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Home » Fall

Foolproof Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce (photos and video)

Published: Sep 18, 2024 · Modified: Jan 12, 2025 by Zoha · This post may contain affiliate links · 10 Comments

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This Foolproof Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce is made with just 5 basic ingredients and is perfect to pair with a wide variety of desserts. It is easy to make, silky smooth, thick and luscious with a perfect deep caramel flavor, and can be stored in the fridge for months!

deep golden salted caramel sauce in a glass bowl with a spoon lifting and pouring in some sauce in a ribbon; close up

Read the full blog post below for detailed notes, tips, tricks, photos and videos.

Jump to:
  • WHAT IS CARAMEL?
  • WHAT IS SALTED CARAMEL SAUCE?
  • WET VS DRY CARAMEL
  • THREE BASIC RULES OF MAKING CARAMEL SAUCE
  • ADDITIONAL TIPS
  • VIDEO TUTORIAL
  • STAGES OF MAKING CARAMEL WITH PHOTOS
  • FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
  • RELATED RECIPES
  • FOOLPROOF HOMEMADE SALTED CARAMEL SAUCE RECIPE

WHAT IS CARAMEL?

Pure caramel is essentially a form of sugar: it is a substance made by heating sugar until it melts and turns a rich golden-brown color. This process, called caramelization, changes the sugar's flavor, giving it a nutty and slightly bittersweet taste. Depending on how long it’s cooked, it can range from light and mild to dark and intense.

Pure caramel re-solidifies once it cools down, become a hard, crunchy substance (which is what caramel apples are coated in, for example). However, it is often turned into different forms, like sauces or chewy candies, through the addition of other ingredients.

WHAT IS SALTED CARAMEL SAUCE?

A Caramel Sauce is made from pure caramel, but also includes 2 additional ingredients: butter and heavy cream. These ingredients introduce fat into caramel, which turns it from a runny liquid into a thicker, sauce like consistency. A caramel sauce remains liquid and saucy even when it cools down and does not harden or resolidify like pure caramel. Salt is typically added to caramel sauce to make it a "salted caramel sauce", because it helps balance out the sweetness. Vanilla is often added for flavor as well.

WET VS DRY CARAMEL

There are 2 main methods to make caramel: wet and dry. Let's take a quick look at each:

  • Wet caramel: In a wet caramel, the sugar is mixed with a small amount of water and the mixture is heated for a long time until the water evaporates, leaving behind melted sugar (pure caramel). The addition of water helps the sugar heat more evenly. However, this method takes a long time, and has a higher risk of the sugar crystallizing if the mixture is heated too slow or too fast
  • Dry caramel: In a dry caramel, no water is added and the sugar is heated directly in a pan until it has melted. This method is faster and easier in achieving a deeper, richer caramel without the sugar crystallizing. The only downside is that the sugar does require some stirring to heat and melt properly

I strongly prefer the dry caramel method and find it to be significantly more beginner friendly than the wet caramel method. Therefore, this foolproof homemade salted caramel sauce is made with the dry caramel method.

deep golden salted caramel sauce in a glass bowl with a spoon stirring to show the thick consistency
deep golden salted caramel sauce in a glass bowl with a spoon lifting and pouring in some sauce in a ribbon

THREE BASIC RULES OF MAKING CARAMEL SAUCE

You may not believe me, but making caramel sauce at home is really straightforward. It comes down to three important rules that I want you to remember:

1. Cook low and slow

First and foremost, patience is your friend. Sugar is very temperamental and can easily and quickly burn if you turn away for a few seconds. To prevent this and ensure you have maximum control over your caramel sauce, use the smallest burner on your stove at the lowest flame. It will take time, but it is far less likely to have a burnt, crystallized or non-salvageable outcome.

2. Don't add anything cold

Like I said, sugar is very temperamental. When it has caramelized, it is very, very hot. If you add anything cold to it, the sudden change in temperature will cause the sugar to seize up and solidify. It can sometimes still be saved, but it's best not to make this mistake. So make sure your butter is softened at room temperature, and the heavy cream is warmed up.

3. Don't give up too easily

Caramel is a lot more forgiving than you think! I've seen so many people discard their batches because they see some lumps of hardened sugar and think the caramel has crystallized and ruined. But I have found that more often than not, it can be fixed by just heating on very low flame. The lumps of sugar will melt and liquefy. Even if you add cream that's too cold and causes the caramel to thicken up, slowly heating will usually fix it. The only mistake you can't ever come back from is burnt caramel, which takes you back to rule number 1!

ADDITIONAL TIPS

A few more tips for you:

  1. Use a light colored pan. Stainless steel is usually best, like my All Clad pan. This is because you will be able to see the color of the caramel sauce more easily, and know when it is done before it starts to burn
  2. Use a wide bottomed pan. A wider pan will help spread the sugar in a thinner layer, which will help it melt more evenly throughout. You never want a very thick layer of sugar as it will be harder to get it all to melt evenly
  3. Avoid adding water / moisture. So make sure your pan and utensils are perfectly dry
  4. Use your sense of smell! A perfectly cooked caramel should have a deep, nutty, slightly bitter aroma. If you start to smell anything burning, though, you have a problem

VIDEO TUTORIAL

Here is a short video tutorial for making my Foolproof Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce that I highly recommend watching:

[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id="S7ghn7GJ" upload-date="2024-09-19T05:57:04+00:00" name="Foolproof Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce" description="How to make foolproof homemade salted caramel sauce" player-type="default" override-embed="default"]

STAGES OF MAKING CARAMEL WITH PHOTOS

The detailed recipe is provided in the recipe card at the bottom of this post, but let's go over the stages of making caramel with photos so you can visualize everything.

Melting the sugar

You start by adding the sugar to a wide-bottomed, light colored pan and letting it heat up on low flame until it starts to melt:

granulated sugar in a stainless steel pan
granulated sugar in a stainless steel pan starting to melt in one corner

Once it starts melting, slowly stir to encourage all the sugar to melt. This will start to become lumpy, but just keep going:

process of melting sugar in a stainless steel pan, sugar has started to clump
process of melting sugar in a stainless steel pan, it is partially melted with some solid lumps

Eventually, the sugar will fully melt with no lumps remaining. Continue cooking and stirring until it reaches a deep golden color:

process of melting sugar in a stainless steel pan, it is now a light golden color
melted golden sugar in stainless steel pan

Adding the butter

Now, add the softened butter and whisk it in until it has melted. It will be slightly separated from the caramel, which is ok:

softened butter added to hot caramel in a stainless steel pan
hand whisking butter into caramel in a stainless steel pan

Adding the heavy cream

Now, add the warm heavy cream and whisk it in. The mixture will become very bubbly, but keep on stirring and eventually a smooth sauce will form:

heavy cream poured into caramel in a stainless steel pan
hand whisking cream into caramel in stainless steel pan

Alongside, add in the salt and vanilla:

salt and vanilla added to salted caramel in a stainless steel pan
golden and smooth salted caramel sauce in a stainless steel pan

And that's it! Now you just let the homemade salted caramel sauce cool down and it should thicken up nicely.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How do you store homemade salted caramel sauce?

You can store the homemade salted caramel sauce in an airtight jar or bottle in the fridge for more than a month. It becomes solid in the fridge, but can be reheated in the microwave in 10 second increments until it becomes a runny consistency again.

What to eat salted caramel sauce with?

You can pour this salted caramel sauce over a variety of desserts, for example brownies, cookies, cakes, sundaes, ice cream and more. It can also be added inside dessert, for example in Salted Caramel Cheesecake or No Bake Biscoff Salted Caramel Cheesecake.

RELATED RECIPES

If you're a fan of caramel, check out these recipes:

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    BEST Salted Caramel Cheesecake
  • A biscoff salted caramel cheesecake with swirled biscoff cookie butter and crushed cookies on it. cake is on a white cake stand. Some caramel sauce is oozing out from the sides. a spatula is pulling out a slice from the side
    No Bake Biscoff Salted Caramel Cheesecake
  • salted caramel pecan chocolate chip cookies placed side by side with some pecans scattered. cookies are a deep golden color and look crispy and chewy with puddles of chocolate; focus on one cookie with 4 in corners
    Salted Caramel Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies
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    Caramel Cloud Cake
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deep golden salted caramel sauce in a glass bowl with a spoon lifting and pouring in some sauce in a ribbon; close up

FOOLPROOF HOMEMADE SALTED CARAMEL SAUCE RECIPE


5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

4.6 from 5 reviews

  • Author: Zoha
  • Total Time: 20 min + cooling
  • Yield: 2 cups
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Description

The perfect homemade salted caramel sauce: thick, silky and luscious with a rich, deep caramel flavor.


Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cups granulated sugar (300g)
  • ½ cup unsalted butter, softened at room temperature (113g)
  • ¾ cup heavy cream, warmed up (180g)
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 to 1 ½ teaspoon salt

Instructions

  • Add the sugar to a wide-bottomed, light-colored pan and place on the lowest flame on the stove (do not use high flame as the sugar can easily burn). Let the sugar heat until you see that it has started to melt on the bottom. At this point, use a dry utensil to slowly stir the sugar and encourage it to melt evenly. It will look grainy and lumpy, but keep slowly stirring and allowing the sugar to heat on low flame, and eventually all the lumps and grains will melt. Once the sugar has fully melted, continue to cook until it reaches a deep golden, caramel color. This entire process can take 15+ minutes depending on your pan and stove
  • Turn off the heat. Add the softened butter, and whisk it in until it has fully melted. The butter will not dissolve in the sugar and will look separated, which is totally ok
  • Once the butter has fully melted, add the warm cream (make sure it is warm to touch; you can heat it in the microwave for 20-30s) and whisk it in. The cream will become very bubbly and frothy at first, but will quickly settle and create a smooth caramel sauce. If you feel that the sauce is becoming too thick or seizing up, turn the heat back on the lowest setting and gently stir until the sauce looks like the right consistency, then turn off the heat again
  • Add vanilla and salt (start with 1 tsp, taste, and add more as needed) and mix in
  • At this point, you should have a smooth but runny dark golden caramel sauce. Pour it into a heat-safe glass bowl or jar, and let it cool down fully at room temperature (about 1 hour)
  • Once cooled down, the caramel sauce will thicken up and become very silky smooth. It is now ready to be eaten / served with dessert
  • Store in an airtight container in the fridge, and re-heat in the microwave in 10-20s increments any time you want to use it 

 

Video Tutorial:

[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id="S7ghn7GJ" upload-date="2024-09-19T05:57:04+00:00" name="Foolproof Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce" description="How to make foolproof homemade salted caramel sauce" player-type="default" override-embed="default"]

Notes

  • Read the blog post above for important tips, photos and video
  • This recipe yields about 2 cups of homemade salted caramel sauce. I don't recommend making a larger batch unless you're experienced with caramel
  • Cook Time: 20 min
  • Category: Dessert
  • Cuisine: American

Did you make this recipe?

Leave a review and tag @bakewithzoha on Instagram!

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Comments

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  1. Abicake_ padang says

    September 19, 2024 at 9:21 am

    yimmi

    Reply
  2. Mimi says

    September 19, 2024 at 5:27 pm

    Can you leave out the salt?

    Reply
    • Ray says

      September 20, 2024 at 5:57 am

      your can always leave out the salt. but keep in mind the caramel sauce will be extra sweet tasting.

      Reply
  3. M says

    September 30, 2024 at 1:25 am

    Hi Zoha!! There’s no heavy cream in Pakistan so what to use instead?

    Reply
  4. Lisa Presley says

    October 20, 2024 at 11:01 pm

    I love my iced coffee with caramel sauce but buying it in stores is becoming an issue, they always seem to be out of it. now I can make my own and have better quality.
    Thank you so much for this post.

    Reply
    • Zoha says

      October 31, 2024 at 8:19 pm

      I'm so glad you found this helpful, Lisa! Love the idea of using homemade caramel for coffee 🙂

      Reply
  5. NMK says

    November 21, 2024 at 1:36 pm

    can u please advise regarding the qty of salt. will it become too empowering to put 1.5 tsp?

    Reply
  6. Eraj says

    November 30, 2024 at 3:08 pm

    Perfectly simple instructions, thank you!!

    Reply
  7. Jennifer J. says

    May 15, 2025 at 5:01 pm

    Thank you for sharing this recipe.
    It turned out perfectly. It tasted just like my Grandma's used to, so delicious and nostalgic.

    Reply
    • Zoha says

      May 16, 2025 at 1:42 pm

      Aw, thank you so much, Jennifer!

      Reply
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Hi, I'm Zoha! Self taught home-baker, massive sweet tooth, lover of all things baked and content creator behind Bake With Zoha.

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