Thick, gooey and deliciously sweet Date Caramel. No cooking and ready in minutes! This easy raw caramel is healthy, refined sugar-free & you can customize the thickness to make it as thick or thin and sauce-like as you want!
💌 SAVE THIS RECIPE!
Enter your email and I'll send the link straight to your inbox.
Watch out for more tasty treats coming your way too! Unsubscribe at any time.
FEATURED COMMENT:
"OMGosh! SO. GOOD. Absolutely delicious. I'm bookmarking this as a keeper. Thank you so much!" - Vanessa ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ More reviews →
Date Caramel? Really? Who would have thought you could make caramel from dates?
Well, you can with just four ingredients, and it is deliciously rich, thick and incredibly delicious! In fact, it is so good that you might well find yourself standing in front of your blender with a spoon for an extended period of time. This caramel is not messing around!
What makes my Date Caramel extra delicious? The addition of some nut (or seed butter) for a rich mouthfeel and delicious nutty toasty flavour, some creamy dairy-free milk to thin it slightly, and a pinch of sea salt to accentuate and balance the flavours.
I love to use almond butter or cashew butter in this caramel because it's rich and buttery without being too obviously nutty. Peanut butter is also delicious if you don't mind the very peanut-forward flavour. Sunflower seed butter or tahini are great alternatives if you need to keep the recipe nut-free.
Mel x
Ingredients
Here is what you need at a glance, along with some important ingredient notes & substitution ideas:
- Medjool dates - The best date option for this recipe because they are so soft and caramelly. You could use other similar types of date but if they aren't soft and squishy, I recommend soaking them in hot water. See the success tip below.
- Nut/seed butter - Any such as almond butter, cashew butter, peanut butter, sunflower seed butter, or tahini. The flavour will change with each one and almond butter or cashew butter will give the mildest, most buttery flavour. Only use peanut butter or tahini if you're ok with their very strong flavour coming through.
- Milk - Any creamy dairy-free milk. I really like to use canned coconut milk to give the caramel extra richness.
- Vanilla - You could technically make this without the vanilla, so don't buy it specially. It does add a lovely layer of flavour if you have some though.
- Salt - This should be a good-quality sea salt or kosher salt if you are in the U.S. One you would use for finishing a dish. Definitely not table salt, which does not have a good flavour and is very harsh. I love Maldon Salt for uses such as this.
Success Tip
If your dates are quite dry and hard, or you have a less powerful blender or food processor that you think might struggle a bit, you can soak the dates in hot water for ten minutes before blending. That will make it easier for your blender/food processor and give you much smoother results.
Recipe FAQS
Medjool dates are really sweet and sticky with a deep caramel taste. When blended up in this recipe with the added richness of coconut milk, nut butter and salt, the resulting sauce is intensely sweet, nutty and caramel-like. If you didn't know it was made from dates I don't think you would guess. It's just really, really delicious and I highly recommend you try it!
Medjool dates are best because they are the softest, stickiest and most caramel-like. They also blend easily. Other varieties are harder to blend completely smooth and won't make such a sweet, gooey caramel. If you have to use a different variety, I recommend soaking them in hot water for 10 minutes to soften them before proceeding with the recipe.
Recipe
Date Caramel
Author:WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
Ingredients
- 1 packed cup (175 grams) Medjool dates , measured after pitting (about 10 to 11 dates)
- 2 tablespoons natural nut or seed butter
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt , half if using nut butter containing salt
- About ½ cup (120 ml) dairy-free milk , I like to use canned coconut milk
INSTRUCTIONS
- If your Medjool dates are not squishy and soft, soak them in hot water for 10 minutes, then drain before proceeding with the recipe.
- Add the dates, nut/seed butter, vanilla and salt to a food processor or high-powered blender. Blend until completely smooth, while gradually adding the dairy-free milk to get the caramel to the thickness you want. The more milk you add, the thinner the caramel will become. You might need to scrape the sides down a few times.
- Scrape the caramel from the bowl into a jar with a spatula, and store in the fridge.
NOTES
💌 SAVE THIS RECIPE!
Enter your email and I'll send the link straight to your inbox.
Watch out for more tasty treats coming your way too! Unsubscribe at any time.
Josephine says
Delicious, turned out amazing. Could live off the date caramel sauce.....definitely will make again.
Arlene says
Why is salt important? I am on a low sodium diet.
Melanie McDonald says
Salt enhances flavour and sweetness.
Patty says
The best date caramel!! Delicious!!
Margarita says
Mmmm the best caramel!!!
Thanks Melani😍😍😍
Eric says
Looove this recipe for all kinds of uses !! Healthier cups #1 of course but a close #2 is to dip apples in but I put it on ice cream, in cookies and a bunch of other stuff
A Virtual Vegan says
I'm really pleased you're enjoying it Eric, and thanks so much for leaving a review. It's much appreciated!
Shucheeta says
How long can i store this sauce in the refrigerator ?
A Virtual Vegan says
It keeps for about 2 weeks. It also freezes well.
Vanessa M. says
OMGosh.
SO. GOOD.
Absolutely delicious. I'm book marking this as a keeper. Thank you so much!
A Virtual Vegan says
So pleased you enjoyed it Vanessa!
Linda says
This is so good! Thanks for this sweet nutty salted caramel. Just made it. Great and so easy to make.
A Virtual Vegan says
I'm so pleased you enjoyed it Linda!
Kendra says
I had some dates to use up. Such a good recipe!
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you Kendra. Glad you enjoyed it!
Khadijah says
I have a question if I am allergic to almonds can I use different milk for example cows or is that a bad idea.
Btw I am not allergic to almonds I just don't like them. But
Love this recipe
Jeannette Nussbaumer says
Amazing and delicious! I tweaked it a little for my taste, by adding more vanilla and used vanilla paste instead. I also used coconut cream with some h20. Almond butter lends a nice texture and mild flavor as well. So happy I found this recipe! Thank you for sharing :-) look forward to adding to smoothies, oats, and homemade yogurt!
A Virtual Vegan says
So glad you enjoyed it Jeanette!
Sue Williams says
Could you freeze this ??
A Virtual Vegan says
You can. It freezes really well and stays quite soft in the freezer.
Sue Williams says
Thank you for that :-) Dates purchased now look forward to making it x
Holly says
Whoa. I just made this and it is SO DELICIOUS!! Thank you! I can't wait to share it with my family.
A Virtual Vegan says
Yay! That's awesome. So glad you like it!
Sarah De la Cruz says
Yum! We loved it!!!
Sarah McMinn says
Yum! This date caramel sauce is so good and I am eating it on everything!
Mary Ellen says
Such an awesome idea to use dates Mel! I made a big batch for Easter and my family put it on everything!
Becky Striepe says
Oh my gosh, I need this over my next bowl of ice cream!!
Louise says
Lovely flavour. My food processor is not the most powerful, so the texture wasn’t totally smooth, but it didn’t matter. Will definitely make this again. Thanks for the recipe.
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you Louise. I'm so glad you like it. Did you try soaking the dates in warm water for a little while before? If you didn't try it next time as it will get them really soft and make it easier to get a smoother result.
Louise says
The dates I used were very soft, but I will soak them next time and see if that makes a difference.