Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce (with 5 ingredients!)
This homemade salted caramel sauce (with 5 ingredients!) is buttery, golden, and perfectly balanced with just the right amount of sea salt. Smooth and glossy, this will be your go-to sauce to drizzle on your favorite pies, cakes, or vanilla ice cream. Once you make this recipe, you’ll never buy caramel sauce again!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe:
This recipe comes together in under ten minutes, and is very beginner friendly. I list the visual cues as well as the temperatures to assess when your caramel has reached the consistency your after to make this recipe fool-proof. Incredibly versatile and great for making ahead or gifting, you’ll have everyone begging you to make this again.
Tools You’ll Need:
- Medium-sized pot or saucepan- for cooking the caramel sauce.
- Whisk- to stir caramel sauce.
- Food or candy thermometer (optional)- this helps assess the temperature to achieve the perfect consistency. While helpful you don’t have to have this.
- Glass jar- for storing caramel sauce.
Gather Your Ingredients:
- Unsalted Butter- the base of your caramel sauce. I recommend using unsalted butter, but you can use salted just reduce the salt by 1/4 teaspoon.
- Brown Sugar- sweetens and thickens the caramel sauce. You can use light brown sugar or dark, darker brown sugar will give the caramel a more molasses flavor.
- Heavy Cream- thins sauce and makes it creamy. If you don’t have heavy cream on hand you can use half and half, but be aware this will make the sauce runnier and you may need to cook for a longer period to achieve a thicker consistency.
- Vanilla Extract- balances flavors of the sauce.
- Sea Salt- any sea salt will work, but I recommend a fine salt.
Now let’s make homemade caramel sauce!
Instructions:
In a medium sized pot or saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. This should take about 1 minute.
Once the butter has completely melted, add the brown sugar. Whisk butter and sugar together and cook for about 2 minutes until the brown sugar has fully dissolved. The mixture should look glossy and smooth. If you don’t melt the sugar fully, the caramel might be grainy.
Adjust the stove heat to medium/low, and slowly start to drizzle the heavy cream into the butter/sugar mixture. Be careful because this can cause the caramel to bubble up, so go slowly!
Once the cream has been added to the sauce, continue to whisk continuously ( this should be more like a swirling motion) and cook the sauce for 2-3 more minutes until sauce has thickened slightly and reached 225–228°F. Look for the sauce to coat the back of a spoon and leave a slow drip when lifted.
Removed sauce from heat immediately and allow to cool for a minute, then add vanilla and salt. Whisk caramel sauce well and allow to cool.
Let caramel sauce cool for 5-10 minutes before using. Drizzle on your favorite ice cream or transfer to an airtight glass jar for storing.
Yields 1/2 cup
Enjoy!
How To Store:
Room Temperature- transfer caramel sauce to a glass jar or airtight container. Store at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Refrigerator- transfer caramel sauce to a glass jar or airtight container. Refrigerate sauce for up to 2 months.
Reheating- Warm gently before using. If using a microwave, be very careful as the high heat can cause the sauce to separate. Use very short low bursts of heat to gently soften, or use a small pot on a very low heat.
FAQ’S:
What if my caramel is too thin?
Keep simmering caramel until it thickens. Visual cue: the caramel should coat the back of a spoon and drip off slowly, not run like water.
What if my caramel is too thick?
Whisk in a splash of cream while it’s warm. Visual cue: it should pour in a slow ribbon but not plop in chunks.
What if my sauce looks grainy?
This usually means the sugar didn’t dissolve fully. Make sure to whisk slowly and constantly and allow the sugar and butter to fully melt before adding cream.
What if it separated (butter pooling on top)?
Typically caramel gets grainy when the sugar crystalizes. Instead of whisking hard use more of a swirling motion after the butter and sugar melt. Avoid reheating in the microwave on high temperatures as this can also cause separation.
What if I don’t have heavy cream?
You can use half and half in place of cream, be aware you may need to simmer longer to thicken the sauce. I don’t recommend using milk, this can make the sauce become grainy from the sugar crystallization.
Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce (with 5 ingredients!)
Equipment
- Medium-sized pot or saucepan – for cooking the caramel sauce.
- Whisk – to stir caramel sauce.
- Food or candy thermometer (optional) – this helps assess the temperature to achieve the perfect consistency. While helpful you don't have to have this.
- Glass jar – for storing caramel sauce.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup (150g) packed brown sugar
- 6 tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter
- ½ cup (120g) heavy cream
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt (reduce by 1/4 teaspoon of you want less salty)
Instructions
- In a medium sized pot or saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. This should take about 1 minute.6 tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter
- Once the butter has completely melted, add the brown sugar. Whisk butter and sugar together and cook for about 2 minutes until the brown sugar has fully dissolved. The mixture should look glossy and smooth. If you don’t melt the sugar fully, the caramel might be grainy.¾ cup (150g) packed brown sugar
- Adjust the stove heat to medium/low, and slowly start to drizzle the heavy cream into the butter/sugar mixture. Be careful because this can cause the caramel to bubble up, so go slowly!½ cup (120g) heavy cream
- Once the cream has been added to the sauce, continue to whisk gently and continuously and cook the sauce for 2-3 more minutes until sauce has thickened slightly and reached 225–228°F. Look for the sauce to coat the back of a spoon and leave a slow drip when lifted.
- Removed sauce from heat immediately and allow to cool for a minute, then add vanilla and salt. Whisk caramel sauce gently and allow to cool.½ teaspoon vanilla extract, 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- Let caramel sauce cool for 5-10 minutes before using. Drizzle on your favorite ice cream or transfer to an airtight glass jar for storing.
- Yields 1/2 cup
- Enjoy!