Healthy Sweet Potato Date Caramel Sauce (vegan; oil-free)

A simple yet delicious whole food plant-based caramel sauce featuring fresh dates, sweet potato, and cashews.  The perfect option for dipping in fresh apple wedges, or serving with crepes, cobblers and pie, oatmeal and porridge, toast, pancakes, waffles, ice cream, and more. Can be made as thick or thin as desired.

Who knew healthy could taste this good?  This is so sweet, decadent, and indulgent!! And yet, here we are!

Presenting whole food plant-based perfection!  I may have just found my new favorite pancake topping right here.

This spread is all-natural and nutritious using only whole food plant-based ingredients.  In less than 15 minutes, you can enjoy this little treasure for yourself. If it seems too good to be true, read on.

This Healthy Sweet Potato Date Caramel Sauce is made with five simple ingredients – dates, sweet potatoes, plant milk, cashews, and flavoring. That’s it.

First, the dates. Dates provide the all-natural plant-based sweetness and caramel flavoring in this recipe. I think dates are nature’s candy. Sticky, sweet, and delicious. Just two medjool dates contain 133 calories, 3.2 grams of fiber, 0.8 grams of protein, 32 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of fat. They also provide essential minerals and vitamins, including calcium, iron, potassium, copper, Vitamin B6, and magnesium. (Healthline)

Although dates contain a concentrated form of natural sugar, they are also lower on the glycemic index. This means that dates may not increase blood sugar as much as other sugars. But since dates are highly caloric, you should still watch your intake if you are trying to lose weight. Balance and moderation are so key in any healthy diet plan.

This recipe calls for one cup of pitted dates, which typically equates to 10-12 fresh medjool dates. If you’re using the smaller dates, you’ll need more. Any fresh dates work well in this recipe.  It’s important to note that some dates, such as halawi dates, are much smaller than medjool dates. I have successfully used both types of dates.

Next up are sweet potatoes, which are super nutritious. Just one cup of baked sweet potato contains 4 grams of pure plant protein, 6.6 grams of dietary fiber, and almost no fat. They’re a great source of vitamins and minerals like Vitamins A, B6, and C, potassium, manganese, niacin, copper, and pantothenic acid. Plus, sweet potatoes are especially rich in antioxidants that prevent free radicals from doing harm to your body. (Healthline) 

This recipe calls for three-quarters of a cup of sweet potatoes. It provides a lot of the density and substance for this sauce. You can use any variety of sweet potatoes, though some are naturally more yellow or orange. Just be sure to peel your sweet potatoes, then cube before measuring.

You can use any unsweetened unflavored plant milk in this Healthy Sweet Potato Date Caramel Sauce. I recommend using my Coco + Nut Milk, a creamy milk featuring a blend of raw nuts and fresh coconut flakes, boasting fiber and omegas! Though, you can also use Oat + Nut Milk, which is a creamy and smooth plant-based and vegan milk featuring a blend of raw nuts and whole grain oats, boasting fiber and omegas!

Raw cashews are the fourth ingredient. They also provide some of the physical substance but add the creamy smooth texture. They also provide healthy fats and nutrients. Just one ounce of raw cashews contains 157 calories, 5 grams of protein, 12 grams of fat, and 1 gram of fiber. But they really shine in their nutrient content, including copper, magnesium, manganese, zinc, phosphorous, iron, selenium, thiamine, Vitamin K, and Vitamin B6. (Healthline)

And last, but not least, vanilla, cake batter extract, salt. Vanilla is the tried and true flavor extract of choice. But if you happen to have cake batter flavor extract, it really kicks the flavor up a peg or two. And of course, a pinch of salt always adds a nice balance to the natural sweetness of this sauce. If you like the flavor of salted caramel, fee free to add in a little extra salt.

Now that we’ve covered what goes in this delicious Healthy Sweet Potato Date Caramel Sauce, let’s discuss the method. It doesn’t get much more simple or easy.

In a saucepan with a tight-fitting lid, simmer the plant milk, dates, cashews, and sweet potatoes until the sweet potatoes are fork tender. This takes about 10 minutes. Then carefully transfer the mixture to a high-speed blender and blend until completely smooth.  If it’s too thick, add in a little more milk. Then taste and adjust the flavor with a little more vanilla or cake batter extract, or salt, as desired.

How are you going to enjoy this Healthy Sweet Potato Date Caramel Sauce?

Need some inspiration? Here are just a few ideas:

• Drizzle over oatmeal or porridge
• Use as a sauce for apple pie, apple cobblers, apple pie bars
• Swirl through my Pumpkin Dessert Hummus or Chocolate Hazelnut Spread
• Enjoy as a dip for fresh fruit – apple slices, strawberries, pears, bananas
• Topping for ice cream, cakes, and cheesecake
• Swirled into brownies, blondies, or cheesecake
• Use as a spread on toast, bagels, crepes, pancakes, or waffles, or in a fluffernutter banana sandwich

I hope you enjoy this Healthy Date Caramel Sauce as much as I do.  

I would love to see your results! Please leave a comment and rate it down below, tag a picture @pebblesandtoast and #pebblesandtoast on Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook!   Enjoy!!

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Ingredients

• 1½ cups unsweetened plant milk
• 1 packed cup fresh dates, pitted*
• ¾ cup sweet potatoes, peeled, cubed
• ¼ cup raw cashews
• 1 tsp vanilla extract or cake batter flavoring
• ¼ tsp salt (optional)

Instructions

1. In a saucepan with a tight-fitting lid, simmer the plant milk, dates, cashews, and sweet potatoes until the sweet potatoes are fork tender, about 10 minutes.

1. Transfer the mixture to a high-speed blender along with the vanilla (or flavor) and blend together until very smooth.  Add in a little more milk, if needed, to achieve desired consistency.
2. Taste and adjust seasonings (vanilla, salt), as desired.
3. Enjoy immediately or store in an air-tight jar or container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Notes

* This Healthy Date Caramel Sauce uses about 10-12 fresh medjool dates. If you’re using the smaller dates, you’ll need more.