My Homemade Caramel Sauce tastes perfectly buttery, smooth, and sweet with a hint of salt. It’s simply irresistible, and even better, the recipe is easy with just 5 ingredients. Even beginners can whip up a batch of this salted caramel with my tips below.
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Helpful Reader Review
“Never thought I would be able to make it like the picture. It turned out better than I thought it would. Absolutely delicious, creamy, it’s perfect. Thanks for the easy recipe. “ – Rosalind ★★★★★
Caramel Sauce Video
Watch my easy video tutorial, and you’ll be a pro at making the best salted caramel in no time! It’s simple, and there’s no candy thermometer required.
Homemade Caramel Sauce
I published this recipe years ago, but I have updated it to be more foolproof and authentic. What I love most about this caramel sauce recipe is that it’s a true caramel sauce. If you prefer the original version, I have (more accurately) filed it under Butterscotch Sauce.
If you’ve ever shopped for caramel sauce at the grocery store and had a difficult time finding one without mystery “natural flavors” and corn syrup as the primary ingredient, this recipe is for you! It’s simple to make with only 5 basic ingredients and tastes amazing–better than anything at the store!
It’s so delicious, you’ll want to drizzle it on everything. Use it to dip Apples, and drizzle over countless desserts like my Pumpkin Cheesecake, Apple Pie, hot or Iced Coffee, ice cream… You name it! This is such a versatile sauce, and it keeps well in the refrigerator.
Caramel Sauce Ingredients
I suggest avoiding substitutions, since it’s perfectly balanced to prevent crystallization.
- Granulated sugar – melting white sugar slowly with water makes the base of the caramel sauce.
- Unsalted butter – cut into cubes. Make sure your butter is at room temperature since cold butter can break the sauce! European butter has a higher fat content and less water, which can make the sauce better and easier to make. I love Kerrygold butter.
- Heavy cream – warm before adding to keep the sauce from sputtering and breaking.
- Vanilla extract – Use Homemade Vanilla Extract or store-bought.
- Salt – cuts the sweetness to create an irresistible salted caramel flavor.
How to Make Caramel Sauce
Patience is the secret to making homemade caramel sauce. Slowly heating the ingredients keeps them from crystallizing and separating (breaking).
- Melt the sugar – Combine sugar and water in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and set over medium-low heat. Stir gently so the sugar doesn’t get stuck on the sides of the pan. Once the sugar is fully melted and clear, stop stirring.
- Simmer – Without stirring, bring to a simmer. If you see any sugar crystals at the edges, cover with the lid for 30-60 seconds as it simmers, and the steam will help wash the walls of the pan. When it starts to take on a little color, swirl the pan occasionally until it’s light amber or honey-colored (6-8 minutes). Don’t let it brown too much, or it will taste bitter. As you swirl towards the end, any stray sugar crystals on the pan should dissolve.
Natasha’s Safety Tip:
Be careful not to touch or lick the hot utensils or the pan — melted sugar and caramel will get scorching hot! Also, let the pan cool before washing it, then soak it in hot water to easily remove the caramel sauce.
- Add the butter – turn the heat to low, and whisk in half the butter. It will bubble vigorously. Once incorporated, stir in the rest of the butter. If it separates, remove the pan from the heat and stir until it comes together.
- Add the cream – while whisking, drizzle the warm cream into the pan (it will bubble up) and whisk until smooth (or 220°F), then remove the pan from the heat. Make sure you DO NOT add cold cream, or it may splatter.
- Finish with vanilla and salt – Whisk vanilla and salt into the caramel off the heat.
- Cool and store – It will thicken in consistency as it cools, so let the caramel cool for a few minutes before using. Store cooled caramel in jars in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Tips for the Best Homemade Caramel
My homemade caramel sauce recipe is so simple, but here are a few tips to make it even easier!
- Avoid non-stick pans, which heat too quickly and unevenly. If you’re worried about cleaning, just add boiling water to the pan and soak for 10 minutes. Easy cleaning!
- Even heating – use a heavy-bottomed saucepan for even heat distribution and avoid temperature swings (add room-temperature or warm ingredients). A gas stove works better since you have more accurate heat control. Avoid high heat, which can cause the sugar to crystallize before melting. Use medium/low heat and patience!
- Use a Lid – If you see sugar crystals at the edges, cover with a lid; the steam will help wash the pan’s walls.
- European butter has a higher fat content and less water, which can make the sauce better and easier to make. I love Kerrygold butter.
How to Fix Crystalized Caramel Sauce?
I’ve had my fair share of crystallized caramel batches in developing the perfect recipe, so hopefully my tips above will prevent it for you. If it does look crystallized and seized at any point (see photo below), don’t worry! To fix siezed caramel: Add 2-3 Tbsp hot water to the separated mixture, and then reheat over medium-low heat until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and swirl the pan to capture any remaining sugar crystals.
How to Serve Caramel Sauce
I wasn’t kidding when I told you this homemade caramel sauce was versatile, so here is a long list of ideas, and I’m just scratching the surface!
- Caramel apples or dip for sliced apples
- Apple Turnovers (inside or out)
- Cinnamon Rolls
- Baked Apples
- Caramel French Toast
- Caramel Corn Pops Treats
- Churros Dip
- Mini Cheesecakes topping
- Crepes
- Apple Crisp Drizzle
- Pumpkin Waffles topping
- Apple Pancakes topping
- Affogato
- Banoffee Pie
- Apple Coffee Cake
- Cheesecake drizzle
- Sourdough Dutch Baby
- Dutch Apple Pie drizzle
My easy homemade caramel sauce recipe tastes amazing on top of so many desserts and dishes! It’s simple to make and tastes so much better than anything at the grocery store. Mix up a batch to keep on hand, and then tell me in the comments how you use your caramel sauce!
P.S. If you preferred my original sauce, check out my Butterscotch Sauce recipe.
Caramel Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup water
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened at room temperature, cut into cubes
- 1/2 cup heavy cream, warm
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 tsp sea salt, or to taste
Instructions
- Melt the sugar – Place sugar and water in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and stir gently to avoid splashing sugar on the sides. Set the pan over medium-low heat and once the sugar melts, stop stirring. The mixture should be clear and the sugar fully dissolved before it simmers.
- Simmer – Bring the mixture to a simmer. If you see undissolved sugar crystals at the edges, cover with the lid for 30-60 seconds as it simmers, and the steam will help wash the pan walls to prevent seizing.* Once the mixture starts changing color, swirl occasionally until it is light amber or honey colored (it takes about 6-8 minutes on my stove). Don't brown too much – it can burn quickly at the end.
- Add the butter – Reduce the heat to low and carefully whisk in half of the softened butter cubes, then stir in the rest. The mixture will bubble vigorously — that’s normal. Keep whisking until the butter is fully incorporated. If it separates, remove from the heat and whisk until it comes together.
- Add the cream – Slowly stream in the warm cream while whisking constantly. Again, it will bubble up and steam. Keep whisking until smooth, then remove from heat.
- Finish with vanilla + salt – Turn off the heat and whisk in vanilla and salt. Taste and adjust salt as needed.
- Cool and store – Let cool slightly before using. It will thicken up quite a bit as it cools. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. It firms up when refrigerated. Re-warm gently to drizzle.
Notes
- Don’t use non-stick or flimsy pans – they heat too quickly and crystallize.
- Don’t set it over too high of heat or it can crystallize.
- Use warm cream so it doesn’t splatter, separate, or burst, which can happen if you add cold liquid to a blazing-hot caramel sauce.
- European butter has less sputtering since it has a higher fat and lower water content.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
More Homemade Dessert Sauces
Dessert toppings, like my homemade caramel sauce, just taste better when made from scratch–and they are easy! Try these next:
Easy recipe, success my first try! But… I’m really glad I didn’t add the whole teaspoon of salt… I added about half, and its almost too salty. I think it’ll be ok for drizzling over apple turnovers, but next time I will add less salt. Great instructions, easy to follow.
I’m happy to know that you enjoyed this recipe on your first try!
Wish I had read the comments before I made this. It’s okay but not what I was expecting.
Sorry to hear that it didn’t work out for you. Can you share what exactly happened so we can help troubleshoot with you?
I made this recipe twice and both batches failed and I finally figured out why. The issue is the added water. When making caramel, sugar must reach 320–350°F to properly caramelize. Adding water forces the mixture to boil at 212°F, which delays caramelization and keeps the temperature unstable. It also dramatically increases the chance of sugar crystallization, which is exactly what happened both times.
On top of that, butter is already 15–20% water, so adding extra water throws off the fat-to-liquid ratio even more. This results in a thin, grainy, split caramel instead of a smooth sauce.
I tired a recipe I found on Pinterest that’s a standard recipe with zero added water, and it turned out perfect on the first try!! Rich, creamy, no crystallization. Even with high quality ingredients, this recipe simply doesn’t work because the chemistry is off.
Hi Jule, Thanks for taking the time to share what happened in your kitchen — caramel can be tricky, and I’m glad you were able to find a method that worked for you. I do want to clarify one thing: adding water to sugar doesn’t prevent caramelization or change the final temperature the sugar reaches. In wet-caramel recipes, the water simply dissolves the sugar first, then cooks off as the mixture heats. Once the water evaporates, the sugar caramelizes exactly the same as a dry caramel. Both methods (with water or without) are classic and work well — they’re just different techniques. Dry caramel heats faster but can crystallize more easily; wet caramel is more beginner-friendly but needs the sugar fully dissolved before it boils. I’m going to add some extra tips to the recipe to help make it more fool-proof for everyone. I appreciate you sharing your experience!
My first attempt was a total fail. I messed with the water and the sugar too much in the beginning. My second attempt, I left it alone and cooked it on medium and it browned beautifully. The sauce turned out amazing. It is absolutely delicious! Just leave it alone and be patient.
Yes, there is a temptation to stir but I’m glad you persevered! Happy Thanksgiving!
The sugar never turned amber and then all the water evaporated and the sugar crystallized and hardened. Reading other recipes, they say to just let the sugar cook after it starts to simmer and not swirl, which makes sense as swirling causes more evaporation. Maybe this is more of an issue at high altitude and dryer climates.
HI Kristin, I had that happen while developing this recipe and it was due to having the heat too high, but no worries, it can be fixed. Check out the section titled: “How to Fix Crystalized Caramel Sauce?”
I tried the swirling method but maybe I was too rigorous. Each swirl left a thicker wall of crystals. I ended up finishing it without bumping the crystals. The stuff in the middle was pretty good.
HI Kevin, towards the end when the sugar is about to change color, those crystals should melt into the sauce on their own.
I am so disappointed I tried this twice tonight and it never turned amber. I finally read the comments to see what I was doing wrong and I saw that this happened to many. Happy it was not just me. Saw that you were posting the original recipe today but I can’t find it anywhere. I am making the caramel mini cheesecakes and unfortunately do not have time to play around with this new recipe. Please help I have too much Thanksgiving prep! Thanks Natasha!
Hi Cheryl, If you are looking for the original version, I have more appropriately named it Butterscotch Sauce (it uses brown sugar and all of the ingredients are added to the pan at once).
I love Natasha, her recipes and watching her in her videos, but I could not get this caramel sauce to turn out. I’ve made caramel sauce before with no problem?? The recipe I used before was almost identical. The first time, it never turned color, and the 2nd time, it crystallized. After 2 tries, I used my other recipe and my non-stick saucepan. This recipe has you simmer over medium heat, stirring only every so often, about 5 minutes, and then increase the heat to medium-high and cook until golden, without stirring. My gas stove took about 6 min. Hmmm?? I may try Natasha’s recipe again, doing it this way. I was running out of butter after two tries. I had to do something different. Cause I didn’t want to run to the store for more butter. Lol! I give her recipe a 4-star cause I don’t think it was the recipe, it was? ( I don’t know?)
Hi Penny, Here are some troubleshooting tips that should hep: Let the sugar and water cook on medium until it turns a warm honey color (don’t rush it). Don’t stir during the color change—just swirl the pan gently.
Have the butter and cream ready so you can whisk as soon as it’s the right color. Also check out the tips I shared about how to repair it if it does crystalize. Almost every time, it’s fixable.
Hi- I’m planning to make this caramel sauce but I forgot to buy heavy cream. Is it possible to use whole milk instead?
Hi Katie! Heavy cream is an important ingredient for making this. Whole milk won’t work the same, the sauce would be very thin and possibly even curdled.