Vegan caramel apples without dairy or coconut milk!  Some caramel sauce will slide off your apple, and others will be so tough that they hurt 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.

An apple dipped in vegan caramel to make vegan caramel apples.

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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 give it a try!

Why make this recipe

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, not the typical caramel flavor 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.

What to use instead of dairy?

After much trial and error, I discovered that refined coconut oil and soy milk work well as replacements 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 my vegan salted caramel sauce, too.

Ingredients and substitutions

  • Sugar – any vegan granulated sugar will work.  You will be able to see the color change more easily in the lighter color sugars.
  • Water – to add moisture to your sugar, allowing it to cook and caramelize.
  • 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 prefer soy milk or oat milk, as they have a rich, 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.

Helpful tools

  • A heavy-bottomed pot is necessary to ensure that the sugar cooks evenly.

How to make vegan caramel apples

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

Step 2 – Heat on medium, bringing the sugar water to a boil. (Don’t stir. Simply pick up the saucepan and swirl the sugar around if needed.

Step 3 – Watch the sugar mixture closely! After boiling for about 6-8 minutes, it will start to take on a slightly darker color and develop a caramel-like aroma.

Step 4 – Boil for an additional 10-20 seconds to allow the mixture to turn a medium brown color (note that this color change will be slight when using vegan unbleached sugar).

Step 5 – Remove from heat and immediately add the coconut oil, stirring with a metal whisk for a few seconds.

Step 6 – Add the soy milk and continue stirring until smooth and everything is well combined. (It will bubble up and may spatter, so be careful!)

A series of 4 pictures showing the steps of boiling sugar and adding coconut oil and soy milk to make vegan caramel for vegan caramel apples.

Step 7 – Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature.

Step 8 – While the mixture is 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 paper to set the dipped apples on.

Step 10 – Reheat the caramel sauce until 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, reheat, and stir until it’s a smooth, sticky sauce.

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

A collage of 4 pictures showing the process steps for dipping apples into caramel to make vegan caramel apples.

Step 12 – Allow the mixture to cool in the refrigerator for approximately 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, then reheat it on low and let it bubble for about 30 seconds, it becomes stickier and achieves the perfect 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. For easier ways to make a caramel-style dip for apples, try 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 discard your first attempt, but once you get it right, it becomes easier.

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 of cream of tartar to keep the sugar smooth.
  • I also learned the hard way to measure the coconut oil and soy milk and wait to pour them into the sugar mixture as soon as it caramelizes.  Adding oil and milk helps reduce the temperature and prevents 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 runn,y 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, as the caramel will be very hard otherwise.

A close up of 4 vegan caramel apples.

More fall recipes

Vegan caramel apples recipe

For vegan caramel apples with sticks in the top of each one.
Diet
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5 from 6 rating

Vegan Caramel Apples

Yield: 4 large apples
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
Total: 20 minutes
Author: Monica Davis
Vegan caramel apple recipe that tastes like the real deal!
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Ingredients

Caramel Sauce:

For the Caramel Apples:

  • 4 apples
  • 4 popsicle sticks

Equipment

  • A heavy pot

Instructions
 

To make the caramel

  • Start with a clean medium-sized saucepan and add the sugar, water, and cream of tartar.
  • Turn the heat on to medium. The sugar water will start to boil. Don’t stir; just pick up the saucepan and swirl the sugar around if needed.
  • Watch the sugar mixture closely! After boiling for about 6-8 minutes, it will start to take on a slightly darker color and develop a caramel-like aroma.  At this point, let it boil for an additional 10-20 seconds to achieve a medium brown color (note that this color change will be slight when using vegan unbleached sugar).
  • Remove from heat and immediately add the coconut oil, stirring with a long-handled metal whisk for a few seconds.
  • Add the soy milk (It will bubble up and may spatter, so be careful)!  Continue stirring until smooth and everything is well combined. Then allow the mixture to cool to room temperature.
  • Reheat the caramel sauce until it begins to bubble, and allow it to bubble on low heat for 45 seconds.
  • Allow it to cool for about 10 minutes until it starts to slightly firm up and get sticky.

Coat the apples in the caramel sauce

  • While your caramel is cooling, remove the apple stem, then wash and dry the apples thoroughly. Place a popsicle stick in the top of each apple.
  • Cover a tray or cookie sheet with parchment paper to place the apples on after they have been dipped in caramel.
  • Once your caramel has a thick, sticky consistency, roll the apples in the caramel, coating the whole apple. (You can use a spoon to help you coat the apple completely.)
  • Allow it to drip for a few seconds and then place it on the parchment paper.
  • Put the tray of apples in the fridge to cool completely. (They will easily come off the parchment paper once cooled).

Notes

  • Watch the caramel closely as it’s cooking, don’t walk away from it!
  • You will know your caramel is done cooking when it smells like caramel.  The smell is as important as the color change in determining when to remove it from the stove.
  • Ensure that you remove it from the burner completely before adding the oil and soy milk.  Don’t just turn off the heat.
  • If your caramel starts to get too thick, add a few drops of water or soy milk and reheat it until you get a smooth consistency.
Serving: 1apple, Calories: 410kcal, Carbohydrates: 75g, Fat: 14g, Saturated Fat: 11g, Sodium: 7mg, Potassium: 225mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 69g, Vitamin A: 140IU, Vitamin C: 9.2mg, Calcium: 26mg, Iron: 0.3mg
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