There is just something about a sweet & salty combination that drives tastebuds crazy – pretzels & chocolate, maple & bacon, milkshakes & fries, even peanut butter & jelly. But I submit that nothing tops salted caramel. It’s amazing stuff. This homemade salted caramel sauce keeps well in the fridge for 2 weeks and is a wonderful gift to give a friend. You could use it to dip apples for a quick treat or drizzle it over toasted almond ice cream and sprinkle it with chopped almonds to have one of the best sundaes ever. Caramel desserts are some of our favorites! If you can’t get enough of this flavor, be sure to check out our Salted Caramel Frosting or Caramel Oreo Fudge Ripple Ice Cream!
Why this recipe works
It’s only a few ingredients and less than 10 minutes of work to make! No thermometer required so it’s great for beginners. Perfect for dipping apples or drizzling over all kinds of desserts!
Ingredients
There are just four simple ingredients to making homemade salted caramel sauce: granulated sugar, butter, heavy cream, and coarse kosher salt.
How to Make Caramel Sauce
Start by melting the sugar in a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan set over medium heat. It’s easy to burn the sugar so using quality cookware is super helpful. Stir the sugar with a wooden spoon and it will start to clump, then turn really crumbly. This is where I always think I’m doing something wrong, but just keep going. After just a few minutes, the sugar will melt into an amber-colored liquid. Keep stirring until the sugar crystals are dissolved. Add in the cubed butter and stir until the butter is melted and at least mostly incorporated into the melted sugar. It’s okay if it still doesn’t completely combine just yet. This should only take a minute or two. Pour in the heavy cream while stirring and let the mixture come to a boil. Boil for 1 minute, then remove from the heat. If you want plain caramel, you’ve got it at this point! But since we want salted caramel sauce, go ahead and stir in some coarse kosher salt off the heat. Transfer the caramel sauce to a container and let it cool before serving. I like to sprinkle a little extra coarse salt on top for presentation and a little pop of salt to finish. The sauce will thicken more and more as the caramel cools. You can always stick it in the microwave for 15-30 seconds to warm it up and make it pourable again.
Recipe Tips
The biggest secret is to stay right by the stove when making this so that you can keep an eye on the sugar so it doesn’t burn. Medium heat is pretty crucial. Any higher than that and the sugar tends to burn and take on a bitter taste. As long as you watch your sugar and stir it frequently, you will see it change from white, to light clumps, until it finally starts to melt into an amber-colored liquid. Use your salted caramel in all kinds of baked goods! Like this easy caramel pecan brownie recipe or my salted caramel apple pie! Or drizzle it over a pear pie for a decadent treat!
More Dessert Sauce Recipes
Flood Mud Microwave Hot Fudge Sauce Homemade Marshmallow Sauce Peanut Butter Ice Cream Topping Pan Fried Butterscotch Bananas & Walnuts for Ice Cream Sundaes Easy Raspberry Coulis Dessert Sauce
This post was originally published in September, 2016. The photos and content were updated in September, 2021. Let me know what you thought with a comment and rating below. You can also take a picture and tag me on Instagram @houseofnasheats or share it on the Pinterest pin so I can see.
