4 Ingredient Vegan Salted Caramel

This homemade vegan salted caramel sauce is made with just four ingredients and comes together in less than 20 minutes! Perfect for using in baking recipes, on top of ice cream or giving as an edible gift.

Back in the days of eating dairy, we made homemade caramel with my grandpa every Christmas; it’s still one of my fondest family memories! His always turned out much better than ours, so we mostly just taste tested 😉

This vegan salted caramel sauce is one of my all-time favorite veganized recipes because of how similar it is to the real thing. 

This is one of those recipes that makes you wonder why you’d ever need to consume dairy again. It tastes just like the caramel I remember: smooth, perfectly creamy, rich, sugary goodness.

Since we use coconut sugar instead of regular cane sugar in this recipe, the caramel turns out a bit darker in color than traditional caramel sauce. However, don't let the color fool you – it tastes delicious just the same!

Do yourself a favor and make a (double...or triple) batch to keep in the fridge. It's perfect for those nights when you just need a little something special!

Ingredients

You'll only need four simple ingredients to make this delicious sauce:

• Coconut Sugar: coconut sugar has a naturally deep, rich caramel flavor, so it's a natural choice for this easy caramel sauce.
• Coconut Cream: coconut cream is thicker and richer than coconut milk, so be sure to buy the right stuff (pictured below). If you can't find any, you can use full fat coconut milk, but ONLY use the top layer of solid cream (not the liquid underneath).
• Vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste: we love vanilla bean paste for extra flavor, but regular extract works perfectly fine, too.
• Salt: whether you use kosher or sea salt, don't skip it! It really brings out all of the rich caramel notes. I love topping with more flaky salt for textural contrast.

Instructions

Add all ingredients to a small saucepan over medium heat. Be sure to only use the solid coconut cream, NOT the liquid at the bottom of the can!

Stir or whisk well until the coconut cream is incorporated and the sugar dissolves.

Bring the caramel to a gentle simmer. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 8-10 minutes, until the caramel thickens slightly.

Remove from heat and let cool. The caramel will thicken as it cools, so don't worry if it doesn't look thick at first!

NOTE: if you don't like salted caramel, cut the salt to ¼ teaspoon.

Storage

You can store this homemade caramel sauce in the refrigerator for up to a few weeks.

As mentioned above, the sauce thickens as it cools. To bring it back to a pourable consistency, gently warm in a saucepan over low heat and whisk until smooth.

I wouldn't recommend microwaving this caramel to heat it back up. I tried it once and ended up with a huge mess!

Uses for homemade vegan caramel

• Use as a topping for vegan ice cream
• Make caramel popcorn
• Use in these Pecan Caramel Shortbread Cookies
• Stir into oatmeal
• Use in salted caramel granola
• Serve with apple slices
• Topping for pancakes or waffles

...or anything else your heart desires!

More classic vegan dessert recipes:

• Peanut Butter Cups
• BEST Vegan Chocolate Mousse
• Peanut Butter Cookies
• Vegan Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
• Vegan Chocolate Pie
• Pecan Pie Bars

If you make this homemade vegan caramel sauce, we’d love for you to leave a comment and rating below! We also love to see your creations on Instagram – tag us at @crowded_kitchen so we can see what you’ve been cooking.

Print