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Murielle Banackissa

3-Ingredient Salted Date Caramel Sauce

Print recipe
10 mins Prep: 10 mins
Serves 1.5

Also known as date paste, this 3-Ingredient Salted Date Caramel Sauce is incredibly easy and quick to whip up, while also being a super versatile sweetener for all your cooking & baking!

Ingredients

  • 1 cup pitted dates , packed
  • 1 cup boiling water
  • ¼ tsp sea salt

Recipe

  1. Step 1

    Add pitted dates to a bowl along with boiling water. Cover and let sit for 10 minutes to soften.

  2. Step 2

    Add soften dates to a high speed blender along with salt and 3/4 cup of the soaking liquid. Blend until smooth, scraping the sides as needed.

  3. Step 3

    Transfer to a jar and store in the fridge for up to a week.

  4. Step 4

    Enjoy in drinks, desserts and on toast with your favorite nut butter.

Common Questions & Swaps

  • Can I use any kind of dates? Yes, but adjust the soaking time accordingly. I find that softer dates (like mazafati) require less soaking time than the very dried ones (such as deglet). Medjool dates fall somewhere in between.
  • Can I add vanilla extract to this recipe ? Yes, absolutely! I would suggest adding about 1 teaspoon of it for a little vanilla hint.

  • Can I make this paste in a food processor? I think so, you might just have to blend it up a little longer and scrape the sides more often.

  • I like my butters to have a little flavour, can I add any sweetener or salt to this? Yes, feel free to add a pinch of salt and/or a sweetener of choice – I recommend maple syrup or stevia. You can also add in a pitted date, but that might change the color a little.

  • I made this recipe and kept it in my pantry and now it is rock hard. What do I do? I would suggest putting it in the microwave for 10 seconds, taking it out, mixing it and repeating this process until it is runny again. Be careful – do not put it in the microwave for more than 10 seconds at a time or else there is a risk of it seizing up on you.

Date paste in small mason jar
Closeup of medjool dates
Date sweetened caramel sauce with spoon taken out
Closeup of date sauce

Lately, I have really been into adding more basic recipes to my website. Recipes that can be used in other recipes. Just like my Homemade Coconut Butter, this 3-Ingredient Salted Date Caramel Sauce is a recipe that I make over and over again. Why? It is incredibly easy to make and is so versatile. 

If you are like me and have been trying to minimize your consumption of refined sweeteners, Salted Date Caramel Sauce can come to the rescue! Made simply with dates, salt and water, this sweetener is 100% refined sugar free and made from whole foods.

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Spoonful of date paste in a spoon
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I personally love to use this 3-Ingredient Salted Date Caramel Sauce to sweeten my porridge, my smoothies, cold and hot drinks. I love to drizzle it over ice cream or to mix in with my peanut butter on toast. But also, I find that this sweetener works very well in baked goods. You have to keep in mind that it is a liquid sweetener so it cannot be used in equal quantities to replace a granulated sweetener like coconut, brown or white sugar.

However, it can do a great job at replacing maple syrup, agave and honey. I have noticed though that whenever I use date paste as my main sweetener instead of maple syrup (because that tends to be my go to), the flavour is earthier and the sweetness level is a bit lower, which is something to keep in mind.

On this note, I am glad I shared with you yet another classic pantry staple of mine. If you guys decide to make this recipe and share it on IG, make sure to tag me (@muriellebanackissa)!

Stay safe out there!

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