Easy homemade salted caramel sauce is simple to make and adds such a rich flavor to anything and is sooooo much less expensive than buying it premade at the grocery store or from a high end website.
Salted caramel sauce uses just 4 main ingredients plus water and kosher salt and is ready in about 15-20 minutes and will keep in the refrigerator for up to a month.
There are so many delicious uses for easy homemade salted caramel sauce. Top pancakes, apple pie, vanilla ice cream or make a turtle cheesecake.
As easy as salted caramel sauce is to make, you need to keep a watchful eye on it and you’ll want to keep kids at bay. Hot salted caramel sauce is alluring to kids and adults alike, and it can cause severe burns if touched when too warm.
There are many recipes for easy homemade salted caramel sauce, all with the same ingredients but varying degrees of amounts. I started with the recipe from 
Steps For Making Easy Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce
- Begin by bringing the butter and cream to room temperature, leaving out on the counter before you begin making the easy homemade salted caramel sauce.
- Add sugar and water and stir until the sugar has completely dissolved and liquid is at a low boil, about 5 minutes. The stirring helps dissolve the sugar.
- You’ll see in the picture below that some of the sugar has crystallized on the sides of the pan. You can use a clean, wet brush to wipe the sugar back into the liquid or you can place the lid on the pan for a couple of minutes using the condensation to wipe down the sides. Of you can leave the crystallized sides but it may cause more crystallization to happen. Your choice.
4. Once the sugar has dissolved, stop stirring and leave the pot alone until it reaches a dark amber color. The easy homemade salted caramel sauce should be holding steady at a low boil. If it starts to boil too vigorously lower the heat.
5. Keep an eye on the sauce once the amber color starts to show. It goes from clear liquid to deep amber in about 6-10 minutes. You don’t want to burn the salted caramel and you don’t want it to boil over either, what a mess!
6. The picture above is the color you are looking for. Remove from heat.
7. Immediately add the cubed room temperature butter and stir until melted. The colder the butter and cream the more foam and splattering you will get.
8. The butter will foam a bit, just keep stirring until melted.
9. Immediately add the room temperature cream and stir until incorporated. The salted caramel will deepen in color and consistency as it cools. Pour into a heat resistant container and leave on the counter top to cool.
10. Add caramel to your favorite food. Use on pancakes with sliced bananas instead of syrup. Top apple pie. Or add the sweet richness to oatmeal. Or do what I do for my son’s birthday and make a turtle cheesecake.
Tips For Making Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce
–How to keep a sticky mess at bay, make sure that you have a spoon saver, wax paper or parchment paper by on the countertop to put your whisk or spoon on. Otherwise you’ll have hardening sugar water on your counter. If this happens wet a paper towel or dish cloth with hot water and place on top of the crystalized sugar. It’ll loosen up and be easy to wipe clean.
If the pot ends up with crystallization on the sides of the pan, fill the empty pan with warm water and simmer for about 15 minutes. This will loosen any hardened sugar from the side of the pot and will be easy to clean up.
–How long can I store homemade salted caramel sauce? About a month in the refrigerator, covered.
–Can I freeze homemade salted caramel sauce? Yes. Place in a freezer safe vessel, leave about ¼” room at the top of the container and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator. If you don’t have that time then the best way to reheat the salted caramel sauce is put your heat resistant bowl in a pan of simmering water for 5-10 minutes.
–Can I reheat caramel? Yes, put in a microwave safe dish and heat. Have patience because you don’t want to over heat the caramel so that it spills over the edge of its container, that will be a sticky mess. And be careful of hot caramel because it can burn you. Or reheat over low on the stove.
–What if my salted caramel sauce is lumpy? Just reheat on low.
Easy Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce
In as little as 20 minutes you'll have easy homemade salted caramel sauce that is simple, inexpensive and delicious.
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Sugar
- 1/4 Cup Water
- 4 Tablespoons Unsalted butter cut into 1/2" cubes
- 1/2 Cup Heavy cream you can substitute 1/2 & 1/2
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt only 1/4 teaspoon if using table salt
Instructions
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Combine the sugar and water in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly until the mixture turns clear, the sugar has dissolved completely, and the syrup is at a low boil. It will take about 5 minutes for the sugar to dissolve, then you’ll see a clear liquid.
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Stop stirring and leave alone until the caramel has turned a deep amber color, about 8-10 minutes. As it keeps at a low boil you’ll see a light amber and then eventually a deep amber color. Keep an eye on the caramel, if it starts to get to a high boil turn the heat down a bit to keep at a gentle boil.
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When the caramel starts to change color, it cooks quickly and can burn easily, keep an eye on it.
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Remove from heat and add the cubed butter, stir until melted. It will foam up, don’t worry, just keep stirring until smooth. Then add the cream, stir, add the vanilla extract and salt, stir. It’s best to use room temperature cream and butter, the colder those ingredients are the fiercer the caramel will bubble when you add them.
Recipe Notes
Tips:
- Salted caramel sauce will last up to 3 months in the refrigerator.
- Use a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to stir. Keep a spoon saver to rest them on so that you don’t get hardened sugar on your counter top.
- If you do get hardened sugar on your countertop then place a damp paper towel with hot water over the mess for a few minutes, then wipe clean.
- If your pan ends up with hardened sugar on the sides of the pan, then fill the emptied pan with water and simmer for about 15 minutes, this will loosen up the hardened sugar.
- Some recipes call for corn syrup to help prevent crystallization. You can add 1-2 Tablespoons to this recipe if you wish.
- A stainless steel pan is best so that you can see the color changes. If you use a dark pan then you’ll have to drop some caramel onto a white plate to see if the caramel has reached a dark amber color.
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