Caramel Sauce
My homemade caramel sauce is buttery, sweet, and makes the perfect dessert topping. It’s delicious on ice cream, apple slices, or drizzled over your favorite coffee drink. And did I mention there’s no candy thermometer needed?
I’ve been making this caramel sauce recipe for way longer than I’ve been sharing recipes online. It’s the real deal, too, not the shortcut version that uses caramel squares.
This sauce is made using three ingredients (granulated sugar, unsalted butter, and heavy cream). That’s it! You can add a pinch of sea salt if you want, but it’s not necessary.
I can literally eat it cold right out of the fridge. It’s that good! The best ways to serve this sauce is over a bowl of vanilla ice cream, as a topping on plain cheesecake, or drizzled over a coffee cocktail like our Iced Coffee with Bailey’s and Kahlua.
It’s also delicious on caramel apple cinnamon rolls and salted caramel brownies.
How to make caramel sauce from scratch
This is a quick overview showing how I make this sweet sauce. The full recipe with ingredient amounts is further down the page.
Helpful tips
- Choose the right pan: When adding the butter and the cream, the mixture will boil rapidly and may cause it to splash. This is why it is important to use a heavy-bottomed pan with tall sides to keep it from touching your skin.
- Melt all the sugar: Make sure you stir out any lumps in the sugar as it begins to melt and caramelize. Any remaining lumps may burn and make the sauce taste bitter. It can also keep the sauce from forming properly.
- Don’t burn the sugar: Overcooking the sugar (letting it get too dark) is actually burning it. You’ll definitely be able to taste burnt sugar in the caramel sauce.
- Don’t scrape the pan: This is super important. Sugar crystals will probably form around the edge of the pan and maybe on your spoon. Leave them! Scraping them off into the melted sugar mixture will mess up the sauce.
Storage
Storing: Store cooled caramel sauce in a sealed jar or airtight container for up to two weeks in the refrigerator.
Freezing: Pour the cooled sauce into a freezer-safe container or bag. Freeze for up to three months. To thaw, place in the fridge overnight then reheat as written below.
Reheating: If the caramel sauce becomes too solid, you may need to reheat it by placing it in the microwave for 15-20 seconds or until pourable.
Common Questions
Do I need a candy thermometer?
No! I’ve never made this recipe using a candy thermometer. It works just fine without one.
Why do you stir the sugar as it melts instead of swirling?
This is how I learned to make caramel sauce over 20 years ago, and it has always worked great. In fact, swirling the melted sugar has never worked consistently for me. It’s always hit and miss.
The caveat to stirring is that you’re likely going to get sugar crystals somewhere. Just don’t scrape them into the pan.
More Sweet Sauce Recipes
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, very cold and cubed
- ½ cup heavy cream, cold
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Instructions
- Pour the sugar into a heavy bottomed saucepan with tall sides over low-medium heat.1 cup granulated sugar
- Stir constantly until sugar begins to melt. The sugar will begin to form hard lumps and eventually turn amber in color.
- Continue stirring until all lumps dissolve. Then carefully add all of the cold butter. The sugar will immediately begin to boil.6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Stir for 2-3 minutes until sugar and butter are combined.
- Pour in the heavy cream. The mixture will boil again, so use caution. Remove from heat.½ cup heavy cream
- The mixture will thicken and pull away from the pan, but continue to stir until it smooths out.
- Allow caramel sauce to cool before storing in an airtight container or glass jar.
- Serve over ice cream, bread pudding, cake, in coffee, or your favorite desserts.
All the comments say how delicious the recipe looks but I actually just made it and it’s amazing! My 1st caramel sauce was a success. Just wondering how to store it…room temperature in a jar or can it be refrigerated?
Thanks so much, Lora!
We suggest placing the caramel sauce in the fridge for storage. We have some tips in regards to reheating in a gray box above the recipe card labeled “Storage, Freezing, and Reheating.” Hope that helpful! 🙂
Have a great week!
WOW! That looks amazing. I could eat it with a spoon, but I think I will put it on my ice cream. Delish!!
I love caramel sauce and make it quite often. It is perfect for different types of desserts, like cakes, cupcakes, cookies, etc. Love your version and definitely will try it!)
Yum! It would be dangerous for me to have this around but I think I’m going to have to try it!
There is nothing better than homemade and your sauce is no exception. It looks delicious and so reach and smooth. What a perfect topping for ice cream, pie or even a pound cake. I can certainly think of so many ways to use it. I’m pinning the recipe.
I agree – every home cook needs to have their own homemade sauce recipe. And soup recipe. And salad recipe. And drink recipe… I guess there has to be one signature dish in each category 🙂 BTW, the sauce is amazing!
Nothing beats homemade in our opinions, and this recipe is a keeper. I’ve made some lately at a macaron baking class, with a recipe similar to yours. I still have some in the fridge. Pretty easy and so delicious.
This caramel sauce looks so good I’m literally drooling looking at your photos! I’ve only made caramel sauce one time and I have to say it is truly worth it!
There is nothing better than homemade especially with sauces like these. Caramel sauce takes five minutes to make which is why I have never ever purchased it. This looks so good. Love the deep rich color you have here.
I would not have thought to make this at home, I am sure that this tastes better than store bought.
A good caramel recipe always comes in handy! Love your homemade version; it looks super decadent and would be perfect on so many desserts, especially ice cream! 🙂