Yogurt replaces the heavy cream in this healthy caramel yogurt dip, without all the fat, calories, corn syrup, or artificial ingredients!
The result is a lusciously thick dip perfect for sliced apples, bananas, graham crackers, pretzels, pineapple, or anything else you wish came covered in caramel.
It also tastes amazing served over ice cream or my recipe for Homemade Apple Enchiladas.
Everyone wants what they can’t have.
That guy who liked me for two years in high school?
I took his phone calls, notes, and attention for granted, only becoming interested in him after he finally gave up and asked out another girl.
Likewise, I never gave caramel a second thought until 7th grade when the braces went on, which warranted forbidden all things sticky and sweet.
I suddenly found myself craving caramel like crazy, and no amount of chocolate consumption would alleviate this desire.
(I did cheat a few times—come on, didn’t everyone?—both with caramel and chewing gum.)
The day the braces disappeared, I bought a container of Marzetti caramel dip and polished off the entire thing with Fuji apple slices, another restriction on the metal-mouth diet.
I’ve been a caramel lover ever since.
Have you ever wanted something you couldn’t have?
Other examples I can think of in my life include my sister’s gorgeous wavy hair, my best friend’s perfectly tanned skin, and pretty much everything at Anthropology.
Technically I could buy the $200 dresses at Athropology, but it wouldn’t be very responsible of me.
Instead I usually skip going in altogether.
I know myself too well.
Healthy Caramel Yogurt Dip
Ingredients
- 6 oz plain yogurt, dairy free if desired
- 2 tbsp pure maple syrup or agave
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar, brown sugar, or date sugar
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- (If you don’t have a stove, just stir all ingredients together. The cooking step just helps to dissolve the sugar more fully.) In a very small saucepan, combine all ingredients except the yogurt and vanilla extract. Heat very gently, stirring continuously until the sugar dissolves. Turn off the heat and stir in the vanilla extract and yogurt. Allow to cool. This gets thicker in the fridge if you let it sit overnight. Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 4 days.View Nutrition Facts
Easy Healthy Snack Ideas:
Yes to caramel-covered everything! That’s a great idea, Katie.
Sigh, yes, I have definitely wanted what I couldn’t get more often than I care to admit. But then again there were also enough times when I did get what I longed for so it all balanced out in the end.
A friend of mine told me about your blog and also “Cooking With Mr. C.” on Facebook. (also a blog) I just “Liked” his Facebook page and just came to see your blog. I’m so happy that people are sharing blogs. Denise
Is this caramel dip as sticky as traditional caramel? Because I currently have braces and now I think your making me want what I can’t have!
I’ve tried this with plain yoghurt and it’s just runny, it doesn’t go thick 🙁 I don’t know if our UK ingredients are different…? Plain yoghurt is literally yoghurt with no flavourings, right? I saw some people saying it should be vegan yoghurt… Ah well, I’ll keep trying with various flavourless yoghurts because I NEED to have this caramel!
If you heat up and melt the sugar with a little almond milk, then take it off the heat and let it cool a bit before you add Greek yogurt, it works great!
For all who are wondering, I tried this with plain low-fat dairy yogurt, honey, and the other ingredients. I put all the ingredients in a small pot and heated until the sugar dissolved, but I DID NOT bring it to a boil. Watch it very carefully because it will be done in very quickly. I did not a problems with curdling at all. Yes, it turn out to be runny and it still had a very slight tangy taste from the yogurt; however, even though it was runny, it still stuck to apple slices pretty well and when you eat the caramel with apples you cannot taste the tanginess at all. Overall, this recipe tasted close to but not the same as caramel. I really recommend that you try this recipe, but DO NOT expect it to taste like “normal” caramel.
I was the exact same way with braces. I liked caramel beforehand, and would eat it if it was given to me, but I never really craved it. Then all of a sudden braces went on and bam all I wanted was a caramel apple. I was actually a good girl though and didn’t eat anything I wasn’t supposed to. (Seriously, I had friends trying to shove popcorn in my face trying to get me to cheat, but I didn’t buckle once)
But the braces have been off for a while now, so I can enjoy all the yummy caramel I want! I love yogurt and apples and I love caramel and apples so combining the two sounds like a marvelous idea.
Also, I think as humans we always want what we can’t have, no matter what it is. Tell somebody they can’t have it and they will want it all the more.
Can this be used to make caramel corn rather than the recipes using butter and corn syrup? Looks yummy!
In a small saucepan, combine all ingredients except plain yogurt and vanilla extract. Slowly bring to a boil or just until the sugar is all dissolved. Remove from the heat, cool a little then stir in the yogurt and vanilla extract. No curdling 🙂
This looks awesome! My kids love to dip their apples in a yogurt, honey, and cinnamon dip, so they will probably love this as well. I’ve always wanted a nice tan, but I have a weird allergic reaction when I’m in direct sunlight 🙁 Have you ever heard of Modcloth.com? I think it’s similar to Anthropologie, but slightly less expensive.