This past weekend my mom and I spent the day making dairy-free caramel apples. Well, we played around more than anything, but we managed to make some fun, festive caramel apples for fall 😉
I have tried dozens of caramel recipes over the years, some have been total flops, while others have been made over and over.
Creating dairy-free caramel can be a little tricky, but all you need is a sugar source to get that notorious brown color. I chose honey because it makes it so easy!
Honey Caramel apples have quickly become one of our favorites!
My mom and I also made the fun, regular caramel apples with the traditional Kraft Caramel candy. Those are always a good choice!
UPDATED: This was a post from 2015, but we have just updated it with BETTER information and chemist tips to make it a great post! I hope you can enjoy it again and make it soon too!
PIN: Dairy-Free Caramel Apples
- 1/3 cup canned coconut milk
- 1 cup honey
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 1-2 tsp vanilla
- pinch salt
- 5-6 apples, any kind!
- Wash and thoroughly dry apples, then prepare a wax paper surface.
- In a saucepan, add honey, oil, and coconut milk. While whisking, cook over medium high heat. Mixture will boil and bubble for TEN minutes. Remove from heat.
- Whisk in salt and vanilla.
- Allow mixture to sit for at least 15 minutes, it will thicken as it sits.
- Roll apples into mixture. Spoon additional caramel on the apples.
- Chemist Tip: Whisk continually so caramel mixture doesn't boil over while cooking!
- Add vanilla extract when it is removed from heat!
- This mixture is not as thick as traditional caramel, but will get almost as thick upon standing.
See how pretty it looks too! I couldn’t get over how shiny it was!
[Tweet “Glistening Honey Caramel Apples #cleaneating !”]
Regular Caramel Apples
Here is how our regular ones turned out. They are always delicious too! These are so simple, just add a bag of caramel candy, a few tablespoons of water, then melt in microwave for a few minutes! I prefer to use the caramel that you melt because it turns out really thick.
Chemist Tips for Dairy-Free Caramel Apples
Caramelization is a complete chemical process! It can go bad fast, so when baking with friends or family, I like to keep it simple and sweet. It was my mission this season to make a DAIRY-free caramel sauce for my husband. He loves eating caramel apples, but he cannot have any kind of dairy. Most caramel calls for butter and/or cream. Instead I used Honey! And it made the most beautiful, glistening caramel sauce!
This recipe will be a little more light and thin than regular caramel sauce, but it does firm up nicely once you let it sit!
If you are struggling with getting the caramel to firm up, just continue to cook on low and stir. It will eventually get thick enough to dip, but remember it will still be a little thin!
Honey is a great low-glycemic index option for sugar. Even though you can use regular sugar to still make dairy-free caramel, I like using honey. Check out this post on regular sugar vs added sugar to get some more chemist tips on sugar sources!
Are you a fan of caramel apples this time of year? We love them!
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Alexis is an investigative chemist sharing her expertise in cleaning, skincare, gardening, and home hacks. She personally tests out products like the best skincare products or home products then shares not only the science behind how it works, but also her personal results. She is the mom of two living in Texas with her husband. Find her on Instagram for fantastic videos, tips, and behind the scenes.
Yum! This is a great twist on the traditional caramel apple which I find to be cloyingly sweet. Hubby likes the traditional type, arguing the health benefits of the apple. I may have to try the honey version. What type of Apple did you use, and recommend. I love Fuji! The weekend is coming… Hang on!
Fuji is my favorite! That is what I used for this recipe, we also bought ginger golds which I have never had before. They were actually really delicious!
These look SO good! Thanks for sharing! The kids I nanny for will love this activity.
This is great for kids since it isn’t as technical as regular caramel! Thanks girl!
Ooooo! I think I may have found my weekend project! I haven’t had caramel apples in forever, but these look super easy to make!
I hope you get to make them, they are so delicious!!
These look so y ummy. I was wondering i f i don’t have coconut milk can I substitute regular milk instead?
Unfortunately, regular milk won’t allow it to thicken up. Coconut milk is a substitute for cream. You can definitely use it and will still have a good flavor, but it won’t be a thick caramel!
I love caramel! I’ll have to try your recipe soon. If I just want caramel sauce to drizzle over everything and add to my coffee, will this work for that too? I usually just cut up apples to dip into caramel since it’s easier than dipping the apples.
This mixture is great to drizzle or even dip. It takes awhile to firm up, so you can definitely use it for other awesome stuff! I would also cook it a little less and it will keep it from turning to thick 🙂 Let me know how it works out!
These look delicious! I’ve never tried a caramel apple before.
Caramel apples were always a fall staple in our home, but it is nice to have a dairy-free option now!
Could these apples be made a couple of days ahead? Also, can you store leftovers in the fridge?
They do well one to two days after making them, but I wouldn’t store them longer than that. The mixture will get a little runny