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:
Hey Natasha can I use It for your caramel apples cause I am not a blessing to find caramels in Sri Lanka
Hi Ranuth, unfortunately, this caramel sauce would be too thin and too soft to use for caramel apples. It looks like next year I need a caramel apples from scratch recipe!
Hi Natasha,
I’ve made this before as directed and it turned out fabulous. I want to make it again but only have dark brown sugar. Will that work and taste similar?
Thank you
Hi Erica, thanks for sharing that with us. Someone shared this comment “This is the one! I ran out of light brown sugar so I used dark brown sugar this time. Was just as delicious FYI. Thank you so much for sharing!” I hope that helps.
Hi is there a recommened final temp rather than not watery Thanks
Hi Ken, between 340-350°F is when the caramel starts to get the right color so keep an eye on it at that point and remove from heat once it reaches your desired color and thickness.
Can I use this recipe for caramel covered apples? Or is it different I’ve never done it before so I was just curious thank you!
Hi Alyssia, I honestly haven’t tried that yet to advise. If you do an experiment, please share with us how it goes.
Hi, um I was wondering what happeneds if you don’t pack down the brown sugar.
Hi, Yes, brown sugar should be packed into measuring cups and spoons with your fingers until even with the rim. If it is not packed, you will get an incorrect amount and a different outcome.
Hi Natasha, love your recipes! Question about the caramel sauce. What do you put it in to give as gifts?
Hi Kerry, you can put the sauce in a nice jar just like what is shown in the picture in the recipe.
Hi Natasha, this is delicious! How would I store this and how long will it last for please?
Hi Lei, please see the section in the recipe post titled: “Can I Make Caramel Sauce Ahead?”
Can you use evaporated milk or sweetened condensed milk in this recipe??
Hi Carolyn, I haven’t experimented with those.
Hi,
This caramel sauce sounds exactly like one I’d love to try. Can half and half be replaced with anything non-dairy?
Hi Anne, I honestly haven’t tried that yet to advise. If you do an experiment, please share with us how it goes!
I will perhaps try this recipe because it does sound delicious, but there’s an old, very easy recipe I’ve used forever. Just take one can of condensed milk. make two small punctures in top to release steam, put in pot of boiling water, reduce to simmer, careful not to let water go over top of can, let simmer till you can tell it’s carmelized. Can’t remember how long, sorry.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Sheila! I hope you give this a try soon!
Can it be frozen in smaller amounts?
Hi Sue, I haven’t tried freezing this caramel sauce so I’m don’t sure if that would break the consistency.
Hi Natasha.
Wow. My second batch of the sauce came out so perfect that I wanted to cry:)) Божественно. Can I hug you?:)) I will never purchase caramel sauce again.
Unfortunately the first batch came out unbearably salty, so instead of 1 teaspoon, I added half a teaspoon for the second batch.
Thank you so much for this recipe. I’m gonna use this for my lattes too:)
Sending you an air hug, Susanna! Thank you for your lovely comment!
Hi Natasha,
This recipe looks great and I’m tempted to try it with Ina Garten’s Pana Cotta recipe. However, I’d like to make this desert ahead and have the caramel over the panacotta. Do you think this sauce can be poured over the pana cotta and refrigerated then served or should the warm caramel be served on the side with the chilled pana cotta. I want it to be as easy for serving as the number of guests are 50. Would appreciate your earliest response. Thanks again for sharing all your wonderful recipes
Hi there, either process will actually work fine. I recommend testing it out before the actual event so you’ll be able to see which process is easier for you.
A tablespoon of real vanilla extract is way way WAY too much. I used a teaspoon and that was way too much. It tastes like vanilla on steroids I can’t even imagine what a tablespoon would taste like.
Hi Natasha, I think you should make a full in depth video because I followed the instructions to make your caramel sauce but at the end it start to turn hard inside the pot and I don’t know if I should take it out of the pot and transfer it into a bowl and probably it was because I added too much heat.
Hi Jhony, cooking for longer may make that happen. This caramel sauce may be a little thin for certain recipes – it won’t fully harden and dry as caramel candies would, although it will if you cooked it longer, but I still think it would be sticky to the touch.
Hi Natasha,
I’ve been always been a fan of your cooking and baking.
Can I asked please if I can use brown sugar instead of light sugar. I couldn’t find light brown sugar in Sydney.
Thank you and all the very best!
Regards,
Kathryn
Thanks for your support, Kathryn. I would avoid dark brown sugar which can seize the caramel and turn it grainy. But someone else also shared that they used brown sugar and worked too, I think you would have to do an experiment on that. If you try it, please share with us how it turns out!
can you use this for runny type chocolate caramels. please send answer to email senior not great with this thankyou
Hi Dorothy, I haven’t tested that to advise on the technique to make that happen! I hope you try and love this recipe!
Do you think it would work to double this recipe?
That would work, Angie. If you click on the serving size in the recipe card, you can slide it up or down to scale the recipe ingredient lists. I hope that helps!
This came out PERFECTLY. I whisked non stop and I mean non stop lol … on low and at the end just simmered. I did this for closer to 7 minutes. It still seems watery at first but you don’t realize how much it will thicken. I was worried about cooking it too long and crystallization like others mentioned. I cooled it at room temperature in a mason jar. I made the mini salted caramel cheesecakes with it. Out of this world! Thank you
You are very welcome, Nicole. I’m happy that you enjoyed and loved this recipe! Thank you for giving this a try and for sharing your great feedback and review with us.
Thank you for your reply Natasha. I tried using brown sugar. The recipe was really great. However, when it cooled down it became granny.
Hi Natasha! i have been watching you since a long time you are a wonderful cook! i just wanted to ask that will this recipe harden after being cooled to a spreadable consistency, for example like a filling between cakes?
Hi, it does thicken up with refrigeration. I haven’t tested it between cake layers to see if it would seep out, but that may work.
okay thankyou for replying! loads of love <3
Thank you for the best caramel recipe after many failed attempts at it!
Definitely will be making this quick and super easy recipe again
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Pam!
Hi Natasha…
i was wondering … why my caramel sauce when it cool, it become hard like a candy?
Am i doing it wrong?
Hi Lielie, cooking for longer may make that happen. This caramel sauce may be a little thin for certain recipes – it won’t fully harden and dry as caramel candies would, although it will if you cooked it longer, but I still think it would be sticky to the touch.