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This caramel sauce recipe is so simple, you’ll never want store-bought again! There are only 5 all-natural ingredients that all go into the pot at once and then you whisk until it’s thickened to your liking. How easy is that?! You’ll learn how to make caramel sauce in no time!
I’ve been disappointed many times looking for caramel that didn’t have high fructose corn syrup, or artificial colors and flavors, or other ingredients I couldn’t pronounce. It’s crazy! This caramel recipe is not just easy, but it tastes amazing. Nothing beats homemade caramel sauce!
I learned how to make caramel sauce from Pioneer Woman years ago and have been making this salted version ever since!The little bit of salt in this recipe balances the flavors perfectly so don’t skip it! There’s a reason why salted caramel is “a thing.”
Caramel Sauce Ingredients:
1 cup (200 grams) light brown sugar, packed
4 Tbsp unsalted butter*
1 tsp sea salt, or to taste
1/2 cup half and half (or use equal parts heavy cream and milk)
1 Tbsp real vanilla extract
*If using salted butter, cut the salt to 1/2 tsp or add it to taste.
To make the Easiest Salted Caramel Sauce:
1. Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and simmer over low heat, whisking constantly or until thickened and no longer watery (6-9 minutes). Keep in mind it thickens more as it cools.
P.S. That’s homemade vanilla extract you see up there. You only need to ingredients for it – so easy! It also makes for a great homemade gift!
Can I Make Caramel Sauce Ahead?
Homemade caramel sauce can easily be made ahead and we love keeping a jar in the refrigerator. Caramel sauce is great served warm, at room temperature or chilled with refrigeration. Refrigerate in an airtight container up to 2 weeks. You can warm it slightly to make it more drizzle-able.
P.S. Be careful with the sampling – It’s easy to get carried away!
What Causes Caramel Sauce to be Grainy?
Sugar crystallization can cause a grainy caramel sauce giving your caramel sauce a rough consistency. To prevent this, use a pastry brush moistened with water to brush down the sides of your saucepan if any sugar is present on the sides of the pan. Also, avoid any ingredient substitutions.
To Fix a Grainy Caramel Sauce:
To fix a caramel that separates or a grainy caramel sauce, you want to add a little water (1 to 2 Tbsp), bring it to a boil, and re-dissolve the crystalized sugar. Once it’s smooth again, remove it from heat.
⬇Print-Friendly Caramel Sauce Recipe:
Easy Caramel Sauce Recipe
Author: Natasha of NatashasKitchen.com
Homemade caramel sauce is so simple, you'll never want store-bought again! Easy 1-step, 5-ingredient salted caramel sauce recipe.
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Prep Time: 2 minutes mins
Cook Time: 8 minutes mins
Total Time: 10 minutes mins
Ingredients
Servings: 16 Tbsp (makes 1 cup caramel sauce)
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, *
- 1 tsp sea salt, or to taste
- 1/2 cup half and half, or use equal parts heavy cream and milk
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Combine all ingredients in a small/medium saucepan and simmer over low heat, whisking constantly or until thickened and no longer watery (6-9 min). Keep in mind it thickens more as it cools. Serve warm, at room temperature or chilled. Refrigerate in an airtight container up to 2 weeks. You can re-warm it slightly to make it more drizzle-able.
Notes
*If using salted butter, reduce salt to 1/2 tsp or add it to taste.
Nutrition Per Serving
89kcal Calories13g Carbs3g Fat2g Saturated Fat10mg Cholesterol152mg Sodium28mg Potassium13g Sugar115IU Vitamin A0.1mg Vitamin C20mg Calcium0.1mg Iron
- Full Nutrition Label
- Nutrition Disclosure
Nutrition Facts
Easy Caramel Sauce Recipe
Amount per Serving
% Daily Value*
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Course: Condiments, Sauce
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Caramel Sauce
Skill Level: Easy
Cost to Make: $
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
We love this homemade caramel sauce over our pumpkin cheesecake, vanilla ice cream, over baked apples, and the mini cheesecakes I will post later this week, and everything we can possibly put caramel over ;).
Natasha Kravchuk
Welcome to my kitchen! I am Natasha, the blogger behind Natasha's Kitchen (since 2009). My husband and I run this blog together and share only our best, family approved and tested recipes with YOU. Thanks for stopping by! We are so happy you're here.
Read more posts by Natasha
FAQs
Combine brown sugar, butter, and milk in a saucepan and bring ingredients to a boil. Remove thickened mixture from heat before adding (optional) vanilla extract. Let the caramel cool slightly before using. The result is an impossibly rich sauce that is guaranteed to satisfy your sweet tooth.
Can I use milk instead of cream for caramel? ›
Caramel sauce is a wonderful topping for ice cream, cake, pie, and bread pudding. While a typical caramel recipe calls for heavy cream, what if you don't have any handy? This easy recipe uses milk and butter instead, ingredients you're more likely to have on hand.
Why is my homemade caramel sauce not thickening? ›
Add more sugar to the sauce.
Most caramel sauces are made by caramelizing sugar and adding milk and a little salt. If you increase the amount of sugar in the recipe you'll end up with a thicker caramel. Try increasing the sugar by about 1/3.
What are the two methods for making caramel? ›
Wet caramel is made by combining sugar and a liquid and cooking them together, while dry caramel is made from just sugar, heated in a dry pan until it liquefies and browns.
What is homemade caramel made of? ›
Never leave your caramel sauce unattended: To make caramel sauce you essentially toast white sugar until it's melted, before adding in butter, cream, and salt. Your sugar can go from toasty to burnt pretty quickly though, so make sure you keep a close eye on it! Don't forget the salt!
Does boiling a can of condensed milk turn into caramel? ›
What you make out of condensed milk is dulce de leche. It's often called caramel or toffee, but it's not really either. The recipe is trivial: pour the condensed milk in a pan. Heat it over low heat, stirring continuously, until it turns into dulce de leche.
What thickens homemade caramel? ›
To thicken a caramel sauce, use one tablespoon of cornstarch or tapioca starch (sometimes known as tapioca flour) and one tablespoon of water per cup of caramel. Then simmer the caramel, stirring it constantly with a wooden spoon until it becomes thick.
Why do you put condensed milk in caramel? ›
Because it contains a ton of sugar. An easy caramel/dulce de leche that students have made for many, many years: bring a pot of water to the boil, lower heat to low simmer. Put in an unopened can of sweetened condensed milk. Let it cook for at least a half hour, probably more.
Why is my homemade caramel so hard? ›
This is usually caused by sugar crystals stuck to the side of the pan that didn't get fully dissolved. It only takes one to set off a chain reaction, and before you know it you have crunchy caramel.
What happens if you add butter too soon to caramel? ›
If you add the butter too early while the caramel is still pale yellow, the sauce will be too sweet and lack flavor. and if you wait too long and the caramel turns brown, the sauce will taste bitter and burnt.
Your caramel is too hard
It is likely that you took the mixture past the 240° / 120°c stage, which is called the firm ball stage in candy making. You want to make sure that you very carefully measure the temperature of your caramel when you are cooking it.
Why is my homemade caramel sauce bitter? ›
Bitter caramel means burned caramel. So if yours taste bitter, you've overcooked it. You can do nothing about it after, only heat it a bit shorter the next time.
Why do you put vinegar in caramel? ›
Add acid. Acid ingredients (like vinegar or lemon juice) can help prevent re-crystallization which causes caramel to become grainy. Acid physically breaks the bonds between the glucose and fructose molecules that form sucrose and ensure that it stays apart.
Why shouldn't you stir sugar when making caramel? ›
Stirring the sugar
If the melting sugar splashes up onto the sides of the pan, it quickly loses its moisture content and forms back into crystals. That can set off a chain reaction that can cause caramel to seize up, ruining the entire batch.
How was caramel originally made? ›
Most believe caramel was created more than 1,020 years ago in 1000 AD by Arabs mixing sugar and water to create a crystallized liquid. Funny enough, the original caramel was not believed to be enjoyed as a sweet treat but rather used as a beauty product.
Is caramel made from butter and sugar? ›
Ok you may not have known this but, ~newsflash~ caramel is literally just cooked sugar with a little bit of butter (for stability) and heavy cream (for flavor & mouthfeel) stirred in at the end. The longest (and “hardest”) part of making caramel is just toasting and melting down the sugar at the very beginning.
