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    Home / Recipes / Sauces, Dips & Dressings

    Vegan Caramel Sauce

    Published: Oct 8, 2021 · Modified: Jun 27, 2022 by Kathy Carmichael · This post may contain affiliate links.

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    date caramel sauce

    Whenever I think of fall, I remember apple cider, fresh-picked apples, and the colors of the season in Michigan. Since moving to Arizona, I still enjoy the fall, but cider mills are non-existent. So, to bring fall to Arizona, I made a vegan caramel sauce. My date caramel sauce isn't only great for dipping apples, but it can be made thinner as an ice cream sauce. Or, if you are anything like me, you can dip just about anything in this vegan caramel sauce recipe. 

    I'm not much of a dessert fan, as many of you know. My blog clearly illustrates my lack of a sweet tooth. But I love savory-sweet foods. And, I love vegan caramel sauce!

    Although dates are a natural source of fructose, they are high in nutrients, fiber, and antioxidants.

    Therefore, dates are the perfect natural sweetener to replace sugar. Many of you may know date syrup is made with dates and water blended. Therefore, dates make the ideal healthy caramel sauce. 

    How to make vegan caramel sauce

    date caramel ingredients

    • Medjool Dates 
    • Natural Peanut Butter
    • Vanilla Extract
    • Oat Milk (or plant milk of choice)
    • Pink Salt

    Tips

    Dates

    • Before blending the vegan caramel sauce, one trick for softening dates is to soak the dates in hot water.
    • Even though this step is unnecessary if you use fresh dates, it also helps if you don't have a quality high-speed blender.
    • Once drained, the dates are softer, and the pits are easier to remove, which is also necessary before blending. Of course, buying pitted dates is best, but sometimes, pitted dates are more expensive, and eliminating the pits takes seconds.

    Different ways to use vegan caramel sauce 

    Date caramel sauce hot or cold

    When the vegan caramel sauce is blended, it is ready to serve immediately, or it can be placed in the refrigerator and served cold. On the other hand, it can be heated in a saucepan and used as a hot dip.

    Another option is to add more plant milk to thin out the vegan caramel sauce to use as a caramel sauce for vegan ice cream or on top of black bean brownies. 

    Another one of my favorite things to dip into date caramel dip is pretzels! 

    Other ideas for dipping

    • Frozen bananas
    • Strawberries
    • Cookies
    • Vegan Marshmallows
    • Graham Crackers
    • Nuts
    • Dried Fruit

    Date Caramel

    So, if you love to dip, skinny dip with some vegan caramel dip.  

    Are you looking for other fall dessert options?

    Vegan Apple Crisp Recipe

    Vegan Apple Crisp

    Vegan Pumpkin Pie Recipe

    Mini Vegan Pumpkin Pies

    pumpkin dip

    Vegan Pumpkin Crack Dip

    date caramel sauce

    Vegan Caramel Sauce

    Kathy Carmichael
    Vegan caramel sauce is a healthy alternative to caramel made for dipping or sauce. Served hot or cold, vegan caramel is fabulous for fruit, cookies, pretzels, or anything you choose to dip. Or make it a sauce by thinning the dip to make an incredible sauce.
    4.75 from 8 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 15 mins
    Total Time 15 mins
    Course Dessert
    Cuisine American
    Servings 12 servings
    Calories 61 kcal

    Ingredients
      

    • 12-14 dates pitted (1 cup)
    • ¼ cup peanut butter
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • ¾ teaspoon pink salt
    • ¾ cup oat milk or plant-milk of choice

    Instructions
     

    • If dates aren't fresh (or a little stiff), boil 2 cups of water in the microwave and soak dates for 5 minutes; drain.
    • Remove date pits
    • Place dates and all other ingredients in a high-speed blender.
    • To make a thinner sauce, add more plant milk to meet your desired consistency.
    • I order to heat the date caramel sauce, place it in a saucepan, and heat it low, occasionally stirring until heated through.
    • Or, place the sauce in the refrigerator and serve cold.
    • Choose your dippers.

    Notes

    Tips

    • Before blending the vegan caramel sauce, one trick for softening dates is to soak the dates in hot water.
    • Even though this step is unnecessary if you use fresh dates, it also helps if you don't have a quality high-speed blender.
    • Once drained, the dates are softer, and the pits are easier to remove, which is also necessary before blending. Of course, buying pitted dates is best, but sometimes, pitted dates are more expensive, and eliminating the pits takes seconds.
    When the vegan caramel sauce is blended, it is ready to serve immediately, or it can be placed in the refrigerator and served cold. On the other hand, it can be heated in a saucepan and used as a hot dip.
    Another option is to add more plant milk to thin out the vegan caramel sauce to use as a caramel sauce for vegan ice cream or on top of black bean brownies. 

      Nutrition

      Calories: 61kcalCarbohydrates: 8gProtein: 2gFat: 3gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 176mgPotassium: 84mgFiber: 1gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 31IUVitamin C: 0.03mgCalcium: 27mgIron: 0.3mg
      Tried our recipe?Let us know how it was!
      Kathy Carmichael

      Hi! My name is Kathy, I am a retired high school English teacher & vegan enthusiast and blogger. My entire blog is fully plant-based vegan. I truly believe what we eat & how we live determines our health & the preservation of our planet! 🙂

      www.kathysvegankitchen.com/about-me/

      More Sauces, Dips & Dressings

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      Reader Interactions

      Comments

      1. Anonymous

        October 15, 2020 at 11:55 am

        5 stars

        Reply
      2. Anonymous

        October 22, 2020 at 12:38 am

        4 stars

        Reply
      3. ACC

        November 11, 2020 at 6:53 pm

        The date caramel dip looks wonderful. I am wondering if there might be a way to make caramel apples with date caramel but it's probably the wrong consistency (?). Also wondering if you were to blend the caramel with tofu, if it would make a yummy cake frosting. I welcome your thoughts!

        Reply
        • Kathy Carmichael

          November 12, 2020 at 5:03 am

          Hi Amelia, I tried caramel apples, but the consistency doesn't work. The only way it works is to use coconut oil, which I don't cook with. As for the frosting, I think that sounds like a great idea. Let me know if it works. Thank you for reaching out.

          Reply
      4. Donna Macintosh

        May 27, 2021 at 10:43 pm

        I just made this and it's sooo yummy. I believe that I just found a new keeper as a recipe. I made it 'as is' but next time I'm also going to throw in a frozen banana which I always seem to have for smoothies.

        Reply
        • Kathy Carmichael

          May 28, 2021 at 6:45 am

          Hi Donna, I'm so glad you like the vegan caramel sauce. I love the idea of the frozen banana. Let me know how it turns out. Thank you for the feedback. appreciate it.

          Reply
      5. Elizabeth

        November 12, 2021 at 8:44 am

        Can you use date paste instead? Thank you!

        Reply
        • Kathy Carmichael

          November 12, 2021 at 12:08 pm

          Hi Elizabeth, I haven't tried date paste instead of dates. Date paste is mixed with water to make it paste, so if I were going to try to substitute date paste, I would reduce the amount of plant milk, or it might be too thin. If you try it, please let me know how it turns out. I'm sure others would benefit from your experience.

          Reply

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      Hi, I'm Kathy! I love creating delicious whole foods plant-based recipes. I believe what we eat & how we live determines our health & the preservation of our planet!

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      171 shares