GLUTEN FREE · VEGAN · PALEO

This Vegan Caramel Sauce is my new obsession. Whether I’m using it as part of another recipe, or just making it solo to use for for dipping, or pouring over, it just works beautifully. And it could not be simpler to make: all you need is five ingredients, five minutes, and a blender! It measures up very well to ‘normal’ caramel sauce, but with much healthier ingredients, and even an excellent dose of fibre, courtesy of the dates - no regular caramel sauce can offer you that!

Suitable for freezing, if you are using it in a recipe that calls for it, and easy to double (or triple) the dose, feel free to sub this sauce in for anything caramel-y, with the comfort of knowing that there is zero refined sugar, preservatives or dairy. Plus, it’s a lot easier to simply blend these five ingredients together than it is to melt down sugar into caramel - has anyone else needed to burn their first couple (read: nine) attempts before sort of getting there? Just me? Well, not anymore!

INGREDIENTS

Dates (ideally Medjool)

Dates are a great natural sweetener, and their stickiness helps to mimic the caramel effect. You can use other dates if you can’t find Medjools, but they really are the best if you can get your hands on them, as they are larger and ‘juicier’.

Dates provide the sweetness you want, but with lots of healthy fibre, vitamins and minerals.

Coconut oil

Coconut oil is a great oil option for sweeter dishes. It’s high in lauric acid, which has anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties, helpful for fighting pathogens. For more on coconut oil, check out this post.

Cashew butter

Cashew nuts have a very unique buttery, sweet and salty taste, making their butter ideal for use in desserts.

Cashews are also a great source of minerals, vitamins and antioxidants, including zinc, phosphorus, copper, selenium and magnesium, making them a health-supporting nutritional powerhouse, and a great health-boosting ingredient in this recipe.

Sea salt

Water

TIPS

To get the smoothest consistency , try blending the dates and the coconut oil together a little first, before adding the rest of the ingredients, especially if your blender is not very powerful.
You can always add more water than stated in the recipe if you want to achieve a finer consistency. Whether it turns out thick and spreadable, or runny and utterly drizzle-worthy, it’s entirely up to you!

SERVING SUGGESTION

With apple slices, either raw or as Baked Cinnamon Apple Wedges.
Add a dollop on top of Baked Apples.
Cut open and stuff some dates with it for a sweet snack.
Drizzle it over some vanilla nice cream.
Use as a dipping sauce for your favourite fruit!