Follow this easy recipe to make homemade caramel sauce – salted or not. It only takes 10 minutes and 5 simple ingredients. Then drizzle it on ice cream, cakes, pancakes, cheesecake, stir it into iced coffee, or use as a dessert dip for apples!
Right next to my homemade chocolate sauce, this homemade caramel sauce has got to be the easiest recipe ever. And it is pure Heaven!
Sure, you can buy caramel sauce at the store, but as with most foods, homemade tastes so much better and doesn’t have any added unnecessary ingredients. Plus, in the time it would take you to drive to the market, this caramel sauce would be done!
Ingredients for this Caramel Sauce Recipe
Sugar, butter, and cream are the essence of making caramel, but I also add water, vanilla, and salt, which play important roles.
- Water helps the sugar dissolve, reduces the risk of burning, and heat more evenly.
- Salt turns caramel sauce into salted caramel, which is amazing. I do use just a pinch though for regular caramel and add more for salted caramel. Salt is such a great ingredient and gives wonderful balance to sweet foods.
- Vanilla is purely optional, but it really does elevate the flavor.
How to Make Caramel Sauce
You’ll add sugar and water to a heavy bottomed saucepan, allow it to dissolve and gently bubble for about 9 minutes until it caramelizes and turns a beautiful amber color. Then butter, cream, vanilla, and salt get blended in. The mixture is set aside to cool and then poured into a glass jar to cool completely. It will be thin and loose at first, but will thicken as it cools.
There are a few more specifics (and tips – keep reading!), but that’s the gist of it. So easy!
Do I need a Candy Thermometer?
Sometimes I use a thermometer and sometimes I don’t. You definitely don’t need one. If you have a thermometer and want to be very precise, the target temperature you’re after is between 338 and 350 degrees F. Above 350 degrees, it’ll start to smell burnt (and the finished sauce will taste bitter.) Below 338 degrees F, and you won’t be able to achieve the proper color and caramelization.
If you follow this recipe exactly, without deviation, all you really need is a good nose and set of eyeballs!
Does homemade caramel sauce need to be refrigerated?
Yep! Because it has dairy (cream and butter), it will need to be refrigerated once it cools. You’ll reheat it, as necessary.
How to Store Caramel Sauce
After the caramel cools down, you’ll pour it into a lidded glass jar or container.
Store in the refrigerator, tightly sealed, up to 3 weeks, or freezer for up to 2 months. Thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature, before using.
Caramel solidifies in the refrigerator so it needs to be reheated, either on the stove or in the microwave, until desired consistency is reached. Note: reheating the caramel will make it thinner and runnier.
Can I use this caramel sauce for caramel apples?
Unfortunately, no. This caramel is not thick enough to coat apples for caramel apples. But it sure makes a great dessert dip for apple slices!
Recipe Tips!
- The utensils you use do matter. It is important to use either a wooden spoon or a heat-resistant silicone spoon to make the sauce.
- Resist the urge to stir! As the sugar and water are heated, if you stir them, you’ll cause grains to form and it will not be smooth and creamy. Instead, you can gently swirl the pan over the heat if needed, but be sure not to let the caramel go high up the sides of the pot or this will make the caramel sauce crystallize and become grainy, as well.
- What if my sauce does crystallize? Luckily, you don’t need to start over. Whew. Add a scant 1/4 cup of water and bring the sugar back to a gentle bubble. (Heating it up with the water should dissolve the crystals. Then proceed with the recipe until you get color on the sugar.
- Use unsalted butter. Even if you want salted caramel sauce, I recommend using unsalted butter. This gives you better control over the saltiness of the finished product. For salted caramel sauce, I like to add 1/2 teaspoon of salt, but I recommend starting with 1/8 teaspoon and adjust to taste.
- Stay put and be patient. Do not step about from the stove while the caramel is cooking. This sauce is super easy, but it can take anywhere from 8-12 minutes to thicken and turn that gorgeous amber color. Since you don’t know where your sauce will land in that window, you need to be paying close attention.
This caramel sauce is sweet and buttery and going to rock your world, trust me! You’ll likely never get store-bought again.
Uses for Caramel Sauce
It’s the perfect topping for so many things!
- Poor it over ice cream.
- Stir it into a Mocha Frappuccino.
- Drizzle it over brownies or angel food cake.
- Layered it in a chocolate trifle.
- Use it as a dip for fruit.
- Give it as a gift!
Watch the video for Caramel Sauce
I hope you love this delicious and easy recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube!
Easy Caramel Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter , cut into pieces
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Add the sugar and water to a 3-quart heavy bottomed saucepan; stir a little so it sits in a flat, even layer.
- Warm pot over medium heat and cook until the sugar dissolves, turns clear, and starts to bubble. (It will be cloudy at first, but will turn into a clear, bubbling liquid.) This takes about 3-4 minutes.
- (At this point, do not stir again - simply allow to bubble, swirl the saucepan occasionally and brush down the sides of the pan, as needed, to prevent crystallization.)
- Sugar will form clumps, but continue swirling and cooking until the mixture thickens and turns a deep amber color like honey (this can take anywhere from 8-12 minutes), keeping a watchful eye so the mixture doesn’t burn.
- Carefully add the butter and whisk until completely melted. (The caramel will bubble up rapidly, so be careful and continue to whisk.)
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and slowly pour in the cream, whisking continuously until all of the cream has been incorporated.
- Whisk in the vanilla and salt.
- Set aside to cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
- Then pour into a lidded glass jar and allow to cool completely. (It will thicken as it cools.)
Video
Notes
- Read the full article for recipe tips and watch the video!
- Store in the refrigerator, tightly sealed, up to 3 weeks, or freezer for up to 2 months. (Caramel solidifies in the refrigerator. Reheat in the microwave until desired consistency is reached.)
Nutrition
Other Notes
Easy and Delicious
This recipe was truly easy and delicious. The final result was flavorful, smooth, rich, and so much better than store bought. I followed the instructions and made no changes. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe!
Made this sauce to use for a layer cake. AMAZING.
EXCELLENT recipe! I’ve made it a few times now and it comes out perfect every time.
I only have salted butter . Can I still use if not I will buy some before i make this.
Super easy! My butter did separate a bit when it cooled. How do I avoid this next time?
Perfect recipe! Professional chef for the last 40 years
Serving it today for my bbq with roasted halved peaches with honey and thyme, vanilla ice cream and topped with toasted Pecans. Thank you!
Mixed resuts here. I tried this twice, following the recipe exactly, It didn’t turn the caramel color, and after a while the mixture turned back into sugar. I clearly had the heat too high so I tried again, keeping the heat very low. It bubbled along very nicely, but it still never turned a caramel color even after 20 minutes of bubbling. Just as it was about to go dry again, I went ahead and added the butter and the cream, vanilla and a dash of salt. It was smooth enough and very, very delicious, but a pale buttery color. I sure would like to do this again correctly. Any suggestions?
Perfect results. My girls were thrilled. Thank you for the thorough instructions and video – very helpful for someone who isn’t a master in the kitchen.
This was quick, easy and is going to taste wonderful over my fresh apple cake in just a few moments! Thanks for the recipe.
I love the Carmel sauce truly delicious and oh so easy! Thank you for posting the recipe!
I am a Pastry Arts instructor and every Wednesday we deliver ingredients to our students and conduct classes virtually. This recipe worked out great, being simple enough for the students without a candy thermometer and easy to videotape the process. And it was delicious!! Thank You!
I love this, thanks Ken!
So easy to make and delicious!
Best homemade caramel sauce EVER! I got a little impatient, but so glad I waited. Mine took 11 minutes and I did use a candy thermometer. Hang in there everyone, it does finally turn that beautiful amber. The color and taste was amazing. Great recipe, thank you!
Fantastic!! I crystallized the sugar five times before I thought to take a temperature of the sauce and it was 100 degrees too cool. Heat up, bubbled and browned and MAGIC!!
My go to recipe. Always turns out so yummy!!
Came out perfectly! I added a touch more salt than called for. So good!!
Most excellent recipe! We used half of it for ice cream and the other half as a layer in a cake I made for Easter.
It’s like syrupy Werther’s in a jar. I have never made anything candy like before and i only had half and half but its still perfect. Easy if you pay attention. No candy thermometer either. Easiest and most delicious thing ever.
Best homemade caramel sauce – can’t believe how easy it was to make. And the end result was amazing. I would give this 10 stars if I could!
I haven’t worked with Sugar much, but am interested in using this basic recipe as a basis for boiled marzipan in lieu of the soft ball stage sugar syrup typically called for there. Do you have any idea what the effect of taking the sugar temp much higher before mixing in almond meal would be? Because caramel sauce stays smooth, I would hope the marzipan wouldn’t seize up, but the stickiness might get out of control. Any thoughts?
Hi Sean! I wish I could advise, but I’m not familiar enough with the process of making marzipan to guide you. I do know that caramel can be finicky. I have a recipe for homemade caramels and even though the ingredients are very similar to this caramel sauce, the process is different. It literally is a science. If you’re feeling adventurous, try experimenting and report back!
That’s gotta be a typo. Surely you mean between 238° and 250°, not 338° and 350°?
Nope, not a typo. 238° and 250° are the correct temps for making homemade soft caramel candies, but not caramel sauce.
I was wondering if there is a way to preserve this like maybe a water bath? I would like to make some and ship it but am concerned about the temperature during transit.
Hi Scott – There might be, but this particular recipe wasn’t tested for canning and is not shelf stable.
This is probably the best caramel I have ever made 100% recommend!
I like this recipe a lot. I finally had whipping cream so I decided to find a caramel recipe. I made it for my husband and he could smell the caramel in the air. I made it into candies so he can take them with him to work and put the rest in a jar. It made a lot.
I can’t wait to try it. I want to make it for gifts. How big of a jar does it fill?
This came out so good! Great instructions!,
Question: I want to make this recipe and package with apples for a party favor. Can this recipe be doubled or tripled safely or do I have to make 25 batches? Lol
This caramel sauce is amazing! Thank you so much for posting and for all the useful tips! I looked at quite a few recipes before choosing yours because it didn’t call for corn syrup, and also it seemed well balanced overall. It also included vanilla and salt, so it sounded like it had lots of flavor! I finished making it a little bit ago and I’ve been dipping into it several times already. It is very flavorful and rich tasting. I used salted butter (it’s what I had) and 1/4 tsp salt, perfect! I made a couple of mistakes, and seeing that now that I’m reading through again. First I didn’t really swirl the pan at, and the outer edges hardened. When adding butter and cream I stirred with a spoon instead of whisking and I dumped the cream all in one sitting. So there were a couple of bigger lumps formed and lots of tiny lumps, which I don’t think would not have happened had I done as you said, whisking and adding cream slowly. I ended up putting the pot over the heat again just a little bit, slowly heating until the tiny lunps dissolved. The bigger ones I just removed as they didn’t melt and I didn’t want to over cook the sauce. Amazingly it still turned out great, super yummy, and I’ll be keeping this recipe. Thank you so much!
My daughter wanted caramel waffles. We ran out of the Eggo ones. I found this recipe.
Let me tell you how foolproof it is. I didn’t have white sugar, only clumpy dark brown sugar. Salted butter instead of unsalted. Half n half instead of heavy cream.
Still came out great!