Learn how to make caramel sauce with four simple ingredients in 15 minutes using my failproof dry caramel method! Sweet and salted, it’s perfect for dipping or adding to your favorite desserts.
Why you’ll love this caramel sauce recipe
Caramel is one of my favorite flavors, right next to chocolate, of course! As a result, I use it in a variety of recipes like my salted caramel chocolate chip cookie bars and salted caramel buttercream frosting.
Sweet and luscious in flavor, I just can’t get enough! However, I’m not a fan of store-bought options. So, I make homemade caramel sauce instead.
- Simple ingredients – Believe it or not, you only need 4 ingredients to make caramel sauce from scratch, and you likely already have them on hand!
- Fast – The dry method of making caramel sauce is faster compred to the wet method!
- No risk of crystalization – Unlike the wet method, you don’t have to worry about crystalization! This is the main reason why I love this caramel recipe. The cooking process is virtually failproof and surprisingly quick to do.
- Texture – Thick and silky smooth, this sauce is luscious and so good you’ll be tempted to eat it with a spoon.
One taste of this caramel sauce recipe, and you’ll never go back to store-bought options again! Use it to add delicious flavor to all your favorite treats.
Key Ingredient Notes
- Sugar – Use pure cane sugar to sweeten the sauce and create the rich, caramelized flavor we want. Learn more about the different types of sugar and how to use them in different recipes!
- Whipping cream – Make sure it’s hot! This prevents the sauce from hardening and creates a creamy, luscious consistency.
- Butter – I recommend using unsalted butter. Let it come to room temperature before you begin.
- Coarse sea salt – This rounds out the sweetness. I like Maldon sea salt flakes, but any brand will work.
Dry vs Wet Methods
There are many different ways to make caramel sauce from scratch. However, the most common methods are wet and dry.
- The wet method uses water to melt the sugar.
- The dry method means requires you to melt the sugar alone slowly over low heat.
Most recipes I’ve come across online use the wet method. It’s a slightly safer option because it’s easier to prevent the sugar from burning. However, it also makes the process longer, as the water needs to evaporate first. Then and only then will the sugar caramelize.
As a result, in my opinion, the dry method is quicker and easier. Instead of melting all the sugar at once, we’ll be melting sugar a little at a time. While it may seem like tedious work, it’s actually faster and easier than adding it all at once. Plus, it lets you control the color of the caramel.
In addition, with the dry method, you don’t need to worry about sugar crystalizing, brushing the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush, etc.!
How to make caramel sauce from scratch
1. Melt the sugar
- Heat a large, heavy-bottomed, 2.5-quart saucepan over medium heat.
- Sprinkle ¼ cup of sugar evenly on the bottom, and allow it to melt slowly. This will seem like it takes a long time, but be patient! Definitely do not increase the heat!
- Swirl the pan gently as the sugar starts to melt around the edges. Since sugar melts in patches, swirling the pan gently helps to distribute the heat evenly.
- When the sugar is mostly melted, add another ¼ cup of sugar, and continue to melt it over medium heat. You’ll notice the color will start to turn light amber in color! If needed, reduce the heat to medium-low.
- Continue adding the remaining sugar ¼ cup at a time, and cook until all the sugar is melted and is dark amber. It’ll start to melt faster as more sugar is added and melted. So, keep a close eye on the pan!
- Keep swirling to encourage the sugar to move and melt faster. Or, use a heat-resistant spatula or a whisk to mix the dry sugar into the melted sugar. (TIP: Start using a utensil ONLY when enough sugar (more than half of the sugar) is melted!)
Slow the cooking
If you feel like the sugar is getting too dark and hasn’t fully melted yet, remove it from the heat. Then, stir the sugar with a heat-resistant silicone spatula, wooden spoon, or whisk to slow down the cooking before returning it back to the heat.
2. Add the cream
- Remove the pan from the heat, and slowly pour in the hot cream, whisking slowly to combat the rising bubbles. Be careful during this step! The mixture will bubble up very quickly.
Use hot cream
Make sure to heat the cream before adding it to the sugar, or your caramel will seize on you. If this happens, return the mixture to low heat, and cook until the sugar crystals are fully dissolved.
3. Add the butter
- Cool the caramel sauce for 30 minutes.
- Then add butter and coarse salt to the mixture.
- Whisk until the butter is fully melted.
- Transfer the caramel sauce to a jar. Use it immediately, or let it cool completely and store it for later.
Tips for Success
- Use a large heavy-bottomed saucepan. A heavy-bottomed pan distributes heat evenly, which is important to melt the sugar evenly. Also, make sure your pan is at least 2.5 quarts or bigger. The caramel will bubble up when you add the cream, and you don’t want it to overflow! Any smaller, and the sauce will spill over, making a big mess and causing a lot of trouble.
- Choose a stainless steel or light-colored pan, as it helps you see the sugar’s color change better than a dark pan.
- Prepare all the ingredients before you start. Once you start melting the sugar, you won’t have time to run around to cut that butter or measure the salt.
- Swirl gently. Avoid stirring the sugar too much at the beginning of cooking. Instead, gently swirl the pan.
- Once more than half of the sugar is melted, you can use a heat-resistant silicone spatula, a wooden spoon, or a whisk to gently swirl the sugar and promote faster, even melting.
- Heat the cream before adding it to the sugar to prevent the sugar from seizing.
- Pour hot cream into the pan only once removed from the heat. Hot liquid minimizes splattering and prevents the caramel from seizing up!
- If the caramel seizes up, don’t worry. Simply return the mixture to low heat, and cook until the sugar crystals are fully dissolved.
- For a creamier texture, cool the caramel sauce before adding the butter.
Ways to use homemade caramel sauce
Honestly, this sauce is so good I wouldn’t blame you if you eat it on its own! However, I love to use it to make chocolate caramel cups, salted caramel swiss meringue buttercream, and salted caramel mini layer cakes.
Or, it’s fabulous as a topping or dip with:
- Fresh fruit like apple slices
- Ice cream
- Waffles or buttermilk pancakes
- Lattes
- Chai latte no-bake mini cheesecakes
Storing Tips
- Store the caramel sauce in an airtight container, or a canning jar with a lid in the fridge for up to 1 month.
- You can also freeze it in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months!
- To thaw, transfer the frozen caramel sauce to the fridge, and thaw overnight.
- To reheat the sauce, microwave it or reheat over medium heat on the stovetop.
FAQs
Caramel and dulce de leche are pretty similar. However, they’re not the same. Dulce de leche is made of milk and sugar and cooked low and slow until caramelized. Caramel, on the other hand, is basically a caramelized sugar. Depending on the recipe, caramel sauce may include heavy cream.
Heat and fat are the primary thickeners in homemade caramel sauce recipes. As sugar melts and cooks, it caramelizes and loses moisture, creating a thicker consistency. Heavy cream and butter help to thicken the caramel sauce as well.
Technically, you can use milk in place of heavy cream. However, I don’t recommend it! Milk has much less fat than cream, which will impact the flavor and create a thinner consistency.
More Sweet Sauce Recipes
How to Make Caramel Sauce
Ingredients
For Salted Caramel Sauce:
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (240 ml) heavy whipping cream heated
- 4 tablespoons (55 g) unsalted butter at room temperature
- ½ teaspoon coarse sea salt I like Maldon sea salt flakes
Instructions
- Heat a large heavy-bottomed pan, at least 2.5 quarts, over medium heat.
- Then sprinkle ¼ cup of sugar evenly on the bottom of the pan. Slowly melt the sugar over medium heat. (This first stage may seem like taking long time, as you stare at the sugar. But be patient.)
- As sugar starts to melt around the edges, you may swirl the pan gently to move the sugar around and encourage it to melt.
- When the sugar is mostly melted, add another ¼ cup of the sugar and continue to melt it over medium heat. You'll notice the color will start changing to a light amber color. NOTE: If you feel like it's getting too dark, yet the sugar isn't melted fully, take it off the heat and stir the sugar with a heat-resistant silicone spatula, a wooden spoon, or a whisk to slow down the cooking.
- If needed, reduce the heat to medium-low.
- Continue with the remaining sugar, ¼ cup at a time, and cook until all the sugar is melted and it's dark amber color. NOTE: The sugar will start melting faster as more sugar is melted. Keep swirling the pan to encourage the sugar to move and melt faster, or you can also use a spatula or wooden spoon. See the step by step photos above for visual demonstration.
- Meanwhile, heat the cream in a microwave until hot.
- Remove the pan from the stove and slowly pour in hot cream, while whisking it slowly to combat the rising bubbles. Be careful, as the mixture will bubble up furiously. That's why adding cream slowly and using a large enough pan is crucial. TIP: Make sure to heat the cream before adding it to the melted sugar, or your caramel will seize up on you. If that happens, return the mixture to a low heat and cook it until the sugar crystals are fully dissolved.
- Cool the caramel sauce for about 30 minutes.
- Then add butter and coarse sea salt and stir until the butter fully melts.
- Transfer the sauce into a jar and cool completely.
Video
Tips & Notes
– Store the caramel sauce in an airtight container, or a canning jar with a lid in the fridge for up to 1 month.
– You can also freeze it in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months!
– To thaw, transfer the frozen caramel sauce to the fridge, and thaw overnight.
– To reheat the sauce, microwave it or reheat over medium heat on the stovetop.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published on December 11, 2019.
I’m making caramel sauce to flavor frosting and have made good sauce with the wet method previously – since I’m going to try your Salted Caramel Swiss Meringue Buttercream, I wanted to try your sauce recipe. It did not turn out good. The dry method has never worked for me – no matter how low I keep the temp, or how slowly I add the sugar, or how I swirl it or mix it, the sugar ALWAYS burns (I’m cooking on a gas stove and start the temp at a 2, lowering if it seems like it’s getting too dark). This was the closest I’ve gotten to edible, but it still burned just a little, and it was enough to ruin the sauce. I added the cream anyway, hoping it would be fine, but the tiny bit I just tried was bitter and burnt. I don’t really understand why, since using your photos as a reference my melted sugar was even a little lighter than yours, but still tastes burnt.
I added the hot cream slowly but it still seized around the edges and had to be returned to the heat to loosen back up. I’m letting it cool on the stove now and I’m going to taste it again, but I’ll likely end up tossing this batch 🙁 If you’re like me and can’t make the dry method work, try the wet. It isn’t as finicky as it seems (at least for me). I’m glad I only made the one cup as a trial run.
Hi, Av! Thanks so much for sharing your feedback. Does your saucepan have a thick bottom? I think it’s crucial for even heat distribution. Also a little bit of bitterness in caramel sauce is not a deal breaker, it can actually add depth of flavor especially if you’re using it in buttercream. Buttercream will mellow down the bitterness, and overall taste of the buttercream will be balanced. Again, thanks for your feedback.
I’ve always been a little afraid to make caramel sauce – the whole boiling lava of sugar thing lol. After getting fabulous results from Shinee’s macaron recipe, I thought it time. I am afraid no longer! Shinee’s instructions were so clear and concise it was a breeze. I’ve made this recipe numerous times and its always delicious and get a lot of compliments. Thanks so much!!
Yay, I’m so happy you gave this recipe a try and loved it! Thank you so much for your feedback, Cyndi!!
I’d like to make this but need to know the final amount. Is it two cups? Thx!
Hi, Eva. It makes 1 cup of sauce.
This Caramel sauce is the BOMB!!! I typically use the wet process and have inconsistent results. The dry technique is way easier and the result is AMAZING. Super, super easy and incredibly delicious. Thanks for the excellent instruction – my sugar did seize but I did exactly what you suggested and everything worked out perfectly.
Yay, I’m so happy you tried and loved this method, Sarah!! Thank you so much for sharing your feedback.
If you make the caramel plain, can you warm it up and add the salt later ? I don’t have any flaked sea salt, just coarse crystals which are too big, but I’d like to get it made today.
Turned out great!
I’ve made salted caramel twenty times, but never like this. I doubled the recipe, and it was a disaster. I thought a rule of thumb for caramel is never stir it (!)?, yet I did that because this recipe calls for it. Also, hot cream immediately seized the melted sugar, so I again don’t understand how/why this is the right approach. Disappointed, sigh. Your pictures are lovely though.
Hi, SP. Thanks for reaching out. Most recipes call for sugar and water to make caramel, where you absolutely don’t want to stir it to prevent sugar to seize. But with this dry method, stirring is ok as long as enough sugar has melted. And as for seizing issue, it’s important that your cream is hot when you pour it into the melted sugar. If the cream is not hot, it will cause the caramel to seize. And even if does seize, return to heat and cook until the sugar melts back. I’ve made caramel this way for many, many times, and for sure know it’s time-tested approach.
Mine seized the first time even though it was warm. The second time, I put in a little at a time and it did not seize.
Hi, Rachel. Thanks for sharing your experience. I’m glad you tried it again. 🙂
Made the salted caramel for a cupcake recipe and so far I have made it an additional 4 times!! Each extra time has been to gift it to someone who originally tasted it from the cupcakes and it has been an amazing hit!!!!! I never thought I would be making homemade caramel and would forever be melting down the caramel chews until I came across this recipe. IT IS PURE HEAVEN!!!!!!!
YAY, so happy you tried it and loved it, Megan. Thank you for your feedback!!!
So easy and yum! Lol, I’m on a spree
Yay, so happy you tried and loved it, Rosemary. Did you make the salted caramel? Thank you for your feedback!
Yes!