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Home » Desserts » Vegan Chocolate Caramel Cups.

Vegan Chocolate Caramel Cups.

Aug 18, 2022 by Kelly Roenicke · 7 Comments

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vegan chocolate caramel candy

When you’re in the mood for a sweet, chewy candy, try these vegan chocolate caramel cups. A homemade chocolate coating and a sweet and salty date caramel filling make these candies extra decadent.

chocolate caramel cups stacked on a wooden tray

Caramel is one of my favorite desserts. Whether it’s chewy candy, or caramel apples, or caramel corn, I love the buttery, salty goodness of a delicious caramel recipe. Sometimes I don’t want to fuss with the boiling and stirring process of making homemade candy, so I will make a simple date caramel.

I love making caramel out of dates. Some dates, a dash of water, and a pinch of salt, and a good whirl in the food processor, and suddenly you have awesome, sticky, naturally sweet caramel. I just love simple things like that.

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  • Ingredient Notes
  • Special Equipment
  • Step by Step Instructions
  • Storage
  • More Dairy Free Desserts
  • Recipe
stack of chocolate caramel cups

Ingredient Notes

  • Medjool Dates – Medjool dates are the best choice for making caramel, because they contain a lot of moisture. Deglet Noor dates will also work in this recipe. If your dates are on the drier side, go ahead and soak them in warm water for about five minutes. That bit of soaking will make it much easier to puree them.
  • Coconut Oil – I like unrefined organic coconut oil to make chocolate. It does have a light coconut flavor. If you want to avoid a coconut flavor, use refined coconut oil.
  • Unsweetened Cocoa Powder – I use Hershey’s Unsweetened Cocoa Powder. You can use whatever brand works for your dietary needs.
  • Maple Syrup – If you don’t want to use maple syrup, you could also use honey or agave syrup.

Special Equipment

You will need a food processor to make the date caramel. I love my mini food processor for this task – it’s just the right size.

I also recommend using parchment paper cupcake liners – they will help keep the candy from sticking.

Step by Step Instructions

  1. Melt the coconut oil in a microwave safe bowl and add the cocoa powder and maple syrup.
mixing up coconut oil chocolate
  1. Stir until smooth.
homemade coconut oil chocolate after mixing
  1. Spoon some chocolate into a muffin tin lined with paper liners, then place in the refrigerator so that it firms up.
dairy free chocolate in muffin tin
  1. While the chocolate is chilling, place the pitted dates, water, and salt in a mini food processor, and process until smooth.
date caramel in a white dish
  1. Spoon some date caramel on top of the bottom layer of chocolate, then spoon more of the melted chocolate on top. Refrigerate for about one hour to firm up.
chocolate caramel cups in muffin tin

Storage

This chocolate does melt rather easily, so you definitely want to store these caramel cups in the refrigerator. They should stay fresh in the refrigerator for about one week.

You can also freeze these. Store in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months.

dairy free chocolate caramel cups

More Dairy Free Desserts

  • No Bake Samoa Cookies
  • 3 Ingredient Dairy Free Fudge
  • Sunbutter Cups

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

Recipe

dairy free chocolate caramel cups
5 from 1 vote
Print

Vegan Chocolate Caramel Cups.

Rich, smooth, homemade chocolate is filled with a delicious date caramel, making these candies extra decadent!

Course Dessert
Cuisine Dairy Free, gluten free, Paleo, vegan.
Keyword easy, no bake
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings 9
Calories 147 kcal
Author Kelly Roenicke

Ingredients

For the chocolate:

  • 5 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 5 Tablespoons coconut oil solid
  • 2½ Tablespoons maple syrup

For the caramel:

  • 8 Medjool dates pitted*
  • 2-3 Tablespoons water
  • big pinch of sea salt
US Customary – Metric

Instructions

  1. Line a muffin tin with 9 paper liners.

Make the chocolate:

  1. Place the coconut oil in a bowl and microwave for about 20 seconds or until melted.
  2. Whisk in the maple syrup and the unsweetened cocoa powder.
  3. Spoon some chocolate into each paper liner, then refrigerate for about 15 minutes or until firm. You should have half of the chocolate left over.

Make the caramel:

  1. If your dates seem dry, soak them in warm water for 5 minutes. Place the pitted dates, sea salt, and 2 tablespoons water in a mini food processor. Process until the dates are pureed and very smooth. If needed, add more water.

  2. Spoon some date caramel into each paper liner.
  3. Spoon some more chocolate on top of the caramel in each cup, and use the back of a spoon to smooth it out.
  4. Place in the refrigerator to chill for at least one hour before eating. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.

Recipe Notes

Store chocolate caramel cups in the refrigerator. They should stay fresh for about a week.

You can also freeze these – store in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months.

If you can’t find Medjool dates, you can use Deglet Noor dates.

 

Nutrition Facts
Vegan Chocolate Caramel Cups.
Amount per Serving
Calories
147
% Daily Value*
Fat
 
8
g
12
%
Saturated Fat
 
6
g
38
%
Sodium
 
1
mg
0
%
Potassium
 
203
mg
6
%
Carbohydrates
 
21
g
7
%
Fiber
 
2
g
8
%
Sugar
 
17
g
19
%
Vitamin A
 
30
IU
1
%
Calcium
 
23
mg
2
%
Iron
 
0.6
mg
3
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Related

« Quick and Easy Vegan Black Bean Soup.
Creamy Chicken Casserole with Kale (Gluten Free, Dairy Free). »

Filed Under: Dairy Free, Desserts, food, Gluten Free, Nut Free, Recipes, Sweets, Vegan Tagged With: Dairy Free, Egg Free, Fish Free, Gluten Free, Grain Free, Legume Free, Mustard Free, Nut Free, paleo, 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. BeeFree

    May 25, 2016 at 11:01 am

    5 stars
    WOW! This Paleo dessert is mouthwatering. Definitely sharing this. Hope you can guest blog for us in the future. Best of luck.

    Reply
  2. Julia Mueller

    May 24, 2016 at 12:04 pm

    Yup, I want to reach out and grab that whole plate, lol! These cups look absolutely amazing! It’s been years since I’ve made homemade chocolate cups, and I’m loving the idea of using a date caramel for the center. So brilliant and delicious!

    Reply
  3. Sarah @Whole and Heavenly Oven

    May 24, 2016 at 7:41 am

    I still haven’t tried date caramel yet and something tells me I need to and asap!!! These cups are absolutely right up my alley and I’m kinda wishing I had one or two for breakfast. ;)

    Reply
  4. Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice

    May 23, 2016 at 7:50 am

    Mmm you had me at chocolate and caramel! These cups sound so delicious! I love the bite-sized form!

    Reply
  5. Kristy @ Southern In Law

    May 22, 2016 at 8:22 pm

    I love dates and chocolate together so this looks like the perfect treat! Yum!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Fudgy Chocolate Cookies (Grain Free, Vegan). - The Pretty Bee says:
    March 31, 2017 at 7:02 pm

    […] If you’re on a grain free diet, you’ll want to check out these grain free cookies, and this recipe for paleo caramel cups! […]

    Reply
  2. 53+ Healthy No-Bake Desserts (With Vegan and Paleo Options) - The Roasted Root says:
    June 20, 2016 at 8:03 am

    […] Paleo Chocolate Caramel Cups from The Pretty Bee […]

    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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