4-Ingredient Salted Caramel Sauce
- By Amy Dong
- Published Oct. 17, 2022
- Updated Apr. 3, 2023
This Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce needs only 4 Ingredients. Make your own caramel sauce for ice cream, cakes, pies, popcorn, apples, or whatever you like. Nothing artificial; just pure goodness.
In This Article
- Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce
- Salted Caramel Sauce Recipe In Action
- 4 Ingredients for The Best Caramel Sauce
- Caramel Sauce Recipe Tips for Success
- Homemade Caramel Sauce vs. store-bought
- Caramel SauceCommonly Asked Questions
- More to Cook and Eat
- Did you make this?
- Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce (4-Ingredient) Recipe
Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce
Some people are natural caramel lovers. They were born with an affection for all things caramel.
I’m not one of those people. But then I tried this homemade caramel sauce; it was a complete game changer. This caramel sauce recipe will open up a whole new world for self proclaimed non-caramel-eaters. Even the fancy brands of store-bought caramel sauce do not even come close.
Through the years, we’ve made countless batches of too-good caramel popcorn that we love to share or package into edible gifts.
Everything is better with Homemade Caramel Sauce: ice cream, cake, pie, popcorn, apples… all the desserts.
Salted Caramel Sauce Recipe In Action
Our caramel sauce is super easy to make, but it helps to watch this video before starting up. 👆🏽
4 Ingredients for The Best Caramel Sauce
You only need four things. You probably already have these 4 things in your kitchen right now.
- Sugar
- Butter
- Cream
- Salt
Flaky sea salt is best here, but you can use coarse kosher salt in a pinch. Do not use regular table salt, as table salt measures differently by volume, and would be way too salty. Stick with coarse, flaky salt.
Caramel Sauce Recipe Tips for Success
- A candy thermometer or other kitchen thermometer is an essential tool. It allows you to be precise and avoid burnt caramel that nobody’s a fan of. You’ll also come to realize that a candy thermometer is a handy tool to have in your kitchen beyond caramel.
- Be sure to whisk sugar until all bits of sugar are dissolved; this is important for a velvety smooth caramel sauce.
- In fact, whisking is the name of the game with homemade caramel sauce. Keep whisking at all stages, to ensure your caramel is smooth and doesn’t burn.
- Your golden caramel sauce will come together rather quickly, so before you know it, you’ll have a beautiful jar of Salted Caramel Sauce to keep in the fridge for favorite ice cream recipes or caramel popcorn.
- Make big batches of caramel sauce and place them in mason jars for gifting. These are ridiculously awesome food gifts that keep really well in the fridge.
Homemade Caramel Sauce vs. store-bought
- Store-bought caramel sauce often contains high fructose corn syrup, preservatives, and food coloring. Homemade caramel sauce only contains 4 pure, basic ingredients and nothing artificial.
- Nothing matches the depth of flavor that homemade caramel sauce provides. Once the buttery aroma of this caramel sauce wafts through the air, you’ll experience the difference and never want to buy a jar of caramel sauce at the store again.
- Drizzle this wondrous caramel over whatever you desire. Jar the rest and keep it in the fridge – caramel can last a long time when chilled airtight, but chances are it’ll be gone before you know it.
- Bonus tip: be prepared for all the eager people in your house coming at you with spoons in hand. This is especially true of little hands.
Caramel Sauce
Commonly Asked Questions
Our caramel sauce recipe contains only 4 simple, pure ingredients: sugar, butter, cream, and salt. Nothing artificial goes into this caramel recipe.
Some caramel sauce recipes use thickeners such as corn starch or tapioca starch. The caramel sauce recipe below does not need any thickeners
You can keep caramel sauce in an airtight container at moderate room temperature for a few days. After this, it needs to be kept chilled, as caramel sauce contains dairy products.
Caramel sauce can burn easily if you’re not vigilant, so watch carefully as you stir. Once you’ve added in the butter, stir just until it is melted and remove from heat immediately. A candy thermometer is an important tool for consistent results.
More to Cook and Eat
- Apple Cookies (With Caramel) – try these soft apple cookies with a drizzle of your newly homemade caramel sauce!
- Apple Cake with Caramel – this apple cake is so good, it will be devoured with or without caramel. But nobody will be mad when you add a bit of caramel on top.
- Caramel Apple Cheesecake Dip – this easy, tasty treat is perfect for appetizers or part of a dessert buffet.
- Salted Caramel White Chocolate Cheesecake Bites – these decadent cheesecake morsels have been hailed by readers as the best thing they’ve ever tasted!
Did you make this?
Please give us a rating and comment below. We love hearing from you!
Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce (4-Ingredient)
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 6 TB unsalted butter, sliced into 1-inch pieces and softened
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 tsp flaky sea salt
Instructions
- In a deep saucepan, place sugar in an even layer. Heat sugar over medium-high heat, whisking frequently. Once sugar starts melting down, whisk continuously until all the clumps are melted into liquid (this can happen quickly, so watch carefully that the sugar doesn't burn. See video in original article for visual.)
- Immediately turn heat down to medium and insert candy thermometer into the melted sugar; gently stir until liquid turns reddish-brown in color — the minute your thermometer reaches 350F, slowly add the butter — caramel will bubble up, so be careful.
- Continue to gently stir until fully melted; try not to let mixture splash up the sides of the pan. Once mixture is smooth, immediately remove pan from heat. Carefully pour in the cream and whisk until a smooth thick sauce forms. Whisk in the flaky salt. Let sauce cool to almost-room temp before drizzling over dessert. Store leftover sauce in airtight glass container in fridge for future use.
Notes
- If you can’t find flaky sea salt, you can use coarse kosher salt in a pinch.
- Caramel sauce can be kept in an airtight glass jar in fridge for up to a month. Great for gift-giving, too.
- Chilled caramel sauce may need slight reheating in microwave before drizzling.
- If you enjoyed this recipe, please come back and give it a rating ♡