3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Caramel. No, you are not dreaming, this is real life. I know, I know….another post involving peanut butter. I swear, I normally don’t eat that much peanut butter at all during the year. For some weird reason lately though, many of my recipe ideas involve peanut butter. Sue me.
This recipe is actually a spinoff of my previous post of my 6 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cups. This caramel was inspired by the filling of those peanut butter cups, but the amounts have been adjusted and then heated over the stove. It turned out to be the most easiest, dreamiest peanut butter caramel ever.
I’ve made almond butter caramel, coconut butter caramel and even one of my most popular recipes, sweet potato caramel. Now, it was only expected, and a must, to add peanut butter caramel to the blog, am I right?
The reason for this recipe is more than just because we all want to devour it, there’s more to it. It’s the special topping on my Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Pancakes.
Whoa. Yeah. A reader had emailed me asking me to come up with an over-the-top pancake recipe to serve and “WOW” her guests and I figured those pancakes weren’t enough (yeah right) to wow, they also needed some gooey caramel. This recipe was so worthy of it’s own post, I just had to post them separately on my blog.
Besides, it’s only 3 ingredients you probably already have in your pantry….
Peanut butter, maple syrup and vanilla. That’s it. All you need to make some 3 ingredient vegan peanut butter caramel to knock your socks off.
I had originally planned on doing a savory post next, but after I asked on this Facebook post who wanted to see the pancakes and caramel recipes, you all begged for them to be up in time for Easter weekend!
I can’t wait to hear what you think of this caramel. Drop me a line below letting me know what you thought after you made it. You can also tag me on Instagram at #thevegan8 and show me your fancy pics!
3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Caramel
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (160g) pure maple syrup
- 1/4 cup (64g) creamy natural peanut butter (mine only has salt added, almond butter works too)
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon of salt if your peanut butter has none
- water to thin if desired
Instructions
- In a small sauce pan, add all of the ingredients and turn the heat to medium. Whisk well as it warms up and the ingredients become smooth. Once it comes to a boil, whisk continuously for about a minute or so until it starts to thicken up. That's it! It happens quickly. If using almond butter, it takes a tad longer to thicken up. Keep in mind, the longer you cook it, the thicker it will get. It will thicken up a ton as it cools as well. Remove from the heat and let it slightly cool before serving. If using on pancakes or you want to thin it out, add a little water to desired thickness.
- Note: this caramel will thicken even more as it sits, so just gently reheat it or add some water to thin it out some, if desired. I added water to mine the next day.
- To make Caramel Popcorn: Just stir the hot caramel all over popped popcorn and stir around and let cool a couple of minutes.
I will not sue you. Peanut butter is one of my must favorite things to eat in this world and what could be better than peanut butter caramel? Pinning and probably pouring over everything I eat for at least a month.
Hahahaha! That made me laugh Jen!! Hope you love it…warning, it’s GOOD.
How long is this good for
Since there’s no milk or anything, I’d say a few weeks in the fridge
YUM!!! Seriously, this looks great. I love blending nut and seed butters with maple syrup and vanilla, but I never tried warming it up yet — this looks absolutely amazing though! And I’m first in line to see what’s in those little hot cakes 🙂
I agree Audrey! I have been doing that for the past couple of years…just mixing nut butter and coconut butter with syrup and it’s super delicious, but heating it up with these ratios turns it thicker really fast and the syrup gets gooey and I swear it’s just like caramel consistency. I did something similar on a really old post for my rice crispy treats here….(minus the milk) and this time I just focused on total simplicity after my peanut butter cup filling was so good, I knew it would be a great caramel!!
https://thevegan8.com/2012/11/16/chocolate-coconut-rice-crispy-cupcakes-nut-butter-frosting/
SOOOOO good!!!!! Definitely something you can put on anything! Growing up we used to heat peanut butter with honey and milk to make a sauce and this totally reminds me of that. YUM.
I have never had anything like that growing up! In fact, I don’t think I had REAL maple syrup until I was vegan, lol! My mom always bought that fake stuff….no wonder I thought I hated syrup. But yeah, I do that same thing on my rice crispy treats (syrup instead of honey) and it’s so good….just less thick than this peanut butter caramel. These ratio measurements are my favorite texture!
OH MY WORD <3 Brandi, you did it again! I can't wait for you the pancakes recipe. And this caramel is SO simple and so delicious! Maple Syrup + PB make an amazing flavor combination that is seriously underrated! When I was a little girl my grandma used to always make me waffles with PB and Maple Syrup on top and it was just the best thing ever! This caramel on top of your pancakes must just be divine!!
Oh well then you will love these pancakes then Ceara….lots of peanut butter and syrup, haha!! Seriously, I’m STOKED about posting these tomorrow….they are rich, so definitely reserved for the weekend or special occasion and the pancakes are so good, the caramel isn’t even needed….well, maybe just a drizzle, haha! Thank you so much for your kind words! xo
Oh wow! this looks absolutely incredible and I can’t believe how easy it is to make. I can’t wait to slather it over pancakes, ice cream, and my face 😀 Great recipe and beautiful pictures as always 🙂
You are so sweet Vanessa! Thank you for the compliments! Slathering on the face is a great idea, haha!
YUM YUM! Yay, I’m so glad there’s a non coconut version of a lovely caramel. I can’t wait to see your pancake recipe and make this Easter one of intense indulgence 😀
Haha, yes seems most have coconut oil or coconut milk! I remember that you can’t have coconut milk! I hope you make this and the pancakes!
No NEED to apologize EVER for using peanut butter!! I’m an absolute fiend so of course love this simple recipe. Bring on the ‘cakes, girl!!
You can never have too many peanut butter recipes! I can only imagine how this must taste drizzled over pancakes, or maybe a surprise center in a chocolate cupcake? Yum!
Ooooh yeah, now you’re talking!
im making this to top a cheesecake!! 🐴
Man, that looks so so good. I love peanut butter, and caramel! I want to drizzle this on pancakes, but also muffins.
I think it’d be a wonderful filing for a cupcake too.
Oh heck yeah, inside a cupcake omg!
Delicious as a fruit dip- apples, pears, and bananas just to name a few. I enjoyed it drizzled over a piece of toast topped with sliced bananas, made a great breakfast!
Yay! I’m so happy you loved it and it works on so many things. Thank you so much for the feedback, I truly appreciate it!
I never would have thought of peanut butter as a caramel! Now that you’ve spelled out the ingredients the big “duh!” lightbulb is totally going off in my head. You certainly have a way with making a recipe super easy and delicious. Definitely worth a separate post. I plan to check out your coconut butter caramel recipe next. There’s another one I never would’ve thought of! Totally inspiring!
My new form of crack….
This caramel sauce and the pancakes –seriously amazing. I subbed sunbutter successfully. I used the sauce also to dip apple in…I mean, sooooooooo good.
I am thrilled to hear you loved this sauce and the pancakes so much, thank you so much for the wonderful feedback Julie, I truly appreciate it!
Yum, fantastic!
I added a bit of brown rice syrup to make it even gooier 😀
So…I just made this…a half recipe but used same amount of pb as called for in the full recipe, because peanut butter. 🙂 Delicious!!!! Truth be told…I just ate it plain with a spoon! Thanks!!!
Hi, I live in the Uk, maple syrup costs a fortune, what could I substitute it with? Thankyou
Hi Nicola! Sure, you can use agave, that would be the next best thing. Let me know after you try it!
To die for!!! This sauce is so amazing! The pancakes too! We make it for dinner often. Thank you!
Yay! I’m so happy to hear that Shannnon, thank you so much for the wonderful feedback!!
Didn’t have peanut butter so I subbed it with almond butter – divine! This is my new favourite food! Thanks Brandi! 🙂
SO happy to hear that Sarah!! Thank you!
I just made this as a topping for popcorn and I’m so impressed, it turned out buttery and smooth and just complimented the popcorn so well. I’m probably just going to use this as my go to topping for everything now, it’s so good. Thank you so much!!
Such a wonderful idea to put onto popcorn Mira-ella! I totally need to try that. I’m so happy you loved it, thank you so much for the feedback!
Can you use agave nectar instead of maple syrup?
Definitely! It will change the flavor slightly, but still be good! Let me know what you think of it!
This absolutely delicious!! will be making this again!!
Wonderful Lauren, I’m so happy to hear you loved it!
Do you think molasses would work? Got a jar that needs used up!?
Hi Tommi! I wouldn’t use molasses instead of syrup because that flavor is not very sweet at all and I really don’t think it would taste that good with peanut butter. I think it’d be overpowering, personally.
The caramel looks so amazing! I have an unhealthy obsession with peanut butter so I’m obviously obsessed with this 🙂
Hi Brandi,
Do you think this would be a good sauce to use to make caramel apples with? I was looking for a recipe to make chocolate covered apples since vegan caramel recipes are so involved but also realllly wanted a way to get pb on the apples too- this seems like the perfect recipe.
I’m thinking dip them in this, let cool, then dip in chocolate – what do you think?
Hi Patty! Yes, I think so. This caramel gets super thick just like traditional caramel and thickens even more as it cools, so I think if you dipped the apples in the caramel quickly while it’s hot and then set them to cool and then coat with chocolate, that would be really yummy! Let me know if you try it!
I’ve been looking for a caramel PB topping for a chocolate cake I’m making tomorrow, and I believe I have found the perfect recipe! So excited to try this, especially if it thickens up a bit. I also plan on making those delicious looking pancakes soon, too! Thanks so much! I just stumbled upon your site tonight, and I plan on using it often!
If you have nut allergies, you can use sunflower butter and maple syrup together to make a vegan caramel. It is SO good.
Yes, I always tell people to sub with sunbutter in my recipes if allergic!
Ok. Seriously. This recipe should come with a warning. Sirens. Big, flashing lights. Because it is DANGEROUSLY DELICIOUS!! I was skeptical before staring and have had it bookmarked for a while. What was I thinking waiting so long to make it?? It is soooooo good, sooooo easy and, as stated, soooooo delicious! Thanks so much for a great recipe!!
Haha! So happy you loved it so much Rose! I agree, it’s very dangerous, lol! Thank you so much for the review!
Awful?? It’s just maple syrup and peanut butter so I imagine you don’t care for either one of those to say it tastes “awful”. We love it, and so have all the other readers, sorry to hear you didn’t!
Made this to go on waffles tonight. Everyone loves it!
Yay!! So glad to hear everybody loved it!
I’m looking for a caramel cake frosting. Would this work? It sure looks yummy!
Hi, I’m not sure what you mean by a frosting, but this is a sticky caramel consistency that you could certainly use to drizzle on top of cakes, brownies or whatever you like!
Can I can this for a longer shelf life
Hi Dawn, I have no canning experience so I’m afraid I can’t give advice on that. However, since this is just peanut butter and maple syrup, it will last a long time in the fridge!
Absolutely delicious! Drizzled it over a banana, chocolate chunk cake…..😋
Tried to post a pic but didn’t work 🙁
Yes, the system doesn’t allow photos! But lots of readers post on Instagram or Facebook and tag me so I can see them that way!
That is so wonderful to hear Gina, I’m so happy you loved this!
So will this set up to a pretty solid consistency if left over night in a small tart crust? Asking for quarantine reasons.
Hi Diane! Yes, if heated long enough, it gets quite thick and firm as it continues to cool and sit.
This recipe is amazing! I’m a huge fan of peanut butter so bring able to create a rich caramel-like sauce like this is perfect. It’s so quick and easy to make, too.
SO very happy to hear that Matt!!
I never heard of pb caramel sauce until I was watching The Great British Baking Show and a contestant made it from scratch. This looks like the best recipe online and I am pretty sure I will love this in a grannysmith apple pie I am making next week. Was thinking of adding coconut cream to the mixture to get a super gooey consistency. Would that be a good flavor you think?
Hi Courtney, the mixture is already really thick and gooey from the peanut butter, as seen in the photos. Cooking it with the syrup makes it very thick and gooey, so I’d make it as is and if you want to add some cream to it still, then you can. Feel free to experiment!
I tried freezing the caramel in little silicon molds so I could use them to stuff cookies but the caramel stuck to the molds no matter how long I had them in the freezer. Any thoughts on how to remedy this? Otherwise this caramel is sooo delicious!!
I’ve never froze it, but I would try spraying the mold with nonstick spray or using parchment paper liners as nothing seems to stick to those!