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Easy Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce

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Caramel sauce is a sweet and decadent topping that is perfect for a wide range of desserts. Melted sugar combines with butter, heavy cream, vanilla, and salt to make this smooth creamy sauce perfect for drizzling on desserts.

Homemade salted caramel sauce in a mason jar.

It took me a while to perfect homemade caramel sauce, but once I did there was no going back to store-bought caramel.

Once you get the hang of this simple recipe, it only takes about five minutes to make and results in the best caramel sauce you’ve ever tried… so much better than the jars at the store (and no preservatives).

This is perfect for topping my homemade no-churn apple pie ice cream, drizzling on top of brownies, making a salted caramel milkshake, or just eating straight off the spoon.

Is caramel hard to make?

Caramel sauce drizzling into a glass jar

It really isn’t hard to make your own caramel sauce at home! While it can seem a bit intimidating to caramelize sugar, my twelve-year-old can do it, and so can you.

There are a few things to keep in mind when making homemade caramel so that it doesn’t turn into a disaster of burnt sugar, though.

This only takes about ten minutes to make, but during that time, pay close attention to what you are doing and it will turn out perfectly.

You do not need a candy thermometer for this recipe! Just let your eyes and nose be the judge of when it’s ready.

Be sure all of the ingredients are at room temperature before you combine them!

The darker the sugar, the more rich your sauce will be. A medium amber color is perfect, in my opinion.

Use a large pan! When you add butter to the sugar, it will bubble, using a bigger pan than necessary will keep it from boiling over onto your stove.

Immediately add salt after mixing in butter, cream, and vanilla.

Ingredients for the Best Caramel Sauce

This easy recipe only requires a few simple ingredients, which is nice. You can find the full recipe at the bottom of the post!

Sugar – I usually use organic cane sugar, but you can also use light brown sugar or even dark brown sugar. Each sugar will result in a slightly different color and flavor, but they’re all delicious.

Unsalted Butter – salted butter will add too much salty flavor to the caramel, even if you omit all of the added salt, so go with unsalted for the best flavor.

Heavy Cream – another option that I’ve used is goat’s milk. So, feel free to turn this into goat’s milk caramel sauce if you choose… it will be slightly runnier than using heavy cream, but it will thicken as it cools.

Sea Salt – flaky kosher salt works perfectly. You can omit it if you want to, but I highly recommend it.

Vanilla Extract – another optional ingredient, but I love the flavor it provides.

How to Make This Easy Caramel Sauce Recipe

Homemade salted caramel sauce

The most daunting task is caramelizing the sugar, but I promise it’s not as difficult as you think! I do utilize the dry method, by heating the sugar in the pan without any added water. I find it turns into a better tasting end product.

Add granulated sugar to a 2-quart saucepan and warm over medium heat. Use a silicon whisk or wooden spoon to keep it stirred and scrape the sides of the pan as it begins to melt.

The sugar will clump, just stir it and eventually, it will be smooth. Continue cooking, adjusting to medium-low heat after it begins to dissolve until the melted sugar is a deep amber color, similar to the shade of honey.

Carefully add the butter to the caramelized sugar. It’s going to bubble up a lot, just keep whisking to keep it from bubbling over until it is all combined.

Remove the sugar mixture from the heat and slowly stir in the heavy cream and vanilla until it is well incorporated.

As soon as the cream and vanilla are added, be sure to immediately stir in the salt.

Allow the hot caramel to cool for ten minutes before transferring to a glass jar.

Can you use this caramel sauce for caramel apples?

No. Carmel apples require a thicker caramel than this produces. However, you can definitely use it to dip apple slices in, it’s delicious!

Storing Caramel Sauce

This finished sauce does need refrigerated as it is not shelf stable. After the caramel cools to room temperature you can place it in the refrigerator, in an airtight container for up to one month. It can also be frozen for up to 3 months.

This will be gummy when cooled to room temperature, and very thick when refrigerated. Simply warm it in the microwave or add it to a pan to reheat.

How to Use Caramel Sauce

  • Drizzled on top of vanilla ice cream
  • Stir it in morning coffee
  • Use it for Caramel Apple Pie
  • Make a Caramel latte
  • Top brownies or a chocolate cake
  • Caramel Apple Cider Float

Other Fall Recipes to Try:

If you try this delicious, homemade, salted caramel sauce, I’d love to hear about it in the comment section below! Also, I’d love if you would leave me a recipe review on the recipe card below and tag me on Instagram with your recipe creations @therusticelk!

Homemade salted caramel sauce in a jar
Yield: Yields 1 Cup

Salted Caramel Sauce

Prep Time: 4 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 14 minutes

The perfect blend of caramelized sugar, butter, heavy cream, and vanilla whether you are a fan of classic flavors or looking to try something new, caramel sauce is a versatile and delicious addition that is sure to satisfy your sweet tooth.

Ingredients

  • 1 Cup Organic Cane Sugar
  • 6 Tbsp Unsalted Butter, room temp
  • 1/2 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream, room temp
  • 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 1 Tablespoon Sea Salt

Instructions

  1. Melt the sugar in a 2-quart sauce pan, with high sides over medium heat. Once the sugar begins melting, reduce heat to medium-low and begin stirring it. Continue whisking, despite the clumping sugar, until it is all melted and can swirl around the pan. 
  2. Once the sugar is completely melted, begin swirling the sugar mixture. Allow the sugar to reach an amber color, swirling it around in the pan occasionally so it doesn't stick. Use your eyes and nose as a guide. 
  3. Once the sugar has reached the color you desire, you can carefully stir in the butter with a wooden spoon until it is all melted. The mixture will bubble, just keep it stirred down.
  4. Once the butter is melted, remove the pan from heat. Now, carefully and slowly stir in heavy cream and vanilla. Adding bits at a time until it is smooth and well incorporated. 
  5. As soon as all of the cream is added and the consistency is smooth, add in your sea salt flakes and mix well. Do not wait for this step, it's important to do it while the sauce is still warm. 
  6. Allow the mixture to cool in the pan for ten minutes before transferring to glass jars. Once transferred, allow the jars to cool to room temp before placing in the refrigerator, tightly covered.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 225Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 40mgSodium: 799mgCarbohydrates: 25gFiber: 0gSugar: 25gProtein: 1g

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Stephanie

Wednesday 18th of November 2020

Does this caramel stay soft straight from the fridge? And if I wanted to freeze it, how long do you think it would keep? Thank you!

Danielle McCoy

Friday 20th of November 2020

Our fridge is pretty cool (34°F), so I reheat ours, if it wasn't as cold, it would probably be a softer consistency. You can freeze it, just leave plenty of room for that dairy to expand. It should keep for 3 months or so.

Tracie

Friday 27th of September 2019

Beautiful recipe! I do things the slow way. I have trust issues with fast recipes. This week I decided to look for a new caramel recipe. This is where things went sideways.... I got sucked into ''Easy 5 minute Caramel Sauce'' I read the RAVES.... I know better. It started with dark brown sugar... UGGGGGGG!!!!! I knew it was wrong but there I went. I SWEAR I will NEVER do that again. It was grainy and awful, of course it was because 5 minutes and brown sugar. So dumb. So here I am today. I made your recipe. Old fashioned, slow the correct way. SMOOOOOOTH AS SILK and exactly what caramel should taste like. The only thing I did different was sub the salt for a high grade ultra fine pink Himalayan salt 1tsp was plenty! You recipe is going in my book! Thanks again!

Tonya

Friday 6th of December 2019

How much does this Carmel recipe make?

Danielle McCoy

Friday 27th of September 2019

Thank you so much, Tracie!! I love slow food... it's the only way to do it right. I'm glad you enjoyed!

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