This vegan dulce de leche sauce is simply divine.
It’s made from coconut cream, coconut milk, brown sugar and a little salt. That’s it!
A 4-ingredient, super easy recipe to the most deliciously thick, smooth and fabulous caramel sauce of your dreams!
The regular version of dulce de leche is sweetened condensed milk, that’s been boiled for many hours until it forms a thick caramel.
In South Africa we buy this ready-made and it’s called Carnation Caramel. Carnation being the brand that makes it.
I don’t know how it’s done in other countries, but I imagine something much the same!
The vegan version is much easier than boiling a can of condensed milk for many hours! It doesn’t even involve condensed milk at all (though I did wonder, what would happen if we canned and boiled our vegan condensed milk? Sounds like way too much effort though!)
In this version, you just throw in all your ingredients, give ’em a whisk, and heat them to boiling. Then you leave it to boil and reduce/thicken for 20 minutes, then you remove it from the heat! Donezo!
As it cools it thickens more and more. And then you can keep it in the fridge where it gets very thick and dreamily delicious! And then you can eat it with a spoon! Or use it as an ice-cream sauce, or pour it over pancakes or whatever you like!
When I gave some to my sister she immediately said ‘I’m just going to eat this with a spoon!’. So yes, it does inspire a person to do this!
You will love this vegan dulce de leche, it is:
- Super easy
- 4-ingredients
- Pure caramel
- Thick and creamy
Keep it in the fridge and reheat if you want it served warm. It actually keeps for quite a while in the fridge, a couple of weeks and up to a month when stored in an airtight container.
So what do you think of this vegan dulce de leche? Planning to make it? Let us know how it works out! And if you take any pics, tag us #lovingitvegan on instagram so we see them!
For more delicious caramel recipes check out:
- How to make date caramel
- 3-ingredient vegan caramel sauce
- Vegan Salted Caramel Ice Cream
- Vegan Caramel Cream Pie
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Vegan Dulce De Leche
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Yield: 2 and 1/4 cups
Description
Easy 4-ingredient vegan dulce de leche. This thick and creamy caramel is made with coconut cream, coconut milk and brown sugar for a delicious vegan take on the classic dulce de leche.
Ingredients
- 1 14oz (400ml) Can Coconut Cream
- 1 14oz (400ml) Can Coconut Milk
- 1 and 1/2 cups (300g) Brown Sugar
- 1/2 tsp Salt
Instructions
- Add coconut cream, coconut milk, brown sugar and salt to a large pot.*
- Whisk with a hand whisk to combine and heat on high heat, stirring constantly until the mixture begins to boil. Turn the heat down to medium and let it boil (uncovered), stirring every now and then, until the mixture has reduced and thickened (about 20 minutes). Keep a close eye on it so that it doesn’t boil over.
- Let the sauce cool for a few minutes in the pot before transferring to jars. Allow to cool completely in the jars before refrigerating. It will continue to thicken in the fridge into a thick caramel.
Notes
*Use a large pot to prevent it from boiling over. When I tried making this in a saucepan, I turned my back for a second and it boiled over. Whereas when using a large pot, this has never happened. Nonetheless you do of course still need to keep a close eye on it.
*Recipe adapted from Epicurious.
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: Vegan
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 Tbsp
- Calories: 147
- Sugar: 16.7g
- Sodium: 81mg
- Fat: 8.6g
- Saturated Fat: 7.2g
- Carbohydrates: 17.7g
- Protein: 0.5g
Hi there! I put the dulce in a mason jar and the top of it starts to crust.. is that normal due to the coconut cream? I don’t want my dulce to have crust in it help
Hi Brianna, I’m really not sure what that’s about! That definitely hasn’t happened to me. Has it cooled down? It will be good to let it completely cool before you store it.
I tried it! it’s perfect! just that I think I overcook it and the liquid fat separated from the Carmel, now it’s too hard… most as candy!… what should I do? stop cooking it at 250 degrees Fahrenheit… what should be the perfect temperature for your version?
★★★★★
Hi Diana! We didn’t use a candy thermometer in this recipe, it’s more about the thickness of it and also the time (it shouldn’t boil for too long).
Can I sub coconut milk for almond milk and use monk fruit has anyone tried?
I don’t think almond milk will be rich enough, and monk fruit won’t work as a sub for sugar in this recipe.
Could this be used in a vegan millionaires shortbread do you know? I cant get vegan condensed milk where I live. Do you know if it hardens slightly once cooled?
It does get thicker when cooled, but I’m not sure it would be firm enough for that purpose. Maybe check out the caramel we used for our vegan twix bars, that definitely gets firm enough.
Just made this using dark muscavado sugar, so obviously much darker in colour, I only wish I’d added some instant coffee granules to it as I think that would work really well. Now in jars whilst I pace the room waiting for it to cool but the scrapings from the saucepan were delish! Have you tried adding other flavours to this recipe?
★★★★★
Hi Amanda! I haven’t tried adding other flavorings to it, but I think you could! A coffee flavor would be super delicious! 🙂
Can I use swerve on this recipe? I cannot do any type of sugar or other sweeteners.
Hi Fabiana, sorry I have never used swerve so can’t be sure, but I suspect that it wouldn’t work great here since the sugar is a crucial part of the texture.
Does the recipe work with artificial sweeteners or does it have to be sugar?
It has to be sugar. 🙂
Does coconut sugar work instead of brown here?
★★★★★
Sure! 🙂
If you use coconut sugar don’t add any salt because coconut sugar is a bit salty.. (not sure why). Mine turned out a little too salty 🙂
Amazing! It thickened up beautifully and tastes amazing. I couldn’t help but eat it off the spoon 😉 Perfect for a vegan banoffee pie I am making!
★★★★★
Wonderful! Thanks so much for the awesome review Emma! 🙂
So I’ve got a slight problem with this recipe….I can’t stop eating it! It’s really THAT good I can eat it by the spoonful. Thank you for sharing this!!
★★★★★
Haha, that’s the perfect problem to have. 🙂 So glad you enjoyed the recipe, thanks for the awesome review. 🙂
I’m not sure what I did wrong here? I’m a fairly seasoned baker, so thought this would be easy peasy. Putting it together was, however it took waaaayyyy longer than 20 minutes of slow boiling to cook down (more like an hour, and even then it was not nearly as thick as I would have liked it to be). Thoughts?
★★★★
Hi Pamela, I’m stumped, I was thinking maybe yours was on a lower heat than mine (I started on high heat then moved it down to medium) but you say it was boiling so that doesn’t seem to be it. I guess differences in ingredient brands can possibly make a difference, but also I’m really not sure. Regarding thickness – I have found it to thicken up quite dramatically when it cools down. Did this happen? How was the taste? Hope it was still good!
Thanks for your reply! I’m stumped too :/ . It eventually somewhat thickened, but not to the non-vegan version I’m used to (my parents are Chilean so I had this a lot growing up). I’m going to try a not-so-easy recipe today with almond milk (5 hour process). Wish me luck!
I feel so sad. My dulce de leche has a weird color. I don’t understand why. I wish I can show you a picture of it.
★★★★★
You can always tag me on instagram @lovingitvegan #lovingitvegan and I’ll see the photo, if you’re on instagram. How does it taste though?
Hi thanks for posting this i have not had this for years so I’m excited to try. How long can this be stored?
Store in an airtight container in the fridge and it will last for up to a month. 🙂
Hi, have you ever made it into a doughnut filling? If so how?
Thank you
I have not, but sounds like a fab idea! 🙂
First time I’ve found a caramel recipe I love!! After being diagnosed allergic to dairy; I thought my life was over. Now I’m trying new recipes and this ones a definite keeper!! I can enjoy caramel again ☺️ Thank you so much from the happy camper ☺️☺️☺️
★★★★★
Brilliant! So glad this one hit the spot! Thanks so much for your awesome comment and rating! 🙂
Light brown sugar or muscovado sugar?
Regular light brown sugar is fine. 🙂
So I INTENDED to save the leftover from this recipe (freeze it if possible??) to use in a future dessert for my family, but I drank it all—it’s that good!!
★★★★★
Hahaha, yes it’s super good! So glad you enjoyed it! I’m not sure about freezing it, I haven’t tried that, but I don’t see why not! 🙂
My kids are allergic to dairy and this recipe works great! So yummy!
★★★★★
That’s wonderful to hear Joanna! Thanks for posting! 🙂
Exquisite
★★★★★