This 4-ingredient date caramel sauce is silky sweet and wonderfully creamy yet naturally sweetened, dairy-free, and vegan. This healthy vegan caramel sauce (regular, salted caramel, or flavored) is also ready in minutes and is perfect for dipping, drizzling, and spreading!
If you have a sweet tooth but are trying to cut down on refined sugars, this healthy date caramel sauce is a must-try. With a combination of Medjool dates and maple syrup as the main natural sweeteners, this dairy-free caramel is still creamy and sweet but slightly lighter and healthier than regular caramel.
Even better, unlike regular caramel sauce, which consists of empty calories, saturated fat, and refined sugar, this recipe is made with 100% whole food plant-based ingredients. In fact, the dates even help to provide fiber, antioxidants, and several vitamins and minerals, including Vitamin B6, K, magnesium, potassium, copper, calcium, iron, and more!
Having tested recipes as basic as soaked dates with water and salt to this version that combines dates and maple syrup with creamy coconut milk and a pinch of (optional) cinnamon, we've finally found our desired flavor and texture! This date-based no-dairy caramel is smooth, rich, and super versatile. Plus, you can make it as thick and spreadable or thin and drizzly as you'd prefer!
We particularly love pairing this healthy caramel sauce with apple-flavored treats, including dipping apple slices or crispy apple chips and drizzling over apple pie, apple cake, and stuffed baked apples! Read below for tons of other serving recommendations!
All you need is just 4 simple ingredients for this date-based vegan caramel sauce.
There are several ways you can either enhance or flavor this healthy date caramel sauce, including:
1) First, bring a small saucepan of water to a boil and add the dates (you only need just enough water to cover the dates). Gently boil for 10 minutes. This will soften and plump up the dates.
Alternatively, you can leave them to soak in boiling water for 30-45 minutes.
2) Drain the water, reserving around 4 tablespoons of it. And then allow the dates to cool until you can handle them.
3) Next, peel and pit the dates if they aren't already pitted and chop them into tiny pieces.
To make the dates even easier to peel, you can optionally add a teaspoon of baking soda to the saucepan when boiling them.
4) Add the dates, maple syrup, coconut milk, cinnamon, and reserved water to a high-speed blender or food processor and blend until super smooth and creamy (about 2-3 minutes).
5) Transfer the mixture back to the saucepan and bring to a boil. Then simmer over medium-low heat for 5 minutes, or until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon or to your desired level.
This vegan salted caramel sauce can be stored for 5-7 days in a closed jar (or airtight container) in the refrigerator. You can also freeze it for up to a month (possibly longer, though ours never last long enough to find out).
Note that it will thicken/set slightly in the refrigerator, so you'll need to reheat it to get it back to a smoother consistency. To reheat the dairy-free caramel, use either a microwave or the stove. If it's thickened too much for your liking, add a splash of water or dairy-free milk.
You can use this vegan caramel sauce in place of dairy-based caramel in desserts and even in some healthier dishes too, including:
Photos by Alfonso Revilla
Teodora Grujic says
Yum! It is perfect! My family loves it!