This vegan caramel sauce is silky, creamy, gooey, sweet, and so easy to make. You can drizzle it over oatmeal or pancakes, dip some apples into it, pour it over vanilla ice cream, spread it on cakes, eat it straight out of the bowl with a spoon . . . the list could go on and on forever. The best part is that you can make it as thin or as thick as you like.
When I was growing up, I used to love when my parents took me to a city center. Right on the main street, there was a tiny little shop that sold soft serve ice cream. They would rotate their soft serve flavors every couple weeks so it was a little surprise every time we went. It was sweet. It was cold. It always hit the spot.
While I enjoyed all the flavor choices, my all time favorite was plain vanilla soft serve dipped in warm, sweet, and sticky caramel. I know, not healthy, but I didn’t worry about that then. There was just something about the vanilla and caramel flavor combination and the diverse textural components that made this dessert simply irresistible.
While I’m not gonna share with you a recipe for vanilla soft serve today, I will show you how to make raw vegan caramel sauce (which you can easily turn into a caramel dip) that is super delicious!
Tips for Making Vegan Caramel Sauce
Ingredients
First things first, this recipe is raw. If you want a more traditional vegan caramel, you can simmer some coconut milk with coconut sugar over low heat until the mixture turns into a caramel. But since we’re making raw vegan caramel today, there will be no heat involved.
So where does the caramel flavor come from if not the caramelization of sugar? Medjool dates. No, this is not a recipe for date caramel. However, adding a few dates is essential for the rich and intense caramel flavor. The reason I’m not a fan of the 2-ingredient date caramel (which only consists of dates and a splash of plant-based milk) is that the texture isn’t right. Date caramel is great as a filling or a spread. But it’s too thick, sticky, and somewhat pasty to serve as a caramel substitute.
What makes this caramel sauce stand out is the addition of cashew butter. Cashew butter is a rather neutral-tasting nut butter that’s great for creating rich flavor and silky smooth texture. I bet rich macadamia butter would be great too, but it’s also very expensive so I always go for cashew butter.
I also add a generous pinch of sea salt (because I’m still riding the salted caramel trend), and some maple syrup. It might seem weird to add a sweetener to already sweet dates, but the viscosity of a liquid sweetener is essential for a smooth pour-able texture. An alternative to maple syrup is coconut nectar, which creates a more chewy (less pourable) caramel. If you’re going for a caramel sauce, I would suggest using maple syrup. If you prefer caramel dip, coconut nectar will work better.
Finally, if you need your caramel to be super thick, you can add a little bit of melted coconut oil. As the coconut oil hardens, so will the caramel sauce. Coconut oil also adds shine and a richer flavor. I don’t always use it in this caramel sauce (because I try to use whole ingredients as much as possible), but you can experiment with it.
Technique
If you’ve ever made traditional caramel sauce you probably remember watching it carefully. You had to keep one eye on the sauce (to prevent burning) and one eye on a candy thermometer (to ensure the appropriate temperature). Well, you don’t have to worry about any of that with this raw caramel.
All you need to do is blend all the ingredients (except the dates) until creamy and smooth. The final thickness and sweetness of the caramel will depend on how many dates you use. The more dates, the thicker (less pourable) and sweeter the caramel will be.
Tools You’ll Need
1. Blender (Vitamix 5200)
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Caramel Sauce
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup almond milk
- 1/3 cup natural cashew butter
- 2 Medjool dates , pitted*
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
- pinch fine sea salt
- coconut oil , melted (optional)*
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients (except the dates) into the blender and blend on high until fully incorporated.
- While the blender is running, add one date at a time to the blender until the caramel sauce reaches a desired consistency (add a little bit more liquid if you prefer it to be runnier or a few more dates or nut butter if you prefer it to be thicker).
- Transfer to a clean glass jar.
- Store leftover caramel sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 1-2 weeks. (The shelf-life will be shorter if using homemade almond milk. The caramel sauce will last for however long your homemade milk lasts).
Hi Petra,
I made this caramel sauce today and it was amazing! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!!
Sincerely,
Anne
Yay! I am so happy you liked it, Anne! I am always honored when people try my recipes. Thank you so much for taking the time to comment and share your feedback 🙂
Hello Petra, thank you so much for this amazing recipe. I found it today on Youtube and tried it directly. I had no almond milk but i used soy milk with vanilla flavor instead. It works also. There was so much leftover in my standmixer that i couldn’t get out, so i filled in some soy milk and half of a frozen banana. Mixed it again and it turned out as a super creamy and tasty milkshake, which magically disappeared when my two sons entered the kitchen…now i have two more orders for caramel milkshakes;-) Thanks again and greetings from germany
Haha, that’s awesome! Thank you so much for sharing. I am glad your boys loved it❤
Hi Petra,
This looks amazing! I’m going to try this tomorrow- so excited!
One time I was creating in the kitchen & made a Carmel dip but didn’t know how I did it. This recipe is so great to have.
thank you so much!
Love Rachel, from California
Thank you for your comment, Rachel! I can’t even tell you how many times I had the “I have no idea how I did this” moment happen to me in the kitchen. My husband doesn’t understand how I can’t always replicate a certain recipe (especially when I’m just trying new things). Well, I will have to show him your comment so he knows I am not the only one 😀 Hope the caramel sauce turns out great❤
Wow wow wow…….made this last night and it is the best caramel sauce ive ever had. I love it when you try a recipe and it turns out better than you thought it would. It tastes amazing and even better knowing its all natural ingredients. My dairy/refined sugar eating husband tried some and he loved it, he said if he didnt know what it was he would have thought he was eating cake batter!
Thank you so much
This makes me so happy, Emma! Thank you so much for taking the time to comment. I really appreciate it ❤
Hi, could you use it for icing, would it set hard? Like melted dark choc would? Or do you know how I could achieve this 🙂
Hi Erica – no, it won’t set hard. For icing, I would use only cashew butter, dates, and then the milk to thin it out to your desired consistency. (I have never tried it, but I would probably start with 1/4 cup cashew butter and 1 cup of Medjool dates. Taste and adjust the sweetness – adding more dates if it’s not sweet enough or cashew butter if it’s too sweet). Then add the milk to thin it out. Since you’re not adding any liquid ingredients until later, you might need to use a food processor.
The recipe for this caramel sauce is by far better than what you buy in the store. It exceeded my expectations by so much. My sister, dad, and I loved it ! My dad even licked the bowl clean. Thanks so much for sharing your recipe! I even sent the link to my mom to try.
That’s so awesome! I am so happy you and your family enjoyed the recipe so much! Thank you so much for the rating and feedback, Naomi! ❤️
This is an amazing recipe and I have made it once before. I am wondering does it have to be left in the fridge. I did the last time. Some say yes and some say no! Thanks again for your time and all your recipes.
Thank you so much for the feedback and rating, Sue! I recommend storing it in the refrigerator for sure (because it contains almond milk and cashew butter). Almond milk can spoil quickly at room temperature and cashew butter can turn rancid. You can always reheat the caramel sauce in a microwave or in a double-broiler.