Easy Homemade Caramel Sauce Recipe (2024)

How to make an easy homemade caramel sauce with cream and butter, no corn syrup. Perfect caramel sauce for apples or other dessert toppings.

Caramel Sauce is a rich and creamy smooth recipe that no household should be without during the fall. This incredibly easy recipe uses only 3 ingredients and will make the best caramel sauce that you’ve ever had.

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Easy Homemade Caramel Sauce

I LOVE caramel dip in the fall for my apples! What I don’t love are the high prices of the store version and the added corn syrup and other ickies.

This recipe is so good. The butter really brings out the caramel flavor and gives it the richness that a wonderful caramel sauce deserves. I also like that this recipe is so easy to make. A few minutes on the stove and you have a wonderful fall treat.

Ingredients for Easy Homemade Caramel Sauce Recipe

Butter. You can use salted or unsalted; it’s your preference based on taste. I usually have salted on hand, so that’s what we use in this recipe to make a salted caramel sauce.
Heavy Cream. You can use more or less of this, depending on how thick or thin you want your sauce to be. Any extra cream can be frozen for future recipes.
Brown Sugar. If you have raw sugar, you can use that in place of the brown sugar, but the most important thing is that you have a sugar that will dissolve into the mixture. If it doesn’t, you will have a gritty mess. You can use light brown sugar or dark brown sugar, whichever you have.

You could also add in a bit of vanilla extract or a pinch of sea salt for variations on the flavor of the basic recipe.

What does adding butter to caramel do?

Butter not only helps develop the rich flavor in this caramel recipe but also helps ensure that your caramel will stay nice and soft and will not harden. Since we are making a sauce or dip here, we don’t want to make hard caramel.

What are the two types of caramel?

A dry caramel is made from sugar and water. A wet caramel is made from butter, and cream, and other ingredients. This recipe is for a wet caramel.

Can I use oil instead of butter in caramel sauce?

You can if you need to but be aware that it will change the flavor. If you absolutely need to use oil instead of butter, be sure and use something mild flavored and not something like extra virgin olive oil.

What to Serve with Homemade Caramel Sauce

Apple Slices. Just use it as a dip for apples (or crisp pears or other fall fruit!) and you will have a delicious snack!
Ice Cream. This makes a wonderful ice cream topping although you might want to add a bit more cream to make it thinner for that purpose.
Cake. This caramel sauce makes a wonderful drizzle for topping a cake or bars.
Cheesecake. Try this as a drizzle over a New York Cheesecake or on my Pumpkin Turtle Cheesecake.
Apple Pie. Use as a drizzle over apple pie or add inside the filling for a Caramel Apple Pie!

Why Make Homemade Caramel Sauce?

This homemade Caramel Sauce uses just 3 ingredients. It’s incredibly fresh and delicious tasting and only takes a few minutes to make. This recipe costs about $1.03 to make.

Smucker’s Caramel sauce contains 8 ingredients (the first one being corn syrup) and costs $3.29 for a similar amount.

Step By Step Instructions for Making Easy Caramel Sauce

Combine all the ingredients on the stovetop in a small pot and heat on medium heat, stirring constantly with a whisk.

If you are going to use turbinado sugar (turbinado sugar is raw sugar) you will want to grind it up before you add it, otherwise, it will be slightly gritty.

Heat the ingredients together until they are at a smooth consistency.

Cook the mixture until it starts to boil, keep stirring constantly, and let it boil for 2 minutes before you remove it from the heat.

Make sure it gets up to about 200 degrees during the boiling time. You will need a Candy Thermometer to keep track of the temperature. Getting the caramel sauce up to the correct temp will help it get nice and thick and make a good thick caramel topping. If you do not get it to the correct temp it might still have sugar crystals in it and make the sauce gritty.

Add a pinch of salt for an extra burst of flavor.

Let it cool slightly before you serve. This amount makes about enough easy caramel dip for 2 or 3 apples.

Easy Homemade Caramel Sauce Recipe

How to make an easy homemade caramel sauce with only 3 ingredients.

CourseSnack

CuisineAmerican

KeywordEasy Homemade Caramel Sauce

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

1/4cupbutter
1/8 – 1/4cupheavy creamdepends on how thin you want your sauce to be
1/2cupbrown sugar

Instructions

Combine all the ingredients on the stovetop and heat on medium heat, stirring constantly.
If you are going to use turbinado sugar (turbinado sugar is raw sugar) you will want to grind it up before you add it, otherwise, it will be slightly gritty. As long as you get it up to temperature though this shouldn’t be an issue.
Cook the mixture until it starts to boil, keep stirring constantly and let it boil for 2 minutes before you remove from heat.
Make sure it gets up to about 200 degrees during the boiling time. You will need a Candy Thermometer to keep track of the temperature. Getting the caramel sauce up to the correct temp will help it get nice and thick and make a good topping.
Let it cool slightly before you serve. This amount makes about enough dip for 2 or 3 apples.

Nutrition Facts

Easy Homemade Caramel Sauce Recipe

Amount Per Serving

Calories 376Calories from Fat 234

% Daily Value*

Fat 26g40%

Saturated Fat 17g106%

Trans Fat 1g

Polyunsaturated Fat 1g

Monounsaturated Fat 7g

Cholesterol 74mg25%

Sodium 140mg6%

Potassium 82mg2%

Carbohydrates 37g12%

Sugar 36g40%

Protein 1g2%

Vitamin A 910IU18%

Vitamin C 0.2mg0%

Calcium 55mg6%

Iron 0.3mg2%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

How to Store Leftover Caramel Sauce

Any leftover sauce should be stored in a jar with a lid or an airtight container. The sauce can be left at room temperature on the countertop (for up to 2 days) or you can place it in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Common Questions About Making Caramel Sauce

What does adding butter to caramel do?

Butter helps to add a richness of flavor to the caramel as well as keeping it smooth and silky.

Should you stir sugar when making caramel?

Yes, you should stir the sugar in the recipe to keep it from burning to the bottom of the pan.

More Caramel Recipes

Easy Homemade Caramels Recipe
Caramel Popcorn in a Jar
Chocolate Caramel Rolls
Homemade Butterscotch Sauce
Amish Cinnamon Rolls or Caramel Rolls Recipe
Old Fashioned Caramel Icing Recipe

Do you like to make an easy homemade caramel sauce in the fall? What do you like to use it for?

Merissa Alink

Merissa has been blogging about andliving the simple and frugal life on Little House Living since 2009 and has internationally published 2 books on the topic. You can read about Merissa’s journey from penniless to freedom on the About Page. You can send her a message any time from theContact Page.

This Easy Homemade Caramel Sauce recipe was originally published on Little House Living in October 2012. It has been updated as of October 2023.

Easy Homemade Caramel Sauce Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is caramel sauce made of? ›

Ingredients for this Caramel Sauce Recipe

Sugar, butter, and cream are the essence of making caramel, but I also add water, vanilla, and salt, which play important roles. Water helps the sugar dissolve, reduces the risk of burning, and heat more evenly. Salt turns caramel sauce into salted caramel, which is amazing.

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What are the two methods for making caramel? ›

Wet caramel is made by combining sugar and a liquid and cooking them together, while dry caramel is made from just sugar, heated in a dry pan until it liquefies and browns.

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Does boiling water and sugar make caramel? ›

At it's most simple, it's just a matter of putting sugar into a pan and applying heat until you reach the stage of caramelization that you want. An alternative method is to dissolve the sugar in water, then heat the solution until the water evaporates and the sugar begins to caramelize.

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Why do you put butter in caramel sauce? ›

1) Milk, cream, and condensed milk to help make a lovely light-coloured caramel sauce to drip over your desserts. 2) Golden syrup, sugar, and molasses will provide the sweet taste caramel is best known for. 3) Oil and butter help give your caramel a smoother, softer texture which makes coating things i.e., nuts easier.

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Is caramel just boiled sugar? ›

Caramel is white granulated sugar that's been heated slowly to 340 degrees Fahrenheit. This gradual heating process breaks down the sugar's molecules and creates a deep golden brown color and rich flavor.

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What are the three types of caramel? ›

Caramel can be produced in so many forms such as, sauce, a chewy candy, or a hard candy because of how much of an ingredient is added and the temperature it is being prepared at.

What is the formula for caramel? ›

The typical formula for caramels is C24H36O18 , so the elements of water have been removed from the sucrose.

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Which sugar is better for caramel? ›

You should use refined white granulated or caster sugar to make caramel. Avoid using brown sugar or raw cane sugar as they contain impurities that inhibit caramelisation and also the already brown colour can make it harder to assess when the all important reaction is taking place.

Is white or brown sugar better for caramel? ›

Sugar Note: Most chefs say that only granulated sugar can be successfully caramelized; other sugars — such as brown sugar and unrefined sugar such as cane sugar — contain impurities that can inhibit caramelization. It's those impurities that can burn before the sugar has time to caramelize.

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Do you stir caramel or not stir? ›

Instead of stirring, you gently swirl the melted sugar around in the pan to keep it moving and avoid burn spots. The agitation of stirring can cause the sugar to grab on to any unmelted crystals on the sides of the pan, and crystallization, or chunks of sugar, form in your caramel and they won't melt.

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Why do you put lemon juice in caramel? ›

Acid ingredients (like vinegar or lemon juice) can help prevent re-crystallization which causes caramel to become grainy. Acid physically breaks the bonds between the glucose and fructose molecules that form sucrose and ensure that it stays apart.

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How many parts of sugar and water to make caramel? ›

Generally, for 200 grams (1 cup) of sugar, use 58 grams (¼ cup) of water. The amount of water, however, does not need to be precise. You simply need enough to hydrate the sugar. If you use more water, it will just take longer to cook the mixture until you reach caramel stage.

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Why won't my butter mix into caramel? ›

Add the butter cold. Sometimes when you add melty butter it struggles to incorporate into the caramel. I take mine out of the fridge when I start making the caramel so it's not at all melted before I add it.

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What happens if I forget to put butter in my caramel? ›

If you don't add the butter, it won't be a sauce, it will be pure caramel. Caramel is not a sauce, and is not suited as a cake glaze - it will stick more to your teeth than to the cake if soft, or be an uncuttable brittle plate if hard. If you need a sauce, follow the recipe for a sauce.

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Why don't you stir caramel? ›

Stirring the sugar

If the melting sugar splashes up onto the sides of the pan, it quickly loses its moisture content and forms back into crystals. That can set off a chain reaction that can cause caramel to seize up, ruining the entire batch.

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Is caramel made from butter and sugar? ›

Ok you may not have known this but, ~newsflash~ caramel is literally just cooked sugar with a little bit of butter (for stability) and heavy cream (for flavor & mouthfeel) stirred in at the end. The longest (and “hardest”) part of making caramel is just toasting and melting down the sugar at the very beginning.

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What is plain caramel made of? ›

Class I caramel colors, also known as plain caramels, are created by cooking a carbohydrate, typically glucose or sucrose, with acids, bases, or salts – such as citric acid. They generally range in hue from yellow to red-brown and have a slight negative colloidal charge.

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What is the difference between caramel sauce and dulce de leche? ›

Caramel and dulce de leche might look and taste somewhat similar, but they are actually pretty different. While caramel is made from slowly simmering water and sugar until it caramelizes, dulce de leche is made from simmering milk and sugar super slowly until it turns into a creamy, caramelized substance.

What's the difference between caramel sauce and caramel syrup? ›

Caramel sauce is easier to mix and dissolve, and it also has a richer flavor because of the dairy / fat. If you want to use it to decorate your coffee (hot or iced) on top of the whipped cream, I'd recommend syrup because it holds well in lower temperatures and it is better to make drawings.

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