Date Caramel Sauce Recipe (Healthy, Vegan, Just 2 Ingredients!)

A couple of weeks ago, I shared a savory Vegan Tuna Salad Recipe from Nava Atlas’s new coookbook, 5-Ingredient Vegan. And today, we have a sweet sample for you! This two-ingredient date caramel sauce is a healthy topping that’s naturally vegan, allergy-friendly, and paleo-worthy. It’s even Whole30 compliant.

Date Caramel Sauce is a Healthy Vegan Topping with just 2 Ingredients!

This date caramel sauce requires just dates and dairy-free milk beverage, that’s it! But here are a few tips for making and enjoying it.

Choosing Your Milk Beverage

Nava uses unsweetened milk beverage specifically because the dates have a lot of natural sweetness. For recipes like this, I typically use almond milk beverage, but you can use your favorite type. Oat milk, soy milk, rice milk, cashew milk, or coconut milk beverage will work great.

If you can’t find a vanilla version, then just add a little vanilla extract to the recipe. About a 1/4 teaspoon should do. I know, that’s three ingredients, but I think you can manage. 🙂

Other Ways to Customize Your Date Caramel Sauce

You can create more of a spread by using less milk beverage or a runnier sauce by using more. You can also up the caramel factor with a a little caramel flavor. Several brands are actually dairy-free, like LorAnn Super Strength.

What to Serve with Date Caramel Sauce

There are so many ways to serve date caramel sauce, but I do have a few favorites.

You can spread or drizzle it on healthy vegan brownies, like these Flourless Instant Pot Brownies, Fudgy Raw Brownies, Blender Brownies, or Gluten-Free Black Bean Brownies.
Another option is to swirl this date caramel sauce into dairy-free ice cream or drizzle it over top. Some great recipe options are this Bourbon Salted Pecan Ice Cream and Toasted Coconut Cold Brew Banana Ice Cream.
Or you can spread it on healthy baked goodies, like these Baked Pumpkin Donuts or my Guilt-Free Banana Bread.

Special Diet Notes: Date Caramel Sauce

By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, gluten-free, grain-free, nut-free, peanut-free, soy-free, vegan, plant-based, paleo, and vegetarian.

Two-Ingredient Date Caramel Sauce

Prep time

35 mins

Total time

35 mins

The traditional recipe for caramel sauce consists of a cup of sugar, half a cup of butter, and some milk or cream. This amazing sauce, with an almost uncanny resemblance to caramel, is almost the opposite in terms of sugar and fat. Yet, it tastes just as good, and unlike regular caramel sauce, there’s no cooking involved. An incredible dip for sliced apples and/or pears, this is also a lovely topping for vegan cakes and ice cream.

Author: Nava Atlas

Recipe type: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Serves: 1½ cups

Ingredients

1 cup pitted dates (preferably Medjool, but Deglet are fine)
⅔ cup (or as needed) vanilla unsweetened dairy-free milk beverage

Instructions

Soak the dates in hot water to cover for 30 to 60 minutes, then drain well.
Combine the soaked dates in a blender with the nondairy milk and blend until very smooth.
If the sauce is too thick to pour out of the blender, add just a touch more nondairy milk and blend again. On the other hand, if the sauce seems thin (it should have body, though it won’t be as dense or sticky as sugar-based caramel sauce), add a couple more soaked dates.
Pour into a serving container and serve over non-dairy ice cream, vegan brownies, or as a dip with fruit.

Notes

Optional Addition: Add a pinch or grinding of salt to take it up a subtle flavor notch.

Credit: Reprinted with permission from 5-Ingredient Vegan © 2019 by Nava Atlas, Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. Photo by Hannah Kaminsky.