Vegan Caramel Apples (2024)

Oct 4, 2018 by Monica - 33 Comments

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Vegan caramel apples without dairy or coconut milk! Some caramel sauce will just side off your apple or others will be so tough that it hurts your teeth. This vegan caramel recipe is thick and sticky enough to coat your apples yet still soft and chewy. Best of all, since it's not made with coconut milk like many vegan caramels, it has the classic taste that you expect from a traditional caramel apple.

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Caramel is something I thought I might never be able to eat again after going vegan. I wasn't sure how to make caramel or if it was even possible without dairy, but I was determined to try!

After years of living without caramel, I came across a vegan caramel recipe in a magazine. It called for coconut milk instead of dairy. I was so excited that I made it that same day. I thought it was delicious, but it definitely had a coconut flavor and not the normal caramel flavor that I remembered. My son who hates coconut wouldn't touch it. It seemed like there had to be another way to get the right consistency and flavor.

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🥛 What to use instead of dairy?
🧾 Ingredients and substitutions
🔪 Helpful tools
🥄 How to make vegan caramel apples
📝 Recipe Notes
👩🏻‍🍳 Pro Tips
🥡 Storage
🌟 More fall recipes
📋 Vegan caramel apples recipe

🥛 What to use instead of dairy?

After much trial and error, I discovered that refinedcoconut oil and soy milkwork great as a replacement for dairy or coconut milk. If you use refined coconut oil, it doesn’t have the flavor of coconut, and the soy milk gives it the right consistency. I use this basic caramel recipe for myvegan salted caramel saucetoo.

🧾 Ingredients and substitutions

Sugar -any vegan granulated sugar will work. You will be able to see the color change easier in the lighter color sugars.
Water -to give your sugar some moisture so you can cook it and caramelize it.
Oil -for a rich and creamy texture. Any neutral-flavored oil will work. I prefer refined coconut oil for the richest and most neutral taste.
Plant Milk -any will work, but I like soy milk since it has a rich and creamy dairy-like taste.
Cream of Tartar -or lemon juice. For acidity to help your sugar stay smooth and not crystallize.
Apples - to coat in the caramel.

A heavy-bottomed pot to make sure that the sugar cooks evenly.

🥄 How to make vegan caramel apples

Step 1 - Start with a cleanmedium-sized saucepan and add the sugar, water, and cream of tartar.

Step 2 - Heat on mediumbringing the sugar water will start to boil. (Don’t stir. Just pick up the saucepan and swish around the sugar if needed).

Step 3 - Watch the sugar mixture closely!After it boils for about 6-8 minutes, it will start to get slightly darker and smell like caramel.

Step 4 - Boil for about 10-20 more secondsto let it turn a medium brown color (this color change will be slight when using vegan unbleached sugar).

Step 5 - Remove from heatandimmediatelyadd coconut oiland stir with a metal whisk for a few seconds.

Step 6 - Add the soy milkand continue to stir until smooth and everything is well mixed. (It will bubble up and may spatter, so be careful)!

Step 7 - Allow coolingto room temperature.

Step 8 - While it's cooling, prepare your apples by washing and drying them. Then remove the stems and insert a stick into the top.

Step 9 - Line a tray with parchment paperto set the apples on after they have been dipped.

Step 10 - Reheat the caramel sauceuntil it is the right consistency for dipping apples. (If your caramel is thin, let it boil again for about 30 seconds. If it is too thick add a teaspoon or two of soy milk and reheat and stir until it's a sticky sauce.

Step 11 - Dip the apples in the caramel. Let the excess drip off and place it on the parchment-lined tray.

Step 12 - Allow coolingin the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. They will come off the paper easily once they have cooled completely.

📝 Recipe Notes

I have found that if you let the caramel sauce cool slightly and then heat it on low again and let it bubble for about 30 seconds, it makes it stickier and just the right consistency for making caramel apples.
Caramel is tricky!Nearly every recipe on my blog is easy and can be done by someone relatively inexperienced in the kitchen, however,caramel is more of an exact science. If you want easier ways to make a caramel-style dip for apples, use my peanut butter caramel recipe or my vegan butterscotch recipe.
You must watch it carefully.It goes from sugar to caramel to a burnt mess in a matter of about 30 seconds. Just know that you may have to throw out your first attempt, but once you get it right, it becomes easy.

👩🏻‍🍳 Pro Tips

Every time I made vegan caramel it would come out differently and many times it would seem perfect while still warm, but then get gritty and start to crystallize when it cooled. So, I learned to add a pinch ofcream of tartarto keep the sugar smooth.
I also learned the hard way to have the coconut oil and soy milk measured and wait to pour them into the sugar mixture the second it caramelizes. Adding oil and milk reduces the temperature and keeps it from burning. In the few seconds that it would take you to find and measure the oil and soy milk, your sugar will burn!
When using vegan sugar, it is already slightly brown, so you will not see a big color change. Go by smell more than color. ( It will start to smell like caramel or even slightly burnt sugar).
Add the oil first, give it a little stir with a whisk, and then add the milk. This will cool it down a little and it won't spatter as much once you add the soy milk. When you do add the milk, it will still bubble up and may spatter a little, so use a long-handled whisk to stir and stand back. (Make sure children are back and out of your way)!
If your sauce is too runny you can heat it again on low for about 30-60 seconds to evaporate some liquid out of it and firm it up. (But don't let it burn)!

🥡 Storage

Keep the caramel apples in the fridge for up to 3 days. You can store them on the countertop in a cool dry place for about 24 hours, but the caramel may start to run off of them if they get too hot.

Allow to warm to room temperature before serving or the caramel will be very hard.

🌟 More fall recipes

Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate CupcakeswithVegan Salted Caramel Frosting.
Pumpkin Bean Soup
Vegan Pumpkin Breadwith homemadeVegan Cream Cheese Frosting
Red Lentil Soup with Pumpkin and Kale
Vegan Apple Crisp
Vegan Apple Cake

📌 Be sure tofollow me on Pinterestfor new vegan recipes!

📋 Vegan caramel apples recipe

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