Go Back
+ servings

Paleo Maple Caramel Sauce

This paleo maple caramel sauce recipe isn't complicated or hard to make, and it's absolutely delicious!
Cook Time25 minutes
Total Time25 minutes
Course: Snack
Cuisine: American
Keyword: paleo recipes
Servings: 8
Calories: 218kcal
Author: Anna Chesley

Equipment

  • double boiler

Ingredients

  • ½ cup honey
  • cup maple syrup
  • ½ cup coconut oil (or ¼c coconut oil & ¼c grass-fed butter)
  • ¼ cup water

Instructions

  • Add all honey, maple syrup, coconut oil, and water to the top of a double boiler. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat.
  • Continue to simmer, stirring frequently. As the mixture cooks, you'll notice that it first darkens in color, and begins to “pull away” from the sides of the pan. You will
    likely see an increase in the volume of bubbling right before this point. Soon after, the caramel will start to lighten in color a bit, and that's when your sauce is just about done.
    Cooking the caramel takes some time - usually at least 20 minutes. Caramel can be cooked more quickly in a saucepan directly on a burner, but it's a bit easier to burn it, so I suggest using the double boiler.
  • Heat the caramel till it reaches 230 degrees on a candy thermometer, or the mixture thickens if you cool a bit on a spoon.
    You can also check for done-ness using the "cold water test": using a spoon, pour a drop of the mixture into a glass of cold water. Mixture should mostly stay together and form a soft clump in the water (you're shooting for just shy of the "soft ball" stage, for a nice thick caramel sauce).
  • Remove caramel from the heat, and let it rest for a few minutes before serving warm.
  • Unused caramel can be stored tightly covered in the refrigerator. Warm gently in a double-boiler to reheat.

Notes

If you're not dairy-free Paleo, do try using half grass-fed butter and half coconut oil in this recipe. It's wonderful either way, but I feel the butter adds a deph and roundness to the caramel that's just a bit extra-special!
Getting perfect caramel - I find the trick is to set aside plenty of time, and not rush it. While you can cook this recipe in a saucepan directly on a burner and have it come out fine, the faster cooking process leaves less margin for error with reaching the perfect temperature without exceeding it, and it can be possible to scorch the mixture if the burner is too hot. Using a double-burner is certainly slower, but allows a lot more forgiveness with reaching the perfect temperature and consistency.

Nutrition

Calories: 218kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Sodium: 2mg | Potassium: 41mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 25g | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 16mg | Iron: 1mg