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This Caramel Sauce recipe is so scrumptious and the easiest that I have ever made! A family favorite, this Salted Caramel Sauce is smooth, creamy and perfect every single time!
This is by far the easiest caramel sauce that I’ve ever made and the best I’ve ever tasted.
Over the years, I’ve learned a little bit of a trick to making it. Once you learn the tricks and follow these tips, you are in caramel heaven! 🙂
You’ll only need five ingredients and a little bit of time to make it. This amazing Salted Caramel Sauce is absolutely delicious on so many other desserts!
Easiest Caramel Sauce Recipe
Once you make it, you’ll find a million and one things to dip in it, pour it over, and mix it in. It is just a staple item, I think. It is delicious swirled in blondies and brownies, poured over ice cream, mixed in a mocha or hot cider, and to dip apples and pears into. I also love to pour it into sterilized jars and give to family and friends throughout the holidays with a little note for favorite ways to use it.
Here’s a how I make it, along with some helpful tips.
How to Make the Easiest Caramel Sauce
To make this recipe, you will only need five ingredients.
- Granulated Sugar
- Water
- Salted Butter
- Heavy Cream
- Coarse Sea Salt
You’ll want to use a 3-quart saucepan set over medium heat. Add your granulated sugar and water to the saucepan and stir with a wooden or silicone spoon until well combined. (It is important to make sure to use either a wooden spoon or a silicone spoon to make your sauce.)
The water will help your sugar to melt and will prevent the finished caramel sauce from becoming grainy. Once you combine the sugar and water, do not stir again. As the sugar and water are heated, if you stir them, you’ll cause grains to form in your caramel sauce and it will not be smooth and creamy. Resist the urge!
Instead, you can gently swirl the pan over the heat if needed, but be sure not to let the caramel go high up onto the sides of the pan or this will make the caramel sauce grainy as well.
Remember, the whole goal is creamy, smooth caramel sauce.
I use an instant read or candy thermometer when making my caramel sauce. When the thermometer registers 350ºF and is a light amber color, the caramel sauce is ready for the next stage.
Now, add all of your butter pieces to the saucepan at once and whisk until the butter is fully incorporated. The caramel will bubble up, but continue to whisk to make sure all of the butter has melted.
Then, remove the saucepan from the heat and slowly pour in the cream, whisking continuously. Whisk in the sea salt and set aside to cool before transferring to an airtight container for storing in the refrigerator or serving.
The sauce will continue to thicken as it cools.
Tips for the Smoothest Caramel
To prevent crystallization in your caramel, make sure that your pot and spoon (use a silicone or wood spoon!) are extremely clean. Any type of debris can cause crystallization.
As an option, you may add 1 teaspoon of corn syrup with the sugar and water to prevent any crystallization if you wish.
Here’s my quick and easy Caramel Sauce recipe. It is absolutely sublime! I think you’ll love it!
The Easiest Caramel Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 6 tablespoons salted butter cut into pieces
- 1/2 cup heavy cream at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
Instructions
- Add the sugar and water to a 3-quart saucepan set over medium heat. Stir until combined. Do Not Stir Again! Simply swirl the saucepan until the sugar has melted and turns a light amber color. If you use a candy or instant read thermometer, the mixture should register 350º at this point.
- Carefully add your butter and whisk until all the butter has melted.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and slowly pour in the cream, whisking constantly until all of the cream has been incorporated. Whisk in the sea salt and set aside to cool.
- Allow to cool about 5 minutes and then pour into an airtight container for storing in the refrigerator.
Notes
Nutritional Information
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
From the Add a Pinch recipe archives. Originally published 2014.
Just made this. So simple. So delicious! Can’t wait to add it to my baked goods
Thanks, Carly! Don’t you just love how easy it is too make?
With your precise recipe to guide me, I managed to pull off my first EVER successful caramel sauce! My kitchen smells amazing right now, I can’t wait until it’s cool enough to try! Thank you so much Robyn!!!
Crystal, I’m so glad this recipe and instructions worked so well for you. Hope you enjoy!
Sooooo Good I’ve now learnt after a few goes that the sugar is so important to be Browned just right other wise if not cooked properly like in my first attempts and then add butter and cream its just yellowish liquid and number one rule don’t panic when making it 😁otherwise it turns out watery yellowish liquid haaaaa. Sugar needs to melt properly and then the nice brown colour b4 adding butter then the cream. Was fun experimentin. Now I’ve kinda perfected it. And if first u don’t succeed try again.
Hi Robyn,
About how long does it take for the sugar water to turn an amber color. I thought I had achieved that color at about 10 minutes but my end product is runny and yellow. 🙁 I want to try again. Unfortunately, I do not have a candy thermometer.
Dana, the sugar and water mixture should be a darker amber color. It may take about 20 minutes on medium heat to reach that stage. Just be careful and dont’ let it burn.
I just made this amazing Salted Caramel Sauce! Your recipe was the only one I found during a Google search that mentioned using a thermometer! Thank you. That information. I used my candy thermometer and it was so helpful!
Not only was this recipe super easy and informative, but this Salted Caramel Sauce is delicious!!!
Hoping to use this Salted Caramel this weekend as the filling for Salted Caramel Macarons!
I might need to make some homemade vanilla ice cream and use this salted caramel sauce as a topping too!
Thanks, Shay. I’m happy you found this recipe easy and delicious.
Would demerara sugar work for this or does it have to be white sugar?
I have never made the caramel sauce with demerara sugar, Artemis, so I can’t tell you how it would be in this recipe.
I’m never made good waffles despite my efforts – these waffles were amazing!!! Both kids devoured them. Also made the Caramel sea salt drizzle which was sooooo good too. I’m so excited to try more of your recipes! Thank you!
Jess, I am so glad you found these waffles and the caramel sauce easy to make and that everyone loved them. I hope you find many more recipes here that you and your family will love, too. Thanks!
Thank you dear! easy, effortless recipe
recommend it especially to people who fear making caramel. It went straight to my recipe notebook.
Thanks, Ami, I’m happy you found this caramel sauce to be so easy to make, too.