Make this simple 4-ingredient sweet salted caramel sauce at home with ease—no candy thermometer required! Ready in just 10 minutes, this rich homemade caramel is perfect for drizzling over cakes, cupcakes, cookies, pound cake, ice cream, cheesecake, scones, salted caramel apple pie, and more!
I originally published this recipe in 2013 and have since added new photos, a video tutorial, and additional success tips. This recipe is such a fan favorite, that it deserved a spot in print! You’ll also find this recipe in my cookbook, Sally’s Baking 101.
What once intimidated me became the subject of my 2nd cookbook: Sally’s Candy Addiction. As it turns out, homemade candy isn’t all that difficult. And salted caramel sauce is one of the easiest. There’s only 4 ingredients required: sugar, butter, heavy cream, and salt.
This salted caramel is a reader favorite recipe, consistently marking its spot in the top 10 most popular recipes on my website and published in 2 of my cookbooks. It’s sweet, buttery, and tastes phenomenal on anything it touches. (Though you really only need a spoon to enjoy.)
Trust me, after trying this 1 time, you’ll be hooked like the rest of us!
How to Make Salted Caramel
Use the written out instructions below, but here’s the basic process: The first step is to melt sugar, which is called caramelization. This requires 1 small (stainless steel, not nonstick) pot/saucepan and a wooden spoon. Stir until melted and caramelized. Stir in butter, then stir in heavy cream and let it boil for 1 minute. Finally, add the salt.
That’s it, the caramel is done.
As always, use caution when cooking over the stove because the hot liquid, butter, and cream may splatter. If needed, kitchen gloves come in handy.
No Candy Thermometer Required
Unlike most caramel recipes, this salted caramel doesn’t require a candy thermometer. Instead, I encourage you to follow the recipe and use your eyes to determine when to add the next ingredient. If you’d like to be precise and use a candy thermometer, the temperature will rise to about 220°F (104°C), and that’s when the caramel is done on the stove.
The caramel thickens as it cools.
What to Eat With Salted Caramel?
You will love homemade salted caramel with sweets like cinnamon rolls, cheesecake, and apple pie bars. Use it as a dip for apples, spoon over ice cream, or pour into decorated jars and gift it for the holidays.
The possibilities for salted caramel are endless:
- Turtle Brownies
- Burnt Sugar Caramel Cake
- Caramel Apple Cheesecake Pie
- Caramel Coconut Macaroon Thumbprints
- Chocolate Caramel Toffee Icebox Slice & Bake Cookies
- Butterscotch Pudding
- Snickers Caramel Tart
- Apple Cupcakes (pictured above)
- Caramel Dipped Pretzels
- Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake
- Salted Caramel Apple Pie & Apple Cake
- Cheesecake Pie
- Chocolate Bread Pudding
- Apple Turnovers
- Caramel Turtle Cheesecake
- Apple Cider French Toast
- Dutch Baby Pancake
- Cake Mix Chocolate Cupcakes
- Skillet Brownie
- Apple Cobbler
- Apple Cinnamon Scones
- Topping for Homemade Eclairs
- Drizzled on cookies like Shortbread, Brownie Cookies, and Snickerdoodles
- As a filling for your favorite cupcake recipe (see my How to Fill Cupcakes post for all the details)
- Butterscotch Pie & Apple Pie Bars (both pictured below)
What Is the Consistency Like?
The caramel is liquid as it comes off heat. As the caramel cools, it solidifies into a chewy texture. After refrigerating, the caramel is hard and you must heat it up to bring it back to a liquid consistency. Do you need a thinner caramel? Feel free to add 2 more Tablespoons of heavy cream to the recipe.
Can I Skip the Salt to Make Regular Caramel?
If you’re looking for a sweet caramel, rather than a salted caramel, you can still use this recipe. Do not cut out the salt completely because the caramel’s sweetness will be overpowering. Instead, reduce the salt to 1/2 teaspoon.
No. You can’t really turn this sauce into a homemade wrapped candy. Instead, try my soft caramel candies recipe which is a little different.
This caramel is not thick enough to coat apples for caramel apples. Instead, I recommend my homemade caramel apples recipe.
Yes. When the caramel is done, it’s thin and liquid. As the caramel cools, it thickens. After refrigerating, it thickens even more and must be reheated to thin out and use as a topping or dip.
This caramel isn’t ideal to layer between cake layers because it will just spill out the sides under the weight of top layers. However, it’s great as a filling for cupcakes, such as these chocolate caramel coconut cupcakes. See How To Fill Cupcakes for more info!
How to Store Salted Caramel
After the caramel cools down, pour it into a glass jar or container. Refrigerate for up to 1 month. The caramel solidifies as it cools, but you can reheat in the microwave or on the stove so it’s liquid again. You can freeze the salted caramel, too. Freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature, then warm up before using.
Print
Homemade Salted Caramel Recipe
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 1 cup (290g)
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Cooking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Made from only 4 simple ingredients, this homemade caramel is salty, sweet, and irresistibly buttery. No candy thermometer required and the possibilities for serving are endless. (Though just a spoon is acceptable!) Use caution as the cooking caramel may splatter. Stand back and wear kitchen gloves if desired. Review recipe notes prior to beginning. This recipe is also in my cookbook, Sally’s Baking 101.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar (make sure it’s labeled “pure cane”)*
- 6 Tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into 6 pieces
- 1/2 cup (120g/ml) heavy cream, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In a medium heavy-duty stainless steel saucepan (do not use nonstick) over medium heat, cook the sugar, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or heat-safe silicone spatula. Sugar will form clumps and eventually melt into a thick brown, amber-colored liquid as you continue to stir. On my stove, this takes about 6 minutes. Stir constantly, especially around the bottom edges, and be careful not to let it burn.
- Once the sugar is completely melted, reduce the heat to low and stir in the butter. Be careful in this step because the caramel will bubble rapidly when the butter is added. (If you’re nervous for splatter, wear kitchen gloves.) Cook and stir constantly until the butter is melted and well combined. If you notice the butter separating or if the sugar clumps up, remove the pan from heat and vigorously whisk to combine it again. Keep whisking until it comes back together, even if it takes 3–4 minutes. It will eventually—just keep whisking. Return to heat when it’s combined again.
- Very slowly and carefully pour in the heavy cream, stirring constantly. Since the heavy cream is colder than the hot caramel, the mixture will rapidly bubble and steam when added. When all of the heavy cream has been added, stop stirring, increase the heat to medium, and let it boil for 1 minute. It will rise in the pan as it boils. If you’d like to be precise and use a candy thermometer, the temperature should reach 220°F (104°C).
- Remove from heat and stir in the salt. The caramel will be a thin liquid at this point. Allow to slightly cool and thicken before using. Caramel thickens considerably as it cools.
- Cover tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 1 month. Caramel solidifies in the refrigerator. Reheat in the microwave or on the stove to desired consistency.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: You can make this caramel in advance. Make sure it is covered tightly and store it for up to 1 month in the refrigerator. Warm the caramel up for a few seconds before using in a recipe. See “What Is the Texture of This Salted Caramel?” in the post above. This caramel is OK at room temperature for a day if you’re traveling or gifting it. You can freeze the salted caramel, too. Freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature, then warm up before using.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Medium Heavy-Duty Saucepan (do not use nonstick) | Wooden Spoon | Candy Thermometer (like this one or this one)—optional
- Sugar: This recipe is most successful using granulated sugar that’s labeled “pure cane” on the packaging. I usually use and recommend Domino brand regular granulated sugar which says “pure cane granulated” on the packaging.
- Heavy Cream: Heavy cream (approximately 36% milk fat) may also be sold as whipping cream. Light whipping cream (30% milk fat), or double cream (48% milk fat) may be substituted. Do not use half-and-half or milk. Room-temperature cream is best.
- Salt: Use regular table salt or kosher salt. If using larger flaky salt, add 1 teaspoon, taste, then add more if desired. This recipe works with 1 teaspoon of any variety of salt. You can always add 3/4 teaspoon, taste, then add more if desired.
- Caramel Candies: This caramel is great as a sauce, topping, or filling, but won’t set up properly to make soft caramel candies. Here is my soft caramels recipe.
- Regular Caramel Sauce: If you want to make regular caramel, reduce salt to 1/2 teaspoon. Do not leave it out completely.
- Larger Batches: Avoid doubling or tripling this recipe. The added volume could prevent the sugar from melting evenly and properly. Make multiple batches instead.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Hi Sally, I’m trying this caramel recipe for the first time, or any caramel ever! Lol! You mentioned a medium pan? Would a 3qt All-Clad pan be ok? Or I have a 1.8 saucier? Which seems a little small to me. Thanks!
Hi Chris! The 3 quart pan should be perfect.
This recipe was easy to make, didn’t take long. The dinner attendees loved it.
I made two batches for the first time. I used a large/wide type of shallow type of pan. Sugar melted perfectly with no lumps on medium heat. Added the remained of the three ingredients with a little extra salt and it came out perfect. I used a caramel sauce and sugar pecans to go on top of my Carrot Cake.
Easy, gorgeous, and SO delicious. I wanted a thinner caramel so I added a splash of milk and not only does it look beautiful but the taste is so glorious I had trouble resisting eating it with a spoon. Highly recommend making this especially those who find candy intimidating! Very easy and well worth it.
For anyone wanting this to be a more pourable consistency (I use mine to to squeeze on top of coffee) after you cover and let it cool completely you can put it back on the heat with a few tbsp of cream and melt it back down before adding it to your squeeze bottle. It’s the only way I’ve found to keep it pourable right from the fridge
I just can not make caramel! I was hoping this recipe would work but unfortunately it was a bust. I tried to bring it back together and it started to harden and I couldn’t whisk it. Any tips???
Hi Katie! Perhaps your stove runs pretty hot – try turning the heat down to cook more low and slow.
I would like to pour this on top of your no-bake cheesecake (like after it has been refrigerated overnight, before releasing from the springform ring). Do you think that would work? Would I have to let it cool completely? Will it solidify to much or too little?? Thoughts?? Note: Carmel cheesecake is a birthday cake request from my son!!
Hi SK! Yes, absolutely. You’ll want to pour it while it’s still warm (when it’s cold it hardens a bit).
This recipe is incredible. I’ve made this so, so many times over the past couple of years: for cheesecake, salted Carmel apple pie, as a topping for apples, hot chocolate, etc it is always SO DELICIOUS! I don’t feel like I’ve perfected the method, and I do often have some large clumps at the bottom that I just don’t serve, but it is still incredible.
can you double the recipe?
Hi Marci, we recommend you make more than one batch instead of doubling this recipe. The added volume could prevent the sugar from melting evenly and properly.
I love this recipe. However this time my caramel has clumps in it. I’m thinking the sugar was hardened into crystals because I had it too hot. I have made before a few times on medium and it takes about 45 minutes for it to get done. Turning the heat to mediums high today it finished in about 30 minutes but the clumps. Am I doing something wrong?
Hi Kimberly, you can try turning your burner down a bit. That should help to prevent the sugar from clumping and sticking. It may take a bit longer to make, but the reduced heat should help. Be sure to stir constantly, too. If you’re using a smaller pan, the caramel will take longer. Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try!
Everyone loved this caramel, I put it on vanilla ice cream. I’ll make it a lot. Thanks
Hiya this was great! It’s gone quite thick though. Would it be possible to slowly reheat and add some more cream to thin it out? It’s about a day old now
Hi Amelia, you can reheat it to help bring it to a liquid consistency again, and you can try adding some additional cream to thin it out, but it will still solidify as it cools. Glad you enjoyed it!
I have a few questions. Can alcohol (Bourbon) be added? Can coconut creme be substituted for heavy creme? Will my copper pan work?
Hi Anne, you can try adding 2-3 Tbsp bourbon to this caramel. The more liquid you add, the thinner the caramel will be. Some readers have had success using unsweetened canned coconut cream in place of the heavy cream, but we haven’t tested it. A copper pan should work well here. Let us know what you try!
I live in Japan, where sugar types are a bit different and more varied than in supermarkets in the USA. Granulated sugar here is typically not pure cane but from beet sugar or a blend. But I had some genuine pure cane sugar (called satoukibi) on hand already, however typically satoukibi is a light brown color and a coarser crystal than Granulated sugar because they don’t refine/process it. And it also has a bit of moisture in it that’s missing from granulated sugar – not as moisture as brown sugar, but the crystal’s do stick together somewhat. I was a bit worried that the caramel wouldn’t turn out but decided to give it a go. Glad I did, the caramel came out beautifully. It’s a bit darker due to the darker sugar color – less honey colored caramel and more like a dark brown sugar color. But it tastes wonderful. Step 1 did take an extra minute or 2 due to the larger crystal size. Thanks for the fool proof recipe! Sally’s is always my go to website for baking and sweets!
Hi Sally! I wonder if this will harden when put in the fridge if used as a cake filling and topping / drip? I’m planning to make a chocolate caramel cake (devil’s food as the base cake)
Hi Gin, this salted caramel is a little too loose to use as a filling on its own. You could pipe a buttercream “dam” around the edge, then fill the centers with salted caramel, or fold this caramel into vanilla buttercream. Let us know what you try!
Thank you! But just curious if it will turn hard once I put it in the fridge even when it’s already on the cake.
Hi Gin! Yes, it will harden if refrigerated. We use it as a topper/filling in our brunt sugar caramel cake and it’s lovely.
Hi, how would you advise using this to fill your macarons? Just cool and pipe? Would it be spreadable? Or add to a buttercream? Thanks!
Hi Lydia! This salted caramel is a little too loose to use as a filling on its own. You could pipe a buttercream “dam” around the edge, then fill the centers with salted caramel, or fold this caramel into vanilla buttercream. Let us know what you try!
cool recipe
This recipe saved me! I tried a recipe from a different site (lesson learned) TWICE and the directions there were counter-intuitive and resulted in lots of butter in the compost. I almost gave up entirely, but then I looked up Sally’s recipe (which made much more sense), and 10 minutes later I had caramel sauce! Thanks for helping me get back some of my kitchen mojo. I was starting to wonder if I was doomed to be someone who could not make homemade caramel sauce. Turns out I just needed a great recipe and well-written directions.
This sounds delicious, I want to use this caramel for my homemade salted caramel creamer. I have 2 questions, could I use milk and once mixed in the creamer would it stay liquid enough in the fridge to not have to heat up before use?
Hi Raven, we do not recommend milk in this caramel recipe. We haven’t tried adding it to a creamer recipe, but we do use it warm right in a cup of coffee, and it’s delicious! Let us know if you decide to try it in your creamer recipe.
OK I am making this sauce. BUT please tell me what is the recipe for the delectable pastry just above the sauce recipe? I’m just guessing that it may be the Salted Carmel apple pie bars. Please tell!
Sincerely,
Elisa
Hi Elisa! Yes, those are our salted caramel apple pie bars – a favorite!
I’ve made this twice, and I doubled it the second time around. It doubles well! I didn’t double the salt, sticking to 1 tsp, which was enough salt for us. So good!
Made a lot of caramel over the years, this is my used vanilla and maldon salt- delish! Will be my go to from now on! Thanks for sharing!
Can i use whipping cream instead of heavy cream??
Hi Juli, We typically use heavy cream which is approximately 36% milk fat, but we have also tested this with light whipping cream which is 30% milk fat and it works well. Any lower fat content the caramel may not set up properly but let us know what you try!
So much better than store bought!! I have a question though. Would you recommend a saucier or a saucepan for this? I am planning on purchasing a new saucepan and was wondering if a saucier would be better? Is 2 qt the preferred size for sauces such as this?
Hi MB, so glad you love this caramel sauce. A saucier could work, though, admittedly, I don’t own one and haven’t tried it myself. 2 qt size would be large enough.
Just wanted to add a note, after making this for the first time – for the people who thought it was too salty. I thought the same, when I was scraping the remainder out of the bottom of the pot after I’d packaged up all the rest. But then later on that night, when I served it to everyone, it wasn’t too salty at all! It was perfect. So for whatever reason, either the salt doesn’t meld into the flavor right away, or it settles to the bottom when cooking. But the end result was just right – for both me and all the people I served it to!
My husband made this recipe for a fondue party. It was a big hit! Highly recommended making it for fondue, ice cream topping, or just because you want a spoonful of caramel. Enjoy!
You mention to avoid non-stick pans for this recipe – can you explain why? That’s all I have, so maybe I need to go buy one for this particular recipe?
Hi Betty, Though we do recommend avoiding non stick if possible, we’ve successfully make this salted caramel with non stick pans. You want a thick, heavy bottomed pan for best results. Hope you enjoy it!
BEST. THING. EVER. So, so good! Never tasted caramel sauce that tasted this good. I can’t stop eating it! Thank you!!
Amazing! Over the top better than brown sugar butter and baking soda kind of sauce! I swear it tastes like liquid Werther’s candy! Yummy!
Hi Brent, thank you for giving this a try. For next time, you can try turning your burner down a bit. That should help to prevent the sugar from clumping and sticking. It may take a bit longer to make, but the reduced heat should help. Be sure to stir constantly, too.