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This easy recipe for homemade Caramel Sauce is simple and delicious! It’s an easy 4-ingredient recipe that tastes so much better than store-bought.
What’s in this Caramel Sauce Recipe?
Gooey, delicious caramel sauce is perfect on top of pretty much any dessert I can think of. I love always having a jar of caramel sauce to reach for!
- Brown Sugar: Keeps the sauce moist and adds a richer flavor.
- Unsalted Butter: Helps make the sauce rich, creamy, and soft.
- Heavy Whipping Cream: Makes this sauce rich and creamy.
- Vanilla Extract: Enhances the caramel flavor of the sauce.
Pro Tip: If you love salted caramel, add a few pinches of sea salt to this sauce, or use salted butter instead of unsalted.
Variations on Homemade Caramel Sauce
There are so many delicious ways to jazz up this easy caramel sauce. You can infuse it with warm spices, like cinnamon, nutmeg, or cardamom. You could also stir in a splash of bourbon or whiskey to add a rich, smoky flavor.
For a coffee caramel, dissolve 1 tablespoon of instant coffee granules in 1 tablespoon of hot water, then add it to the caramel sauce. Or try adding some chopped nuts, like almonds, pecans, or walnuts, to the sauce for a bit of crunch.
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How is caramel sauce made from scratch?
Simply put, caramel is made by cooking down brown sugar, butter, and cream in a pot until it turns gooey and saucy. Follow my recipe for more detailed instructions!
Do I need a candy thermometer?
While you don’t technically need a candy thermometer to make this caramel sauce, it is a helpful tool to have around and can help prevent you from overcooking the sauce.
Should you stir the sugar when making caramel?
For this particular caramel recipe, we stir the entire time. I know that probably goes against everything you’ve heard about making caramel, but trust me, it works!
Why add butter to caramel sauce?
Butter helps to make this caramel sauce rich, creamy, and soft. Without it, your sauce could harden too much.
How do you keep caramel from crystallizing?
Caramel sometimes becomes gritty when the sugar crystallizes, which can happen when some of the sugar gets stuck to the walls of the pan and dries out. This recipe mostly avoids that pitfall by adding the cream and butter right away and stirring the whole time.
Why did my homemade caramel get hard?
Caramel often turns hard when it is cooked for too long and too much moisture evaporates. We help combat that by using brown sugar, which has more moisture than granulated white sugar. Still, take care not to overcook the caramel, as it will continue to thicken up as it cools.
Does caramel sauce need to be refrigerated?
Yes! This caramel sauce contains dairy, so it needs to be refrigerated!
How to Store and Reheat
In an airtight container in the refrigerator, this delicious caramel sauce will stay fresh for up to 2 weeks. You’ll know yours has gone bad if there’s a strange odor or appearance to the sauce.
You can rewarm the sauce gently on the stovetop or in the microwave to soften it up.
How to Freeze
In an airtight container in the freezer, homemade caramel sauce will stay fresh for up to 3 months. To thaw it, just place the jar of frozen caramel sauce in the refrigerator for a few hours, preferably overnight.
Serving Suggestions
This caramel sauce is delicious on everything! I love it drizzled over apple pie, pumpkin pie ice cream, caramel popcorn, butterscotch pudding, or savory bacon pancakes.
It’s also a great pantry staple to have around as an ingredient for recipes like caramel brownies, caramel apple cupcakes, chocolate caramel cheesecake, or chocolate caramel ombre cake.
4.67 from 12 votes
Caramel Sauce Recipe
This easy recipe for homemade caramel sauce is simple and delicious! You're going to love drizzling this sweet caramel sauce on apple pie, brownies, ice cream, and so much more.
Prep: 5 minutes minutes
Cook: 10 minutes minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes minutes
Servings: 12 people
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Ingredients
- 1 cup brown sugar 213 grams
- ½ cup unsalted butter 113 grams (1 stick)
- ¼ cup heavy whipping cream 57 grams
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 4 grams
Equipment
Kitchen Scale (optional)
Instructions
Place the brown sugar, butter, and heavy whipping cream in a medium saucepan seet over medium heat.
1 cup brown sugar, ½ cup unsalted butter, ¼ cup heavy whipping cream
Stir often until it reaches a boil.
Boil until the sauce begins to thicken, about 2 minutes.
Stir in the vanilla, then remove from the heat. Transfer to a heat-proof container. The sauce will continue to thicken as it cools.
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Notes
- If you love salted caramel, add a few pinches of sea salt to this sauce. Or, you could use salted butter instead of unsalted. Either way, you’re sure to get a hint of salt in your caramel sauce.
- When you’re heating up the sauce, be sure to stir often! Stirring often ensures that the ingredients will fully combine and prevents the sauce from burning.
- Use dark brown sugar to get the richest caramel flavor. If you can’t find any, just combine 1 tablespoon of molasses with 1 cup of light brown sugar.
Storage:Store homemade caramel sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Nutrition Facts
Caramel Sauce Recipe
Amount Per Serving
Calories 155Calories from Fat 81
% Daily Value*
Fat 9g14%
Saturated Fat 6g38%
Trans Fat 1g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
Monounsaturated Fat 2g
Cholesterol 26mg9%
Sodium 8mg0%
Potassium 32mg1%
Carbohydrates 18g6%
Sugar 18g20%
Protein 1g2%
Vitamin A 309IU6%
Vitamin C 1mg1%
Calcium 21mg2%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Author: Becky Hardin – Easy Dessert Recipes
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Valerie Bristow saysCan this be used for chocolate caramel pretzel rods? I usually unwrap caramels and microwave with some cream, let harden in fridge, roll out and cut strips with a knife.
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- Donna ho*rner Brandel says
I made the homemade carmel sauce today. I did as it called for and it got real gritty. What did i do wrong?
Reply
- Becky Hardin says
Hi Donna, it sounds like some of your sugar crystallized. This can happen when sugar gets stuck to the walls of the pan. The best way to prevent this is to add a splash of lemon juice in with the ingredients before heating, and the best way to fix it is to add more liquid and let the crystals melt.
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- Karen Depeso says
You state that there are 155 cals in a serving of your homemade caramel sauce but it doesn’t say anywhere what size a serving is.
Please add?Your recipes would be a joy to learn from but it’s more like suffer from due to the sheer number of ads – sometimes at BOTH the top and the bottom of the page Karen Depesoleaving little room for your purpose…
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- Becky Hardin says
Hi Karen, this recipe makes about 2 cups of caramel (1 pint). A serving is about 3 tablespoons. Unfortunately, the ads are necessary in order to keep this site free for all. If you’d like to skip straight to the recipe, you can click on the “Recipe ⬇” button underneath the recipe title.
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- carol nies says
Hi Becky! I noticed when I print up one of your recipes for 12 servings, and then change the number of servings, everything changes EXCEPT the grams. Am I missing something? Otherwise, I love all your recipes that I have tried so far, but I have many more to go.
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- Becky Hardin says
Hi Carol, the grams are manually entered for each recipe by hand, so they do not update with the slider unfortunately!
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- Carol says
Love this! I have tried quite a few caramel recipes but just couldn’t find that good caramel flavor. This is by far the best tasting caramel sauce thus far!! Thanks for the recipe!
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- Becky Hardin says
I’m so happy to hear you loved this recipe, Carol!
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