This vegan salted date caramel sauce is made with Medjool dates, salt, cashew butter, water, and vanilla—that’s it! It’s a wholesome alternative to more traditional caramel sauce, and it tastes absolutely delicious.

The other day one of my clients and I were joking about the appropriate response to discovering a really good salad dressing. (She was talking about my turmeric tahini dressing).

I made a hand motion that approximates the action of taking a blender and pouring its contents into one’s mouth. If you ask me, this is a reasonable response to great dressings, as well as great smoothies and great nut milks. And it is also the only appropriate response to the this vegan salted date caramel sauce.

It’s amazing how simple this recipe is: dates, vanilla, cashew butter, salt, water. Not much needs be done because Medjool dates already taste like caramel! That flavor is why I love dates as much as I do. The recipe grew out of years of my using dates as a sweetener in baked goods and making homemade date paste.

I always thought a salted date caramel, with something added for creaminess, would taste amazing. And it does.

Salted date caramel ingredients

The best thing about this salted date caramel sauce is the short ingredient list. Here’s what you’ll need.

Dates

I recommend using Medjool dates for the caramel sauce. They have a naturally caramel-like flavor—more so than with other varieties of dates—and that compliments this recipe perfectly!

If you don’t have Medjool dates, deglet noor dates will be a very good substitute.

Cashew butter

For a while I was using melted coconut oil to help replace the butter in traditional caramel. But I’ve found that cashew butter works even better. It adds just the right amount of creaminess to the recipe, and the sweetness of the cashews compliments the sauce well.

A raw cashew butter is best for the sauce—I love this one—but roasted cashew butter also works. If you don’t have any cashew butter, try using two tablespoons melted coconut oil or vegan butter instead.

Salt

I like to use fine sea salt for the recipe, but Kosher salt will also work. You can use slightly more Kosher salt than fine sea salt (it’s less salty), but I recommend starting with a 1/4 teaspoon and working up to taste.

Vanilla extract

The vanilla extract in this recipe is optional in the sense that the sauce still tastes great without it. But it’s part of what makes the sauce taste so much like caramel. So if that flavor is what you’re craving, then I highly recommend the vanilla!

Storage & freezing

The date caramel sauce will keep for up to 5 days in an airtight container in the fridge. And if you’re wondering whether it can be frozen, yes, it can! I like to freeze it in mason jars, leaving a full inch of space a the top of the jar for safety.

Ways to serve salted date caramel sauce

There are so many ways to enjoy this sweet, salty, luscious sauce! Here are some of my favorites:

• Serve it with fresh apple or banana slices for a tasty vegan snack
• Drizzle it on top of your favorite vegan crisp or pie
• Drizzle it into oatmeal or hot porridge
• As an accompaniment to to vegan sticky toffee pudding
• Serve it with your favorite parfait
• Pour it over banana soft serve or vegan vanilla ice cream
• Spoon it onto apple cider cupcakes
• Serve with vegan gingerbread cake
• Drizzle it over some freshly cut summer strawberries

Or, you know, drink it right out of the blender.

Here are some sweet ideas for using the caramel sauce:

I hope you all enjoy this sweet start to the weekend. Tomorrow, a special holiday post!

xo