Date Caramel Sauce

Name: Date Caramel Sauce:
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 10 min
Ingredients: 1/4 cup unsalted butter (Note1.); 1/4 cup pure maple syrup. (Note2); 2-3 Tablespoons date paste. (Note3)

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Easy and quick date caramel for your fall apples or summer ice cream. A 3 ingredient sauce that will take just 5 minutes of your time.

When life gives you dates, make this caramel sauce or try these chocolate covered dates, one of our favorite date recipes.

A spoon pouring some date caramel into a white bowl.

Most caramel sauce starts with caramelizing sugar. For my recipe, I started with pure maple syrup instead avoiding the common pitfalls of burning then sugar due to uneven heat.

I've used butter to get the flavor but you can also use coconut oil for a vegan version. Adding date paste for extra natural sweetness and earthy flavor sure takes this caramel over the top.

Recipe Ingredients

A collage of 3 photos for ingredients to make date caramel.

Ingredient Notes

Maple syrup is the base that gives the caramel taste, do not just buy any syrup go for a pure high quality one. If you use imitation maple syrup it will end up bitter and won't taste as good.
Butter, is what gives this sauce its richness. For a vegan caramel sauce use coconut oil.
Date paste, it is easy to make or just process about 4 dates without the skin. If the skin is soft and thin there is no need to take off the skin, most probably you will not notice it.

Step by Step Instructions

Note: This is an overview of the instructions. The full instructions are in the recipe card below.

Step1 of making caramel: boiling maple syrup with butter.

Step1: melt butter or coconut oil with the pure maple syrup over medium heat until it boils rapidly.

Step2 of making caramel: letting the syrup simmer.

Step2: reduce heat and let the mixture simmer for 1 minute only.

Step3 of making caramel: processing the hot syrup with date paste in a small food processor.

Step3: immediately pour the syrup mixture into your food processor and add the date paste. Process everything until smooth.

Recipe Expert Tips

If you cannot find pure maple syrup you can use honey you can also use agave but it will be a little bit sweeter.
Some people like to raise the temperature of the maple syrup mixture gradually over low flame. Maple syrup is not as easy to burn as sugar so I take the opposite route here. I boil mine first then reduce heat and simmer for only one minute. It is easier and quicker this way about 6-10 minutes quicker.
When you are done heating up the syrup and simmering it, pour immediately in your food processor, leaving it in the pan will cook it even more.
This caramel sauce keeps well in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Note that it will thicken up in the fridge, microwave it a bit before using.
If your sauce came out grainy then it might mean you overcooked it. Try fixing it by adding a little more water to dissolve the crystals and start again.

Date Caramel FAQs

Should you soak dried dates?

If your dates has been sitting around for sometime, they might be hard and dry. To revive these dates soak them in hot water or juice for more flavor. If the skin is too thick you better remove it to make your paste as smooth as possible.

Is caramel vegan?

This caramel sauce uses butter so it is not. If you replace butter with coconut oil then you'll get the vegan version as there is no cream involved.

How long does caramel last?

Caramel sauce contains butter so it might go bad over time. I recommend no more than two weeks in the fridge.

Recipe Variations

You can flavor your caramel in any way you like using vanilla extract, cinnamon, cloves, pumpkin spice..etc. I like leaving it as is so not to take for the maple flavor.
Add a little bit of salt around 1/4 teaspoon or so to make salted caramel sauce.
Make it with a new flavor each time, think of stirring in espresso powder, orange zest, bittersweet chocolate... etc.
Also you might want to try browning the butter for a brown butter date sauce.

How to use date caramel sauce?

As an apple dip.
Drizzle over ice cream.
Spreading on toast.
As a sweetener for your coffee.
Mixing in your yogurt.
Or , my favorite, straight from the jar as an after dinner sinful dessert 💗.

A small white ramekin with ice cream drizzled with date caramel and pecan pieces.

More Sauce Recipes

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