Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce
With a rich sweet and savory flavor, this homemade salted caramel sauce comes together with a simple mix of heavy cream, brown sugar, butter, and sea salt.
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Table of Contents
- About Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce
- What’s in salted caramel sauce?
- What can you use salted caramel sauce for?
- How long is homemade caramel sauce good for?
- Can you freeze caramel sauce?
- Notes & tips for homemade salted caramel sauce
- Other recipes with caramel
- More delicious sauces
- How to make homemade salted caramel sauce
- Recipe Details
About Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce
Salted caramel sauce is absolutely divine on all sorts of baked goods and drinks, and it’s easier to make at home than you might think.
All you need is four ingredients (heavy cream, sugar, butter, and salt), a saucepan, and a little time, and before you know it you’ll be enjoying homemade caramel sauce on all your favorite sweets.
What’s in salted caramel sauce?
To get started, you’ll need to collect the following ingredients:
- Heavy Whipping Cream and Butter – For giving the caramel sauce a smooth, creamy consistency.
- Light Brown Sugar – The key to caramel sauce, caramel is essentially what sugar becomes when heated. The sugar darkens in color and has a deeper taste and flavor. This particular recipe uses brown sugar, but you can substitute this for granulated sugar if you’d like.
- Sea Salt – While there’s nothing wrong with classic caramel sauce, there’s something special about the sweet-and-savory combination of salted caramel. Sea salt is used for getting that extra touch of flavor.
What can you use salted caramel sauce for?
A salted caramel sauce is a perfect addition to any sweet treat, such as:
- A garnish in a drink, like this salted caramel white Russian or drizzled in salted caramel hot chocolate.
- Drizzled on sweet finger foods, like these salted caramel Rice Krispies treats or this chocolate caramel monkey bread.
- A topping for baked goods, like these kitchen sink cupcakes.
- A filling or flavoring for baked goods, like these caramel brownies.
- Adding flavor to a frosting.
- As a garnish on sweet party dips, like this king cake dip.
How long is homemade caramel sauce good for?
Once prepared and cooled, salted caramel sauce can be stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to three weeks. The caramel will solidify once chilled, so you may need to heat it in the microwave to get it back to a drizzle-friendly consistency.
At room temperature, homemade caramel sauce is good for up to three days. Keep this in mind if you use the sauce as a garnish on baked goods that will sit on the counter.
Can you freeze caramel sauce?
Yes, you totally can!
Once prepared and cooled, this salted caramel sauce can be stored in a sealed container or freezer bag for up for three months.
Notes & tips for homemade salted caramel sauce
- This recipe uses light brown sugar for a deeper flavor, but you can substitute this for an equal amount of granulated sugar.
- For this recipe, you do not need a candy thermometer. You can make this sauce by using your best judgement on when the sugar appears dissolved and the consistency you like is reached.
- If you’d prefer to make classic caramel sauce, just omit the sea salt at the end. You can (and should) still use salted butter even if you’re making classic caramel sauce.
Other recipes with caramel
More delicious sauces
How to make homemade salted caramel sauce
This next part is only a photo tutorial of the recipe steps. If you’re looking for the full recipe measurements and instructions, scroll down to Recipe Details.
Step 1 – In a medium saucepan, add the light brown sugar, heavy whipping cream, and butter. Allow the butter to melt, then bring to a low boil until sugar has dissolved and sauce is thick.
Step 2 – Remove the saucepan from heat and stir in the salt.
Step 3 – Allow to cool completely.
Step 4 – Serve and enjoy!
Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 cup salted butter, cut into small pieces
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan over low heat, add light brown sugar, heavy whipping cream, and butter. Cook and stir until butter has melted, then bring to a low boil. Cook for another 8-10 minutes or until desired thickness has been reached, stirring frequently to rotate sugar off bottom of saucepan. Sauce will darken and thicken as it cooks.1 cup heavy whipping cream, 1 1/2 cup light brown sugar, 1/2 cup salted butter
- Once caramel sauce is thick, remove saucepan from heat. Add salt, then stir well until incorporated.1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- Let sauce cool completely before using, about 30-45 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
I do my best to provide nutrition information, but please keep in mind that I’m not a certified nutritionist. Any nutritional information discussed or disclosed in this post should only be seen as my best amateur estimates of the correct values.
