Top 8 Energy Gels Made With Natural Ingredients

Looking for a gel with an ingredients list you'd find in a kitchen, not a chemistry set? Alongside the classic maltodextrin/fructose-based gels, a growing number of brands are proving gels made on maple syrup, honey, agave powder, fruit and even chia seeds. Ingredients that taste better to some athletes and can sit easier on the gut, while still delivering the fast carbohydrate your muscles need.

We've pulled together eight of the best natural-ingredient energy gels available right now at Aid Station, what makes each one different, and how to work them into your fuelling plan alongside whatever else is already working for you.

Table Of Contents

• What Makes An Energy Gel "Natural"?

• Our Natural Energy Gel Picks

• How To Choose The Right Natural Energy Gel

• Do Natural Ingredient Gels Perform As Well As Synthetic Ones?

• Other Natural Fuel Options

• Take Home Tips

What Makes An Energy Gel "Natural"?

There's no legal definition of a "natural" energy gel, so it pays to read the ingredients panel rather than the marketing on the front of the pack. In general, the gels in this list share a few things in common: they use whole-food carbohydrate sources - maple syrup, honey, fruit, dates, brown rice or agave syrup - instead of refined maltodextrin, glucose or fructose. They avoid artificial colours, flavours and preservatives; and most keep the ingredients list short enough to read in one breath.

Whole-food sugar sources typically supply a mix of glucose and fructose rather than glucose alone, and combining these two sugars increases the rate at which carbohydrate can be absorbed and used during exercise, compared with a single sugar source¹. Because fructose is more slowly absorbed on its own, gels that are high in fructose- or those that pack in a long list of fermentable additives - can potentially contribute to the bloating, cramping and GI distress endurance athletes commonly report²,⁴.  Simpler, whole-food formulations tend to sidestep a lot of that risk.

Our Natural Energy Gel Picks - In No Particular Order

1. Maple Movement – Sap Maple Energy Gels
Maple Movement's Sap gels are about as simple as fuelling gets: Organic maple syrup with some natural extras like lemon juice, Murray River salt and organic coffee concentrate if you want a caffeinated or added electrolyte option. Maple syrup carries a naturally occurring antioxidant profile that refined sugars simply don't have⁵, making it a genuine one-ingredient alternative to synthetic gels.

2. Untapped Maple Energy Gel
Untapped uses 100% organic Pure Vermont maple syrup as its only carbohydrate source and flavours from fruit juice, cacao and coffee. Untapped gels deliver 26g of carbs per serve and are USDA-organic approved.

3 SAP Good Energy Gel
SAP Good Energy strips its formula down to two ingredients: organic Class A Canadian maple syrup and Himalayan salt. Available in 25g or 40g carbohydrate options, SAP Gels also provide naturally occurring trace amounts of potassium, magnesium and calcium from the syrup. They're a great choice for athletes looking for electrolytes without synthetic additives, and an added bonus is that every SAP Gel is batch tested through Informed Sport.

4. Nectar Sport Energy Gels
Nectar Sport keeps things about as unprocessed as possible: 100% raw Western Australian Jarrah honey, with no added gums, fillers or preservatives, supplying around 24g of carbohydrate per serve. Honey's natural glucose-fructose mix has been studied as a whole-food carbohydrate source for endurance exercise, with research showing it performs comparably to conventional sports carbohydrates (for athletes aiming for ≤60g of carbs per hour) while offering a less processed alternative³. Nectar Sport also produces raw honey gels with added electrolytes or natural caffeine for athletes who want those extras without leaving the "one ingredient" ethos behind.

5. Honey Stinger Energy Gel
Honey Stinger leads with organic honey and organic tapioca syrup, delivering 24g carbs (11g sugars, 100 Cal, 50mg sodium) per gel, with honey's naturally occurring glucose-fructose blend as the main energy source³. Flavours like Acai Pomegranate are built with organic natural flavouring instead of synthetic additives, and the whole range is gluten-free, non-GMO and includes sodium and potassium citrate for a light electrolyte hit. It's one of the more widely available honey-based gels, sitting alongside Nectar Sport and Lecka as an easy entry point into natural-ingredient fuelling.

6. Sunday Salt Energy Gel
Sunday Salt builds its gels around maple syrup, whose sucrose content breaks down during digestion into a 50:50 glucose-to-fructose split - a ratio associated with more efficient carbohydrate absorption and less gut stress during exercise¹. Sunday Salt combines real fruit powders and electrolytes (sodium, magnesium and potassium). Formulated locally for Australian heat and humidity, it comes in a caffeinated tropical flavour and a caffeine-free strawberry gel, with no synthetic ingredients in the mix.

7. Lecka Energy Gel - Kumquat Honey, Lime Ginger

Lecka gels in a Kumquat Honey and Lime Ginger flavour lead with honey, tapioca Syrup and kumquat in a 1:0.7 glucose to fructose ratio. They are rounded out with mineral salts (sodium citrate, magnesium gluconate, potassium citrate) rather than artificial electrolyte blends. A 40g serve delivers 26-27g carbs and around 100mg of sodium. The whole gel is free from artificial flavours, sweeteners and preservatives - as well as gluten, nuts, dairy and caffeine.

8. Beet It Sport Nitrate Energy Gel
Beet It Sport Nitrate Energy Gel pairs brown rice syrup, agave syrup with 14% beetroot juice concentrate, no added flavours, colours or preservatives. Each 43g gel supplies 100mg of dietary nitrate in a 2:1 glucose-to-fructose ratio, and it's Informed Sport certified. Beetroot nitrate has been shown to modestly improve aerobic capacity and boost high-intensity performance⁶, though most research used 250-1000mg doses - so this gel works best as a top-up to a Beet It Sport Nitrate 400 Concentrated Beetroot Shot regime 3-5 days beforehand and a race day top up 2-3 hours out.

How To Choose The Right Natural Energy Gel

Start with your gut history. If you've had issues with gels before, a single-ingredient option like Maple Movement, Untapped or Nectar Sport's raw honey gel is the easiest place to start, since there's very little in the formula that could cause trouble. If you sweat heavily or train in the heat, look toward the electrolyte-forward options - though it's worth noting most of your electrolytes during exercise should be coming from your carb/electrolyte drink mix, with gels topping that up rather than doing the heavy lifting⁷.

Dose carbohydrate the same way you would with any gel: 

• 30g per hour for efforts under 1-2 hours.

• 60-90g per hour for longer sessions >2 hours

• Aim to take your first gel around 15-20 minutes before the race starts.

Do Natural Ingredient Gels Perform As Well As Synthetic Ones?

Yes, in most cases. The research on honey, chia and multi-sugar blends suggests natural-ingredient gels can match conventional maltodextrin-based products for delivering usable carbohydrate during exercise¹,³,⁸. and for athletes who struggle with synthetic gels, the simpler ingredient lists may actually reduce GI symptoms and improve tolerance²,⁴. Where whole-food gels can fall short is energy density - because they're not relying on concentrated maltodextrin, some (like 100% honey or maple syrup gels) carry slightly less carbohydrate per gram, so you may need to plan servings slightly more deliberately on very high-carb protocols.

Other Natural Fuel Options

Gels aren't the only way to get natural carbohydrates on board. Dates, dried fruit and natural energy bars like Koda Bars, Hammer Nutrition Energy Bar, Blue Dinosaur Energy Bar offer a solid, chewable alternative for athletes who find gels too sweet or sickly late in a race. Real-food drink mixes built on maple syrup or fruit powders such as Mapleaid can deliver carbohydrate and fluid together, which is useful for hot-weather events. Whatever the format, the same rule applies: smaller, more frequent doses are generally better tolerated than one large hit of carbohydrate.

Take Home Tips

Natural-ingredient energy gels have moved well beyond a niche corner of the market.

• For most athletes, natural gels perform just as well as manufactured, maltodextrin-based ones at delivering usable carbohydrate.

• Where they can fall short is carb density, because they're not relying on concentrated maltodextrin, some natural gels pack slightly less carbohydrate per gram, so you may need an extra serving on high-carb protocols.

• For athletes who struggle with synthetic gels, the simpler ingredient lists in these options may genuinely reduce GI symptoms and improve tolerance..

• Maple Movement, Untapped, Sunday Salt and SAP! prove maple syrup can carry a gel on its own; Nectar Sport, Honey Stinger and Lecka do the same with raw honey.

• Beet It's beetroot-based gel adds a genuine performance edge on top of clean ingredients.

• Whichever you choose, test it in training first - the "best" natural gel is still the one that sits well in your stomach on race day.

References

1. Currell K, Jeukendrup AE. Superior endurance performance with ingestion of multiple transportable carbohydrates. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2008;40(2):275-281.

2. De Oliveira EP, Burini RC, Jeukendrup A. Gastrointestinal complaints during exercise: prevalence, etiology, and nutritional recommendations. Sports Med. 2014;44(Suppl 1):S79-85.

3. Hills SP, Mitchell P, Wells C, Russell M. Honey supplementation and exercise: a systematic review. Nutrients. 2019;11(7):1586.

4. Killian LA, Muir JG, Barrett JS, Burd NA, Lee SY. High fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols (FODMAP) consumption among endurance athletes and relationship to gastrointestinal symptoms. Front Nutr. 2021;8:637160.

5. Legault J, Girard-Lalancette K, Grenon C, Dussault C, Pichette A. Antioxidant activity, inhibition of nitric oxide overproduction, and in vitro antiproliferative effect of maple sap and syrup from Acer saccharum. J Med Food. 2010;13(2):460-468.

6. Cai C, Huang P, Cheng X, Zhou J. Effectiveness of beetroot juice on aerobic and anaerobic exercise performance: systematic review and meta-analysis. Front Nutr. 2026;13:1844096.

7. McCubbin AJ. Sodium intake for athletes before, during and after exercise: review and recommendations. Perform Nutr. 2025;1(1):11.

Disclaimer:

The content in this blog is for general information only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always speak with your doctor or allied health team before changing your diet, exercise, or taking supplements, especially if you have a health condition or take medication. Please use this information as a guide only. Aid Station doesn't take responsibility for individual outcomes.