• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Unconventional Baker
  • Recipes
  • Book
  • About
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
  • Book
  • About
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Recipes
    • Book
    • About
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Home » Recipes » Sauce & Frosting

    Vegan Dulce de Leche Caramel Sauce

    Published: Jan 27, 2014 · Modified: Dec 1, 2017 by Audrey · This post may contain affiliate links · 9 Comments

    Jump to Recipe

    vegan dulce de leche

    Dulce de leche — or a sweet, milky, caramel sauce in general — is something I never dreamed of being able to have once I went dairy-free. I was actually surprised though how easy it was to convert a traditional recipe into a vegan dulce de leche! It's really one of the easiest gluten-free vegan things I've ever made, and I dare say one of the most delicious too. Dulce de leche and I go way back — I grew up eating this stuff straight out of the jar, but I've since matured into using it in cake recipes, on ice cream, and as a spread (though you may still catch me with a jar and spoon in hand occasionally... ;) ).

    Note: you'll need to make this when you've got a few hours on hand just because you need to stir the pot occasionally, but other than that it's really not a fussy recipe at all.

    Note: this recipe is from before I went totally refined sugar-free.
    Print

    Vegan Dulce de Leche Caramel Sauce

    vegan dulce de leche
    Print Recipe
    • Author: Audrey @ Unconventional Baker

    Ingredients

    • 1 can full fat coconut milk
    • 3 ¼ cup non-dairy milk (I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk)
    • 2 cups sucanat (you can use a sugar of your choice here; I like sucanat in this recipe for its color and flavor)
    • ¼ tsp raw ground vanilla (or 1-2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract)
    • ¼ tsp salt
    • ½ tsp Kahlua (optional — adds a deeper flavor)

    Instructions

    1. Place all ingredients in a pot or a large sauce pan (a deeper pot works better in case of accidental boiling over). Bring to a low boil (watch out that it doesn't boil over — this thing can bubble up pretty quickly!), stirring occasionally.
    2. Reduce heat to low and leave to simmer for 2 ½ - 3 hrs, stirring occasionally. Somewhere between the 2 and 3 hour mark keep a closer eye out on the mixture until it looks and feels like it's got the right thickness and consistency. It should reduce roughly by half by the time it's ready.
    3. When it's at the right consistency, remove from heat and transfer to a glass jar. Allow it to cool at room temperature. Store in the fridge if you're not using it immediately. You can prepare this recipe a few days in advance if you're planning on using it in something.

    Notes

    The mixture thickens up slightly when it cools, and quite a bit more if stored in the fridge. So if you want to use it as a vegan caramel sauce for an ice cream, let it warm up a bit at room temperature for a few hours. If you want to use it like a spread, then it's fine straight out of the fridge.

    If you want this to be a very thick mixture, like if using inside of a cake layer or if you just prefer a thicker (non-runny) spread, you may want to thicken it even further by adding 1-2 tablespoon arrowroot and ½ - 1 tablespoon coconut flour in the last hour of cooking it. To add the thickener you'll need to make a slurry first so as to avoid arrowroot and flour clumps in the dulce de leche. The way to add it in is to first mix the arrowroot and coconut flour in a separate dish with a little bit of water (or more non-dairy milk). Whisk it well together until all the lumps have dissolved and then add this paste into your dulce de leche mixture and mix it thoroughly. The dulce de leche sauce will begin to thicken within a few minutes of whisking it on the low heat. Omit coconut flour if you want the mixture to look more gelatinized, and just use arrowroot alone.

    Did you make this recipe?

    Tag @unconventionalbaker on Instagram and hashtag it #unconventionalbaker

    Share on PinterestShare on FacebookShare on Twitter

    More Sauce & Frosting

    • Potato “Cheese” Sauce
    • Guava Jam
    • Mirabelle Plum Jam
    • Spiced Plum Jam

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Elisa says

      July 01, 2017 at 10:10 pm

      Oh boy, I really hope i can make this one right!
      Also, does this recipe lasts 6 days in the fridge?

      My non-vegan friend tagged me in a pie recipe that has three layers, and two are super challenging : banana, dulce de leche, banana, anda hazelnut/chocolate spread.
      I also hope profoundly this doesn't taste like coconut. Gotta impress those non-vegans so they can't say bad about vegan food.

      I'll shop for the ingredient in the morrow and bake'm in the afternoon. As RuPaul would say "Good luck, and don't f* it up".

      Kisses from Brazil.

      Reply
    2. Suzanne says

      December 31, 2016 at 8:13 pm

      Is this supposed to be 3/4 of a cup of almond milk, not 3 1/4 cup? I have a huge amount of liquid 3 hours later...

      Reply
      • Audrey says

        January 01, 2017 at 3:18 am

        Hi Suzanne. I wonder if it's cooking on too low a heat? I would turn up the heat -- it still needs to be cooking while "simmering" in order to reduce.

        Reply
    3. Courtney says

      November 15, 2016 at 4:21 am

      How long does this last for roughly? :)
      I love your recipes!!

      Reply
      • Audrey says

        November 18, 2016 at 10:00 pm

        Hi Courtney, thanks :) It should be good 2-3 weeks refrigerated. Or you can freeze some of it for later use.

        Reply
    4. Emma says

      April 15, 2015 at 5:30 pm

      I am so excited to try this!

      Reply
      • Audrey says

        April 15, 2015 at 9:22 pm

        Heh -- you dug out such an oldie, Emma -- one of the oldest recipes on the blog :) Hope you like it!

        Reply
    5. Samantha says

      July 15, 2014 at 9:35 am

      Do you think you can put all of the ingredients into a crock pot like you would if you were turning dairy sweetened condensed milk into dulce de leche?

      Reply
      • Audrey says

        July 15, 2014 at 9:58 am

        Hi Samantha. I think that would work well, but I never actually tried it. I just don't see why it wouldn't work. I'd just stir it occasionally. If you try it out, I'd love to hear how it goes.

        Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

    Primary Sidebar

    Popular

    • Anti-Inflammatory Lemon Ginger Turmeric Iced Tea
    • Simple Gluten-Free Vegan Shortbread Cookies
    • Coconut Mango Tapioca Pudding
    • Raw Tiramisu

    I'm Audrey—a baker, blogger, and author who loves to create and explore simple, wholesome, and allergy-friendly recipes. I hope you enjoy the site and find something yummy to make!

    More about me →

    Citrus Season

    • Blood Orange Tart
    • Blood Orange Bundt Cake with Salted Chocolate Ganache
    • Coconut Lime Cream Chocolates
    • Ginger Turmeric Lemon Cream Bars

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • About
    • Baking Resources

    Subscribe

    • Sign Up! for recipe updates

    Questions?

    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2022 Unconventional Baker