Thick, luscious, creamy & sweet Date Caramel. No cooking is involved & it can be ready in minutes. It’s refined sugar & gluten-free & you can customize the thickness to make it as thick & spreadable or as thin and sauce-like as you want!
Healthy caramel? Really? Who would have thought you could make caramel from dates?
Well you can.
This Date Caramel is so rich, thick and luscious and it’s made from only four ingredients (plus salt). You could technically make it with just one ingredient (that would be dates), but I like to add a little extra richness to it in the form of some nut butter, coconut milk and vanilla. Salt is also kind of important. You wouldn’t think it, but it makes such a difference.
HOW DO YOU MAKE DATE CARAMEL?
SEE MY VIDEO FOR A VISUAL GUIDE. FOR INGREDIENTS & FULL INSTRUCTIONS PLEASE SEE THE RECIPE CARD AT THE END OF THIS POST
Making Date Caramel is incredibly easy.
Here’s how:
STEP 1
Add dates plus the nut butter, vanilla and salt to a food processor or high powered blender.
STEP 2
Blend whilst adding coconut milk gradually until you get the texture you want. It’s totally customizable and you can adjust it to suit whatever you plan to do with it.
That’s it!
It’s so simple and it tastes way better than you would imagine Date Caramel would taste.
A NOTE ON EQUIPMENT
It should be pretty easy for a high powered blender like a Blendtec. ( <<< affiliate link) or a Vitamix.
If you have a less powerful one that might struggle a bit, you can soak the dates in warm water for ten minutes first to make things easier . If you don’t have a blender, a food processor does a really good job too. I have this one ( <<< affiliate link) and it gets it really smooth in a few minutes:
HOW CAN YOU USE DATE CARAMEL?
HOW CAN YOU USE DATE CARAMEL?Try it in my Healthy Caramel Cookie Cups:
Or my Healthy Caramel Chia Seed Puddings:
Or in my Vegan Caramel Eggs:
Or in any other way you would regular caramel like:
- On pancakes or waffles
- Drizzled over oatmeal
- On toast
- With ice-cream
- Use as a dip for fruit like apple slices, banana or strawberries
- Over cakes
- Swirled into brownies
- Swirled through my Dessert Chocolate Hummus – Remember Rolos? That’s what it tastes like! 😋
- Spread in a banana sandwich – Don’t knock it ’til you’ve tried it!
THIS IS WHY I AM LOVING THIS DATE CARAMEL:
- It’s really quick and easy to make
- It’s healthy
- There’s no refined sugar or gluten
- It’s so versatile
- The natural sweetness is perfect
- It’s incredibly smooth, creamy and rich
If you aren’t a fan of dates then why not give this 5 Minute Vegan Caramel Sauce a try instead? It’s rich and decadent but not quite as healthy!
If you did, be a ☆ and let me know what you think by rating it and commenting below. Tag me on Instagram too. I am @avirtualvegan and my hashtag is #avirtualvegan
Date Caramel
Thick, luscious, creamy & sweet Date Caramel. No cooking is involved & it can be ready in minutes. It's refined sugar & gluten-free & you can customize the thickness to make it as thick & spreadable or as thin and sauce-like as you want!
Ingredients
- 175g / 1 packed cup Medjool dates , measured after pitting (about 10 dates). *
- 2 tablespoons nut butter or tahini **
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt , plus more to taste if you want a salted caramel effect
- around 8 tablespoons coconut milk , or as much/little as you need to get the thickness you want ***
Instructions
Add the dates, nut butter, vanilla and salt to a blender or food processor. Blend until completely smooth, while gradually adding the coconut milk to get it to the thickness you want. The more you add the thinner the caramel will become.
Scrape the caramel from the bowl and into a jar.
Recipe Notes
*The dates need to be soft and sticky and not really dry and tough. If they are are pretty dried out, soak them in warm water for 10 - 15 minutes before draining and using. if you do not have a high powered blender I would recommend doing this even if your dates are quite soft as it will make things easier for your blender.
**Cashew or almond butter will give mild, buttery results. Tahini (my favourite for this) will make a stronger flavoured caramel. Whilst you can use peanut butter I don't think it works as well as the others in this recipe.
***I used light coconut milk. Full fat coconut milk will make a slightly richer caramel but will set up firmer if the caramel is stored in the fridge.
Can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for around 7 days.
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DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?
If you did, be a ☆ and let me know what you think by rating it and commenting below. Tag me on Instagram too. I am @avirtualvegan and my hashtag is #avirtualvegan
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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
A Virtual Vegan says
Almond milk is not used in this recipe. Coconut milk is recommended. Glad you like the 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. When you defrost it it might be a little stiff, but just add a little coconut milk or other plant-based milk to thin it out if you need to. I use it in these frozen cookie cups https://avirtualvegan.com/healthier-chocolate-caramel-cookie-cups/ .
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!
mar says
What can you substitute the coconut cream with?
A Virtual Vegan says
The coconut milk helps to make it really rich in flavour but you could use plant-based milk instead. Be sure to use one with a neutral flavour. Cashew milk would probably be good. Because it’s a bit thinner you might need less.
Sarah De la Cruz says
Yum! We love dates!!!
Sarah McMinn says
Yum! This date caramel sauce is so good and I am eating it on everything!
Mary Ellen | VNutrition says
Such an awesome idea to use dates to sweeten this Mel! Going to make a big batch for Easter, I know my family will love to put it on everything!
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you Mary Ellen. I hope you all enjoy it. I’ve had a jar on the go in the fridge ever since it’s creation!
Amy Katz from Veggies Save The Day says
I love dates!` They are my favorite natural sweetener. I’ve made a similar caramel from a cookbook, but it wasn’t as creamy as this. I’ll be trying your version soon!
A Virtual Vegan says
Thanks Amy. Coconut milk really helps it be extra rich. I hope you enjoy it!
Cadry says
Vegan caramel can be hard to come by. Who knew that making your own could be this easy? David’s going to LOVE it.
Becky Striepe says
Oh my gosh, I need this over my next bowl of ice cream!!
A Virtual Vegan says
Oh yes that would be perfect!
Vanessa Cassani says
Wow, looks great to enjoy with some apples and bananas! I can’t wait to try this snack for my kids, I know they would love it.
A Virtual Vegan says
It is perfect with fruit for dipping. I hope your children enjoy it!
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.
Freya says
This looks AMAZING and I literally love all the suggestions you gave to use it with. I think I’d have to try it on pancakes first! 🙂
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you Freya. Pancakes are a great place to start!