vegan caramel sauce in a white speckled pour bowl with soy sauce on the left corner and spoon on the right corner

Take salted caramel to the next level by spiking it with soy sauce! This savory-sweet Soy Sauce Caramel is umami-rich and delicious swirled into cookies or cheesecakes, and drizzled over ice cream, pies and more! (w/ non-dairy options)

drizzling salted caramel sauce in a speckled white bowl

I recently came across this article 13 Japanese Ice Creams with Surprising Toppings & Flavours… needless to say some of them were really out there. One did peak my interest though: Soy Sauce Soft Serve.

I’ve heard about this flavour before from my moms friend that visited the Kikkoman’s Soy Sauce Museum in Chiba. There, they sell soy sauce flavoured soft serve (and all kinds of other soy sauce desserts and snacks) and apparently it’s incredibly tasty. When I posted this concept on instagram I got a few messages saying that they had tried it and it was delicious too!

I did a bit more research about soy sauce soft serve in Japan and there are actually a few different hot spots that serve this unique dessert. Some infuse the soy sauce into the actual ice cream while others drizzle a soy sauce caramel over or swirl it in. I loved the idea of soy sauce caramel.

I was so keen on trying it I took some left over caramel sauce and drizzled in a bit of soy sauce. Friends, this umami-kissed soy sauce caramel… blew me away. I needed more ASAP so here we are with a incredibly easy salted soy caramel recipe.

How to Make Soy Sauce Caramel

The Ingredients

sugar
butter, non-dairy as needed
heavy cream, non-dairy as needed. I’ve used both soy milk and coconut cream.
soy sauce: preferably Japanese soy sauce as it’s much lighter than Chinese soy sauce

If you already have caramel sauce on hand, you can simply stir in about 2 tbsp of soy sauce and use it right away!

caramel sauce with soy sauce in a sauce pan being mixed with a spoon

The Directions

Making homemade caramel is really easy! Allow me to shoyu:

Add cane sugar and water to a high wall saucepan. Turn on the heat over medium. DO NOT STIR, wait until it becomes auburn in colour.
Remove from heat and then whisk in the butter. Slowly drizzle in the cream and whisk until melted and combined. Be careful as you add it in as it will vigorously start to bubble.
If you have any clumps of sugar, place back onto the stove over low heat and allow for it to melt.
Remove from heat, and stir in the soy sauce. Taste and adjust. Note that the soy flavour will come out more as it cools.
Pour into a glass storing container and cool. The caramel will thicken as it cools.

And the quick version just requires you to stir the caramel sauce and soy sauce together until combined.

I’m already thinking about all the ways this incredible salted caramel sauce can be used in. Cheesecake, pies, cookies… and of course ice cream! And it doesn’t just have to be desserts– add it to stir fries for a touch of sweetness (kinda like teriyaki!).

caramel sauce on a sauce pan being mixed with a spoon

This Soy Sauce Caramel is Perfect for:

Caramel Black Bean Brownies
No Bake Caramel Cookies
Caramel Apple Cinnamon Buns
Salted Caramel Cheesecake Bars
Drizzled over Air Fried Fruits, waffles, pancakes & more!

More Non-dairy Caramel Recipes:

SAVE IT FOR LATER!

soy sauce caramel in a white speckled pour bowl

If you recreate this Salted Soy Caramel recipe let me know how you liked it by leaving a comment and rating below or by tagging me on Instagram @Okonomikitchen, I love seeing all of your tasty recreations!
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