Desserts

November 7, 2021

Salted Coconut Caramel Apple Nachos

Few things say fall more than caramel apples. These Salted Coconut Caramel Apple Nachos are a playful fall dessert, perfect for harvest or Halloween parties, movie nights on the couch, or packed into a lunch box!

I’m not a huge caramel fan, but this Salted Coconut Caramel has my heart. It’s more of a syrup than a sticky, pull-your-teeth-out caramel, making it perfect for dipping, drizzling, and drinking. Yes - drinking! Extra sauce is delicious in coffee in the morning. I may have even warmed up leftover caramel to pour over French toast one morning…

And - this Salted Coconut Caramel sauce is vegan! No butter or heavy cream here, just full-fat coconut milk from a can plus brown sugar, vanilla, and sea salt. Drizzle the caramel sauce over apple slices, and top with your favorite candy apple toppings - set out a bar so that people can create their own nacho plate! Chopped nuts, dried cranberries, pumpkin seeds, chocolate chips, shredded coconut, and ground cinnamon all make festive additions. Have fun with these Salted Coconut Caramel Apple Nachos!

Ingredients assembled for Salted Coconut Caramel sauce
Assemble your ingredients for the Salted Coconut Caramel sauce.

Stages of cooking the caramel sauce
Combine the coconut milk and brown sugar, and bring to a boil on the stove. Simmer until reduced and thickened, about 30 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and sea salt.

Sliced apples in a dish next to a jar of the caramel sauce with a spoon in it
While the caramel sauce is cooling, slice your apples.

Dishes of toppings laid out with sliced apples and caramel sauce
Lay out a toppings bar for people to build their own caramel apples nachos.

Two dishes of loaded caramel apple nachos
Drizzle apple slices with caramel, sprinkle with desired toppings, and finish with another drizzle of caramel. Enjoy!

Salted Coconut Caramel Apple Nachos

Few things say fall more than caramel apples. These Salted Coconut Caramel Apple Nachos are a playful fall dessert, perfect for harvest or Halloween parties, movie nights on the couch, or packed into a lunch box!

Author:

Kira Freed - The Joyful Plateful

Prep:

15

min

cook:

30

min

total:

45

min

Ingredients

For the caramel:

1 13.5-oz. can full-fat coconut milk

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. sea salt


2-4 tart apples, such as Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, or Granny Smith


Toppings of your choice, such as:

Chopped nuts

Dried cranberries

Pumpkin seeds

Chocolate chips

Shredded coconut

Ground cinnamon

Instructions

  1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, whisk together coconut milk and brown sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil. 
  2. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer the coconut-sugar mixture for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. As the mixture simmers, it will darken in color and thicken. 
  3. After 30 minutes, test the caramel by placing a metal spoon in the mixture - the caramel should coat the spoon. 
  4. Remove the caramel from the heat, and stir in the vanilla extract and sea salt. 
  5. Allow the caramel to cool for about 15 minutes before use. The caramel will thicken as it cools, although it does stay pretty runny. 
  6. While the caramel is cooling, prepare the apples: remove the stem and core from the apples. Cut into quarters, and then slice each quarter into quarters. 
  7. To assemble the nachos, place 8-10 apple slices on a small plate. Drizzle with cooled caramel sauce. Scatter desired toppings over the top. Drizzle again with additional caramel sauce (optional). 
  8. Store leftover caramel sauce in the refrigerator for up to one week. 
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March 19, 2024
Hannah
Sounds sooooo yummy. I will definitely prepare this