Name: Easy Homemade Caramel Sauce
Prep time: 3 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 13 min
Ingredients: 1 cup granulated sugar; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter; 1/4 cup heavy cream; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Jump to Recipe

Keeping things sweet today with this Easy Homemade Caramel Sauce. It’s everyone’s favorite topping, just made better and easier! This delicious sauce is only made with 5 very simple ingredients…sugar, salt, heavy cream, butter, and vanilla. This caramel sauce takes only minutes to prepare, is gluten free, vegetarian, and needs absolutely no specialty equipment to make. You definitely can’t beat this sauce, it’s delicious and actually really easy to make! It’s also SO much better than anything you can buy at the store.

a jar of caramel sauce on a wood board with caramel running over the edge

About The Recipe

Caramel sauce is just one of those necessities for dessert, you know? It may be sticky and get everywhere…but you just can’t beat the amazing flavor it adds to everything!

I, personally, am a huge fan of just vanilla ice cream with a load of this dumped on top. It’s classic! But, you can really add this to just about anything. My personal favorite as of late is this drizzled over the top of homemade beignets…

a spoon with caramel sauce running off it into a jar

But, I know what you’re probably thinking. Caramel sauce is sugar work, and that is considered a very difficult thing to do. Trust me though, this recipe couldn’t be any easier! The hardest part is waiting for the sugar to melt.

Oh, and not taking a bite as soon as this comes off the heat. Actually, I definitely think letting it cool is the hardest part about making this.

But once you have it, you can keep it for a while and use it for all of your favorite desserts!

a jar of caramel sauce on a wood serving board

Equipment Needed

Small Pot
Wooden Spoon
Whisk

Ingredients

Sugar
Salt
Butter
Heavy Cream
Vanilla

sugar, salt, heavy cream, vanilla, and butter

Instructions

In a small pot, combine the sugar and salt. Let cook over low heat, stirring constantly until the sugar melts and becomes smooth. About 10 minutes. Take off the heat.

Stir in the butter, but careful! This will bubble up.

butter added to caramel with a whisk in the pot

Now, stir in the cream!

Once everything is thoroughly combined, simply stir in the vanilla, transfer into a jar, and let cool!

finished caramel sauce in a small pot on a marble counter

How To Store

The one thing you need to know is that caramel sauce will thicken when it cools. So, keep this in mind when you’re storing because it can be very messy!

The best thing to do is to keep on the counter or in the refrigerator.

You could also freeze this sauce! It will keep for about 3 months in the freezer.

a jar of caramel with a spoon of caramel sauce pouring into it

Expert Tips

When you’re melting the sugar, make sure you keep stirring! It burns very quickly.
The hardest thing about candy is burner temperatures! We cook on a natural gas range so, our low could be your medium. Keep an eye on the sugar and adjust as necessary!
A wooden spoon is the best to stir with, but you can use a whisk.
Make sure you stir around the corners as well, not just the center!
The caramel will bubble intensely after each addition – butter, cream, vanilla. Be careful!
This recipe is vegetarian and gluten free!

When you make this Easy Homemade Caramel Sauce, leave a comment down below! We love hearing from you and answering any questions you might have! Also, be sure to tag us on social media and hashtag it #BakersTable.