Last weekend while in San Diego, Mom and I stopped by the grocery store late one evening to pick up a few snacks for our road trip back home the following day. Typically an eight-hour drive, plus an extra hour or two for traffic and doggie rest stops, we really wanted to have a few healthier options in the backseat!
Knowing how early Dad likes to set out on the road (he often leaves at 3:30 am by himself, but Mom and I push for a more reasonable departure of 7 am!), we grabbed caffeinated drinks first. We stopped by the produce section next to pick out a few juicy apples and oranges.
Always on the hunt for recipe inspiration, I made a slight detour while walking up to the register to stop by their bakery section. Because Grandma’s neighborhood has different grocery chains than where I live in Northern California, I hoped to find some new treats there!
I spotted all of the usual baked goodies of chocolate and vanilla cakes, chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin cookies, gigantic muffins and freshly baked bagels, cheesecakes and apple pies. But right before I turned to go, I noticed a small shelf with caramel apples. Each came coated in something different: rainbow sprinkles, mini chocolate chips, white chocolate drizzle, mini M&Ms, and crushed peanuts.
Although highly tempting—each oversized apple underneath counted as healthy, right??—I managed to leave every one behind on the display.
But since I couldn’t get that sweet-and-salty combination of the caramel apple coated in crushed peanuts out of my head during the entire road trip, I whipped up The Easiest Ever Salted Caramel Sauce back at home! With just 3 ingredients and 1 step, it truly is the simplest caramel sauce you’ll ever make… And it has no heavy cream or added sugar and just 23 calories!
So here’s the secret to why this recipe is so easy… You make it in your blender! (A food processor works perfectly too!) Just add the ingredients inside, flip the on switch, and boom—you’re done!
But before you get started, let’s chat briefly about the ingredients. You’ll use fresh medjool dates as the base. I know… It might sound a little strange, but I promise this works! Medjool dates have almost exactly the same sweet flavor as traditional caramel made with butter, heavy cream, and sugar. This caramel recipe fooled my whole family!
Note: Don’t substitute dried dates! They don’t purée into as smooth of a sauce.
You’ll thin out your dates with water. Just plain ol’ water! The dates are already sweet and creamy enough without milk. Once your sauce is smooth without any lingering bits of dates, sprinkle a little flaky sea salt into the blender, pulse it a few times to incorporate the salt, and voilà—all done!
Now don’t tell but… I’ve snuck quite a few spoonfuls from this jar! ? And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! ?) I’d love to see your caramel and feature it in my Sunday Spotlight series!
| The Easiest Ever Salted Caramel Sauce | Print |
- 1 cup (190g) fresh pitted medjool dates (about 10)
- ¾ cup + 2 tbsp (210mL) water
- ¼ - ½ tsp flaky sea salt, or adjusted to taste
- Add the dates and ¼ cup of water to a high-powered blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. Gradually add more water, 2 tablespoons at a time, until the sauce is smooth and reaches the consistency of honey. Sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon of sea salt, and pulse to combine. Taste, and add more salt if desired. Transfer to an airtight container, and chill until ready to use.
You may need to adjust the amount of water depending on your blender or the texture of your dates. The consistency of the caramel sauce should be similar to that of honey.
The sharper the blades are on your food processor or blender, the smoother the caramel sauce will be. I love and highly recommend this Ninja that I use. It’s one of the more affordable high-powered models on the market, and I use it every single day!
{gluten-free, vegan, clean eating, low fat, low calorie, paleo}
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You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♥ Healthy Two-Ingredient Caramel Sauce
♥ Healthy Caramel Seven Layer Bars
♥ Healthy Samoa Cookie Scones
♥ Caramel-Filled Soft Pretzel Bites
♥ Fudgy Salted Caramel Brownies
♥ Caramel Apple Cookies
this sounds like a good idea for iced or frozen coffee, too ! gonna try this for the weekend …
That sounds delicious Jennie! I can’t wait to hear what you think of this caramel! 🙂
Yassss, dates are my go to for “caramel” sauce. Since I don’t eat dairy it was the default, and OH MAN is it good! This looks tasty!
Thanks Brittany! I’m a TRUE date caramel convert — even as a dairy-consumer! 😉
Just dates!!!??? Wow that is so cool! I totally need to try this out! It makes me want to put it on a ginger cake. YUM!
Oooooh!! I absolutely LOVE your idea of pairing this with a ginger cake — eat a slice in honor of me if you do that Karen!! 🙂
On Tuesday I went out for a meal, and for dessert I just couldn’t resist a carrot cake cheesecake with salted caramel sauce which I spotted on the menu – a combination of 3 of my top favourite sweet foods!! It was truly delicious, but of course can’t be considered healthy at all! I love using dates, and this caramel sauce looks just as heavenly as the one on my cheesecake on Tuesday! x
Thanks Katie!! 🙂 We really are so alike… Carrot cake and salted caramel are two of my favorite things (right up there with chocolate!), and cheesecake isn’t far behind. If you ever order that dessert again, please eat a bite in honor of me! 😉
Great minds think alike, Amy!! They are certainly delicious! What a good idea – I think I’ll have to order it again just for that reason!?
You’re so sweet to do that for me Katie!! ??♡
I made this. Hint: use a SMALLER food processor or blender or you will spend a bit of time scraping the sides down before you get the sauce really smooth. To me it was sort of like caramel, but did not fool my family, though all liked it. Other great uses are “jelly” on a PBJ (yum!) and as the “sugar” when making cinnamon toast in the toaster oven.
I’m so glad you enjoyed this caramel sauce Stephanie! I love your idea of using it as jelly on a PB&J — so fun!!
I was skeptical but this sauce is awesome!!! Just dates and totally tastes like salted caramel, and way better for you on the processed/refined foods front!! So glad I found this – making this for the chocolate thumbprint cookies for my husbands birthday! 🙂 he loves caramel but is also trying to be healthy
I’m so glad you enjoyed this caramel sauce Lauren!! That’s such a huge compliment if you thought it tastes just like salted caramel — I’m truly honored! Thank you for taking the time to let me know! 🙂 It really means a lot to me that you’d make one of my recipes to celebrate such a special occasion too. Happy birthday to your husband, and I’d love to hear what both of you think of the thumbprint cookies too!