Date caramel sauce is a silky-smooth, five-minute vegan treat made with just a few simple ingredients and no refined sugar. It’s perfect adding sweetness to your favorite desserts!

a small glass bowl filled with light brown caramel sauce with spoon dripping it in the bowl — The silkiest date caramel sauce

I can't believe how incredible my vegan date caramel sauce is! It's the closest thing to classic caramel, and the taste is amazingly similar. It's also very versatile; you can dip, drizzle, or use it in various dishes, like my caramel nice cream.

The best part? It only takes five minutes to make, just like my spicy maple syrup.

You can try it in a few different ways, such as with overnight oatmeal or porridges, like quinoa flake porridge. It's also delicious with persimmon chocolate pudding.

Personally, I love using it as a dip for fruit, especially apples. The combination of the soft sauce with crisp apples is simply amazing!

Ingredients and Variations

maple syrup, dairy free milk, dates, coconut cream and salt all in seperate white bowls on a grey bench — Ingredients need to make this vegan caramel recipe

The complete list of ingredients with measurements, can be found in the full recipe card below.

Medjool dates are my favorite choice because of their natural caramel-like creaminess in both taste and texture. They should be soft, ideally at room temperature, as this helps them blend better and minimizes flecks when processing. Make sure to use pitted and halved dates.

For other types of dates, I've successfully made a date caramel sauce using dark dates from Aldi. Like the Medjool dates, these should also be at room temperature, but they tend to be less fleshy and may require more blending to achieve the right consistency. Additionally, these dates are smaller, so I doubled the quantity and halved the other ingredients to achieve the desired sauce consistency. The resulting caramel sauce is a deeper color and is just as delicious, possibly a bit sweeter.

Coconut cream is essential for this recipe, but it's important to use the thick, creamy layer from the top of the can. If the cream isn't thick enough, skip the dairy-free milk to maintain a thick, caramel-like consistency. When I do use dairy-free milk, I typically choose almond milk, but only if the coconut cream is very thick and needs a bit of loosening.

A touch of maple syrup adds rich sweetness to the sauce, just as you'd expect from a caramel sauce. Don't forget to add a pinch of salt! I prefer Himalayan salt for a nice burst of flavor, it truly makes a difference. If you're aiming for a salted caramel flavor, feel free to add a little extra salt along with a dash of vanilla to enhance the overall taste.

two bowls of date caramel sauce one darker than the other

The Steps

Prepare the Dates

I prefer to buy pitted Medjool dates to save time. If you have unpitted dates, slice each one in half lengthwise, pry it open, and remove the pit and stem.

Blend

Place all the ingredients into a high-powered blender and blend until it is smooth and creamy.

You will need to scrap the sides of the blender down several times. This step may take several minutes.

The consistency of this can be adjusted by adding more or less coconut cream and dairy-free milk.

dates, coconut cream in a blender and then blended

Serve and Storage

Pour the date caramel sauce into a dipping bowl and enjoy as needed. See serving suggestions below.

Store any left-overs in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 7 days. If your sauce got a little warm from blending, let it cool down to room temperature before placing in the fridge.

a bowl of light brown caramel sauce with a metal spoon in it

Janelle's Tips

This vegan caramel recipe requires a high-powered blender. It's crucial as it will puree the Medjool dates and create the right consistency for this sauce. I like to use the Froothie G2.6 blender ( use discount code "Plantbasedfolk15" to get $15AUD off your next purchase (AU only)).

a spoonful of brown caramel sauce over a glass bowl

Did you make this? I'd love to know! Leave me a comment below with a ★★★★★ rating or tag @plantbasedfolk on social media.

Recipe

Date Caramel Sauce

Date caramel sauce is a silky-smooth, five-minute vegan treat made with just a few simple ingredients and no refined sugar. It’s perfect adding sweetness to your favorite desserts!

Print Pin Rate Save Recipe

Course: Condiment, Dessert

Cuisine: American, Australian

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan

Prep Time: 5

Total Time: 5

Servings: servings

Author: Janelle Hama

Ingredients

10 Medjool dates stem off, pitted and halved
½ cup Maple Syrup
½ cup Coconut cream best if thick
2 tablespoon Dairy free milk
1 pinch Himalayan salt

Instructions

Place all the ingredients into a high powered blender and blend until it smooth and creamy. You will need to scrap the sides of the food processor several times. This step may take several minutes. The consistency can be adjusted by adding less or more dairy free milk.
Pour into an air tight container and enjoy as needed.

Video

Notes

Always check the insides of your dates before using them. I have suggested what to do in the above article if you need to use other dates.

Coconut cream is the thick top part of a can (not runny), if it is runny, leave out the dairy free milk.

Once blended, store in an air-tight container for up to one week in the fridge.

Use this sauce to dip fresh fruit into or with banana oatmeal pancakes.

This vegan caramel recipe will yield just over 1 cup.

US cups and spoons measurements have been used. 1 cup is 240ml, 1 tablespoon 15ml, 1 teaspoon 5ml.

This article was originally released August 2022 and has since been updated with additional information.

Nutrition

N.B., nutrition info is an estimate based on an online nutrition calculator. This will vary based on the specific ingredients you use.

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Comments

5 from 19 votes (8 ratings without comment)

Date Caramel Sauce

Ingredients and Variations