My Homemade Caramel Sauce tastes perfectly buttery, smooth, and sweet with a hint of salt. It’s irresistibly good, and even better, the recipe is simple with just 5 ingredients and no thermometer required. With my tips below, you’ll be whipping up a batch of salted caramel like a pro!
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
Helpful Reader Review
“Never thought I would be able to make it like the picture. It turned out better than I thought it would. Absolutely delicious, creamy, it’s perfect. Thanks for the easy recipe. “ – Rosalind ★★★★★
Homemade Caramel Sauce
I published this recipe years ago, but I have updated it to be more foolproof and authentic. What I love most about this caramel sauce recipe is that it’s a true caramel sauce. If you prefer the original version, I have (more accurately) filed it under Butterscotch Sauce.
If you’ve ever shopped for caramel sauce at the grocery store and had a difficult time finding one without mystery “natural flavors” and corn syrup as the primary ingredient, this recipe is for you! It’s simple to make with only 5 basic ingredients and tastes amazing–better than anything at the store!
It’s so delicious, you’ll want to drizzle it on everything. Use it to dip Apples, and drizzle over countless desserts like my Pumpkin Cheesecake, Apple Pie, hot or Iced Coffee, ice cream… You name it! This is such a versatile sauce, and it keeps well in the refrigerator.
Caramel Sauce Ingredients
I suggest avoiding substitutions, since it’s perfectly balanced to prevent crystallization.
- Granulated sugar – melting white sugar slowly with water makes the base of the caramel sauce.
- Unsalted butter – cut into cubes. Make sure your butter is at room temperature since cold butter can break the sauce! European butter has a higher fat content and less water, which can make the sauce better and easier to make. I love Kerrygold butter.
- Heavy cream – warm before adding to keep the sauce from sputtering and breaking.
- Vanilla extract – Use Homemade Vanilla Extract or store-bought.
- Salt – cuts the sweetness to create an irresistible salted caramel flavor. You can add it to taste.
How to Make Caramel Sauce
The key to a successful homemade caramel sauce is to dissolve the sugar before simmering and not to stir at any point. This can flick sugar granules onto the sides of the pan, which will fall back into the mixture later and cause the whole thing to crystallize.
- Melt the sugar – Add the sugar to the bottom of a heavy-bottomed saucepan and shake the pan to distribute it evenly. Drizzle the water over the sugar and let it sit for a minute to fully moisten the sugar. DO NOT STIR – you don’t want sugar to get splashed on the sides of the pan. Set over medium-low heat and, without stirring, let the sugar dissolve completely until clear, about 5 minutes.
Pro Tip to Prevent Crystalization:
If you do see any sugar crystals at the edges, cover the pan with the lid for 30-60 seconds as it simmers; the steam will help wash the pan walls. If it does crystalize and firm up, add 2-3 Tbsp of hot water and stir until it melts again, then proceed.
- Simmer – Without stirring, bring to a simmer and increase to medium heat. When it starts to take on a little color, swirl the pan occasionally until it’s light amber or honey-colored (it takes about 5-8 minutes on my stove). Don’t let it brown too much, or it will taste bitter. As you swirl towards the end, any stray sugar crystals should dissolve.
Natasha’s Safety Tip:
Be careful not to touch or lick the hot utensils or the pan — melted sugar and caramel is scorching hot! Also, let the pan cool before washing it, then soak it in hot water to easily remove the caramel sauce.
- Add the butter – turn the heat to low, and whisk in half the butter. It will bubble vigorously. Once incorporated, stir in the rest of the butter. If it separates, remove the pan from the heat and stir until it comes together.
- Add the cream – while whisking, drizzle the warm cream into the pan (it will bubble up) and whisk until smooth (or 220°F), then remove the pan from the heat. Make sure you DO NOT add cold cream, or it may splatter.
- Finish with vanilla and salt – Whisk vanilla and salt to taste into the caramel off the heat.
- Cool and store – It will thicken in consistency as it cools, so let the caramel cool for a few minutes before using. Store cooled caramel in jars in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
How to Fix Crystalized Caramel Sauce?
I’ve had my fair share of crystallized caramel batches in developing the perfect recipe, so hopefully my tips above will prevent it for you. If it does look crystallized and seized at any point (see photo below), don’t worry! To fix siezed caramel: Add 2-4 Tbsp hot water to the separated mixture, and then reheat over medium-low heat until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and swirl the pan to capture any remaining sugar crystals.
My Caramel is Liquid – is that Normal?
The caramel will be more liquid and drizzling consistency when it is still hot/warm and will thicken as it cools. After refrigeration, it will become very thick and will hold its shape on a spoon. Reheating it on the stovetop or in the microwave will loosen it up again.
How to Serve Caramel Sauce
I wasn’t kidding when I told you this homemade caramel sauce was versatile, so here is a long list of ideas, and I’m just scratching the surface!
- Caramel apples or dip for sliced apples
- Apple Turnovers (inside or out)
- Cinnamon Rolls
- Baked Apples
- Caramel French Toast
- Caramel Corn Pops Treats
- Churros Dip
- Mini Cheesecakes topping
- Crepes
- Apple Crisp Drizzle
- Pumpkin Waffles topping
- Apple Pancakes topping
- Affogato
- Banoffee Pie
- Apple Coffee Cake
- Cheesecake drizzle
- Sourdough Dutch Baby
- Dutch Apple Pie drizzle
My easy homemade caramel sauce recipe tastes amazing on top of so many desserts and dishes! It’s simple to make and tastes so much better than anything at the grocery store. Mix up a batch to keep on hand, and then tell me in the comments how you use your caramel sauce!
P.S. If you preferred my original sauce, check out my Butterscotch Sauce recipe.
Caramel Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup water
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened at room temperature, cut into cubes
- 1/2 cup heavy cream, warm
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 tsp sea salt, or add to taste
Instructions
- Melt the sugar – Add the sugar to the bottom of a heavy-bottomed saucepan and shake the pan to distribute it evenly. Drizzle the water over the sugar and let it sit for a minute to fully moisten the sugar. DO NOT STIR – you don't want sugar to get splashed on the sides of the pan. Set over medium-low heat and, without stirring, let the sugar dissolve completely until clear, about 5 minutes. The mixture should be clear, and the sugar fully dissolved before it simmers.
- Simmer – Without stirring, bring to a simmer and increase to medium heat. If you see crystals on the sides of the pan, cover with lid for 30-60 seconds. When the caramel starts to take on a little color, swirl the pan occasionally until it's light amber or honey-colored (about 5-8 minutes). Don't let it brown too much, or it will taste bitter. As you swirl towards the end, any stray sugar crystals should dissolve.
- Add the butter – Reduce the heat to medium-low and carefully whisk in half of the softened butter cubes, then stir in the rest. The mixture will bubble vigorously — that’s normal. Keep whisking until the butter is fully incorporated. If it separates, remove from the heat and whisk until it comes together.
- Add the cream – Slowly stream in the warm cream while whisking constantly. Again, it will bubble up and steam. Keep whisking until smooth, then remove from heat.
- Finish with vanilla + salt – Turn off the heat and whisk in vanilla and salt. Taste and adjust salt as needed.
- Cool and store – Let cool slightly before using. It will thicken up quite a bit as it cools. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. It firms up when refrigerated. Re-warm gently to drizzle.
Notes
- Do Not Stir – Stirring the sugar and water mixture can cause sugar crystals to stick to the pan walls. If those fall back into the pan later, it can “seed” the whole pan and crystallize your caramel. Also, let the sugar fully dissolve and turn clear before simmering. Be patient.
- Even Heating – use a heavy-bottomed saucepan (avoid non-stick pans) for even heat distribution and avoid temperature swings (add room-temperature or warm ingredients as directed).
- Don’t Rush It – Patience is key at every step. Don’t rush this with higher heat, or it can crystallize.
- Use a Lid – If you see sugar crystals at the edges of the pot at the simmering step, cover with a lid for 30-60 seconds; the steam will help wash the pan’s walls.
- Swirl occasionally – as soon as you start to see some color developing, gentle swirling helps to distribute color evenly and helps clear any remaining sugar flakes from the surface and walls.
- Use warm cream so it doesn’t splatter, separate, or burst, which can happen if you add cold liquid to a blazing-hot caramel sauce.
- European butter has a higher fat content and less water, which can make the sauce better and easier to make. I love Kerrygold butter.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
More Homemade Dessert Sauces
Dessert toppings, like my homemade caramel sauce, just taste better when made from scratch–and they are easy! Try these next:
Attempted this last night without the salt and it turned out really grainy. Didn’t go back to the recipe to see the suggested fix for grainy sauce. I cooked it a long time, even let it boil, because it never seemed to thicken.
Hi Sharon, I have added this to the recipe “What Causes Caramel Sauce to be Grainy?” and how to fix it. I recommend trying that out.
Can you use 100% heavy cream? If I don’t have half & half and don’t keep milk, will this significantly change the process?
Hi Debbi, you can use equal parts heavy cream and milk if you don’t have half and half.
Hi
I am unable to see your video of this easy caramel sauce recipe, there are too many adds running on the website. Is there anyway it can be fixed, thank you
Hi, this recipe does not have a video associated with it so that is why you aren’t seeing it, but this would be a fun one to film.
Hi Natasha! Love your recipes. . . They are consistently awesome, so please keep ‘em coming ;o)
In this recipe for caramel sauce, can dark brown sugar be used vs. light brown?
Hi Mary! I’m so glad you enjoy my recipes. Thank you.
I have not made this with dark but one of my readers reported excellent results using dark.
I used dark brown sugar and came out excellent. Color and texture and used half and half and it did thickened. Thank you Natasha for another awesome recipe. 🙂 I often use your recipes, your Turkey recipe is AMAZING. Cheers
I’m so glad it worked out well, Menijeh! Thank you so much for sharing that with me!
O.M.G THIS WAS THE BEST THING I’VE EVER TASTED 😋
My family liked to take a spoonful every now and then and it’s SOO good on ice cream! 10/10, would recommend!!!! 💜
That is the best when the family love what we moms make. That’s so great!
Just wondering how long will this keep in an unopened bottle in the cupboard? Or will it need to be kept in the fridge even if unopened
Hi Karen, I haven’t tried canning it for a shelf life so I can’t make that recommendation.
Just wondering if you could use Golden Monkfruit Sweetener instead of light brown sugar.
Hi Teresa! I have not tested this to advise what the outcome would be.
I love this carmel and have made it many times but I’m curious if it would work well over cake?
Hi Jennifer, I haven’t tried that myself, but I imagine that may work! If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
Do you pour this caramel sauce over the cheesecake just before serving or pour it on CC & let set ?
Aloha! We have it set. In our Mini Cheesecakes with caramel sauce recipe see step 3: “Cool to room temp in the baking dish then spoon this caramel sauce over each one. Refrigerate 2 hours then top with homemade whipped cream (see “how to make whipped cream” below) and dust with cinnamon if desired. Serve with or without liners.”I hope this helps!
Hi! Sorry, my brain just won’t process at the moment. What did you mean when you said equal parts of heavy cream and milk? Thanks!
Hi Sam, just in case you cannot find half and half you may use half whipping cream and half whole milk.
I just made a batch now, and omg I love it! Thank you, Natasha! 🙂
This isn’t caramel, it’s butterscotch. Caramel is made with white sugar.
I made your cheesecake and carmel. Not paying attention to the amount of salt, I doubled the recipe🤦♀️. Even if the amount was 1/2 tsp. It would be enough. I’m now making more Carmel to add to the first recipe and it will be perfect.
The cheesecake turned out well😉
Oh no! I’m sorry Judy, but glad the cheesecake turned out well! 🙂
While this sauce is extremely hot could you use canning jars, seal & keep w/o refrigerating until
it is opened?
Hi Jackie, I have not tried canning this recipe and because of the dairy ingredients, I do not know how well it will can and if it will be safe for consumption if not refrigerated.
A lovely, smooth butterscotch sauce! Lovely over my bread pudding and ice-cream! Thank you!
So yummy! I’m glad you loved it. 🙂
Hi Natasha! Would this work with coconut sugar instead of brown sugar? Thanks
Hi Ester, I haven’t tried this with coconut sugar, but here’s what one of my readers wrote “i used coconut sugar and needed to cook a little longer. The flavor had much more depth, however, it is very dark no matter how much cream you use. side note. I also tried it with coconut whipping cream. MUST TRY.” I hope this helps!
this is a recipe for butterscotch sauce. Caramel is made using white sugar and allowed to bubble as the sugar caramelizes; never stirred for the entire cooking time
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, ML! I hope you enjoy our take on it!
The recipe is great but I have a question. Can you substitute brown sugar with white sugar?
Hi, brown sugar is preferred because it has molasses in it.
Can you substitute white sugar or mix of half white / half light brown?
Thanks!
Hi Steph, I have always made this with brown sugar. I think it could work but you probably wouldn’t get as nice of a caramel color using white sugar since the brown sugar has molasses in it for color.
Can this be canned? If so, water bath or pressure canner and for how long? Thank you
Hi Reta, I haven’t tried canning this to advise.
What a fantastic little recipe! I’ve used other recipes for caramel sauce…they were too involved or they didn’t turn out. I made a caramelised banana upside down cake using your caramel recipe which my family devoured and all of them luvd and commented on the caramel sauce…Thanks Natasha
Hi Sam, happy to know that the recipes that you tried went great! I hope you’ll love all the recipes that you will try.
I would love to have that recipe pretty please! My hubby is addicted to anything with bananas.
Thank you for the recipe…I absolutely love caramel and its getting too expensive to buy.
I am using mine to make copycat starbuck’s frappacino
Were the small o’s on the measurements meant for something…I did remove them as I found the recipe a bit too busy to read.
You’re so welcome! I’m not so sure what you mean about the small o’s the measurement looks fine to me.