This Viral Ice Cream Topping is the Dessert Garnish of the Summer

Nothing beats a cold, creamy scoop of ice cream on a hot summer day. We can all relate to the refreshing feeling of taking that first bite of our favorite ice cream ice cream . And adding your favorite toppings—sprinkles, nuts, and and all sauces—makes the sweet treat even more fun and delicious.

One of our favorite ice cream toppings has to be caramel sauce. The nutty, toasty, buttery drizzle is one of the easiest (and tastiest) ways to dress up a scoop of vanilla ice cream. To upgrade your dessert, you can buy some caramel, make it from scratch (which can be a little tricky because caramelizing sugar can be persnickety) or you can try an entirely new method: olive oil caramel .

The two-ingredient recipe has been making the rounds online, including on the Instagram feed of Fit Green Mind . We were shocked to see that all you need is olive oil and maple syrup to make your caramel dreams come true. Here's what you need to know, including what we thought when we gave it a try.

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How to Make Olive Oil Caramel

To make the perfect caramel drizzle for your favorite scoops of ice cream all you’ll need is equal parts olive oil and cold maple syrup and a pinch of salt. Pour the olive oil and maple syrup in a bowl with the salt and beat the two ingredients together until the mixture is creamy and emulsified. Some online creators warn that the emulsification might take a bit longer than expected, but stick with it and you’ll be rewarded with deliciously caramel-flavored results.

Related: We Ranked 12 Olive Oil Brands and You Can Buy the Winner at Whole Foods

And before you ask, nope, this isn't technically caramel because you're not heating and caramelizing sugar. But the finished product looks like caramel and has a caramel-like flavor and the internet loves an intriguing recipe name, so there you have it.

Some creators call this version of the sauce healthier, but that really depends on how you define the word. It is vegan (although you can make caramel by heating just sugar, many caramel sauces contain dairy) and olive oil contains antioxidants and healthy fatty acids, but you're still whisking oil and a sugary (although naturally sugary) syrup together and pouring it over a sugary dessert.

Regardless of its healthfulness, it is fun to make and people are loving it online. We've mostly seen people drizzling it over vanilla ice cream and then some add some flaky sea salt on top for a little savory hit of crunch.

“Mind-blowing twist on classic caramel,” one commenter wrote in response to a similar video of the olive oil method on TikTok , “Who knew olive oil could do this?”

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What We Thought of Olive Oil Caramel

After watching dozens of videos and excited creator reactions, we had to try this hack for ourselves. We happened to have everything we needed, including a bottle of maple syrup already chilling in the fridge.

We added the ingredients to a small bowl and gave it a whisk. The mixture came together more quickly than we anticipated based on the online warnings that you might be whisking for awhile (we suspect the cold syrup is one of the keys to success).

We tried the sauce by itself and it was pretty tasty. The olive oil we used had a bit of peppery bite, which was interesting with the maple syrup. But everything made a little more sense once we drizzled it on a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The peppery bite of the oil helped balance out the sweetness of the ice cream and the maple syrup added the deep, rich caramelly notes we love. A little flaky salt tied everything together. And while nothing will replace traditional caramel sauce in our hearts, this viral version is a fun summer experiment and a great thing to make when you're craving caramel sauce but don't want to make a batch or go to the store.

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