Our easy homemade Caramel Sauce is buttery and silky, with a deep caramel flavor and just the right touch of salt. Pour it over vanilla ice cream for a decadent treat, or spoon it over apple slices to transform them from a compromise into a real dessert.
It’s wild what a little sugar, cream, and butter can do when they decide to get fancy.
Caramel, as we know it, started coming together in the 1600s, when European candy makers began adding milk and fats to their melted sugar creations. That simple tweak turned into one of the greatest flavor upgrades in dessert history.
Fast forward to the 1800s, and American confectioners took the idea and ran with it, churning out creamy caramels and, eventually, the luscious caramel sauce we all keep trying not to eat straight from the jar.
Our caramel sauce takes minutes to make, which is great news when you’re the one waiting for it to cool, so you can have the first taste of caramelly joy.
Make a batch to turn any ordinary get-together into an occasion, or keep it on hand for when dessert is the only way forward.
If caramel speaks your language, our creamy Salted Caramel Cheesecake is calling your name, with its buttery pecan crust and decadent caramel drizzle.
Or try our tender, rustic Caramel Apple Torte topped with a dark caramel sauce that brings deep, grown-up flavor.
Ingredients
Gather the ingredients to prepare our easy caramel sauce recipe. Culinary professionals call this the “Mise en Place,” which means “everything in its Place.”
Setting up your ingredients not only helps speed up the cooking process but also ensures you have all the necessary ingredients on hand to make the recipe.
Can I Change Up the Recipe?
Absolutely. We made our caramel recipe with granulated sugar, but you can swap in raw cane sugar or caster sugar for a slightly different texture and a deeper flavor profile. Just avoid a sugar substitute here, since caramel depends on real sugar to melt properly and give that rich amber color we’re after.
If you like your caramel sauce with a little edge, stir in a pinch more sea salt or use flaky salt for a bit of crunch and contrast. You could also reduce or omit the pinch of salt entirely if you’re pairing it with something that’s already salty or just prefer your caramel on the sweeter side.
If your friends and family didn’t think this was gourmet enough before, wait until they taste it with a splash of bourbon, espresso, or vanilla bean paste. Just be sure to add it after the sugar melts so you don’t burn off the flavor.
How to Make Caramel Sauce
Follow along with my simple step-by-step instructions to learn how to make caramel sauce in your home kitchen.
- Combine granulated sugar, ¼ cup of water, light corn syrup, and table salt in a small saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves completely. If sugar crystals form on the sides of the pan, use a wet pastry brush to wipe them down.
- Increase the heat to medium and cook without stirring until the sugar melts and turns a rich amber color. Use a candy thermometer to check that it reaches 340°F, then remove from the heat.
- Slowly drizzle in warm heavy whipping cream while stirring constantly with a wooden spoon.
- Add unsalted butter, one piece at a time, stirring until the caramel sauce is smooth.
- Stir in vanilla extract as the final ingredient for added depth of flavor.
- Let the hot caramel cool slightly before using or transferring it to a glass jar or an airtight container.
Make it for your next batch of caramel macchiatos, apple pie, or just to spoil yourself with that rich, gooey caramel deliciousness.
After you sneak that first tiny taste with the tip of your finger, you’ll be finding excuses to drizzle it on everything short of your cereal.
How to Store Caramel Sauce
Let the caramel sauce cool to room temperature before transferring it to a mason jar or any airtight glass container.
Store it in the fridge for up to two weeks. It stays spoonable when cold, but for a pourable texture, microwave it in 10-15-second bursts until the desired consistency is reached.
Freezing isn’t recommended, as it can cause the caramel to split and lose its smooth texture.
Recipe FAQs
Graininess usually means sugar crystals formed during the cooking process. Once the sugar has fully dissolved, stop stirring while it cooks and use a damp pastry brush to wash down any crystals on the sides of the pan.
Caramel sauce can split if the temperature shifts too quickly or if the cream is too cold when added. Keep the heat steady and let your cream warm slightly before stirring it in slowly and gently.
You can, but it will change the flavor. Brown sugar adds a deeper, more molasses-like note and leans the sauce toward butterscotch.
More Recipes You’ll Love!
Homemade Caramel Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup water
- 2 tablespoon light corn syrup
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 3 tablespoon unsalted butter cut into 3 pieces
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Combine sugar, water, corn syrup, and salt in a small saucepan.
- Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved. If any sugar crystals form on the sides of the pan, dip a pastry brush in water and use it to sweep away any sugar crystals.
- Turn heat to medium and cook without stirring until mixture turns caramel in color (this can take about 15 minutes or so) and reaches a temperature of 340 degrees F.
- Remove from heat and very slowly drizzle in cream while stirring.
- When the cream has been mixed in, add the butter, one piece at a time, until the sauce is smooth. Add vanilla and stir to combine.
- Allow caramel to cool before using (unless serving warm over ice cream, then just let it cool until warm enough to consume).
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