The best, easy vegan caramel sauce recipe is on deck- made with creamy coconut cream, pure maple syrup and other natural, real food ingredients. It’s dairy free, refined sugar free and absolutely delicious!
The time has finally come for me to showcase this beautiful glory dubbed vegan caramel sauce. I have actually been making this caramel sauce for years, but I’ve never given it the proper attention it deserves.
I’m sure you’ve seen some of my recipes that include it, like:
Paleo Pecan Caramel Cheesecake Bars
Easy Vegan Dark Chocolate Caramel Cups
Vegan Pumpkin Pie Overnight Oats
… but I’ve never given it its own photoshoot!
Can we talk about what makes this drippy deliciousness so damn good? Well, it starts with the real maple syrup…!
Caramel sauce is traditionally made with
-brown sugar
-half and half
-butter
… so it was a relatively easy task to find some allergen-friendly substitutes in order to make it vegan.
If you’re not super into coconut oil or don’t have an issue with dairy products, you can use a brown butter or ghee instead. It turns out equally as fabulous! 🙂
How freaking phenomenal does the vegan caramel sauce look being poured over a nice, big bowl of ice cream? Yes, the ice cream is dairy free, too.
Yes, you can have all of the delicious things without all of the tummy upset. Trust me- you are going to fall in la-la-love here.
One of my favorite things to do is take thin slices of granny smith apple and dip, dip, dip into the caramel.
You can even bust out the flaked sea salt and get real wild. The only thing that could ever top caramel is salted caramel… am I right?!
We had a bunch of friends over last night for beers and games. I had a whole pot of this ready on the stove, and boy was it devoured by all.
I made some Simple Mills vanilla cupcakes, threw in some banana chunks & topped them off with a big pour of vegan caramel sauce.
By the end of the night, after many beers, I had Tim eating the sauce with a big wooden spoon directly from the saucepan.
Folks, since Sophie has arrived, this is what a wild Saturday night looks like for us. And I’ve got NO qualms about it 😉
Shut me up though, and get to making vegan caramel sauce now. It’s the easiest thing ever, and you will soon be using it to top off alllllll the things!
The Best Easy Vegan Caramel Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar
- 2/3 cup canned coconut milk full fat
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Pour maple syrup and coconut sugar into a heavy bottomed saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat and let boil softly for ~15 minutes. Stir every few minutes with a heat proof spatula to keep the bubbles down.
- Once the syrup begins to coat the outside of a spatula or spoon, it's time to add the coconut milk. Raise the heat again and bring to a low boil and turn back down. Continue stirring until it begins to thicken up quite a bit.
- Remove from heat and stir in oil, salt, and vanilla extract.
- Let cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally to keep the fat incorporated. The longer it sits, the thicker it will become!
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week. It will solidify and the coconut oil will separate to the top. Reheat and stir until smooth throughout.
Nutrition
Hi! I’m Monica – recipe developer, matcha addict and lover of all things chocolate, kombucha and any & all puns. I am also the blogger, real food lover, & bonafide hustler behind the blog ‘The Movement Menu.’ I’m so excited to welcome you to my happy space, where my appreciation of creative recipes and healthy & mindful eats come together to inspire you to live a healthy, balanced life.
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