Did you know that you can easily make your own delicious vegan caramel sauce from a can of coconut milk?
The best vegan caramel sauce
- You’ll fall in love with the thick, creamy texture.
- Naturally gluten free, egg free, and dairy free.
- Sweet, salty, and buttery flavor, made with just 3 ingredients.
- Absolutely no corn syrup and no vegan butter. You probably already have everything you need in the kitchen pantry to make it right now!
If you’ve been looking for an easy vegan caramel recipe that tastes just as decadent as traditional caramel, this is the one to try.
The coconut milk creates a smooth and silky sauce without heavy cream, while coconut sugar imparts a rich caramel flavor.
Unlike many other caramel sauce recipes, there’s no need for a candy thermometer or complicated techniques. And no dates or condensed milk here either.
It’s perfect for dipping fresh apple slices, pouring over ice cream, iced coffee lattes, and other vegan desserts, or eating straight from the jar with a spoon.
Try it on top of Healthy Apple Pie
Step by step recipe video
I had a can of coconut cream that needed to be used, so luckily, I came across this recipe. It turned out great!!! I have it sitting in my fridge now and am doing my best NOT to eat it all. Thank you so much for this amazing recipe!
Vegan caramel ingredients
From caramel apples, to grilled pineapple, to ice cream, dessert will never be the same. All you need to make the simple vegan recipe are coconut milk, sugar, salt, and optional vanilla extract.
Coconut Milk: For the creamiest and thickest caramel dip, choose full fat canned coconut milk or coconut cream. Light coconut milk, almond milk, and oat milk are tasty but yield a much thinner consistency.
Coconut Sugar: This unrefined sugar gives the homemade caramel its beautiful golden brown color and a deep, almost toffee-like flavor. You can use white or brown sugar, or pure maple syrup or agave if you prefer. Xylitol works well for a sugar free caramel.
Salt: Include a fourth teaspoon of salt to balance the sweetness of the sugar, or increase to half a teaspoon for more of a vegan salted caramel taste.
Vanilla Extract (optional): A small splash of pure vanilla extract adds yet another layer of warm flavor. It’s important to stir in the vanilla after turning off the heat.
How to make dairy free caramel sauce
Step 1: Whisk ingredients. Add the entire can of coconut milk or coconut cream, coconut sugar, and salt to a medium saucepan. Turn the heat to medium, and whisk until sugar dissolves.
Step 2: Bring to a boil. Stir occasionally until the liquid begins to boil. Once bubbling, allow the mixture to boil for about five minutes, stirring constantly and watching to ensure it does not boil over. Trust me, sticky caramel sauce on your stove top is not fun to clean!
Step 3: Turn to low. Lower the heat to a simmer, and let the liquid cook down to about half its original volume, stirring as needed to prevent sticking. This step should take around forty to sixty minutes, and the caramel will look thick and lightly golden in color when finished.
Step 4: Add the vanilla. If using, whisk in the vanilla extract after removing the saucepan from the heat, to avoid burning the vanilla.
Step 5: Cool and store. Let the plant based caramel sauce cool fully before transferring it to a covered jar or container. Refrigerate until cold, during which time it will thicken even more.
Vegan caramel is delicious drizzled over a Frappuccino Recipe
Coconut caramel FAQ
Not really. The finished sauce may possess a subtle coconut flavor, depending on the brand of coconut milk you use. However, the coconut sugar, salt, and vanilla do a great job of masking the coconut, and I rarely taste coconut when I make this.
You can absolutely use pure maple syrup or agave, and the vegan dessert sauce still thickens the same amount as with a granulated sweetener. I personally just think it tastes more like classic caramel when using coconut sugar. Completely your choice!
Light coconut milk contains more water, so you’ll get a much thinner sauce. If you do not mind, then yes it is fine to use light coconut milk or another nondairy milk.
If you are a fan of chocolate caramel, try the following variation of the recipe:
Simply whisk three tablespoons of sifted unsweetened cocoa powder into the coconut milk before heating on the stove top. It really is that easy.
Let the sauce cool, then transfer it to a mason jar or covered container. Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to a week. Or freeze for up to three months and reheat in a saucepan. Note that the texture of thawed frozen caramel will never be as creamy.
The recipe below gives you a thick sauce that’s good for drizzling or spreading. It will not work to create hard vegan caramels.
It does work on caramel apples if you cook the caramel until it is super thick, not thin and runny. Wash the apples with vinegar and water to remove the wax coating that would cause the caramel sauce to slip off. Then add two coats of vegan caramel and refrigerate until ready to eat.
How do you get thick vegan caramel?
Be sure to use full fat coconut milk. Or choose coconut cream for even faster, thicker results.
If the sauce still looks thin after heating forty minutes, continue to simmer another twenty minutes or so. It will further reduce as the water evaporates.
Finally, chill the caramel in the refrigerator after cooling. Coconut milk caramel thickens as it sits. If time permits, refrigerate in a jar or container overnight for a perfectly thick, smooth sauce the next day.
Ways to use vegan caramel sauce
Drizzle it over nondairy frozen desserts, pancakes, waffles, oatmeal, brownies, or pretty much anything you can imagine. Below are four of my favorite uses for dairy free caramel.
Vegan Caramel Sauce
Ingredients
- 13.5 oz full fat coconut milk or coconut cream
- 2/3 cup coconut sugar (95g) (pure maple syrup, agave, brown sugar, or xylitol also work)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract (optional)
Instructions
- 1. Stir canned coconut milk or coconut cream, sweetener, and salt in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil.
- 2. Once boiling, whisk continuously for 5 minutes. Watch the pot to make sure it does not boil over.
- 3. Turn the heat to a simmer, and cook 45-60 minutes or until the liquid thickens and reduces to about half its original volume. Stir occasionally during this time.
- 4. Remove the saucepan from the heat, then stir in the optional vanilla extract.
- 5. Let the vegan caramel sauce cool fully before transferring it to a covered container or jar. It is perfectly fine to use right away, or you can refrigerate overnight for a thicker texture.
Video
Notes
More homemade vegan desserts
It would be helpful to know quantities.
Hi, what do you mean? Specific quantities of all ingredients are listed in the recipe.
Quoted from the text:
13.5 oz coconut milk (Coconut-free recipe here)
1/3 cup pure maple syrup, honey, or agave (vegans use the maple or agave)
1/4 cup brown sugar OR simply increase the above liquid sweetener to 2/3 cup
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
optional 1 tbsp butter-type spread or coconut oil, for richer flavor
Woah that looks amazing! Who knew you could turn coconut milk into that!!
No way! I would have never thought of this. You have such creative, fun ideas.
How does this compare to Dulce de Leche?
I did a quick google search, and it seems like many people say the two are interchangeable (taste-wise). Traditionally, they (caramel and dulce de leche) are made with different ingredients, but of course this recipe is made with different ingredients from both of them. Especially considering dulce de leche is made with sweetened milk, I’d think this recipe would be pretty similar!
Making this tonight!!! Yum!
Does this need to be the full fat coconut milk, or will light work?
Under instructions it says… “Make sure to buy full-fat canned coconut milk, not lite or coconutmilk beverage.”
whaaaaaat i had no idea you could do this!!!! what a delicious and (fairly) healthy sauce to keep on hand. it’s always pumpkin season to me, so i think i’ll take your suggestion and use it to top pumpkin pancakes 🙂 thanks for sharing!!
there are two different recipes here…..and quite different from one another. I’m confused. What is the difference between the two and why do you have two recipes for the same caramel sauce? Or are they for different things?
Hi, can you explain what you mean by two recipes? I only see one recipe on this post.
Julie (media director)
The list of ingredients at the beginning of the blog post is slightly different than the one at the bottom of the blog. The first list has 4 ingredients, the bottom one has 6 (one is optional). I’m assuming that’s what she was talking about. 🙂
Four ingredients are not optional – the two variations are optional. Hope that helps clarify! 🙂
Hi,
This look super good I will be making it tomorrow . I was reading the posts to find out the comments on the taste or if someone already made it ..anyway as I am reading this so many questions about this simple recipe ! Your recipe is very explanatory , i think people are not reading the directions ……..Thanks I will write a comment when I am done making it .
Thanks
This looks great! Although, if more into a low calorie caramel, follow my recipe: 1 can light coconut milk and 1/2 cups coconut sugar (if you like sweet caramel, use 2/3 cup coconut sugar instead). Mix and bring to a boil, always mixing for about 15-20 minutes for a sauce and 25-30 for a hardening caramel. Turn off heat and add salt and vanilla to taste. It’s about 35 calorie per tablespoon.
That sounds delicious! Excited to know it works with lite coconut milk!
This caramel looks delicious! Always great with a low calorie version too, so thanks to both Katie and Mary Jane for sharing yummy recipes! 🙂
Thanks! Do you know if this caramel can be made hard enough to be used in caramel squares?
Looks delicious! I have been wanting to try date caramel, and this looks worth trying too 🙂
I just made this. Oh my gosh, it is PERFECT! I did change it up a bit, though. I can’t have the maple syrup or coconut sugar (they all have a bad effect on my system), so instead, I used 1/4 cup of granulated xylitol, and 1/2 tsp of blackstrap molasses. Everything else, I followed to a tee, and it is SO hard to stop eating (and it hasn’t even cooled, yet)! Makes me wonder why I spend any time scouring Pinterest for a perfect, healthy, sugar-free caramel recipe, when Katie’s just going to make it better?
Love the idea to add molasses!
This is a really cool idea, Katie =)
Do you think this would turn out okay using a can of coconut cream?
Yes, probably would work! That sounds like it would just take less time to thicken up!
Just made it with a can of coconut cream, and it thickened in about 35 minutes of shimmering… The smell and taste and texture are great, thanks so much Katie!!!!
Good to know it can be made with coconut cream! Exactly what I was searching the comments for ? Can’t wait to try it!
Turned out wonderfully!!!
Katie, this is brilliant! I’d like to think of myself as very inventive in the kitchen however, I had no idea I could make this out of coconut milk! I usually make raw caramel with dates (which I do love)…but I will definitely try this! Thanks for the idea!
http://www.bitesforfoodies.com/recipes/chia-seed-pudding-with-date-paste/
Is the date paste i. The recipe link supposed to be caramel? Not sure how they are similar ?
I’m wondering if this could be made in a crockpot? Has anybody tried it?