Buttery sweetness with a hint of salt swirl together in just one taste of this Vegan Butterscotch Sauce. Ten minutes and six simple ingredients are all you need to start drizzling this fail-proof, delicious creation over your favorite sweets.
If you’re like me and you have precious memories attached to this delicious flavor, you will love this recipe!
I have craved it often, especially around the holidays. I'm so curious whether anyone else's family gave them butterscotch candies along with apples and oranges at Christmas time.
You probably know that dairy-free butterscotch is practically impossible to find at the stores. Well, now you don't have to look all over or order something that's very expensive.
This recipe is incredibly easy to make and will satisfy your butterscotch craving. Made-from-scratch is so much better than any store-bought variety could ever be!
It is thick, creamy, buttery, sweet, and slightly salty as butterscotch should be!
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Reasons You’ll Love This Recipe
- It’s fail-proof
- So easy to make
- Uses simple ingredients
- No coconut, no corn syrup
- Does not separate, nor crystalize
This vegan butterscotch sauce is so tasty that you might just find yourself eating it off the spoon! However, if you’re looking for more ways to use it, here are some ideas.
Drizzle it over
- Pie, fruit, coffee
- Cake, shakes, pretzels
- Waffles, popcorn, crackers
- Cookies, brownies, ice cream
- Peach crisp, french toast, skillet cookie
- Pear crumble, bread pudding, cinnamon rolls
- Ice cream floats, brookies, strawberry cobbler
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Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Brown Sugar - Vegan light or dark brown sugar both work beautifully. Dark brown will produce a slightly richer, more rustic flavor than light, but both are just as delicious.
- Vegan Butter - Any vegan butter will do. I prefer to use salted butter. If yours isn’t, simply add ¼ teaspoon more salt.
- Salt - Simple table salt dissolves into the sauce while it cooks. The amount of salt in butterscotch tends to vary by preference. I’m a bit more conservative with it, so feel free to add more according to how you like it.
- Lemon Juice - Just a tiny amount of lemon juice works with the molasses in the brown sugar to prevent a grainy, crystalization of the sugar. Don’t worry, you won’t be able to taste it. The same amount of apple cider vinegar can be used as a replacement.
- Vegan Creamer - This is the ingredient that tends to be tricky for making vegan butterscotch. Using regular plant milk is fine, but it produces a thinner, syrup consistency like the one I use in my Bread Pudding. For this recipe, I use plain vegan creamer that’s typically used in coffee. Here is my favorite creamer that you can buy from most stores that works great here: Silk Soy Creamer. A flavored variety is definitely okay but will slightly alter the final flavor of the butterscotch. Vegan half-n-half or heavy cream works too but can be harder to find at grocery stores.
- Vanilla - A splash of pure vanilla extract truly takes this sweet sauce over the top.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Here are some quick visual steps. Find the full recipe with exact measurements on the recipe card below.
Add the vegan butter to the pan and let it melt. Add the brown sugar, salt, and lemon juice. Stir everything together once and then leave it alone.
As the sugar melts in the pan, heat the vegan creamer in the microwave. Stir it in once the sugar has dissolved.
Let the sauce cook at a gentle boil for just 5 minutes. If the foaming and bubbles seem to be rapid and climbing high, turn the heat down a little.
Stir it just a few times during these 5-10 minutes.
Remove the sauce from the heat once it's thick and stir in the vanilla extract. Pour it into a glass jar and let it cool down (uncovered).
Enjoy it by drizzling the sauce over your favorite sweets! It will thicken as it cools. If you plan to use it later, cover the cooled-down sauce and place it in the refrigerator. Reheat it in the microwave for about 10 seconds whenever you’re ready.
Tips
- Try not to over-stir the sauce as it cooks because this can cause separation or crystallization.
- Avoid scraping down the walls of your pan as these bits and granules can introduce a grainy texture to your smooth sauce.
- Be very careful with the sauce while it’s hot because it can burn you! Consider keeping your children out of the kitchen just in case any of it splatters.
- Wash your dishes right away because the butterscotch sauce gets tough to clean off the longer it stays on them.
Enjoy It With
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Recipe
Vegan Butterscotch Sauce
Bonnie - Serene Trail
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons vegan butter, salted
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon lemon juice
- ½ cup vegan creamer
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Gather the ingredients and measure them out because this sauce cooks fast once you put it over the heat.
- Place a very clean medium-sized sauce or sauté pan over medium-low heat. Add the vegan butter to the pan and let it melt.
- Add the brown sugar, salt, and lemon juice to the pan. Stir everything together once and then leave it alone.
- As the sugar melts in the pan, heat the vegan creamer in the microwave for 15 seconds. Stir in the warmed-up creamer once the sugar has dissolved. You can tell that it has melted when you don’t see any large granules in the pan and the consistency looks smooth.
- Let the sauce cook at a gentle boil for just 5 minutes. If the foaming and bubbles seem to be rapid and climbing high, turn the heat down a little. Stir 1 or 2 times during these five minutes. It cooks best when left alone for the most part. Limit the amount of times you scrape the sides of the pan as that can introduce crystalized granules.
- Remove the sauce from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Pour the sauce into a glass jar and let it cool down (uncovered).
- Enjoy by drizzling the sauce over your favorite sweets! It will thicken as it cools. If you plan to use it later, cover the cooled-down sauce and place it in the refrigerator. Reheat it in the microwave for about 10 seconds whenever you’re ready.
Video
Notes
- You might be able to use a smaller pan but upsizing to medium helps prevent messes just in case the sauce bubbles up a bit too high.
- Try not to over-stir the sauce as it cooks because this can cause separation or crystallization.
- Avoid scraping down the walls of your pan as these bits and granules can introduce a grainy texture to your smooth sauce.
- Be very careful with the sauce while it’s hot because it can burn you! Consider keeping your children out of the kitchen just in case any of it splatters.
- Wash your dishes right away because the butterscotch sauce gets tough to clean off the longer it sits on them.
Nutrition
The nutrition information is estimated and can vary depending on brands and measurements used.
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