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Home » Dairy Free » Dairy Free Caramel Candy.

Dairy Free Caramel Candy.

Dec 17, 2017 by Kelly Roenicke · 30 Comments

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dairy free caramel candy recipe

Dairy free caramel candy is a delicious treat to make and give! These caramels are chewy, sweet, and a little salty. 

dairy free caramel candy

Are you intimidated by candy making? I totally understand…I used to feel the same way. I would see people making perfect batches of brittle, and colorful lollipops, and wonder how on earth they made that happen.

Candy thermometers? Soft ball, hard crack, and other unfamiliar terms? Never mind. I will just buy my candy.

But then food allergies came along, and it was difficult to find caramel that was safe. So I had to try my hand at homemade dairy free caramel, and then at homemade vegan buttercrunch toffee. And I’m glad I gave it a try! Homemade caramel and toffee is SO delicious.

dairy free caramel recipe

Some tips for making delicious dairy free caramel:

  • use a heavy bottomed saucepan, to help prevent burning
  • keep stirring the caramel
  • keep your eyes on the thermometer – it’s important to have it reach exactly the right temperature

dairy free caramel

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

dairy free caramel candy
4.41 from 5 votes
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Dairy Free Caramel Candy.

This dairy free caramel candy is so delicious! Chewy, sweet, and just perfect for gift giving.

Course Dessert
Cuisine Dairy Free, gluten free, vegan.
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 32
Calories 142 kcal
Author Kelly Roenicke

Ingredients

  • 1 cup vegan buttery spread
  • 2 cups light brown sugar packed
  • 1 cup light organic corn syrup
  • 11 ounces full fat coconut milk I used So Delicious Culinary Coconut Milk
  • â…“ teaspoon sea salt

Instructions

  1. Line a rimmed cookie sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

  2. Attach a candy thermometer to a heavy bottomed pan so that the end is near the bottom, but not resting on it. Place the vegan buttery spread in the pan and melt over medium high heat. Add the light brown sugar and stir until incorporated and melted.

  3. Add the light organic corn syrup and full fat coconut milk.

  4. Bring the mixture to a boil and continue to cook, stirring constantly until a candy thermometer reads 235 degrees F, the soft-ball stage. (Be patient, this process could take around 15-20 minutes).

  5. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the sea salt.

  6. Pour the caramel on the prepared cookie sheet. It should spread out, but if needed, you can use a rubber spatula to help smooth it out. 

  7. Let the sheet of caramel cool completely before slicing. Wrap each caramel in squares of parchment paper or waxed paper. (Waxed paper wraps tighter, but sometimes the caramel sticks to it a little bit. Parchment paper never sticks, but won't wrap tightly).

Recipe Notes

I used So Delicious brand culinary coconut milk, which is quite thick, like a coconut cream. If you use a different brand of canned coconut milk, and there is a lot of liquid on top, you may want to drain a little bit off the top. 

Nutrition Facts
Dairy Free Caramel Candy.
Amount per Serving
Calories
142
% Daily Value*
Fat
 
6
g
9
%
Saturated Fat
 
3
g
19
%
Sodium
 
81
mg
4
%
Potassium
 
41
mg
1
%
Carbohydrates
 
21
g
7
%
Sugar
 
21
g
23
%
Vitamin A
 
270
IU
5
%
Vitamin C
 
0.1
mg
0
%
Calcium
 
15
mg
2
%
Iron
 
0.4
mg
2
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

These will last for at least a week. If you want to have them last longer, store in the refrigerator. This will make them quite firm, so you will want to bring them to room temperature before eating.

Related

« Double Chocolate Chip Gluten Free Freezer Cookie Dough.
Pumpkin Kiss Cookies (Gluten Free, Vegan). »

Filed Under: Dairy Free, Desserts, food, Gluten Free, Nut Free, Recipes, Sweets, Vegan Tagged With: Dairy Free, Egg Free, Fish Free, Garlic Free, Gluten Free, Mustard Free, Nightshade Free, Onion Free, Peanut Free, Sesame Free, Shellfish Free, Soy Free, top 8 allergy free recipe, Tree Nut Free

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Kelly Roenicke
Kelly Roenicke
Mom to two boys with food allergies and sensitivities, Kelly is passionate about allergy friendly cooking and baking. She believes that you can enjoy amazing, easy recipes even when cooking for multiple food allergies.
Kelly Roenicke
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Shia

    October 18, 2020 at 10:35 pm

    3 stars
    The flavor is pretty good if kinda bland and I agree there was a lot of extra butter that gave it an oily consistency. Even though it did solidify.

    Reply
  2. Jennifer

    October 06, 2020 at 7:15 pm

    I made this a couple years ago and it was fantastic. Tried again today and it won’t solidify- even after 6 hours in the fridge. Any suggestions as to what happened? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Audra Powell

      December 20, 2020 at 11:46 am

      I would recommend cooking longer. I like my caramels a lot closer to hard ball than soft ball. You can get up to 240 degrees, or do a cold water test and dump a little in a glass of ice water while cooking to check the texture. If it doesnt come together in the cold water it wont cone together in the fridge.

      Reply
  3. Sara

    September 20, 2020 at 12:16 pm

    I never could get the butter to fully incorporate into the mixture. Cooling on the pan, the oil is pooling on top and around the sides. Is there any saving it? Any tips on what I did wrong?

    Reply
  4. marci

    May 25, 2020 at 11:23 pm

    5 stars
    I’ve made this caramel many times. It’s very simple and absolutely delicious. Thank you for the vegan recipe!

    Reply
  5. Karen Norris

    April 24, 2020 at 2:22 pm

    Can you tell me where you get your culinary coconut milk at?

    Reply
    • ev johnson

      December 08, 2022 at 10:01 pm

      you can’t not because it is no longer produced

      Reply
  6. Karen Norris

    April 24, 2020 at 2:16 pm

    Do you have a yummy recipe for almond roca candydairy-free? Thank goodness someone who has a recipe for people who csn’t have dairy. ? Thank you.

    Reply
  7. A

    December 16, 2019 at 2:12 pm

    Will these melt in the oven?

    Reply
    • Kelly Roenicke

      December 17, 2019 at 12:45 am

      I would think so. Are you going to put them on cookies or something?

      Reply
  8. Katie

    October 26, 2019 at 7:36 pm

    5 stars
    Delicious recipe!

    Reply
  9. Lindsey

    February 10, 2019 at 11:15 pm

    I’m looking to make a DF caramel drizzle on chocolate covered fruits – if I use this recipe (while still warm/hot) do you think it will firm up so it’s not running off the treat?

    Reply
    • Kaitlyn

      December 14, 2019 at 3:19 pm

      Since I dont keep coconut milk in my home, I tried to make this with almond milk and it worked!! Very delicious thank you!

      Reply
  10. Elizabeth

    December 03, 2018 at 2:48 pm

    I am not a big fan of the coconut flavor. Do these have a coconut flavor? Is there something else you could substitute for the coconut milk?

    Reply
    • Kelly Roenicke

      December 15, 2018 at 5:28 pm

      It does not have a strong coconut flavor.

      Reply
  11. Tina

    November 15, 2018 at 8:00 pm

    5 stars
    Omg I miss two things since going vegan… caramel and flan. I will make this for sure. I want to cover a with chocolate too. Any suggestions?

    Reply
    • Kelly Roenicke

      November 17, 2018 at 7:01 pm

      I think I would make the caramel, shape it how you want, and then cover with melted chocolate. I am working on a chocolate caramel recipe, but I don’t have it published yet.

      Reply
  12. Lee Ann Traeger

    January 07, 2018 at 9:35 pm

    Do you have a preferred brand of buttery spread? I tried a a similar recipe and was unhappy with a smell/after taste that I thought might be the butter substitute I used.
    Thanks for the help

    Reply
    • Kelly Roenicke

      January 09, 2018 at 4:31 pm

      I usually use Earth Balance Soy Free Buttery Spread.

      Reply
  13. Sharon

    December 26, 2017 at 2:20 pm

    Wow!!!! What an extraordinary recipe, I would have never guessed it’s possible to make dairy free caramel!

    Reply
  14. Karin MacDonald

    December 23, 2017 at 7:47 am

    That sounds absolutely delicious! I have tried my hand at coming up with a caramel recipe like that before and failed miserably! I am looing forward to giving this a go!

    Reply
    • Kelly Roenicke

      December 23, 2017 at 9:35 am

      I hope you love it!

      Reply
  15. Nicole

    December 20, 2017 at 3:09 pm

    These look delish! Do they have a coconutty flavor?

    Reply
    • Kelly Roenicke

      December 23, 2017 at 9:47 am

      No they don’t!

      Reply
    • Karen Olayo

      December 05, 2022 at 3:03 pm

      Can you use honey in place of the corn syrup? Or make syrup?
      Thanks!

      Reply
  16. Sarah

    December 19, 2017 at 2:44 pm

    Is there a substitution for the corn syrup?

    Reply
    • Kelly Roenicke

      December 20, 2017 at 12:23 pm

      I don’t know of one, I’m sorry!

      Reply
    • Beth Dupree

      March 19, 2018 at 4:06 am

      4 stars
      For 1 cup of corn.syrup in a recipe you can use any of these

      1 cup sugar, dissolved in 1/4 cup warm water
      1 cup honey
      1 cup light molasses
      1 cup maple-flavored syrup (pancake syrup)
      1 cup agave nectar
      1 cup brown rice syrup

      Reply
      • Daniel L

        March 28, 2019 at 12:56 pm

        The best sub for corn syrup in caramel is golden syrup. It’s invert cane sugar syrup. British recipes use tons of it. Also, rice syrup can’t be counted on to be gluten free.

        Reply
    • 😊

      October 20, 2021 at 11:58 pm

      Hi! So, my favorite candy is chewey caramel, but with celiac it’s so hard to find them GF, and when I found this recipe I was super excited to try it! But when I made them, they ended up really hard. I made them with almond milk. Any ideas as to why they’re so hard?

      Reply

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Hi! I'm Kelly, and I believe that you can enjoy amazing, easy recipes even when cooking for multiple food allergies.

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