Homemade salted caramel sauce — seriously addicting and so easy to make! Yields less than a cup so it’s perfect for when you don’t need a whole jar. Fill a dozen cupcakes, drizzle on top of ice cream or just satisfy your salted caramel craving in a snap.
(Love making homemade sauce and syrups? Try this quick and easy raspberry sauce or this reader-favourite homemade whipped cream.)
I was never a big fan of caramel. I just found it too sweet for my taste. And having memories of caramel candy getting stuck to my teeth for hours (I had braces!) certainly didn’t help.
But a recent trip to San Francisco to visit my best friends changed all that. I was introduced (read: coerced, as best friends tend to do to each other) to salted caramel and that changed everything.
First – salted caramel ice cream
One of the things on our to-do list was to go to this famous ice cream shop so I can try their best-selling salted caramel ice cream. I wasn’t a big fan but hey, try everything once, right?
So off we went to go get ice cream I didn’t really want in the middle of a cold, breezy San Francisco night.
The result? The salted caramel ice cream was out-of-this-world fantastic. It wasn’t the caramel I knew (and disliked) at all. I was sold. Thank God for best friends, eh?
Next – homemade salted caramel sauce
So back home I started putting salted caramel on everything:
-
- Salted Caramel Cupcakes
-
- Baked Apple Turon with Salted Caramel Sauce
-
- Salted Caramel Cream Cheese Brownies
-
- Salted Caramel Apple Cheesecake with Pecan Crisp Topping
- Salted caramel cupcakes
- Baked apple turon with salted caramel sauce
- Salted caramel cream cheese brownies
- Salted caramel apple cheesecake with pecan crisp topping
To name a few.
And I realized that everything was so good because it started with good salted caramel sauce. It was the key to everything.
The happy news is salted caramel is quick and easy to make at home!
How to make quick and easy salted caramel sauce
This recipe is a put-everything-in-a-pot kind of recipe. It does involve hot (hot — worth repeating) sugar so be extra careful. (For the detailed recipe, scroll to the bottom of the page where you will find a printable recipe card.)
You start simply by whisking all ingredients together (except the vanilla) in a heavy-bottom saucepan on medium-high heat and bring to a boil.
Bring the mixture down to a simmer and whisk until it thickens. Once thick enough, whisk in the vanilla then remove from the heat.
Very carefully pour the caramel into a heatproof container. Allow to cool slightly before using (remember: hot sugar!).
All this is done in less than 15 minutes. And it is so good!
Ingredients for homemade salted caramel syrup
And the ingredients are pantry stapes too:
- Butter (salted or unsalted, I found it makes no significant difference in taste).
- Brown sugar
- Heavy cream
- Kosher salt
- Vanilla extract
Small-batch homemade salted caramel sauce
Another thing I like about this recipe is it doesn’t yield a whole bucket of sauce.
It’s just about a third of a cup so it works great if you only need a small amount to fill your cupcakes with, or to drizzle on top of your ice cream, or just simply to satisfy your salted caramel cravings.
Caramel sauce hardens over time and I can imagine the difficulty of dealing with a jar full of hard, sticky salted caramel sauce when all you need is a teaspoon.
So whether you’re a lifelong salted caramel fan, a recent convert like me or not into caramel at all — try this recipe. It is remarkably easy to make and seriously addicting (you’ve been warned!).
Salted Caramel Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp butter salted or unsalted
- 1/2 cup brown sugar packed
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Whisk together all your ingredients (except the vanilla) in a heavy-bottom saucepan on medium-high heat and bring to a boil.
- Bring down to a simmer and whisk until it thickens (it takes me about 13 minutes - but make sure not to thicken it too much; it will continue to harden as it cools).
- Once thick enough, whisk in the 1/4 teaspoon vanilla then remove from the heat.
- Very carefully pour the caramel into a heatproof container. Allow to cool slightly before using (remember: hot sugar!).
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information are estimates only.
Happy sauce-making!
Did you make homemade salted caramel sauce? I’d love to hear from you in the comments section below.
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Kristeen says
Mine turned out a little grainy. Any suggestions?
Jolina says
Hi Kristeen. My guess would be the sugar didn’t have enough time to dissolve. You might try to lower the temperature.
Leslie says
I made this immediately and it turned out amazingggggg. Your right about the addicting part! Will need an excuse to make it again
Jolina says
Lol no excuses needed! 🙂
Suchi says
Salty and sweet together, I am in! Would be great on vanilla ice cream.
Jolina says
Great idea Suchi!. Just so happens we have vanilla ice cream….except it past midnight now…but I’m an adult so…
Sharee says
I could just eat this by itself with only a spoon involved! Is that wrong?? Pinning and sharing on facebook!
Jolina says
Not wrong. We have a whole group doing it like that lol! Thanks Sharee!
Gloria says
Salted Caramel is so good…and this sauce can be used on so many things. Yummy!!
Jolina says
I agree! It goes really well with so many things 🙂
Dannii says
I want to put this sauce on everything! I am obsessed with salted caramel, but I have never made it myself.
Jolina says
It really goes well with so many things! I encourage you to try it. It’s a small-batch recipe and very easy to do 🙂
Florentina says
I made a batch pronto and drizzled on my iced lattes this morning. So tasty ! yum!
Jolina says
Awesome! Quick and easy and goes really well with iced lattes 🙂
Christine says
Can’t believe how easy it is to make your own caramel sauce. 🙂
Jolina says
I know! It’s super easy 🙂 No excuse not to make it now 🙂
Jennifer says
I will definitely give this a try! I’m not the biggest caramel fan either but salted caramel sauce over ice cream or a cheesecake – heaven! Love that you shared a recipe that’s only for a third of a cup. Because who really needs a whole jar, right? Pinned it and will for sure visit your blog again 🙂
Jolina says
That was exactly what I intended – just make what you actually need. I didn’t want to deal with a whole jar of it. And it’s so simple to make that you can just make another batch. Hope you try it!
Sarah Harris says
Thank you so much for a quick and easy recipe to solve our craving – love sweet / salt combo!
Jolina says
You’re very welcome Sarah! And yes, hard to beat sweet-salty combo 🙂
Cynthia says
Oh this looks goooooood. And I’m like you, not really a caramel girl. Will give it a whirl cos it looks divine!x
Jolina says
Hope this makes a convert out of you too 🙂 Thanks for passing by Cynthia!
Kim says
YUM! This would be good on so many things! Cookies, brownies, strawberries, ice cream….so many ideas!
Jolina says
Cheesecake, cake, fruit, spoon 🙂
Oriana says
This looks so amazing. Am I allowed to just eat it with a spoon? Bookmarking to try soon.
Jolina says
Oh absolutely Oriana! Enjoy 🙂
Bintu says
Oh thank goodness! The only recipe I have makes such a HUGE batch it always goes to waste. Thanks for this small batch recipe 🙂
Jolina says
I know right? I love that it saves me from doing math while I’m already busy baking lol. Hope you find it useful!
Priya says
I’m fan of caramel sauce but till now never tried salted version. This looks heavenly ans I guess time for me to try some 🙂
Jolina says
If you’re already a fan of caramel, I think you will like salted caramel too! Thanks for stopping by Priya!
Diana says
Salted caramel is like one of my favourite things ever! I don’t know why I never tried making my own!
Jolina says
It’s my new favourite too 🙂 Try to make some, it’s easy I promise!
Nicoletta says
I am still cautious on sweets that are too sweet, and that includes caramel. But I want to be like you and trust good friends, so I am going to try your recipes (and possibly put in on ice cream). I have never made a caramel sauce and tried to avoid everything with caramel, but this is going to change 🙂 . Looks beautiful!
Jolina says
I don’t like traditional caramel too precisely because it’s too sweet. Hope this doesn’t turn out too sweet for you Nicoletta! (I’m feeling the pressure now lol!)
Liz says
Isn’t salted caramel just a revelation? I would put it on literally everything if I could. Some recipes are tricky for me – especially if they start out with melting just pure sugar which I always seem to burn – but THIS recipe seems like one I can handle! Can’t wait for the cupcakes!
Jolina says
Yes! I went from hating caramel to loving salted caramel 🙂 And trust me, this is easy. I think the hardest part for me was deciding when it was thick enough….I’m excited about the cupcakes too!
Vivian says
Don’t you just love finding out that something you used to dislike can be oh so delicious? This recipe sounds incredible, so easy to have ready to use! I’ll pin it to my pinterest so I can make it whenever I feel like baking 🙂
Jolina says
Yeah, it was really a complete turnaround. I mean, I don’t even eat Werther’s lol. Thanks for stopping by!