Vegan Salted Caramel Sauce | Step by Step Recipe

This vegan salted caramel sauce is so smooth and velvety, perfect for pouring over your favorite dessert or in your morning coffee. It will definitely make anything taste better. And it’s quick and easy to prepare.

Most of the vegan caramel recipes are coconut cream based, but I wanted to try something closer to the “traditional” caramel; so, there’s no coconut involved here. Actually no coconut cream or coconut milk, because the vegan butter I used is made of coconut oil (among other oils).

But let’s not fool ourselves here! There are many veganized foods that reproduce pretty well the original taste. But this caramel, although it tastes really good, it’s not the same thing as the traditional caramel made of dairy products. You can feel the melted sugar taste and the texture is almost the same, but it surely can not taste the same as a caramel sauce made of milk.

Anyway, for me, this is the closest I could get to the traditional taste.

About salted caramel sauce ingredients

In this paragraph you’ll find general information about used ingredients. Details about quantities and preparation instructions can be found in the recipe card at the end of the article.

You’ll only need 4 main ingredients for this delicious sauce:

• sugar – I used raw cane sugar which is a bit darker; therefore, the result was a dark brown caramel; but, if you want it lighter, use refined sugar – caramel is not meant to be healthy anyway;
• vegan butter -I don’t use margarine so I don’t know if it works;
• plant based milk – using just butter is not enough to dilute the caramelized sugar; you need to add something thinner so that you can bring the caramel sauce to a “pourable” state; I used rice milk; the more you add, the thinner your caramel sauce will be; initially, I tried this recipe with store bought vegan cream but, because of the starch it has, the caramel sauce ended up having a gelatinous texture;
• salt – I used sea salt; be sure you’re using fine grained salt to melt quickly into the sauce.

How to make vegan salted caramel from scratch

There are only three simple steps to follow:

Step 1: Melt the sugar

Use a heavy-bottomed pan to melt the sugar over low heat. It might clump at first, but it will eventually melt. I add 1 tsp of fresh lemon juice to ease the process. Stir continuously and don’t let it burn. It should take about 12-15 minutes to melt all the sugar.

Step 2: Add vegan butter

Add the butter cut into cubes and whisk until it is completely melted. The caramel will start to bubble up when you add the butter. Stir vigorously until melted sugar and butter are perfectly combined.

Step 3: Add the rice milk

Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the plant milk and salt. Be careful, as the sauce will start to bubble up again. Allow the sauce to cool before using it.

Tips for making the best vegan salted caramel sauce

• prepare all ingredients in advance – timing is very important when making caramel sauce; it’s just a matter of seconds to get from perfectly melted sugar to burnt sugar;
• use a very clean pan – this will prevent sugar from crystallizing;
• add a little acid – it also prevents sugar crystallization; I use lemon juice;
• add the vegan butter only after the sugar is completely melted; butter will be colder than sugar, so the meting process will be interrupted;
• in case the sauce separates after adding the butter, remove from the stove and stir it until it comes back together;
• the sauce may look thinner while hot, but it thickens while cooling; so, don’t be tempted to cook it for longer as it will get too thick.

How to store the caramel sauce

This recipe yields 340 g of caramel sauce which can be refrigerated up to 1 month in a glass jar or container. It will solidify as it cools; you can reheat it on the stove so it turns liquid again. You can also freeze it for up to 3 months in an airtight container. Thaw it overnight in the refrigerator or at room temperature before using it.

If you like this vegan salted caramel sauce recipe, please leave a comment below and rate it. And if you make it, let me know how it worked for you; I’d love to hear your feedback. Also, take a photo and don’t forget to tag #choose_tasty on Instagram ????.