, so its impact on, and association with, chronic diseases like obesity and diabetes has not been well documented.

That said, it has been safely used in Asian cuisine for centuries and has no known side effects, even when consumed in large quantities.

Moreover, small randomized trials have shown that monk fruit does not negatively impact blood sugar or insulin levels (Eur J Clin Nutr, 2017).

Order Samples to taste and feel the difference.

Sources

1. The Journal of Neuroscience (J Neurosci). Bitter Taste Receptors for Saccharin and Acesulfame K. 2004.
2. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (Eur J Clin Nutr). Effects of non-nutritive (artificial vs natural) sweeteners on 24-h glucose profiles. 2017.

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This article was written by a Registered Dietitian and reviewed by a Physician Assistant. We rely on peer-reviewed research and trusted medical sources, and regularly update our content to ensure accuracy and clarity.