An easy fuss-free recipe for dairy-free caramel sauce. Perfect for pouring over desserts or baking in pies and tarts. Only 4 ingredients and 5-10 minutes to make this drool-worthy recipe.
Sweet, more-ish vegan caramel sauce that only requires 4 ingredients and 5 minutes to make?
Yes, dreams really can come true.
4 Ingredients to make Vegan Caramel Sauce
- Brown sugar
- Dairy-free milk – Soy milk or full-fat coconut milk works best.
- Dairy-free butter – Make sure it’s a good-tasting one. I recommend Naturli block or Earth Balance Buttery Spread.
- Vanilla extract
- (Optional) Sea salt – To make this into Vegan Salted Caramel Sauce
How to make a 5-minute dairy-free caramel sauce
It’s SO easy.
Simply mix all the ingredients in a medium saucepan (except the vanilla) on a medium heat, stirring until bubbling and thickened!
Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly before serving.
You can keep the sauce refrigerated for up to a week.
It will “set” when it’s cooled so you will probably need to reheat it gently, for it to regain a pourable consistency.
Use this sauce to make…
- Vegan Chocolate Toffee Popcorn Celebration Cake
- Vegan Apple Pie with Salted Caramel
- Indulgent Vegan Twix Tart
5-minute Vegan Caramel!
A drool-worthy, dairy-free caramel sauce that takes just 5 minutes to make!
Ingredients
- 200 g / 1 cup brown sugar
- 4 tbsp dairy-free milk, soy milk or full-fat coconut milk works best
- 8 tbsp dairy-free butter, make sure it's a good-tasting one
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- (Optional) ½ teaspoon of sea salt, to make Salted Caramel *
Instructions
- Simply mix all the ingredients together, except the vanilla extract, in a saucepan on a medium boil.
- Once the mixture has thickened and is bubbling slightly, after approximately 5 minutes, remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
- Use the sauce straight away or keep refrigerated for up to a week. The sauce will "set" when it's cooled so you will probably need to reheat it for it to regain a pourable consistency.
Notes
*If adding salt, to make salted caramel, I suggest adjusting to your own tastes.
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Katrina Oliver says
This is amazing! I’m in Australia so I used nuttlex (more a margarine substitute than butter) so it didn’t set as thick but it is SO tasty! I’m not a huge fan of the nuttlex taste but there wasn’t any after-taste with the rest of the ingredients. I also used oat milk which was fabulous (allergic to coconut and sensitive to soy). Highly recommend! We separated 1/3 out and added water to make a syrup for ice coffees which is ALSO fantastic :D
Aimee says
LOVE the sound of that iced coffee. So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks Katrina
MARIANNE says
I loved this recipe. I used dark brown sugar, Miyoko’s Salted Butter and full-fat coconut milk, and vanilla bean paste. I needed something for my dairy-free toasted coconut ice cream I purchased from a local creamery. This caramel was perfect and easy! Thank you.
Mike L. says
Isn’t this technically “butterscotch” because you’re using brown sugar vs white sugar?
Ali says
Excellent recipe, I made with FULL FAT COCONUT MILK, I used a lactose free butter, but I chose to make only half the amount in paces it didn’t turn out good.
I use coconut sugar, and yes was excellent, I then made full amount, and had to use coconut oil, as didn’t have enough lactose free butter.
I drizzled over my apples and mixed spices before adding gluten free topping then baking
Thank you, mine actually set quite good, and to drizzle , just remove from fridge 10/15 minutes before use.
Oh and I had rice crackers with avocado and drizzled some caramel topp8ng over the top… Very tasty..
Ali says
My apologies was trying to edit my reply, Spelling mistakes, { I made half recipe Incase it was not very nice}
Also I used and drizzled on top of my avocado rice crackers.
Aimee says
Ooh that sounds delicious. I’m so glad you enjoyed it and appreciate your ingredient notes. I actually have a recipe for vegan caramels (candy)
using coconut sugar, coconut milk and coconut oil so it doesn’t surprise me that it also works great in the sauce form :-)
Lisa says
This is delicious.
I just finished making it. I used brown sugar I made yesterday and some Chobani extra creamy oat milk and it’s delicious. Almost has a pecan pie filling taste. Great with apples. Am going to make a caramel iced coffee now.
Aimee says
Mmm that iced coffee sounds good. So glad you like the recipe!
Bridget says
This caramel is wonderful! My whole family loves it. I use Earth Balance Soy Free Butter and almondmilk.
Star K. says
I hate to say it… this thing is terrible. I was so excited to try it, and I followed the recipe exactly, but it tastes like garbage. It is weird and smells nothing like caramel. It is liquid no matter how long I let it chill. I unfortunately will not be using this recipe ever again. Very disappointed 😔.
KWestfahl says
My caramel turned sugary/grainy after it cooled. What can I do to save it? What did I do wrong?
Aimee says
Hi, you can re-heat it with a bit more dairy-free milk or water (try about 3 tbsp) on perhaps a slightly lower heat, until the sugar has dissolved. Try not to over-stir. Hope you manage to save the sauce!
Rose says
Can I use canola oil or olive oil instead of butter?
Aimee says
I’ve not tested it with oil, but if I was to try it with an oil instead of butter, I would opt for coconut oil. As long as you don’t mind a mild coconut taste, I would try it with that instead.
lisa says
is there a brand of butter you’d suggest?
Aimee says
It depends where you are based, here in the UK I love Naturli and Flora Plant Butter but have heard great things about Earth Balance Buttery and Miyoko’s in the US. Not sure about elsewhere, that would require some researching.
MARIANNE says
I used the Miyoko’s Salted and it came out great and smooth.
Anna Lethert says
This is delicious! I used oatly oat milk with dairy butter, it drizzled nicely when it was hot, and is a nice consistency when it sets in the jar, easy to eat with a spoon!
Ashley says
Hi! Could you use this as a glaze on a bundt cake, or would it set to a weird consistency at room temp? Also, I’d probably use oat or cashew milk since there’s a coconut allergy and I don’t like soy- would those work okay?
Aimee says
Soy works well in this recipe too. The set consistency is quite soft and I’ve not tried it as a glaze yet. I imagine it could be a bit sticky but would certainly be delicious. Sorry I can’t be more helpful but let me know how it turns out.
Ishanai says
Hi ! Does this recipe harden for caramel apples ?
Aimee says
Hi, I’ve not tried it for caramel apples before but imagine it could work quite well. It doesn’t “harden” as such. It just sets and becomes firm. Hope that helps.
Shiann Metheny says
The flavor of this is very good. My first caramel since going off dairy, 10+years ago! Mine separated (oils from more solids) and I’m not sure what I might have done incorrectly. I used light canned coconut milk….maybe that?? Thanks!
Aimee says
Sorry to hear that! It could be that it just needs to be cooked a little longer. I would reheat it on a low-medium heat, whist stirring/whisking until it comes together. Then allow it to cool in the pan before serving. You may need to give it another stir before using too. I’m so glad you enjoyed the taste though :)
Tim says
When do you add the vanilla extract?
Aimee says
Hi Tim. Step 2, once you’ve removed it from the heat, just stir it in then. Hope you enjoy