A quick and easy recipe for 4-ingredient date caramel sauce made from medjool dates. Perfect as a dip or topping for healthy treats. Vegan and gluten-free.
The Perfect Healthy Dip for Apples
Just popping in with a quick recipe for my homemade date caramel sauce today. This recipe has been in my post drafts since last year and for whatever reason I never got around to posting it. I feel awful because I made you live a whole year without sharing this gem.
I’m truly sorry because it’s legit the perfect complement to a freshly picked apple. Speaking of which, have you been apple picking this fall yet? I went with a friend to Carter Mountain (right outside of Charlottesville) last month on the way home from the Veritas yoga retreat. The weather was blazing hot, but it was still fun.
I brought home a huge bag of fresh apples and polished them off way too fast. I totally had plans to bake something delicious, maybe this vegan gluten-free apple crisp or perhaps these apple pie squares, but I ended up just chopping up an apple (sometimes two) a day and eating them as a snack.
I blame this date caramel sauce.
4 Ingredient Real Food Caramel
It’s too good to resist. And I love that it’s made with real food, simple ingredients (fresh medjool dates, almond milk, sea salt and vanilla). That’s it!
This date caramel is sweet and delicious. It definitely still has sugar, but I love that the dates are able to provide the rich sweet caramel flavor along with fiber and host of other vitamins and minerals. Medjool dates are a great source of potassium, copper, magnesium, vitamin B6, niacin, calcium, iron and vitamin K.
Added bonus, there’s no heavy cream or butter involved so this caramel is dairy-free and vegan. Boom!
If you make this date caramel sauce, please be sure to leave a comment and star rating below letting me know how it turns out. Your feedback is super helpful for the EBF team and other EBF readers!
A quick and easy recipe for 4-ingredient date caramel sauce made from medjool dates. Perfect as a dip or topping for healthy treats. Vegan and gluten-free.
Ingredients
16 medjool dates, pitted*
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 –1 cup unsweetened almond milk (store-bought or homemade)
Instructions
Add all ingredients (starting with 3/4 cup almond milk) into a high powered blender or food processor(affiliate link) and blend until mixture is smooth and there are no date chunks detectable.
Add more almond milk, 1-2 Tablespoons at a time, if needed to help the blending process or to thin the caramel. Use immediately or store in the fridge for later.
Notes
Recipe works best fresh, soft medjool dates. If dates are dry or hard, you can soak them in water for about 30 minutes, drain and then use them in the recipe.
If you’re using the smaller deglet noor dates, you’ll need to use more! This is something you can play around with to get the caramel sauce thickness you’re looking for.
So easy and delicious! I was eating an apple and had a sudden desire for caramel sauce so this was a perfect fix that only took a few minutes. Thank you for the recipe!
Ahh that makes me so happy to hear, Margaret!! I’m so glad you’re enjoying this sauce. Thanks for trying it and for coming back to leave a comment and star rating. I so appreciate it!
This turned out really bad! Far too much salt in this recipe which destroyed and sweetness. So mad that I bought a whole packet of expensive dates to be all thrown out
Oh no!! I’m so sorry you didn’t enjoy this sauce, Matina. Did you just add the 1 teaspoon or more salt? You can always certainly adjust the spices in my recipes to fit your taste.
What adjustments would you make using deflect dates? I know it may not be as sweet, with which I’m fine. I have them on hand & really want to make this!
You might just need to use more than 8 dates since they are smaller than medjool dates! I’d just play around with the taste and ratio of liquid, but it should still turn out the same! Let me know if you end up trying it!
Way too much salt. Also I would recommend putting the milk in the blender and adding the dates one at a time so that at least some of them get very smooth.
Simply amazing. I used skim cow’s milk, and the colour isn’t as rich, but WOW! This is my new favourite thing to help reduce refined sugar in my life–thank you!
Ahh yay!! I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed this sauce, Melissa! Thank you for coming back to leave a comment + star rating. It means the world to me. <3
Wow. This actually states like salted caramel 😳 I was not expecting that. It’s so good! I have a MAJOR sweet tooth but trying to eat healthier. Dipped apples in it yesterday and strawberries today. Strawberries are even better than apples 🤤 tastes like a rich caramel candy with strawberry flavor. Thanks so much!
Woo-hoo!! I am so glad you are loving this sauce, Olya. It’s my favorite. 🙂 Thank you so much for leaving a comment and star rating. The reviews are super helpful so I appreciate it!
Amazing!!! I have to go dairy free while nursing and miss the sweets. This recipe was incredibly easy and tasty. I used some and added chopped pecans and shredded coconut…. tasted like the frosting for a German chocolate cake. Put it on a rice cake -so yummy!!!
This is so good and so easy! I did find that 1tsp of salt could be too much, so I only added a bit over 1/2tsp and still find that I can taste the salt a lottle too much. I mean, I love salted caramel but the salty aftertaste on this was a bit much. I think 1/2 tsp, or even 1/4tsp, would be just perfect! Thanks for the recipe!!
Omg this caramel is so delicious! Thanks for sharing, I’m eating some with apple slices now and plan to put the rest into a vegan snickers cream pie later 😀
Delicious!!! Tastes like real caramel only that it is super healthy. According to TCM dates are great for skin and tissues and rebuilding blood… great for women – all in moderation but now I have a way to integrate them in the most delectable way ever. Many THANKS!
I live in Kuwait, and we love our dates! So I’m looking forward to making this… but it says “1/2 unsweetened almond milk”. Is that 1/2 cup, 1/2 TBSP, or what?
This is amazing! Only problem I had was having enough volume of mixture in my Vitamix so I had to keep scraping it down. I was never really able to blend all the date pieces up, but that did not affect the taste. Dunked my fresh Honeycrisp apples in the “caramel.” WOW!!!
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So easy and delicious! I was eating an apple and had a sudden desire for caramel sauce so this was a perfect fix that only took a few minutes. Thank you for the recipe!
★★★★★
Your salted caramel using dates was soooo great!
The best I’ve tasted!
★★★★★
Ahh that makes me so happy to hear, Margaret!! I’m so glad you’re enjoying this sauce. Thanks for trying it and for coming back to leave a comment and star rating. I so appreciate it!
This turned out really bad! Far too much salt in this recipe which destroyed and sweetness. So mad that I bought a whole packet of expensive dates to be all thrown out
★
Oh no!! I’m so sorry you didn’t enjoy this sauce, Matina. Did you just add the 1 teaspoon or more salt? You can always certainly adjust the spices in my recipes to fit your taste.
Yummy! I used Soy milk instead and added just a tablespoon of coconut sugar.
★★★★★
Yay!! So glad you enjoyed this sauce. Thanks for trying it and for coming back to leave a comment and star rating, Katie. I so appreciate it!
Yummmy! I soaked dried dates in water for a couple hours. Came out perfect! Thank you
★★★★★
My absolute favourite recipe! So simple and utterly delicious.
★★★★★
Yay!! I’m so glad you’re a fan of this caramel sauce, Cherelle. Thanks for coming back to leave a comment and star rating. I so appreciate it. <3
What adjustments would you make using deflect dates? I know it may not be as sweet, with which I’m fine. I have them on hand & really want to make this!
You might just need to use more than 8 dates since they are smaller than medjool dates! I’d just play around with the taste and ratio of liquid, but it should still turn out the same! Let me know if you end up trying it!
Love this caramel sauce. Thank you so much! You hadn’t mentioned how long it lasts in the fridge and freezer. Just curious
★★★★
Hi Kyla! I’m so glad you enjoy this caramel sauce. It should last at least a week in the fridge!
Way too much salt. Also I would recommend putting the milk in the blender and adding the dates one at a time so that at least some of them get very smooth.
★★
Hey Diana! Thanks for your feedback. You can definitely limit the amount of salt you add based on your taste preferences. 🙂
Simply amazing. I used skim cow’s milk, and the colour isn’t as rich, but WOW! This is my new favourite thing to help reduce refined sugar in my life–thank you!
★★★★★
Yay!! So glad you tried and enjoyed this recipe, Jennifer. Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment and star rating. I so appreciate it. <3
I made this for my Bunko group and they loved it. They couldn’t believe it was made without sugar. Thank you for a simple delicious treat.
★★★★★
Oh yay!! That makes me so happy to hear, Susan. 🙂 Thank you so much for coming back to leave a comment and star rating, I so appreciate it!
I never thought it would be this good! I thought my dates were soft enough, so it is a bit chunky but IT WAS FANTASTIC!
★★★★★
Ahh yay!! I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed this sauce, Melissa! Thank you for coming back to leave a comment + star rating. It means the world to me. <3
Wow. This actually states like salted caramel 😳 I was not expecting that. It’s so good! I have a MAJOR sweet tooth but trying to eat healthier. Dipped apples in it yesterday and strawberries today. Strawberries are even better than apples 🤤 tastes like a rich caramel candy with strawberry flavor. Thanks so much!
★★★★★
Woo-hoo!! I am so glad you are loving this sauce, Olya. It’s my favorite. 🙂 Thank you so much for leaving a comment and star rating. The reviews are super helpful so I appreciate it!
Which non nut milk would you suggest in place of almond?
Cashew would be my next choice. 🙂
Forgot to mention, used unsweetened cartoned coconut milk. Superb!
★★★★★
Delicious! Might just be licking the lid of the food processor…just sayin’. Thanks, Brittany, for another scrumptious and healthier version recipe.
★★★★★
This makes a terrific caramel latte.
★★★★
Oh my goodness this is so so yummy! My 18 month old wants to eat spoonfuls of it! I had to cut him off haha! Thank you for this delicious recipe.
Amazing!!! I have to go dairy free while nursing and miss the sweets. This recipe was incredibly easy and tasty. I used some and added chopped pecans and shredded coconut…. tasted like the frosting for a German chocolate cake. Put it on a rice cake -so yummy!!!
★★★★★
Can I use water instead of milk? I’m all out lol!
It might be less creamy but it should still work! Let me know if you try it!
This is so good and so easy!
I did find that 1tsp of salt could be too much, so I only added a bit over 1/2tsp and still find that I can taste the salt a lottle too much. I mean, I love salted caramel but the salty aftertaste on this was a bit much. I think 1/2 tsp, or even 1/4tsp, would be just perfect!
Thanks for the recipe!!
★★★★
How long will this last in the fridge? I’m thinking of using it as an addition to ice coffee too.
Hi Jenn! It should last at least a week in the fridge and omg, I bet it will be delicious in iced coffee. Can you report back? 🙂
Omg this caramel is so delicious! Thanks for sharing, I’m eating some with apple slices now and plan to put the rest into a vegan snickers cream pie later 😀
★★★★★
Can the date caramel be frozen?
Delicious!!! Tastes like real caramel only that it is super healthy. According to TCM dates are great for skin and tissues and rebuilding blood… great for women – all in moderation but now I have a way to integrate them in the most delectable way ever. Many THANKS!
Is that 1/2 cup Almond Milk? It just says 1/2 Almond Milk.
I live in Kuwait, and we love our dates! So I’m looking forward to making this… but it says “1/2 unsweetened almond milk”. Is that 1/2 cup, 1/2 TBSP, or what?
Oops. I should be 1/2 cup. So sorry about that.
This is amazing! Only problem I had was having enough volume of mixture in my Vitamix so I had to keep scraping it down. I was never really able to blend all the date pieces up, but that did not affect the taste. Dunked my fresh Honeycrisp apples in the “caramel.” WOW!!!
Yum, I had been meaning to try making date caramel, thanks for the recipe!
Brittany, do you think coconut milk would work, as well? We have an almond allergy in the fam!
Hi Linda. Yes, I think coconut milk (or any other milk) will work great!
Ok…I’m putting this on everything!! Can’t wait to see what you make with this!
YUM! I am obsessed with dates and had no idea that had so many health benefits too. More reasons to eat them!
Can this be done with cow’s milk?
I haven’t tried it, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work! Let me know if you try it. 🙂