Making homemade caramel sauce is an easy way to save a trip to the store or even save little money — and you likely have all the ingredients already!
All you’ll need for this caramel sauce recipe is: white granulated sugar, butter, heavy cream, kosher salt and vanilla.
How to Make Homemade Caramel Sauce
Start by melting down the sugar in a saucepan. Put 1 cup of sugar in a pan and heat on medium heat. You’ll likely see the sugar start to clump together before it melts. Stir it occasionally to keep it moving.
Soon, the sugar will turn into that classic caramel color when it melt. Once the sugar has melted fully, add the cubed butter. Be aware that when you add the butter, the caramel will foam or bubble up. Just keep stirring!
Once the butter is fully melted and incorporated into the caramelized sugar, add the heavy cream. Add it slowly as you continue to stir. You’ll also see some bubbling during this phase as well.
Finally, add the vanilla and salt, and stir to combine. Then, allow the caramel sauce to bubble for about 30 seconds. Remove from heat.
Transfer the caramel sauce to a glass jar. As it cools, it will thicken. You can store homemade caramel sauce in the refrigerator for two weeks. Warm it up to make the sauce more thin so you can drizzle it over your favorite dessert. Or, try using a bit of homemade caramel sauce in your morning coffee!
Love the flavor of caramel? Then don’t miss this White Caramel Fudge recipe!
Homemade Caramel Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 6 Tablespoons cubed salted butter
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- In a sauce pan, melt one cup of white sugar over medium heat, stirring frequently.
- Once the sugar has liquefied and turned a golden brown, add the cubed butter and continue to stir. The caramel sauce will likely bubble and foam, so make sure you use a larger sauce pan.
- Add the ½ cup of heavy cream. Again, the caramel will likely bubble up. Continue to stir. Stir in the vanilla and salt and allow the caramel to boil for about 30 seconds, then remove from heat.
- The caramel sauce will thicken as it cools. You can keep it in the refrigerator for about two weeks. Warm briefly in the microwave to thin the sauce.