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
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
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
Anna Andrews says
October 11, 2017 at 6:35 amExquisite
★★★★★
Joanna says
January 12, 2018 at 11:25 pmMy kids are allergic to dairy and this recipe works great! So yummy!
★★★★★
Alison Andrews says
January 13, 2018 at 7:29 amThat’s wonderful to hear Joanna! Thanks for posting! 🙂
Miss Piggy (aka Erika ) says
March 3, 2018 at 4:39 amSo 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!!
★★★★★
Alison Andrews says
March 3, 2018 at 6:03 amHahaha, 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! 🙂
Lydia Carter says
June 4, 2018 at 6:27 pmLight brown sugar or muscovado sugar?
Alison Andrews says
June 4, 2018 at 6:29 pmRegular light brown sugar is fine. 🙂
Cheyenne says
June 7, 2018 at 10:59 pmFirst 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 ☺️☺️☺️
★★★★★
Alison Andrews says
June 8, 2018 at 7:25 amBrilliant! So glad this one hit the spot! Thanks so much for your awesome comment and rating! 🙂
Shimshon Rubin says
December 2, 2018 at 2:51 amHi, have you ever made it into a doughnut filling? If so how?
Thank you
Alison Andrews says
December 3, 2018 at 9:42 amI have not, but sounds like a fab idea! 🙂
Danny says
January 13, 2019 at 12:19 amHi thanks for posting this i have not had this for years so I’m excited to try. How long can this be stored?
Alison Andrews says
January 14, 2019 at 12:26 pmStore in an airtight container in the fridge and it will last for up to a month. 🙂
Maria says
February 5, 2019 at 2:45 amI 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.
★★★★★
Alison Andrews says
February 5, 2019 at 9:52 amYou can always tag me on instagram @lovingitvegan #lovingitvegan and I’ll see the photo, if you’re on instagram. How does it taste though?
Pamela Fabrega says
March 29, 2019 at 12:45 amI’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?
★★★★
Alison Andrews says
March 29, 2019 at 7:38 amHi 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!
Pamela Fabrega says
March 30, 2019 at 5:32 pmThanks 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!