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This homemade vegan caramel sauce is a simple, 4-ingredient recipe made without any heavy cream or dairy! It takes only 5 minutes to make using all-natural, paleo ingredients. The perfect topping for cakes, cookies, vegan ice cream, pies, and more!
Why You’ll Love This Vegan Caramel Sauce Recipe
A good homemade caramel sauce is just so versatile and tasty. It adds wonderful moisture and sweetness to any dessert you are eating, like cakes, ice cream, cookies, pies, and even plain fruits. While traditional caramel sauce commonly calls for heavy cream, butter, and white sugar, this 4-ingredient vegan caramel sauce is made without dairy and refined sugars!
This recipe is actually very easy and even quicker than other versions! The result is still thick and creamy with an amazing flavor. All you have to do is heat and whisk just 4 ingredients together for only 5 minutes, until the mixture is combined and thickened.
That’s basically it, and you have an amazing and easy vegan caramel sauce to drizzle over everything! The secret to my sauce is the added sea salt– it’s absolutely delicious! But you can omit it if you prefer.
Ingredient Notes
To make this quick homemade caramel sauce, you just need 4 simple ingredients.
- almond butter: The smoother and creamier, the better! I love this brand. No cream or full-fat coconut milk here! We’re using almond butter and it’s SO GOOD. Great healthy fats added to this vegan caramel recipe.
- maple syrup: I use this instead of coconut sugar. I find that it lends well to the pourable consistency of the caramel.
- coconut oil: I use this instead of vegan butter. You can use refind coconut oil if desired so there’s no coconut flavor.
- sea salt: I love using Celtic sea salt for added nutrients! A pinch of salt makes this recipe soooo good. You can make this a vegan salted caramel sauce or omit the salt if you prefer to make a regular version.
See the exact ingredient amounts in the full recipe card below.
How to Make Vegan Caramel Sauce
Step 1: Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan.
Step 2: Heat on the stovetop over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, while whisking frequently to combine and keep from burning. Make sure to remove from heat after 4 minutes, so the mixture doesnt separate and clump.
Step 3: Once the mixture is thickened and browned, remove from heat and cool slightly before using. The sauce will thicken more as it cools.
Step 4: Store in an airtight container for up to 1 month in the refrigerator. The salted caramel sauce will harden when chilled. Reheat before using again in the microwave or on the stovetop.
Expert Tips
- This sauce will thicken more as it cools and comes to room temperature, so don’t worry if it doesn’t seem thick enough after 5 minutes of heating. Just let it cool so it has time to set.
- This easy recipe is the perfect accompaniment to a number of vegan dessert recipes. If you have a sweet tooth or a craving, top these with this sauce: Homemade Salted Caramel Ice Cream, Easy Apple Pie Bars with Salted Caramel Sauce, or use it for caramel apples, dipping apple slices or other fruits, or just eat a spoonful.
- You can make this a vegan salted caramel sauce by adding the sea salt or omit the salt if you prefer to make a regular version.
Storage and Reheating
It’s easy to store this sauce. For best results, let it cool completely at room temperature, and transfer it to an airtight container or mason jar with a lid. Store in the refrigerator for up to a month!
When you want to use it again, you’ll find that this homemade caramel sauce has solidified when chilled. That’s the nature of all caramel sauces made without emulsifiers. To get it back to a thick syrupy texture, you can microwave it for 30 seconds to 1 minute and give it a good stir.
If you’d rather use the stovetop, submerge the container that it is stored in in hot water to loosen it from the sides of the container. Transfer to a saucepan and heat over low heat until it reaches desired consistency.
Recipe FAQs
I don’t recommend that. Many vegan caramel recipes use vegan butter, coconut sugar, and a non-dairy heavy cream or full-fat coconut milk to make their caramel sauce. I find those versions to be more time-consuming. The good news is, my version tastes just as good and only takes 5 minutes!
More Vegan Recipes
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How to Make Easy Vegan Caramel Sauce (4 Ingredients!)
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup almond butter, use smooth and creamy almond butter, like this one
- 6 tbsp maple syrup
- 6 tbsp coconut oil, melted (or ghee, for paleo)
- 1 tsp sea salt
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan.
- Heat on the stovetop over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, while whisking frequently to combine and keep from burning. Make sure to remove from heat after 4 minutes, so the mixture doesnt separate and clump.
- Once the mixture is thickened and browned, remove from heat and cool slightly before using. The sauce will thicken more as it cools.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 1 month in the refrigerator. The salted caramel sauce will harden when chilled. Reheat before using again in the microwave or on the stovetop.**
Notes
- This sauce will thicken more as it cools and comes to room temperature, so don’t worry if it doesn’t seem thick enough after 5 minutes of heating. Just let it cool so it has time to set.
- This easy recipe is the perfect accompaniment to a number of vegan dessert recipes. If you have a sweet tooth or a craving, top these with this sauce: Homemade Salted Caramel Ice Cream, Easy Apple Pie Bars with Salted Caramel Sauce, or use it for caramel apples, dipping apple slices or other fruits, or just eat a spoonful.
- You can make this a vegan salted caramel sauce by adding the sea salt or omit the salt if you prefer to make a regular version.
- It’s easy to store this sauce. For best results, let it cool completely at room temperature, and transfer it to an airtight container or mason jar with a lid. Store in the refrigerator for up to a month!
- When you want to use it again, you’ll find that this homemade caramel sauce has solidified when chilled. That’s the nature of all caramel sauces made without emulsifiers. To get it back to a thick syrupy texture, you can microwave it for 30 seconds to 1 minute and give it a good stir.
- If you’d rather use the stovetop, submerge the container that it is stored in in hot water to loosen it from the sides of the container. Transfer to a saucepan and heat over low heat until it reaches desired consistency.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Can peanut butter be used in place of almond butter?
You can, but you’ll definitely taste the peanut butter flavor in the sauce which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
I made an apple pie that unfortunately turned out rather dry and crumbly. I wanted to save the pie and make it edible, so I made some of this sauce and poured/drizzled it over. Now the pie is super yummy. This will be a very handy dessert sauce! (I used a very ‘drippy’ hazelnut butter, which worked just fine.)
Not sure what I’m doing wrong but this was an absolute disaster! First batch went in the bin, looked nothing like your photos and tasted awful. Tried again following your instructions exactly and still turned out the same as the first batch. Not sure if almond butter is different in the UK and perhaps that’s why it won’t work in this recipe?! I can’t imagine the syrup or coconut oil could be the culprit. Never mind, I’ll try a different recipe I think.
Sorry about that! I’m not sure how that happened. What did it look like? All the ingredients dissolve well when heated and should liquify. And what do you mean by tasted awful? Can you be more specific?
Thank you for this recipe! I tried making it but it haven’t fully combined, I think the oil was seperated… I followed the instructions but was unsure if it is supposed to boil and if so how strongly…
should it gently simmer the whole time?
Or bubble more vigorously?
Or maybe I should’ve kept it from reaching any kind of boiling at all?
I want to try it again, would you please elaborate?
Thank you so much! 🙏🍯
It should simmer lightly, it shouldn’t boil vigorously. It could have been the almond butter if it was an old batch. I hope you are able to try again with success!
Will try! Thank you 🍪🙏
I wonder if the almond butter flavour will overpower the “caramel” flavour …?
I don’t find that to be true at all! But if you are sensitive, you might want to try a more neutral tasting nut butter like cashews.
This sauce is just to die for! It’s a little too good—I keep craving it, and my husband, who doesn’t follow nearly as strict a diet as I do, loves it too. So far we’ve used it as a dip for our great Mutu apples, and I’m going to make the salted caramel cookies on this site and fill the centers with this sauce. It’s so amazing to have something so yummy without the butter or refined sugar!
Thank you so much!!