This Dairy Free Vegan Caramel Sauce is quick and easy, and made with coconut milk! Perfect for ice cream, baking or anything else!
PIN Dairy Free Vegan Caramel Sauce
I am totally team caramel sauce over team chocolate sauce, and so is Mr. FFF
So, when we discovered he can’t handle dairy, I was like I better get to it and make a sauce that he can eat.
And here we are with this INSANELY easy, minimal ingredient kind recipe that even people who can eat dairy will LOVE
Is caramel vegan?
I could go on and on (and on and on) about caramel sauce and how much I love it. It’s smooth, it’s rich, it’s creamy and it’s downright decadent. The perfect sauce to drizzle over an ice cream sundae, to serve with apple pie, to dip fruit in or to incorporate in baking of all kinds!
Most caramel sauces use cream to add that thickness and richness that makes it SO AMAZING, so are therefore not vegan friendly. However, THIS vegan caramel sauce recipe is just as rich, indulgent and tasty but forgoes the cream! You’re going to love it and all your dairy sensitive/vegan buddies are going to go wild over it!
Dairy Free Substitutions
If you are eating a vegan friendly diet, have an allergy or sensitivity to dairy products, or simply try to avoid it for any variety of reasons, this caramel is for you! You’d be surprised how many recipes that call for dairy can easily be tweaked a bit to accommodate your dairy free needs! For this dairy free caramel sauce, here’s what I swap out:
- Butter: Instead of dairy butter, I opt for unsalted dairy free butter.
- Cream/Milk: I use coconut milk instead, just make sure it’s the full fat kind!
Dairy Free Vegan Caramel Sauce Ingredients
Another plus that has me RAVING about this recipe is how EASY it is to make! You might be surprised to know that It uses only 3 ingredients, but transforms into the most delicious sauce you’ll ever taste! For this healthy caramel sauce, you will need:
- Sugar
- Unsalted Dairy Free Butter
- Full fat coconut milk
How to Make Dairy Free Caramel Sauce
Easy, rich, delish- let’s get to it! Making this caramel sauce is super simple, so you’ll be ready to enjoy it in no time! Here’s how to make it:
Cook
In a medium saucepan, cook the sugar over medium heat. Be sure to swirl the pan every once in a while to ensure that the sugar melts evenly, and cook it until it is golden brown. This should take approximately 5 minutes.
Whisk
Turn off the heat and whisk in the butter until completely melted. Gradually add in the coconut milk, while whisking constantly.
Strain
Pour the hot caramel through a fine strainer into a heat proof container. Cover and store in the refrigerator until ready to use. Heat it up for a few seconds before use if it becomes too thick!
Drizzle Away
Now wasn’t that literally the easiest recipe EVER!? Now that we’ve got our dairy free vegan caramel sauce made, here are a few ways to enjoy it:
- Apple Crisp: drizzle it over a vegan dessert for that added touch such as Paleo Vegan Apple Crisp with Coconut Flour or Easy Vegan Gluten Free Apple Crisp Crumble
- Ice Cream: add an extra bit of YUM to Almond Joy Coconut Ice Cream Bars, Cookie Dough Banana Ice Cream, or Chickpea Cookie Dough Homemade Icecream Cake
Other Vegan Dessert Recipes
Dairy Free Vegan Chocolate Truffles
Paleo Coconut Flour Brownies with Almond Butter
Homemade Paleo Almond Joy Bars
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Sugar
- 5 Tbsp Unsalted Dairy Free butter (regular butter works too if not vegan)
- 1/2 Cup Plus 1 Tbsp Full-fat coconut milk
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, cook the sugar over medium heat, swirling the pan every so often to make sure that the sugar is melting evenly, until the sugar is a deep golden brown color (about 5 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and whisk in the butter until melted.
- Whisking CONSTANTLY (DO NOT STOP EVER) gradually add the coconut milk.
- Pour the caramel through a fine strainer into a heat proof container.
- Store, covered, in the refrigerator.
- If the mixture gets to thick, just microwave it for a few seconds before using,
Tips & Notes:
Nutrition Info:
Recipes written and produced on Food Faith Fitness are for informational purposes only.
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Lauren @ Jesus and a Side of Peanut Butter says
A. let’s switch it up a bit today, going with the letters
2. I couldn’t do it. Numbers it is.
C. This post is really really hilarious
4. You are really really hilarious
E. I want to smother my entire face in this jar of yum
6. Honestly, and I preapologize for potentially offending you or your feet, if it was socially acceptable I would totally go barefoot. Like, always. Toes are just really great
G. Then I would proceed to
pour all of this sauce on the ground and… um.. walk in it?eat more sauceTate says
As always, I love you. And your comments. I like barefeet too. If I am not in shoes, I am barefoot. NO SOCKS EVER.
I kinda like the crossed out version…is that weird?
Erin | The Law Student's Wife says
This sauce could cure any and allll sadness. I’m glad you had a good time with the fam and may this caramel bring you much peace 🙂
Tate says
Thanks Erin! It’s definitely lifting my spirits!
Amy says
1. Spellcheck is awful. It doesn’t even recognize “bundt,” and half the time, it shows a little red line underneath “brownies” too. Just because I eat dessert more than any other meal doesn’t mean my computer needs to draw attention to that with a bright red dashed line…
2. I caved. I clicked the shoe website link, mainly out of idle curiosity to see if they actually carried my size. I wear a 5 in heels, and NOBODY ever sells those. The smallest they go is a 5.5, and my feet slide right out. I actually buy half my shoes from the kid’s department. No joke.
3. Caramel sauce??? That’s actually kind of healthy??? You. Are. A. Magician. YUM!! I bet it tastes amazing over brownies, ice cream, French toast… And maybe even your huberoni’s Cheerios!
Tate says
1. HAHAHA. I am laughing so hard. Stupid Spell check.
2. OMG I WEAR THAT SIZE TOO. Usually I buy 5.5 and put 20000 insoles in them. I bought shoes from the kids department the other day….were we separated at birth?
3. They did just make a dulce de leche Cheerio flavour..soooo you’re onto something girl!
Amy says
1. Obviously the people at Microsoft aren’t foodies. Or dessert-ies either.
2. WHAAAAA??? Seriously??? That is freaky. Like Freaky Friday freaky. I always buy my Converse from the kids department. Their size 3 is the same as a size 5 in women’s but only half the price!
3. I knew about the Dark Chocolate Cheerios, but not the dulce de leche… Man, that’d be fabulous to mix those two boxes together!
Jazz Packages says
Plain spoonful is best. thank,s for sharing such a good idea
Skye Kirkland-Andrews says
How long does this last in the fridge?
Taylor Kiser says
It can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Patty says
can coconut cream be used in place of coconut milk to make the caramel sauce?
Taylor Kiser says
I can’t tell you because recipes are only tested as written, but let me know if you try it.
Adam says
This turned out extremely well. I was expecting it to taste like imitation caramel, but it tasted perfectly. It’ll be topping ice cream and homemade apple cakes.
Taylor Kiser says
So glad to hear this! Thanks, Adam!
Nan says
Well I made this recipe this afternoon and I thought all went perfectly well till I went back in the fridge to check on the sauce and it no longer looks like it did when I first put it in the jars. The bottom of the jar a few millimeters is darker and the rest from there to the top is like a beige color so is this suppose to happen cause of the coconut fat that was used? In which case just putting it in the microwave will correct this texture and put it back to its original color?
Taylor Kiser says
Hi, Nan! Yes, just heat it in the microwave for a few seconds.
Nan says
Hi and thanks I noticed once I took it out of the fridge and it stayed at room temp for a bit the texture all came back again and did use it to sprinkle all over this new dessert I made. I try and turn many of the recipes I have that were mainly a meat dish and make it vegan friendly and same goes for the desserts now too. The sauce was a hit! HAPPY THANKSGIVING.
Taylor Kiser says
So glad to hear this sauce was a hit for you Nan!
Amanda says
Why does this need to be put through a strainer? I’m also new to using coconut milk, but any other recipe I’ve seen has said to remove the liquid from the coconut milk and only use the solid portion – is that just common knowledge, or am I supposed to mix the can well and use that?
Foodfaithfitness says
Hi Amanda, the strainer helps remove any sugar bits that may be left. You need to poor the whole milk, not just the solid portion. Hope helps!
Celia Styren says
Really great 👍 👍
I made this after dinner tonight. It didn’t take any time to mix it up.
It was very tasty! We used coconut sugar and salted butter. I just wanted to avoid heavy cream.
Thank you for sharing 🤗
Foodfaithfitness says
My pleasure Celia!