Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce is the tasty combo of sweet and salty that you crave with your ice cream, popcorn & all your favorite treats!
Warm, sweet, Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce comes together in about 10 minutes and is the perfect topping for your favorite desserts like ice cream and cake! Whisk together butter, sugar, salt, and heavy cream to make a perfect balance of sweet and salty sauce, and give the whole family something to rave about!
Caramel Cravings
I sometimes forget how easy some things are to make, but maybe that’s my brain’s way of preventing me from overeating a good thing, like Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce! This sweet, gooey caramel sauce is so good that it feels like it disappears five minutes after I finish making it! Since this salted caramel sauce only takes about 10 minutes to complete, that’s ok with me because I can quickly make a new batch to enjoy with apple slices, drizzled-over ice cream, or popcorn.
What could be better with Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce than creamy Caramel Cheesecake Salad or a fast and delicious batch of Air Fryer Baked Apples– apples were made for caramel sauce!
Other Recipes to Serve with Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce
- Perhaps one of the best drinks ever created, a Copycat Starbucks Caramel Frappuccino, would be incomplete without this salted caramel sauce!
- No matter what time of day you enjoy an Apple Pie Oatmeal Bar, a hefty drizzle of caramel sauce is the perfect topping!
Ingredients
Dairy: You will need butter and heavy cream. While unsalted butter is preferred, you can use whatever you have on hand.
Sugar: You will need brown sugar for this caramel sauce, which gives the sauce a deeper flavor. Dark brown sugar has a more intense flavor, and light brown sugar has a great light molasses flavor, so choose your level of flavor or go with the brown sugar you already have in the cupboard.
Salt: The salt gives this caramel sauce a lovely sweet/salty contrast. You can also sprinkle some sea salt on the caramel for presentation points.
How to Make Salted Caramel Sauce
STEP ONE: In a medium saucepan with high sides, melt the butter over medium heat.
STEP TWO: Stir the brown sugar, heavy cream, and salt into the melted butter and mix well.
STEP THREE: Cook the caramel sauce for 5 minutes for a thinner sauce or up to 10 minutes for a thicker sauce.
STEP FOUR: Remove the caramel from the heat and pour it into a jar to cool.
Tips for Success
- When stored in the fridge, the caramel sauce will become pretty thick, so to make it pourable again, pop the jar into the microwave and heat it for 10 seconds at a time.
- If you know you like your caramel sauce on the thinner side, you can add 1-2 tablespoons more heavy cream when first making the sauce.
- Always cool the caramel sauce before using it. The sauce is boiling while cooking and will be too hot to enjoy immediately.
- When the heavy cream is added, the sauce will bubble up, so using a pot with high enough sides is essential so the sauce doesn’t boil over the side.
What is the difference between white sugar and brown sugar when making caramel?
Caramel can be made using either white or brown sugar, but the process is much faster when using brown sugar. Brown sugar contains molasses, giving the sugar a caramel flavor, so it doesn’t need to be caramelized like white sugar to reach this flavor. White sugar risks burning when caramelizing due to the high heat and length of time it needs on the heat to caramelize. Both sugars have been used to make incredible-tasting caramel sauces, but using brown sugar is considered a little easier and a faster process overall.
How do I store homemade caramel sauce?
Once the caramel sauce has cooled in the jar, it can be sealed and kept in the fridge for up to 3 weeks. To soften the sauce and make it pourable again, microwave it for 10 seconds until it reaches your desired consistency.
Homemade caramel sauce can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Completely cooled caramel sauce can be transferred to a freezer-safe container and enjoyed later. Avoid storing your caramel sauce in a glass container in the freezer, which could shatter as the sauce expands. The sauce can be thawed in the fridge overnight or left on the counter for a few hours and then warmed in the microwave if you like.
More Ways to Love Salted Caramel!
- Salted Caramel & Pretzel Fudge
- Salted Caramel and Pecan Thumbprint Cookies
- Banana Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Frosting
- Salted Caramel Cashew Pie
- Salted Caramel Cashew No-Churn Ice Cream
*This post was originally posted on 10/04/2014.
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Melt the butter over medium heat in a medium saucepan.
- Add the brown sugar, heavy cream, and salt to the melted butter and stir to combine. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring often.
- Remove from heat and transfer to a mason jar for storing. Let cool with the lid off. Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 weeks.
Notes
- To soften the caramel sauce after it’s been refrigerated, microwave it for 10 seconds at a time (stirring after each heating) until it reaches the consistency you like.
- To freeze: Cool the caramel sauce completely in a freezer-safe container (not glass!). Freeze for up to 3 months. The sauce can be thawed in the fridge overnight or left on the counter for a few hours and then warmed in the microwave if you like.Â
Sharleen Miller says
How.long will thos keep
Beverly D says
I’d love to try this recipe to top my mini New York cheesecake bites, unfortunately the instructions were covered with a non-removeable men’s underwear add so I’ll try another.
Aubrey Cota says
I’m sorry to hear that, I have pasted the recipe below to see if that helps.
Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce
HOMEMADE SALTED CARAMEL SAUCE is a go to topping for ice cream, popcorn and so much more! The combination of salty and sweet makes this a must make!
Course Dessert
Cook Time 6 minutes
Total Time 6 minutes
Servings 8
Author Aubrey Cota
Ingredients
1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup heavy cream
1 tsp salt
Instructions
melt butter over medium heat in a saucepan
stir in the brown sugar, heavy cream and salt
stir over the heat for 5 minutes
removed from heat and store in an jar
enjoy!