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!
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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:
Really loved this recipe! Super simple and tasty. My only concern was when I put the left overs in the fridge, the caramel separated. Is this normal? The consistency seem to never come back to the original state.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Fatima. I haven’t had any experience with this recipe separating, was anything possibly substituted in the recipe or process?
If anyone is wondering, yes you can just use full cream milk if you have no cream. I did, and it turned out fine. Took 5 mins more to thicken, but it’s the same result.
Thank you for sharing that with us.
This is a great find for making a quick, easy sauce with ingredients you likely have already. There seem to be a lot of haters on here that it isn’t actually caramel but butterscotch – it’s close enough for me. Two observations, though. 1) don’t start your 6-9 minute timer until you’ve got a good simmer going, and 2) 1 t of salt is way too much. It is less overpowering after the caramel has cooled but, wow, I’ll try half that next time… and there will be a next time as my son loves it! Thank you!
Thank you for the feedback, Whitney!
Thanks so much for an easy and delicious caramel sauce recipe. I’ve made many. The ones with white sugar never turned out the way they were supposed to. This is yummy and so simple to make. Why everyone gets so caught up in exactness and negativity is beyond me. Just make this. You won’t be disappointed. Thanks Natasha.
Hi Robin! Thank you, I appreciate the feedback and review!
Delicious little sauce recipe I can make with things I always have on hand. No issues with graininess or thickening. I don’t care whether it’s technically caramel or butterscotch—it’s so tasty you’ll be licking the spoon. Never a bad recipe from you!
Thank you, Brittany! So glad you loved the recipe. 🙂
I absolutely LOVE this recipe and use it for my cheesecakes, apple pies and apple crumbles, for cupcake topping, etc. A few things that I’ve learned:
1) When this recipe says whisk constantly, whisk CONSTANTLY for the time stated. The first time I used this recipe it took me ages and it’s because I was only whisking intermittently. Your wrists should need a minimum of 24 hours of rest following this recipe;) (kidding)
2) I agree with others in the reviews who are venturing to use closer to 1/2 teaspoon of salt instead of a full tsp. The first time I used this recipe it was slightly overly salted.
Highly recommend!
Thank you for the feedback, Trinity! 🙂
This caramel sauce is the best, and takes no time @ all to whisk up. Thanks for all the great recipes.
You’re so welcome, Brenda. I hope you’ll enjoy all the recipes that you will try!
The recipe is delicious, but this is technically butterscotch due to use of brown sugar and adding ingredients all at once. Still loved it!
Absolutely divine. I used heavy cream as that was in the fridge. It took about 10 minutes to come to a boil and I whisked lightly but constantly. An old candy cookbook said you could avoid graininess by putting on a lid when you remove pan from the heat. The steam will wash the crystals down.
Awesome! I am so glad that you enjoyed it.
Made this tonight in preparation for the mini cheesecakes. It is delish! I did have to cook it longer to thicken but just stirred constantly and tested it on the back of a spoon. Another fabulous recipe Natasha! Can’t wait to taste it on the cheesecake!
Hi Ellen! I’m so glad you loved the recipe. Thank you for sharing.
Delicious sauce! Added some cinnamon at the end-perfect for ice cream or/and to stir some into coffee.
No graininess for me.
That’s wonderful, Nancy! Thank you for sharing.
I used light half & half (5%) and it turned out great. I did have to cook it longer…I think you can get too caught up on the timings. I took a small spoonful out and let cool to determine if it had thickened enough.
Thank you for sharing, Linda.
To be clear, this isn’t caramel sauce, it’s brown sugar with butter. If you’ve ever had real caramel sauce made from caramelized sugar, you will be disappointed with the flavour of this version. Yes, lot’s of people make it this way, by the number of recipes on the internet, but it’s not the real thing.
Cry me a river. So what. I made this and “real” caramel and this is the best version of caramel I’ve ever personally made.
Aaaw, thank you, Dee! Glad that you enjoyed it.
Wow….I threw in a few, thin sliced apples that were leftover from my apple pie filling. This legitimately tasted like a caramel apple. It was so good that I actually took a shot of it, THANK YOU. It is smooth, delicious and thick (whisked contantly for 15 minutes on low, cooled, stored in a glass jar).
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
Is there actually anyone that even attempts to keep caramel for 2 weeks 😆
Mine was devoured the first day!!!
😆
This was perfect! Most delicious salted caramel! I used 1/2 tsp Himalayan pink salt and salted butter (I never keep unsalted butter). Poured over vanilla ice cream over top homemade pumpkin pie for our Christmas dessert.
Sounds delicious! I’m so glad you loved it.
This is my go to recipe for dressing up any dessert. My family loves it and I’ve shared it numerous times. Its so easy I’ve made it many times while my company is sitting at the table.
So glad it was a hit! Thank you for sharing, Helene!
I must say I had doubts about the recipe working, after reading comments about others’ sauce being grainy or watery. However, it turned out just as you said!! I whisked it constantly for about 11 mins. Used Single Cream (which I think is the irish version of half-and-half). Absolutely delicious caramel sauce. Thank you for the recipe! This will be a go to now whenever caramel is called for.
You are so welcome, Tom! Great to hear that you loved this recipe!
I just made this caramel and it’s too watery. how can I get it to thicken?
Hi Guadalupe, I suggest constantly whisking or until thickened and no longer watery (6-9 minutes). Keep in mind it thickens more as it cools. Also to make it thicker, cook the sauce longer. As more of the liquid evaporates, it will thicken. Was anything changed or altered in the recipe to further troubleshoot?
I substituted whipping cream for half and half and while it is a beautiful colour it just not want to seem to thicken. Should I take it off the heat and then it will thicken?
Hi Kim. The whipping cream is what helps it get thick. I am not sure how to achieve those results with half and half.
Hi Natasha, the recipe says to use half and half or equal parts of heavy cream and milk. So is there a mistake? Was I supposed to use heavy whipping cream instead of half and half. I used half and half and it doesn’t want to thicken. Thanks 🙏🏻
Hi Marina! Yes, half and half is correct. Equal parts of heavy cream and milk are what make up half and half so for those people who do not have access to half in half in their local grocery stores or don’t have time to make a trip to the store, they can make their own at home with milk and heavy cream. 🙂
I’m having the same issue – used half and half (what the recipe calls for) and it is not thickening. Help!
Hi Tiff, make sure to simmer it over low heat and continue whisking it until it thickens.