Follow these easy instructions to create sweet salted caramel sauce at home. This salted caramel recipe requires only 4 easy ingredients. It’s perfect for cakes, cupcakes, cookies, pound cake, ice cream, cheesecake, scones, salted caramel apple pie, and more!
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 is one of the easiest recipes. This truly the best salted caramel I’ve ever had and there’s only 4 ingredients required: sugar, butter, heavy cream, and salt.
This salted caramel is a reader favorite recipe, marking its spot in the top 10 most popular recipes on my website. It’s sweet, sticky, 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 silicone spatula or wooden spoon. Stir until melted. 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.
Remember to use caution when cooking over the stove as the hot liquid, butter, and cream may splatter. If needed, kitchen gloves come in handy.
No Candy Thermometer Salted Caramel
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. The caramel thickens as it cools.
What to Eat With Salted Caramel?
You will love homemade salted caramel with recipes like cinnamon rolls, cheesecake, and apple pie bars. Use it as a caramel 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
- Butterscotch Pudding
- Snickers Caramel Tart
- Apple Cupcakes
- 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)
50 Ways to Eat Salted Caramel
I have plenty more ideas, too: 50 Ways to Eat Salted Caramel.
What Is the Texture of This Salted Caramel?
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.
You can’t really turn this sauce into a homemade wrapped candy. Instead, try my soft caramel candies recipe which is a little different.
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.
What About Caramel Apples?
This caramel is not thick enough to coat apples for caramel apples. Instead, I recommend my homemade caramel apples recipe.
Quick Salted Caramel Video
Homemade Salted Caramel Recipe
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 1 cup
- 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.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar (make sure it’s labeled “pure cane”)*
- 6 Tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, at room temperature and sliced into 6 pieces
- 1/2 cup (120ml) heavy cream, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Heat granulated sugar in a medium heavy-duty stainless steel saucepan (do not use nonstick) over medium heat, stirring constantly with a high heat-resistant silicone spatula or wooden spoon. 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. Be careful not to burn it.
- Once sugar is completely melted, immediately stir in the butter until melted and combined. Be careful in this step because the caramel will bubble rapidly when the butter is added. If you notice the butter separating or if the sugar clumps up, remove from heat and vigorously whisk to combine it again. (If you’re nervous for splatter, wear kitchen gloves. 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.)
- After the butter has melted and combined with the caramelized sugar, stir constantly as you very slowly pour in the heavy cream. Since the heavy cream is colder than the hot caramel, the mixture will rapidly bubble when added. After all the heavy cream has been added, stop stirring and allow to 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 will rise to about 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 down before using. Caramel thickens as it cools.
- Cover tightly and store for up to 1 month in the refrigerator. 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 or Silicone Spatula | 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 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 a couple of batches instead.
The sugar will be clumpy as it begins to melt:
It will begin to turn amber in color:
Once sugar is completely melted (takes about 6 minutes or so on my stove), stir in the butter:
Very slowly, drizzle in the heavy cream. Since the heavy cream is colder than the caramel, the mixture will rapidly bubble and/or splatter when added. Boil for 1 minute.
Remove from heat and stir in the salt.
What is the reason for using a stainless steel pan instead of a non stick? I don’t have stainless steel so trying to determine if I should go out and grab one or not
Hi Sarah, sometimes nonstick works, but we have much better and more consistent luck (and others do as well) when using a stainless steel pot. Using a nonstick pan can often cause the caramel to burn and/or crystallize, and generally just make it harder to cook properly. Hope this helps!
I have made this a number of times, and while it is slightly tricky to get the sugar clumps to melt without burning (and this is the point at which it happens), I have found that straining the finished sauce takes care of that. Watching the color of the sugar also helps—a medium dark amber is right. Too dark, and it will taste burned. I prefer max 1/2 tsp kosher to finish. Absolutely delicious recipe.
used organic whole milk as subdtitute but uswd original measurements (1/2 cup). Made the best caramel ive ever tasted. had maybe five tiny milk curds smaller than a peppercorn that i had to fish out (reason you dont use milk) but once cooled its the perfect consistency and smooth as silk. used laser thermometer and took off a min after hitting 220. STIR THE ENTIRE TIME! great recipe!
Hello! I’m struggling a bit and would love your help in troubleshooting – I’m determined to make the right caramel sauce!
First time my butter separated and it wasn’t getting better, even after whisking for ages, so after googling a bit I added water, which helped eventually but because I had to add quite a lot it diluted the flavor a lot. I suspect the butter was maybe a bit too cold and I didn’t realize quickly enough what was happening.
The second time I was better prepared (the butter was much softer and i didnt add all of it at once), but the butter still separated. This time I added only a bit of water, the color is much better (darker) but annoyingly there’s a slight burnt aftertaste.
What am I doing wrong? What can cause the butter separation and at what point would I have burnt it most likely? Thank youu!
Hi Maria, whisking is key to getting the salted caramel to come together. It can help to take the pan off the stove while whisking if you start to notice some separation. You can next time you can also try turning your stove top down just a bit and that should help prevent any burning, too. Thank you for giving this a try!
The first time I made this recipe, it came together perfectly and easily. It was divine! But the last two or three times I’ve tried to make it, some of the sugar has stuck to the sides of the bowl, and the sugar never fully liquefied. There were still hardened bits in it. I didn’t want it to burn, so I went ahead and added the butter. But then the but stayed separated and never incorporated. I tried whisking off the heat, but it got to hard to stir and stuck inside the whisk, do I put it back on and off the heat, to no avail. I finally let it cook one minute without stirring and added the heavy cream, whisking constantly. Now there are still hard bits in the caramel. It doesn’t have the thick, luscious consistency of my first successful batch. I’m SO frustrated and disappointed! What on earth am I doing wrong??
Hi Andrea! You do want to wait for the sugar to fully melt before continuing, you can try turning the heat down a bit and continuing to cook it a little lower and slower.
Hi Sally- Can this recipe be used in a fountain to cover apple wedges?
Hi Sabrina, we’d recommend trying the caramel from our caramel apples instead, although we haven’t tried it specifically in a fountain. It does stay warm nicely in a slow cooker, though.
Hi, can this be used as a topping for a no bake cheesecake?
Hi Alynna, absolutely!
Is this okay to be used for cake filling
Hi Laura, this caramel isn’t ideal to layer between cake layers– it will just spill out the sides under the weight of top layers. It’s great as a filling for cupcakes, though.
I’m shocked it worked! My first time making caramel, and I did it with the assistance of a 5-year-old too. I was super worried when I was adding ingredients that it was just going to be a mess, but it came out perfectly. A little too salty to eat plain, but when drizzled over apple scones it was perfect. Now I’m hooked and going to make caramel for everything!
Used this recipe to make homemade caramel sauce for my first time ever. Turned out delicious, with the perfect amount of salt to offset the sweetness. My sugar and butter did end up separating, and I couldn’t get them to combine again after minutes of whisking. Decided to keep moving forward and add the heavy cream – still ended up smooth and worked in the end!
I just made this and it came out fantastic. I used 1/2 tsp salt and it was plenty salty, so buttery and simply divine. It was a lot of stirring – but worth the effort for sure. I came across this recipe because I was making something from a new cookbook that required dulce de leche. I made some of that first by baking sweetened condensed milk (for hourssss) and the taste was just ….off and underwhelming and I really wanted something more caramel-y tasting. So I googled caramel sauce recipes and had everything on hand and OMGGGGG this is so good, it will work for what I needed it for (and so much more!). Recipe is a keeper! I did get a bit stuck on the butter and sugar combining part, as someone else recently said, but I keep going and just added the cream and it was fine. I did have a few clumps of sugar that stuck to the sides of my saucepan that never melted back in, so I just strained the caramel as I poured into a jar to ensure my sauce is smooth. 11/10! Sally’s recipes are always so so good!
This salted caramel was a huge hit with my family. I will be making several batches for gifts this holiday season by popular demand.
I made this to top an apple crumble cheesecake for my mom’s birthday and she was in love. I appreciate the troubleshooting tips because I definitely needed it.
This recipe was perfection! Thank you Sally for the explicit directions and visuals!
Hi Sally, this recipe worked out great. Thank you.
Just a heads up, it does double up well. It is also very good in a n9nstick pot, that is all I have.
Cheers!