3 Ingredient Date Caramel

Name: 3 Ingredient Date Caramel
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Ingredients: 12 medjool dates, pitted and halved; 1/2 cup lite coconut milk; 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Recipes

Dec 6

Written By The Confidant Collective

With a natural sweetness, dates are a healthy sweet tooth snack and an easy substitute to add to recipes. This date caramel has just 3 simple ingredients and is a delicious, nutritious, and seriously sweet addition to your snacks and meals.

A Delicious Date Caramel Sauce

When you think of fresh fruit, dates may not be the image that pops into your mind. Well, they are, in fact, a fresh fruit and a fresh fruit that continues to trend online! Medjool dates are larger in size with a natural caramel flavor which makes them a delicious snack as is or a versatile substitution into recipes. Are medjool dates good for you? Absolutely. While they do have carbs in them, the carbohydrates in medjool dates are higher in fiber, slower to digest, and leave you feeling nourished and satisfied. On the sugars in dates, remember that dates are naturally sweet with no added sugar. Beyond that, one large medjool date has around 60 calories and is packed with antioxidants, vitamins and minerals like potassium making them a nutritious addition to your snack rotation.

How Do I Eat Dates?

We can start with how to eat dates since they truly are so delicious on their own. Their natural sweetness makes them great for a healthy late night snack and their dried skin keeps them easy for a snack on the go. I personally discovered dates when I wanted to go into labor. Well… I went to 41 weeks and 3 days pregnant so the dates didn’t really work for me but it sure tasted good trying! Here are a few other ways to eat dates:

On their own as a healthy sweet tooth snack
Stuffed with peanut butter then coated in dark chocolate
Blended into a high protein banana smoothie
Stuffed with cream cheese and rosemary
Paired with a high protein snack like cottage cheese or string cheese

What Can I Eat Date Caramel With?

Now that we have covered how to eat dates, let’s move onto some delicious ways to use your date caramel! Dates are a great caramel substitute, but since date caramel is fruit-based, now you can have it at meals you may have skipped the caramel at … even breakfast! The sky is the limit with this caramel but here are a few ways to include it:

On an after school snack board with apples, berries, and graham crackers
Added to a greek yogurt bowl with nuts, granola, or nut butter
Paired with sourdough toast, gouda cheese, and sliced green apple
Added to dulce de leche overnight oats

Ingredients:

Medjool Dates: the dates of the hour, medjool dates. With only a few other ingredients, the dates natural sweetness is the star of this recipes show.
Lite Coconut Milk: You can add any kind of milk you prefer but I made this date caramel with coconut milk. Not only does that make this a vegan date caramel sauce, but it also adds a delicious flavor and creamy texture to the sauce as well.
Vanilla Extract: Extracts are a regular addition to many of my recipes and I think adding in a touch of vanilla really rounds out the flavor profile and makes this caramel sauce feel cozy.

Recipe FAQs:

What tools will you need?
Date caramel is incredibly easy to make at home, but you will want a few kitchen tools! First, I tested recipes with softened dates and unsoftened dates and the texture definitely turns out better when the dates have been softened. I used an electric kettle to boil some water, but you can also boil some on the stove or take it warm from the sink To blend the sauce, I used my ninja personal blender cups which are truly one of my favorite kitchen items and something I highly recommend having! They are the perfect size for individual smoothies, dips, salsa, or small batch date caramel sauce. You can also make this recipe in a food processor or any other high powered blender! Other than that, making date caramel is super easy to do in your own kitchen.
How can I store date caramel?
Once it is prepared and cooled, you can store your date caramel in an air tight container in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.
Can it be frozen?
Yes! If you want to make a larger batch of the date caramel, you can freeze it in freezer safe containers and simply thaw it in the fridge or warm it in a pan when you are ready to eat it.

Yield: 1 cup

Author: Lauren Twigge