Vegan Butterscotch Sauce

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.

This irresistible vegan butterscotch sauce will instantly take you back to the good ol’ days!

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 when my grandfather would give us butterscotch candies.

Unfortunately, vegan butterscotch seems to be nonexistent at grocery stores. Maybe that isn't such a bad thing though because I’ve learned that made-from-scratch is so much better than any store-bought variety could ever be! 

Reasons You’ll Love This Recipe

• It’s fail-proof
• So easy to make
• Only takes 10 minutes
• 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
• Cake
• Coffee
• Shakes
• Waffles
• Pretzels
• Cookies
• Popcorn
• Crackers
• Brownies
• Ice cream
• Peach crisp
• French toast
• Skillet cookie
• Pear crumble
• Bread pudding
• Cinnamon rolls
• Ice cream floats
• Your favorite fruit
• Strawberry cobbler

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.

How to Make Vegan Butterscotch Sauce

Here are some quick visual steps. Find the full recipe with exact measurements on the recipe card below.

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. You could probably get away with using a smaller pan but upsizing to medium helps prevent messes just in case the sauce bubbles up a bit too high. 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 that 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.

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. 

Related Vegan Recipes

• You will love this Bread Pudding with a thinner version of butterscotch sauce. 
• How delicious would it be to add this sauce over a delicious Apple Galette!
• Treat yourself to this easy, homemade Cherry Pie.
• Or whip up some quick and tasty Apple Turnovers.

I hope you love this recipe! Please consider leaving a star rating and comment below. You can get my latest recipes sent directly to your inbox. Click here to subscribe to my email list!

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