WOW! The ever amazing Nava Atlas has come up with an easy and jazzylicious dessert topping that could easily be mistaken for real caramel! Nava’s 2-Ingredient Vegan Date Caramel Sauce recipe is delicious served with fresh fruit, baked goods, and vegan ice cream. Last month, Nava joined me on the Jazzy Vegetarian Podcast to talk about her wonderful book 5-Ingredient Vegan!
Classic caramel sauce consists of a cup of sugar, half a cup of butter, and some milk or cream. Nava’s fabulous vegan version is a 2-ingredient caramel sauce that contains no processed sugar, no butter and no dairy! It instead gets its yum factor from dates and plant-based milk. That’s it, folks!
This is incredible as a dip for sliced apples and/or pears, or as a topping for vegan cakes and ice creams. The best thing is that you’re delighting your sweet tooth with fruit rather than devilish sugar.
Listen to Nava talk about her wonderful book, plus share lots of vegan cooking tips on the Jazzy Vegetarian Podcast! Recipe adapted from 5-Ingredient Vegan by Nava Atlas. Photos of 2-Ingredient Date-Caramel Sauce by Hannah Kaminsky, BittersweetBlog.com
ABOUT THE RECIPE:
This 2-Ingredient Vegan Date Caramel Sauce by Nava Atlas could easily be mistaken for real caramel! This vegan date caramel sauce is delicious with fresh fruit, baked goods, and vegan ice cream.
YIELD: 1 CUP
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup pitted dates (preferably Medjool, but Deglet are fine)
2/3 cup (or as needed) vanilla unsweetened plant-based milk (almond and oat work well, but use any)
Pinch of salt or grinding of coarse salt, optional
INSTRUCTIONS:
Soak the dates in hot water to cover for 30 to 60 minutes, then drain well.
Combine in a blender with the nondairy milk and blend until very smooth.
If it seems like the sauce will be difficult to pour out of the blender, add just a touch more nondairy milk and blend again. On the other hand, if the sauce seems thin (it should have body, though it won’t be as dense or sticky as sugar-based caramel sauce), add a couple more soaked dates.
Pour into a serving container and serve over vegan ice cream, vegan cakes or muffins, or as a dip with fruit.
Make it salted caramel: An optional third ingredient is a pinch or grinding of salt — you know, to make salted caramel — which takes it up a subtle notch. And unlike regular caramel sauce, there’s no need to cook this at all. You do need a good blender for this, though, to make it nice and smooth.
Ingredients
Directions
ABOUT THE RECIPE:
This 2-Ingredient Vegan Date Caramel Sauce by Nava Atlas could easily be mistaken for real caramel! This vegan date caramel sauce is delicious with fresh fruit, baked goods, and vegan ice cream.
YIELD: 1 CUP
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup pitted dates (preferably Medjool, but Deglet are fine)
2/3 cup (or as needed) vanilla unsweetened plant-based milk (almond and oat work well, but use any)
Pinch of salt or grinding of coarse salt, optional
INSTRUCTIONS:
Soak the dates in hot water to cover for 30 to 60 minutes, then drain well.
Combine in a blender with the nondairy milk and blend until very smooth.
If it seems like the sauce will be difficult to pour out of the blender, add just a touch more nondairy milk and blend again. On the other hand, if the sauce seems thin (it should have body, though it won’t be as dense or sticky as sugar-based caramel sauce), add a couple more soaked dates.
Pour into a serving container and serve over vegan ice cream, vegan cakes or muffins, or as a dip with fruit.
Make it salted caramel: An optional third ingredient is a pinch or grinding of salt — you know, to make salted caramel — which takes it up a subtle notch. And unlike regular caramel sauce, there’s no need to cook this at all. You do need a good blender for this, though, to make it nice and smooth.
Nava shares more information about dates:
Dried dates come in several varieties, and you’ll find them in natural foods stores or well-stocked supermarkets, in bulk or in containers.
There are several varieties of dates: Medjool dates are large, with a soft, wrinkled skin and an exceptionally sugary flavor. Deglet Noor are smaller with a smoother skin. Less common are Zahidi dates, which fall in between the latter two in terms of size; these are less sweet and lighter in color.
There are others, but these three (especially the first two) are the ones most commonly found in Western markets. Though some may beg to differ, these dates may be used interchangeably in recipes.
Dates are a good source of minerals like iron, potassium, and magnesium. They contain moderate amounts of vitamins A, B, and C, and are fairly high in fiber.
Listen to Nava talk about her wonderful book, plus share lots of vegan cooking tips on the Jazzy Vegetarian Podcast! Recipe adapted from 5-Ingredient Vegan by Nava Atlas. Photos of 2-Ingredient Date-Caramel Sauce by Hannah Kaminsky, BittersweetBlog.com
0
