This paleo salted caramel is vegan, raw, sugar free, and gluten free, but so delicious. It’s quick and easy, and I promise you’ll start putting it on everything. Made from only healthy ingredients, this vegan salted caramel is bound to become a staple in your home!
When I first became curious about raw desserts, I was skeptical, to put it mildly. How could any variation of dates and cashews be anything but, well, healthy-tasting? But I tried a few simple date balls, “just in case”, and I fell in love. Fast.
Not only did these raw takes on traditional desserts please my palate, with their rich natural sweetness and nutty depth, but I never felt the sheer guilt that typically accompanied desserts formed from processed sugars and flours. Instead, I had to remind myself (as your tastebuds quickly forget) that these treats were raw, live, full of nutrients and vitamins, that their sweetness came from the earth and not a machine. Cheesy, yes, but dammit, this is love!
This paleo salted caramel dip was one of the first raw desserts I made, and rightly so. A couple years ago I filled dozens of jars with buttery salted caramel, chock full of white sugar, butter, and cream, topped off with flaky sea salt. Salted caramel became my obsession years ago when I lived in Paris and took a quick trip to Normandy where I first tasted caramel au beurre salé (salted butter caramel) both in soft candy form and in–my personal favorite–booze form. So I knew I had to transform the heady treat into a healthy snack – sugary, butter salted caramel, meet paleo salted caramel.
Hi. Hello.
And I was not disappointed. Ughhhh. The rich sugars of the dates give this dip a true taste of caramel, while the vanilla provides a luxurious quality that tastes anything but “healthy”. Paleo salted caramel ftw!
Dates are high in potassium and magnesium, as well as dietary fiber, and almonds are known for their high levels of vitamin E, copper, magnesium, and high quality protein. This recipe also includes no processed ingredients. Pretty good for a “dessert” huh?
Paleo Salted Caramel Dip (Vegan, Sugar Free, Gluten Free, Dairy Free)
Ingredients
- 2 cups pitted dates , preferably Medjool
- ¼ cup raw nut butter (almond or cashew recommended)
- 4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon sea salt (or more to taste)
- seeds of 1 vanilla bean , scraped or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- soaking water from dates , as needed for desired thickness
Instructions
- Soak dates for at least 4 hours in enough water to cover.
- Drain dates, reserving soaking water.
- Add dates to blender along with all other ingredients, except soaking water, and blend on high until smooth. Add soaking water, a little at a time, until desired consistency (dip vs. sauce thickness)
Harriet Emily says
September 22, 2014 at 4:35 pmAah I love your blog! Your food photography is beautiful and your recipes look delicious! I definitely need to make this 🙂
Cheryl Malik says
September 23, 2014 at 10:28 amThanks!! I hope you do make it.. and I hope you love it!
Katlanmak says
June 26, 2014 at 10:51 amThis recipe got me trying out a cashew butter recipe which came out really tasty.
I then tried this recipe aswell and it had a very interesting flavour, definately candy-like but there was some kind of biflavour to it that almost felt stingy. I only used half the lemon juice and will try it without any lemonjuice at all the next time, and I upped the cashew butter ammount a little because it was too sweet for my taste.
I can eat sweet caramel sauce any time, but fruit-sweetness can be so overpowering. I will definately try this recipe again, it had such a lovely contrast to the fresh apple slices. I wouldn’t say it tastes like caramel though, maybe I just have very sensitive taste buds. It definately reminds of caramel but it’s way different still. Tastes more like some kind of cookie dough to me. I will try it with some homemade banana coconut icecream, one without sugar, and see how it comes out ^__^
Cheryl Malik says
June 26, 2014 at 11:17 amI’m glad you thought it was tasty! It’s definitely not intended to compete with a sugar-and-butter caramel sauce, of course, but it tastes very “caramelly” to me! I use almond butter, though, which I think is a bit more neutral than cashew butter.
Katlanmak says
June 28, 2014 at 4:13 pmI’ve been browsing raw recipes for so long and a lot of people talk about dates tasting just like caramel, just like chocolat etc which got me really curious. It is definately a good substitute though, yeah. I think it’s like that with any recipe, it needs to be altered sometimes to fit every persons individual taste. I will try it out with some blanched almond butter at some point though, I chose cashew because it is easier to make than almond butter. I am happy I did though, I will have to buy a lot of cashew in the future.
I have to say though, it’s somehow really addicting. When weekend came and I finally got to have some “real candy” it somehow wasn’t so appealing anymore. I just wanted to have some apple slices with date caramel sauce XD
First time I tried it, it felt too sweet, but it’s perfect with apples. And I am now somehow just thinking about making more of it.
It is true that it felt almost like I was eating something that I shouldn’t be eating on a regular day, it is easy to forget that it is all healthy food. I am a picky person, but this recipe actually really impressed me.
Thanks for posting this recipe. It’s really cool what some dates can do.
Cheryl Malik says
June 28, 2014 at 4:29 pm🙂 I agree, it’s so good on apples! I’m thinking of making some now… mmmm. Dates are certainly NOT sugar, but I think they can be so great when you’re trying to eat a little healthier!
Jenna says
May 30, 2014 at 1:33 pmThis looks beyond amazing – I just made three ice ‘creams’ this morning (cracked a tooth and have more wisdom teeth coming in – so solids are not… gonna be high on my menu plans until my dentist appointment on the 10th) and am now trying to decide if I want to make this simply for a drizzle/topping or do I want to go the extra mile and actually fold ‘ribbons’ of the caramel into the goodies? Batches of French Vanilla Cashew (using homemade cashew milk, cream, and some of the near VAT of fresh cashew butter I made late last night), Tangerine/Cherry (which the girly part of my brain can’t stop looking at and thinking ‘so ~pretty~!’ with it’s swirls of hot pink and orange) and a large amount of my husband’s favorite – Blueberry Spinach (I know, I know, sounds revolting. But something surreal and magical happens when you blitz frozen blueberries, baby spinach, a spoonful of agave and the zest & juice from a lime. It turns into a bright fluffy purple bit of heaven. In the summer, my husband and I will go through 8 bags of spinach a ~WEEK~ just for the icecream – for those days it’s too hot to even think about ‘real’ food, it’s amazing). Decisions decisions!
Cheryl Malik says
May 30, 2014 at 1:47 pmThat actually sounds AMAZING! Truly. Spinach is good in pretty much anything, in my opinion, and especially complementary to blueberries. I’d say take a stab at folding in some “ribbons” as you say, maybe even with some candied pecans?! Oh mommy
Corine Hughes says
March 30, 2014 at 10:34 pmHow long would the salted caramel last for in the fridge? This looks/sounds amazing. Would it have a long life?
Warm Regards
Corine Hughes
Cheryl Hurley says
March 31, 2014 at 9:51 amIt does! There’s not much in it that’s wont to go bad quickly, and I’ve found it lasts a pleasingly long time 🙂
Gini says
January 27, 2014 at 6:38 pmI’ve died and gone to no-sugar heaven!! This is fabulous!!! Made it for a Grammy party yesterday and people licked their bowls clean!! And they ate a lot of apples! WINNER! Thank you!!
Cheryl Hurley says
January 27, 2014 at 7:01 pmWoohoo! That’s awesome. And what a great idea to make it for a party! I’m so glad you liked it 🙂
Joanne Foit says
January 24, 2014 at 2:19 pmHow many calories are in this dish. Is it good on a diet?
Cheryl Hurley says
January 24, 2014 at 2:35 pmIt would be excellent on a diet! It’s so rich, but it’s made up of completely healthy ingredients. If it makes approximately 16 servings, there’s about 88 calories per serving, though I think that’s calculated by 2 cups of really packed dates. Most importantly, it retains some healthy enzymes and natural fibers. Yum! How did I make caramel just sound like a science project? 😀
lyndsay says
January 22, 2014 at 10:48 amThat is like crack for sugar lovers it is sooo good
Cheryl Hurley says
January 22, 2014 at 6:23 pmAgreed! I could eat it on.. everything.