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Looking for the best homemade caramel sauce that’s completely fail-proof? This easy caramel sauce recipe comes together in under 20 minutes and is perfect for topping cakes, drizzling over ice cream, stirring into coffee drinks, or dipping apples and marshmallows in. Rich, buttery, and silky smooth, this homemade caramel sauce is better than anything you’ll find in stores. Plus, it’s so simple to make, you won’t believe how delicious it is straight from the spoon
There’s nothing better than a jar of rich, buttery homemade caramel sauce. Especially when it comes together in under 15 minutes! This fail-proof caramel sauce recipe is perfect for topping cakes, cupcakes, brownies, and ice cream, or even swirling into your morning coffee.
The best part? You don’t need a candy thermometer to make this recipe. Just a few simple ingredients, a little patience, and you’ll have the most decadent caramel sauce ever. It’s so much better than store-bought!
What’s so special about this caramel sauce?
- Store well in the fridge or freezer.
- Ready in 15 minutes or less.
- No candy thermometer required.
- Rich, buttery flavor that’s better than store-bought.
- Perfect for drizzling over desserts, coffee, or fresh fruit.
Let’s Chit Chat!
I have always made caramel growing up, mainly because I LOVED eating it, but also because it barely required anything. Just sugar, water, cream and butter (plus some lemon juice). I would honestly eat this by the spoonful anytime I made it!
Eventually, I realized that so many people struggled with making this from scratch, so I had to bring you my fail-proof recipe! I hope you love it as much as we do!!
Table of Contents
- What’s so special about this caramel sauce?
- Ingredients for homemade caramel sauce
- Ingredients for homemade caramel sauce
- Storage instructions
- How to use homemade caramel sauce?
- Frequently asked questions
- Homemade caramel sauce recipe Recipe
- If you enjoyed this easy fail proof caramel sauce, make sure to pin it for later!
Ingredients for homemade caramel sauce
You only need a handful of ingredients to make this basic, silky smooth caramel sauce:
- Sugar: The base of your caramel that adds the perfect sweetness to our sauce.
- Cream of tartar- Prevents crystallization and keeps the sauce smooth. Substitute with 1/4 teaspoon of lemon juice if you’d like.
- Water– Helps the sugar dissolve evenly as it heats up.
- Butter – Add richness and deep caramel flavor. You can use salted or unsalted butter here.
- Heavy cream: Keeps the sauce creamy and pourable.
- Sea salt (optional): for a salted caramel version! I love a good flaky sea salt caramel sauce!
Tip- If you don’t have cream of tartar or lemon juice, you can still make this recipe. Just be extra careful to brush down the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush to prevent sugar crystals from forming.
Ingredients for homemade caramel sauce
You only need a handful of ingredients to make this basic, silky smooth caramel sauce:
- Sugar: The base of your caramel that adds the perfect sweetness to our sauce.
- Cream of tartar- Prevents crystallization and keeps the sauce smooth. Substitute with 1/4 teaspoon of lemon juice if you’d like.
- Water– Helps the sugar dissolve evenly as it heats up.
- Butter – Add richness and deep caramel flavor. You can use salted or unsalted butter here.
- Heavy cream: Keeps the sauce creamy and pourable.
- Sea salt (optional): for a salted caramel version! I love a good flaky sea salt caramel sauce!
Tip- If you don’t have cream of tartar or lemon juice, you can still make this recipe. Just be extra careful to brush down the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush to prevent sugar crystals from forming.
Storage instructions
Fridge: Store in an airtight container for up to 1 month.
Freezer: Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator, then warm up before using.
Reheating: Microwave in short bursts or warm gently on the stovetop until pourable.
How to use homemade caramel sauce?
Having a jar of caramel sauce on hand is always a good idea. Here are some of my favorite ways to use it:
- Drizzle over ice cream, brownies, or cookies!
- Use as a dip for apples, pretzels, or marshmallows.
- Swirl into oatmeal or yogurt for a sweet breakfast.
- Blend into milkshakes or smoothies.
- Drizzle over cakes, cheesecakes, and cupcakes.
Share your favorite ways to use caramel sauce in the comments, I’d love to hear them!
Frequently asked questions
Does caramel sauce need to be refrigerated?
Yes! Because it contains dairy, always store caramel sauce in the fridge to prevent spoilage.
Why did my caramel sauce crystallize?
This happens when sugar splashes onto the sides of the pan. Use cream of tartar with lemon juice to help prevent crystallization and avoid stirring once the sugar starts boiling to prevent the sugar syrup from getting up the sides of the pot.
My caramel sauce is hard and thick. How can I fix it?
The caramel will naturally thicken as it is chilled in the fridge. To make it a little thinner and more pourable, gently heat up it up in the microwave or on the stovetop until it reaches your desired consistency. The more you heat it, the thinner it will become.
Do I need a candy thermometer to make caramel?
Nope! This recipe is designed to be fail-proof without a candy thermometer. The sugar mixture is ready when it turns a deep amber color. Once it reaches that point, remove it from the heat immediately to prevent burning.
Homemade caramel sauce recipe
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/8 tsp cream of tartar read notes for substitutes
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2-1 tsp sea salt flakes optional
Instructions
- Start by adding the sugar and the water, and the cream of tartar to a heavy bottomed saucepan and place over medium high heat.
- Cook until the sugar dissolves and starts to turn a golden amber colored. Lift the saucepan and gently swirl to make sure that the caramel is evenly cooking. Sometimes, you might notice that the caramel is darkening faster in certain areas than others so that gentle swirl will help with that. This will take about 10-12 minutes
- Turn the heat off and add in the butter and the heavy cream immediately. Stir using a wooden spoon to get everything well incorporated.
- If the caramel looks clumpy, place the sauce pan back on the stove on medium heat and stir until it is smooth. You can now add in some sea salt or just let the caramel sauce cool to room temperature before transferring to a jar and into the fridge it goes!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
If you enjoyed this easy fail proof caramel sauce, make sure to pin it for later!
Have you tried this with brown sugar, instead of white? If so, how was it? Thank you.
I haven’t tried this one with brown instead of white sugar but that would be butterscotch. I am working on a recipe for that coming soon!
love the recipe 😋
I’m so glad you liked it!
can this be made into caramel pieces (like werthers)?
No unfortunately it won’t fully harden at room temperature. But! I am currently working on a homemade hard caramel candy recipe that will be out very soon! Keep an eye out for it on my social media 🙂
Very easy to make. I haven’t actually eaten it yet because it has not yet cooled. I noticed 2 minor typos in the recipe: 1) Under Ingredients – “seal salt flakes” should be “…sea salt flakes” . The last step of the directions says ” let the caramel sauce cook to room temperature”. It should be ” let the caramel sauce cool to room temperature “. Thank you.
I’m glad you liked it and thanks for catching those and letting me know 🙂
Thanks for the excellent directions and helpful tips. This was the science I needed! I made a French Silk Chocolate Caramel with homemade graham cracker crust and whipped cream. So incredible!
That sounds so good I love that!!
am I supposed to stir it before I add the butter, or just let it heat and caramelize?
Hi Jamie! Great question. Once the sugar, water, and cream of tartar are on the stove, you’ll want to avoid stirring while it’s caramelizing. Stirring at that stage can cause the sugar to crystallize and turn grainy. Instead, just let it cook on its own and give the pan a gentle swirl here and there so that it caramelizes evenly. Once it turns a nice amber color, then you stir in the butter and cream to make it silky smooth. Hope this helps 🙂
This was amazing! I’ve only made caramel sauce once before and it turned out super tough and grainy – this was perfect on my first try. I shared the recipe with my family as this is now a go-to recipe for me!
OMG yay! I’m glad it’s your go-to recipe now 😁
I just finished making this and it definitely was super easy! It was my first time ever making caramel and I probably won’t buy it from the store ever again xD
It literally tastes exactly like those caramel candies all our grandma’s used to have <3 I'm using it for the twix copycat cookies and can't wait to lick the bowl after lol
OMG what a compliment! Thank you for trying out the recipe! 🙂
Hi! Tanks for the recipe! Will this sauce work on your pretzel chocolate caramel bark?
This sauce will stay a little runny, so if you’re looking for a thicker caramel for your recipe, reduce the butter and cream slightly to achieve a thicker consistency.