Homemade Caramel Sauce

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.

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.

Prep Time 2MINUTES MINUTES
Cook Time 10MINUTES MINUTES
Cool down 10MINUTES MINUTES
Total Time 22MINUTES MINUTES

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.)

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

Nutritional information given is an automatic calculation and can vary based on the exact products you use and any changes you make to the recipe. If these numbers are very important to you, I would recommend calculating them yourself.