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4 years ago
by Six Vegan Sisters
We’ve always been huge caramel fans, but it’s been a bit intimidating trying to make it ourselves. Luckily, we were able to create a recipe that requires just five ingredients and no candy thermometer!
How to
First, you’ll melt a half cup of sugar in a saucepan. By slowly cooking sugar over low-medium heat, it’ll begin to clump and eventually start melting. You’re going to want to mix the sugar often and be careful that it doesn’t burn.
Once the sugar is completely melted, you’ll remove it from heat and add in a half a stick of vegan butter. While the butter is melting, continuously whisk so that the butter and sugar combine.
Next, you’ll whisk in two tablespoons of nondairy creamer. Whisk until combined. If the mixture seizes at any point, return to low heat and continuously whisk until it combines back together, then return to the step you were at.
Now you’re gonna return the mixture to low-medium heat, whisking until it begins to bubble. Once it’s bubbly, allow it to cook and thicken for about one minute.
Remove it from heat and add in a quarter teaspoon of salt and one teaspoon of vanilla. Whisk to combine.
Finally, strain the sauce (this’ll remove any unwanted crunchy pieces) and use as desired! We use this caramel in our cookie dough caramel bars and caramel chocolate chip cookie bars, but it would also be delicious as an ice cream topping or drizzled over your favorite dessert!
Easy Vegan Caramel Sauce
This caramel is used in a few of our recipes and is also delicious as a drizzle for ice cream, cake, or lots of other desserts – get creative!
4.50 from 4 votes
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Cook Time 20 minutes mins
Total Time 20 minutes mins
Course Dessert
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (1/2 stick / 56 g) vegan butter*, at room temp
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) nondairy creamer, at room temp
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
Place the sugar into a saucepan over low-medium heat. Stir often, until the sugar begins to clump and melt. Continue to stir until the sugar melts completely.*
Remove from heat and add in the butter, whisking until combined. Add the creamer and whisk until combined.*
Place back onto low-medium heat, continuously stirring, until it gets bubbly. Stir over heat for another minute or so.
Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla and salt.
Strain the caramel into a heat-safe bowl. Use as desired!
Notes
- Butter: For the best results, use vegan butter sticks in this recipe rather than from the tub.
- Sugar: You’ll need some patience for this. Continuously stir the sugar and we don’t recommend increasing the heat past medium if you don’t think it’s melting, it’ll take a few minutes before it begins to melt at all!
- Stirring in ingredients: If the mixture seizes at any point, return to low heat and continuously whisk until it combines back together, then return to the step you were at.
Keyword caramel, dessert, easy, plant-based, sugar, vegan
Categories:how-to'sno-bake dessertssweet tooth
- Wendy
- September 12, 2020
Reply
Can I use unrefined coconut sugar? What do I use to strain the sauce at end? Does it freeze well? Thank you, can’t wait to try.
- Six Vegan Sisters
- September 21, 2020
Reply
Hi Wendy! We’ve never tried using unrefined coconut sure, but let us know if you give it a try! You can use a strainer to strain the sauce at the end. We have also never frozen this sauce, but think it would be okay!
- Mojo
- October 4, 2020
Reply
Made it, it’s easy and yummy! Thanks!
- Six Vegan Sisters
- October 5, 2020
Reply
So glad to hear it! Thanks for the kind comment, Mojo! 🙂
- WendyD
- November 14, 2020
Reply
Wondering what type of non-dairy creamer you recommend?
- Icela
- June 15, 2021
Reply
Silk brand caramel flavor is good! 👍🏼
- Lorretta
- November 15, 2020
Reply
Same as comment above, what type of non dairy creamer?
- Icela
- June 15, 2021
Reply
Silk brand caramel flavor is good! 👍🏼
- Madelyn
- November 17, 2020
Reply
Everything was fine until I added the vegan butter. Then it seized up and even when I put it back on the heat for a long time, some of the clumps went away but not all of them. Also it only made like 1/4 c of caramel sauce.- Ash
- February 14, 2021
Reply
I have a vegan daughter and I want to surprise her with a nice vegan dessert with caramel (I know she misses it) which non-dairy creamer do you recommend?
Thanks- Isa
- May 9, 2021
Reply
The caramel turned out so yummy! This is a great recipe, thank you!- Icela
- June 15, 2021
Reply
Silk brand caramel flavor is good! 👍🏼
- Caroline
- June 14, 2021
Reply
Does this have to be stored at room temperature or in the fridge?
- Jennifer Jackson
- October 17, 2021
Reply
Just made this, after nearly giving up on finding a recipe that didn’t use coconut milk (nothing against coconut, I just don’t want the flavor in every. dang. thing. that is nondairy 🙂I used Miyokos cultured vegan butter & Picnik vegan creamer (unsweetened & unflavored), & white sugar. Seriously, I don’t think I’d be able to tell that it’s vegan if I didn’t know it already! (I’m recently nondairy due to allergies, & there are very FEW nondairy versions of things that don’t taste like it, I don’t care what people claim 🙂 But this is d*mn close!)
SO excited to have this recipe just in time for fall! It’s in the frig now, I’m excited to see if I can tweak it for caramel apples!
- Ellie
- September 13, 2022
Reply
I had the same problem as Madelyn: when I added the butter I mixed and mixed but it clumped up into very large chunks. I had to put it back before it was mixed well, to avoid more clumping. Tried to save it by letting it sit on low heat to melt the clumps. When this did not work, I tried to salvage what was left by putting in more butter, cream and sugar. Ended up with some sauce, but lost a lot of the clumped sugar. What did I do wrong – was it waiting too long?
- Mery
- February 21, 2023
Reply
Having read other comments I melted the ” butter” first before mixing with the sugar. Easy and worked perfectly.
I also avoided the salt and added a TS of Maple syrup.- Aly
- October 4, 2023
Reply
How long does this keep in the fridge?
