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    Home » Cheese, sauces, misc

    Published: Oct 31, 2021 · Modified: Apr 12, 2023 by Courtney Hunter · This post may contain affiliate links · 10 Comments

    Easy Vegan Caramel Sauce

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    This five-ingredient vegan caramel sauce uses no fancy ingredients or equipment and can be whipped up in 10 minutes or less. It's perfect for drizzling on ice cream or any dessert you need a caramel sauce for. 

    Easy Vegan Caramel Sauce

    The best vegan caramel sauce

    You don't have to give up a delicious vegan classic caramel sauce for a vegan diet.

    This recipe actually tastes like regular caramel.

    Vegan caramel sauce that has NO coconut in it is hard to come by.

    In your typical caramel sauces, you would use canned coconut milk to thicken the caramel-like a heavy cream would.

    Now that's not to say you can't use coconut cream or full-fat coconut milk if you wanted to. It will make the recipe richer but it also gives it a coconut hint.

    The best part about this recipe is you can choose the vegan milk.

    I almost always have almond milk on hand so that's what I use in this and it works great.

    The whole process of this recipe only takes about 10 minutes from start to finish that way if you get some caramel cravings you can be drizzling it on whatever your favorite way to eat caramel is in a jiffy.

    This vegan caramel sauce tastes amazing drizzled on apple slices.

    My son was SO excited when I made this vegan caramel recipe he tried to eat it by the spoonful, and I can't exactly say I blame him.

    vegan caramel sauce with almond milk in a glass mason jar on a white plate with a drizzle of caramel.


    Recipe Q&A

    Vegan caramel sauce with almond milk?

    Good news, yup, you heard that right.

    If you buy dairy-free caramel sauce at the grocery store it's like a trillion dollars for a small amount and always has a coconut flavor hint to it which in my opinion takes away from the caramel flavor.

    This vegan caramel sauce is SO quick to make it's almost dangerous to have on hand.

    This dairy-free caramel sauce does start off being pretty thin when it first is done cooking and thickens a ton in the fridge.

    If it thickens more than you want just heat it in the microwave for 15 seconds and you will be back to drizzling. 

    vegan caramel apple pie bars sliced on a red background.
    Caramel drizzle on the apple pie bars

    Can I make this without the corn syrup?

    Yes, you can replace it with an equal amount of brown sugar. However, it can stiffen up in the fridge having a bit more of a grainy texture.

    But once you heat it up in the microwave for drizzling you don't notice the grainy texture at all.

    Do I need any fancy equipment to make this easy vegan caramel sauce?

    No, not even a candy thermometer, just a small saucepan and something to stir it with.

    What do I need to make this easy homemade vegan caramel sauce recipe?

    These 5 simple ingredients.

    • Brown sugar -yes, instead of white sugar, it makes this taste like caramel and brown properly.
    • Corn syrup- this helps make the caramel consistency.
    • Vegan butter- makes this creamy. I wouldn't sub this for anything else.
    • Vegan milk- you can use whichever non dairy milk you want. Almond milk, soy milk, oat milk, if you want it to be extra creamy but also taste like coconut, you can use full-fat coconut milk.
    • Vanilla extract- you could leave this out if you're out, but I would leave it in for the best flavor.

    How do I make this dairy-free caramel sauce?

    Take a small saucepan/small pot and place all the ingredients except the vanilla and give it a good stir.

    Stir on high to medium-high heat until the butter is melted. 

    Then stop stirring and bring to a boil, the sugar will dissolve, and once it reaches a good boil turn the heat to medium and cook for 8 minutes without stirring.

    After the 8 minutes remove from the heat add the vanilla extract and stir. 

    vegan caramel sauce when it's cooked in a pot on a wood background.

    Let it cool for about 10 minutes then place in a glass container for storage.

    This will thicken as it cools and become the perfect consistency.

    Let it cool to room temperature before storing it covered in the fridge.

    If it gets too hard in the fridge you can heat it back up in the microwave, start at 10 seconds and check for whatever pourable consistency you're looking for. Make sure to give the caramel a good stir before placing it back in the fridge.

    If you want to make this a salted vegan caramel sauce then go ahead and add a ¼ to ½ teaspoon of salt after the recipe is done and stir.

    Next time you have a sweet tooth you can drizzle this vegan homemade caramel sauce on top of vegan vanilla ice cream, or pour some in some hot chocolate, or drizzle it onto a vegan chocolate cake.

    vegan caramel sauce in a mason jar on a white plate with a wooden spoon and brown sugar sprinkled around.

    What recipes can I add this vegan caramel sauce to?

    • Vegan pumpkin pie bars
    • Crumble Vegan Apple Pie
    • Vegan Double apple crisp
    dairy free caramel sauce

    Easy Vegan Caramel Sauce

    This five-ingredient vegan caramel sauce uses no fancy ingredients or equipment and can be whipped up in 10 minutes or less. It's perfect for drizzling on ice cream or any dessert you need a caramel sauce for.
    5 from 3 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: All Recipes
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 2 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 8 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 10 minutes minutes
    Servings: 3 /4 cup or 12 TB
    Calories: 107kcal
    Author: Courtney Hunter

    Ingredients

    • ½ cup brown sugar
    • ½ cup corn syrup
    • ¼ cup vegan butter
    • ¼ cup vegan milk
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla

    Instructions

    • Take a small saucepan and place all the ingredients except the vanilla. Stir on high heat until the butter is melted. Then stop stirring and bring to a boil, once it reaches a good boil turn the heat to medium and cook for 8 minutes without stirring.
    • After the 8 minutes remove from the heat add the vanilla extract and stir.
    • Let it cool for about 10 minutes then place in a glass container for storage. This will thicken as it cools. Let it cool to room temperature before storing it covered in the fridge.

    Notes

    If it gets too thick in the fridge you can reheat the caramel for about 10-15 seconds until it's ready to drizzle again.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1g | Calories: 107kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 44mg | Sugar: 19g
    Tried this Recipe? Tag me Today!Mention @courtneyshomestead or tag #courtneyshomestead!

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    Filed Under: All Recipes, Cheese, sauces, misc, Cookies- Bars- Brownies- Candy, Dessert

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      5 from 3 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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      Recipe Rating




    1. T Tracy says

      July 27, 2022 at 1:51 pm

      Hi! Can I use this caramel sauce to fill a vanilla cake with? Not sure if it’ll be too runny. Thank you 😊

      Reply
      • Courtneys Homestead says

        July 27, 2022 at 2:22 pm

        Hi Tracy! Thanks so much for stopping by! If you wanted to use this in cupcakes, I would let it sit in the fridge for a day to firm up. It does get fairly firm, and I think it will work, just not freshly cooked. I hope that helps! Have a great day!
        <3 Courtney

        Reply
    2. Linnea says

      July 23, 2022 at 6:19 am

      I used brown rice syrup instead of corn syrup. I haven’t tried it yet but I think it should be okay?

      Reply
      • Courtneys Homestead says

        July 25, 2022 at 8:41 am

        Hi Linnea, so sorry for the late reply. I was out of town without cell service. Did it work out? I have never tried it, but I think it should have worked out okay? Thanks for trying it!

        Reply
    3. Erica says

      May 07, 2022 at 2:41 am

      5 stars
      Love love love this vegan caramel sauce recipe! Have tried many others since my son was diagnosed with food allergies, but have now found our go to recipe! Followed the recipe completely as written and it turned out perfectly! Perfect caramel flavor and consistency. Thank you for this amazing recipe 🙂

      Reply
    4. Flowers says

      March 14, 2022 at 8:42 pm

      Followed this to a t… wish that the recipe used temps instead of time because it made delicious caramel hard candy. Not what I was going for! I think I even took it off a minute early. Shoot.

      Reply
      • Courtneys Homestead says

        March 15, 2022 at 1:01 pm

        Hi, I'm so sorry to hear that! I have made this caramel so many times and never had that happen. Do you have a gas stove? I have an electric one, and I'm wondering if the gas may cook hotter? Next time I make this will stick my digital thermometer in and get the exact temperature. I tried to make it easy for everyone who doesn't have a thermometer. Thanks for trying it, and I'm so sorry you got hard candy instead of soft caramel.

        Reply
        • Carmen says

          June 25, 2024 at 9:19 pm

          Did you ever do the temperature readings? I am hoping to try it out 🙂

          Reply
    5. Tabia says

      November 15, 2021 at 4:27 am

      Corn syrup is a no-no for me. Can this be made either agave or honey? And cane sugar is another no-,no for me. Can date palm sugar be used? Thank you for your tolerance of questions.
      Tabia from Detroit

      Reply
      • Courtneys Homestead says

        November 15, 2021 at 1:27 pm

        Hi Tabia! I think that you could use a combo of either honey or agave because they have the same consistency as corn syrup and then you use the other half with the date palm sugar. I think it will work just fine. Let me know how it goes! <3

        Reply

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    Hey there! I'm Courtney a self-taught vegan cook and baker, as well as a recipe developer and food photographer based in Oregon. My cooking style revolves around giving classic recipes a vegan twist. Whether you're a die-hard vegan or not, I'm here to share my absolute favorite plant-based recipes that are sure to satisfy everyone's taste buds. Come on in and discover your new go-to vegan recipe that will make you proud to share! Want to learn more about me? Check out my About Me page.

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