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    Home » Vegan Pies and Tarts

    Vegan Caramel Pie

    Published: Jun 11, 2020 Updated: May 16, 2022 by Alison Andrews This post may contain affiliate links

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
    Vegan Caramel Pie

    This vegan caramel pie is a fabulous mix of salty and sweet with a salty pretzel crust, a smooth caramel center and a vegan whipped cream topping!

    Slice of caramel pie on a cake lifter.

    This vegan caramel pie was inspired by a South African dessert called a peppermint caramel tart.

    A peppermint caramel tart consists of a layer of coconut cookies mixed with butter as the crust, then a layer of caramel in the center, a layer of freshly whipped cream on top and it’s garnished with shavings of mint chocolate.

    I wanted to recreate a vegan inspired version, not trying to replicate it exactly, but just inspired by it.

    Even though I can get vegan coconut biscuits, I was pretty keen to try a pretzel crust, because I was kind of positive the salty pretzels would go super well with the über sweet vegan caramel (made from dates and coconut cream).

    And oh man – I was so right about that!

    Vegan whipped cream makes up the top layer with dark chocolate shavings on top. 

    You will love the different textures for each layer of this pie and how each bite is a perfect blend between salty, sweet and creamy. 

    And if you love delicious vegan pies then check out our vegan pecan pie and vegan apple pie. 

    Slice of caramel pie on a black plate.

    How To A Make Vegan Caramel Pie

    Full measurements and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is just a summary of the process to go along with the photos. 

    The Crust: 

    • Add salted pretzels, raw cashews and white sugar to your food processor and process into fine crumbs. 
    Pretzels and cashews added to a food processor and processed.
    • Add melted vegan butter and process again until well mixed. 
    Melted vegan butter added to food processor and processed with pretzels and cashews.
    • Transfer to a 9-inch round pie dish and press down firmly. 
    • Place into the oven to bake for 20 minutes at 350°F until nicely browned. 
    Pretzel crust added to pie dish and baked.

    The Filling:

    • Add pitted medjool dates to a bowl and microwave for 30-seconds (optional) to soften them. Add to your food processor and start processing. It will initially form a giant ball of toffee. Keep processing, stopping regularly to scrape down the sides and break up the ball of toffee a little. 
    Dates added to food processor and processed.
    • When there is more sticking to the sides than in the ball, scrape down the sides again and start processing but now add in coconut cream while the machine is running, Keep adding in coconut cream, stopping and scraping down sides as needed, and processing until you have a smooth and creamy caramel. 
    Blended dates and coconut cream in a food processor.
    • Spread the date caramel on top of the pretzel crust. If your crust is still warm from baking, no problem, there’s no need to wait until it’s cooled first, you can just add your caramel and smooth it down.
    • Place it into the fridge to set. You want the top of the caramel to have set a little before you add your topping. 
    Date filling spread out on top of a baked pretzel crust.

    The Topping and Decoration:

    • For the whipped cream topping you’ll need cans of chilled coconut cream in your fridge. They need to have been chilled in the fridge at least overnight.
    • Scoop out only the hardened cream at the top, leaving the watery part behind. Add the cream to the bowl of your stand mixer and whip it until it’s whipped.
    Hardened coconut cream scooped from a can into a stand mixer and whipped.
    • Add powdered sugar to sweeten. 
    Powdered sugar added to stand mixer and whipped with coconut cream.
    • Spread this over the top of your date caramel center and smooth it down with a spoon.
    Whipped coconut cream added to the top of date caramel center and spread out.
    • Decorate the top with vegan chocolate shavings. 
    Chocolate shavings added to the top of the pie.
    • Let the pie set in the fridge for around 4 hours so the layers get nice and firm. If you can leave it overnight, this is even more ideal. 
    Vegan caramel pie topped with chocolate shavings in a white pie dish.
    • Your pie is ready to serve!
    Slice of pie on a cake lifter.

    Recipe & Ingredient Notes

    Soft Pitted Medjool Dates: This is crucial to making your date caramel as easy as possible. If your dates are hard, then it will be super hard to get them to turn out as a lovely caramel. You need really soft juicy dates. So feel them and make sure they’re soft. Microwaving for 30-seconds also helps because the heat softens them more, but having them soft to start off with is really important. 

    Coconut Cream: We need coconut cream that has been chilled in the fridge for at least 12 hours and preferably longer. It’s ideal if you plan to make vegan desserts often to just store a few cans of coconut cream permanently in the coldest part of your fridge so you’re always ready to go. 

    The date caramel uses a cup of the hardened cream scooped from the top of a chilled can of coconut cream. 

    Whipped Cream Topping: The whipped cream topping uses one OR two cans of chilled coconut cream. It depends on how much cream you get from your can. If your can is one of those where it’s almost all cream and very little water, then one can is enough. On the other hand if your can is half cream and the other half is all water, then you will need to use two cans. 

    An alternative is if you use something like Nature’s Charm brand of Coconut Whipping Cream, then that is pretty foolproof, and you will only need to use one (chilled) can if you’re using that. OR feel free to just use any vegan whipped cream topping that you like! It doesn’t have to be coconut whipped cream. 

    Chocolate Shavings: Any good tasting bar of vegan chocolate is going to be great for the topping!

    Slice of caramel pie on a black plate.

    Storing Tips

    Keep your pie stored in the fridge (covered) and enjoy within around 5 days. It stores extremely well.

    Slice of pie on a black serving plate.

    More Vegan Pie Recipes

    1. Vegan Chocolate Pie
    2. Vegan Banana Cream Pie
    3. Vegan Coconut Cream Pie
    4. Vegan Grasshopper Pie
    5. Vegan Banoffee Pie
    6. Vegan Pumpkin Pie
    7. Vegan Lemon Pie
    8. Vegan Sweet Potato Pie

    Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!

    Vegan caramel pie

    Vegan Caramel Pie

    This vegan caramel pie is a fabulous mix of salty and sweet with a salty pretzel crust, a smooth caramel center and a vegan whipped cream topping!
    4.75 from 4 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: American
    Diet: Vegan
    Prep Time: 30 minutes
    Cook Time: 20 minutes
    Total Time: 50 minutes
    Servings: 10
    Calories: 503kcal
    Author: Alison Andrews

    Ingredients

    For the Crust:

    • 3 cups Salted Pretzels (114g)
    • ½ cup Raw Cashews (70g)
    • ¼ cup White Granulated Sugar (50g)
    • ½ cup Vegan Butter (112g) Melted

    For the Caramel Center:

    • 2 cups Medjool Dates (350g) Soft, Pitted, Packed cups
    • 1 cup Canned Coconut Cream (240ml) hardened cream only from one 14-ounce can, chilled overnight in the fridge

    For the Topping:

    • 2 ½ cups Canned Coconut Cream (600ml) hardened cream only from two 14-ounce cans, chilled overnight in the fridge
    • ¼ cup Powdered Sugar (30g)

    For the Decoration:

    • Vegan Chocolate Shavings
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • To make this dessert, you'll need three 14-ounce cans of coconut cream chilled in your fridge. They need to be chilled for at least 12 hours and preferably longer so that the cream and water separate. You will only use the hardened cream and discard the water.
    • When you’re ready to begin – preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
    • Add the pretzels, cashews and sugar to your food processor and process into fine crumbs.
    • Add the melted vegan butter and process again until well mixed.
    • Transfer to a 9-inch round pie dish and press down firmly.
    • Place into the oven to bake for 20 minutes until nicely browned.
    • Add the pitted medjool dates to a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 30-seconds (optional) to soften them.
    • Add the dates to your food processor and start processing. It will initially form a giant ball of toffee. Keep processing, stopping regularly to scrape down the sides and break up the ball of toffee a little.
    • When there is more sticking to the sides than in the ball, scrape down the sides again and start processing but now add in the coconut cream while the machine is running,
    • Keep adding in coconut cream, stopping and scraping down the sides as needed, and processing until you have a smooth and creamy caramel.
    • Spread the date caramel on top of the pretzel crust. If your crust is still warm from baking, no problem, there’s no need to wait until it’s cooled first, you can just add your caramel, smooth it down and then place it into the fridge to set. You want the top of the caramel to have set a little before you add your topping.
    • Open the remaining 2 cans of coconut cream, scooping out only the top separated cream portion of the can into a mixing bowl.
    • Using an electric mixer start at slow speed, gradually building up speed, until the cream is thick and whipped cream consistency has been reached.
    • Add the powdered sugar and whip again to mix in.
    • Scoop this out over the date caramel layer and smooth it out.
    • Grate dark chocolate over the top for decoration.
    • Return to the refrigerator to fully set (approx 4 hours). If you can leave it overnight to set that’s even more ideal.
    • Slice and enjoy!

    Notes

    1. Soft medjool dates are crucial. If your dates are hard, then it will be difficult to get them to turn out as a lovely caramel. You need really soft juicy dates. So feel them and make sure they’re soft. Microwaving for 30-seconds also helps because the heat softens them more, but having them soft to start off with is really important.
    2. Coconut Cream: The cans of coconut cream need to have been chilled in the fridge for at least 12 hours and preferably longer. It’s ideal if you plan to make vegan desserts often to just store a few cans of coconut cream permanently in the coldest part of your fridge so you’re always ready to go. The date caramel uses a cup of the hardened cream scooped from the top of a chilled can of coconut cream and the whipped cream topping uses 2 and ½ cups. 
    3. Chocolate Shavings: Any good tasting bar of vegan chocolate is going to be great for chocolate shavings.
    4. Keep leftovers stored in the fridge (covered) and enjoy within around 5 days.
    5. Prep time does not include time spent setting in the fridge.
    6. Pretzel crust adapted from Minimalist Baker.
    7. This recipe was first published in December 2015.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1Serve | Calories: 503kcal | Carbohydrates: 44.6g | Protein: 5.7g | Fat: 35g | Saturated Fat: 1.6g | Sodium: 223mg | Fiber: 3.3g | Sugar: 27.8g
    DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? Rate it & leave your feedback in the comments section below, or tag @lovingitvegan on Instagram and hashtag #lovingitvegan
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    About the Author

    Hi I'm Alison Andrews, I'm the voice and cook behind Loving It Vegan. I love making delicious vegan food and creating vegan versions of all your old favorites, so that you’ll never feel like you’re missing out. Find out more about me here.

    Loving It Vegan is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. This site may contain some of these links to Amazon.com. If you make a purchase through one of those links, Loving It Vegan will receive a small commission from the purchase at no additional cost to you.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Leann Evans says

      November 13, 2020 at 6:44 pm

      I absolutely loved making this recipe and it tasted delicious. I’m not vegan but there are so many yummy things that can be made. This was a treat to myself for my birthday and I wasn’t disappointed!!4 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        November 16, 2020 at 11:07 am

        Glad you enjoyed it Leann and happy birthday!

        Reply
    2. Vivienne Frank says

      June 12, 2020 at 10:47 am

      Hi Alison , is it possible to substitute ordinary pressed dates for medjool dates in all recipes where required ? Obviously softened first .

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        June 12, 2020 at 11:02 am

        Sure, as long as they are nice and soft then that should work just fine. 🙂

        Reply
    3. Cassidy says

      June 11, 2020 at 7:21 pm

      Any suggestions for a non chocolate topping?

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        June 12, 2020 at 9:04 am

        Sure, chopped nuts would also be great! You can also just leave it plain if you like.

        Reply
    4. Isabella says

      June 11, 2020 at 4:45 pm

      I have really missed peppermint tart since going vegan. Can’t wait to try this, I’ll add some vegan peppermint chocolate to the top!

      Reply
    5. Narveesh Dauhajee says

      June 11, 2020 at 3:49 pm

      Do you have an alternative for the pretzels please?

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        June 12, 2020 at 9:08 am

        You could use a different crust entirely, like a nut and date crust from our vegan cheesecake, or an oreo cookie crust from our vegan banana cream pie, whatever you like.

        Reply
    6. Leeanna says

      November 27, 2019 at 8:15 pm

      I forgot to put cans in fridge and need for tomorrow. Any suggestions?

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        November 28, 2019 at 7:45 am

        Oh no! So sorry. I’m not sure there is a quick fix for it because in my experience the freezer doesn’t work great, it makes it grainy. Can I maybe suggest a different pie? This chocolate pie is always a huge hit, you don’t need your coconut cream to be chilled first. It does take about 4 hours to set, but it’s a total breeze to make it!

        Reply
    7. Aoife says

      March 20, 2017 at 9:23 pm

      Yummy ☺ I added a layer of banana on top of the caramel to make it like a banoffi pie. Thanks for the recipes, I find it so difficult to bake nice things since I was diagnosed with a dairy and egg allergy.5 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        March 21, 2017 at 5:18 am

        That is a fantastic idea!! This with bananas would be amazing! You can bake ALL the cool things without using dairy and eggs once you get going with it, hope you find lots more ideas here! All the best!

        Reply
    8. Lisa says

      March 04, 2017 at 1:42 am

      We did it last weekend and it was amazing!5 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        March 05, 2017 at 11:39 am

        Fantastic! Glad you liked it! 🙂

        Reply

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