Vegan caramel sauce with no dairy or refined sugar but loaded on flavor actually does exist. Easy to make, and even easier to eat! Use this caramel sauce over ice cream, on cakes, tarts and more!
The taste of fall in a gooey sticky mess. This caramel sauce will have you searching for new things to put it on, I may or may not have tried it on almost everything in my fridge and pantry. No dairy, no refined sugar but loaded with deliciousness.
I created this one night while on a caramel rampage. I was working on my newest mason jar dessert, when I went off on a tangent and just started whipping out all sorts of caramel.
I was a mad scientist and my kitchen was my lab. I would stop for nothing! Muahahahaha!!! I’m talking pumpkin, peanut butter, almond butter, cinnamon…the list goes on.
I pretty much ate about half of this with a spoon while making it. And I may have slapped a few hands away, in full on “MINE!” toddler style. I’m not proud of my behavior, but I dare you to try and share.
The good news? This vegan caramel sauce is SO darn easy to make. Whisk. Cook. Eat. Oh you may also want to let it cool before the eat part, just saying.
So go make this. Make a lot, because I promise you won’t want to share. Serve it with apples, cookies, a simple spoon. Whatever you can grab, dip and shove into your mouth! And then when you’re done wiping up the evidence, tell me how you ate it.
Vegan Caramel Sauce Recipe (2 Ways)
Ingredients
Stovetop:
- 1 cup coconut sugar
- ¾ cup coconut cream , see note
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch , mixed with 1 tablespoon cold water to thicken if needed (see note)
No cook:
- ¾ cup maple syrup
- ½ cup almond butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
Optional flavors:
- Pumpkin puree , add about ¼ cup
- Pumpkin pie spice , add about ½ teaspoon
- Cinnamon , add about ½ teaspoon
- Peanut butter , sub for the almond butter in the no cook version
- Bourbon , add about 2 tablespoons
- Sea salt , extra for salted caramel
Instructions
Stovetop:
- Place sugar and cream into a small pot and whisk together well.
- Cook over medium heat until you get a slow rolling boil, whisking the whole time. If you don’t whisk, the sugar will burn and stick to the pot.
- Allow to boil, while whisking, for about 5-10 minutes until you see it thicken. Test thickness by taking some out with a small spoon and cooling it. You can also drizzle some on a cold plate (cool it in the freezer) and if it hardens then it’s ready. It will thicken more as it cools. If you want this thick caramel that will firm up a bit then you really want to reduce it for about 10 minutes and check with the spoon method. You can also use a candy thermometer and make sure it gets to 225 degrees for a thick result that will firm up better. If you want it more of a runnier sauce, then cook for around 5 minutes.
- When done, remove from heat and mix in the vanilla and salt.
- Allow to cool and use as needed!
No cook:
- Combine everything in a bowl and whisk well until smooth and sticky.
- Serve as needed!
Notes
- Coconut cream is the top layer from a can of full fat coconut milk, stored in refrigerator for 2-3 days or freezer for 2-3 hours. You need about 1 can of full fat coconut milk to get ½ cup coconut cream. Some brands also sell the cream alone (like Thai Kitchen).
- This keeps great in the fridge for about a week. You can heat it in the microwave before you use it if you want it a little runnier.
- The stove top version is better when you want a super thick sticky caramel that will firm up a bit. The no cook version is best as a sauce and when you don’t want it to firm up much as it doesn’t get harder in the fridge.
- If you need it to be thick and harden when cool then you can also add the cornstarch for an extra thickening boost.
- The stove top version makes 1 cup reduced and ¾ cup really reduced. The no cook version makes 1 cup. Serving size is 2 tablespoons.
- The nutrition label is for the stovetop version. The nutrition info for the no cook version is as follows: Calories- 179 g Carbohydrates- 23 g Protein- 3 g Fat- 9 g Sodium- 69 g Fiber 2 g Sugar 19g
Recipe by Veggies Don’t Bite, visit our site for more great plant-based recipes.
Nutrition
Nutrition and metric information should be considered an estimate.
Elyse says
Okay, normally I’m not one to comment on a recipe I haven’t made yet but I just had to say that I’ve spent the last 30 minutes going from recipe to recipe (started off with the creamy pesto lasagna) and bookmarking almost everything. I followed you over from Brandi’s (vegan 8) site and am so glad I did. I’m about to start making a grocery list for all the things I’m going to make!
veggiesdontbite says
Holy moly, thank you so much Elyse for the amazing comment! Brandi is a dear friend and I love hearing that you follow her!! I am so happy to have you over here as well. Please let me know if you have any questions or need any help with something!! Thank you again!
Sabrina Modelle says
Goodness gracious, Sofia! Are you kidding me? This looks so good. I’m definitely trying this and soon! Maybe I’ll make a double batch so I won’t have to share 😉
veggiesdontbite says
Ha!! Yes, I definitely would! Thank you so much. It’s super easy too! Makes it dangerous. Lol!
Mandy says
Now that I’m checking out this recipe from my computer (larger pictures) I’m asking myself why I haven’t already made this?!?! I just stocked up on coconut milk today, so I’ll be making this in the very near future. Looks dangerously delicious!!! And I’m laughing at the slapping of hands toddler style!!
veggiesdontbite says
Ha!! Thanks mama! I was slapping hands left and right! You’ll love it! It makes an awesome kiddo snack with apples. MMMMMM.
Gin says
Mmm, I’ll just take that jar thanks!! I love the flavors and the clever ingredients.
veggiesdontbite says
Thanks so much!! It was pretty easy to just drink from the jar!
Patricia @ Grab a Plate says
Whisk, eat, cook? Love it! And yeah, I’m pretty sure a spoon would be the only thing I’d need to enjoy this treat, but I can imagine a bunch of different goodies to serve it with!
veggiesdontbite says
Ha! Thanks Patricia! You and I would be good friends ?
Linda @ Veganosity says
I’ll be making this tonight. What a fun dessert, apple slices and pumpkin caramel sauce for dipping. YUM!
veggiesdontbite says
Oh yay!!! That’s exactly what I did for my son for his preschool class yesterday! Devoured by all!