This homemade Salted Caramel Sauce recipe is simple to make with these easy-to-follow instructions. This is an easy recipe that I always have in my pantry. Plus, there’s a recipe video below!

This recipe serves eight and costs about $3.03 to make, that’s just $0.38 per serving! 

Finished caramel recipe with text overlay for Pinterest.

Salted Caramel Sauce

This salted caramel recipe is the perfect topping or addition to ice cream, cheesecake, cakes, cupcakes, sweetbreads, layered desserts, hot chocolate, waffles, and more!

It’s also the perfect dip for granny smith apples! I often have a jar of this luscious salted caramel sauce in my refrigerator, and the entire family loves it!

A spoon inside a jar of salted caramel.

Not only is this recipe super easy to make, but it’s also fun to make. My daughter and I love watching the sugar melt; it’s not something you get to do in the kitchen everyday!

Let me show you how easy this salted caramel recipe is to make!

P.S. No candy thermometer needed!

How to Make Salted Caramel Sauce Recipe:

A picture collage of the different steps of making salted caramel sauce with text overlay for Pinterest.

  1. Add the sugar to the pot and heat over medium-high heat, constantly stirring with a heat-resistant rubber spatula.
  2. Melt the sugar until the clumps are gone, and you’re left with a beautiful light-brown liquid.
  3. Add the butter and vanilla, and continuously stir until the butter is completely melted.
  4. Slowly pour in the heavy cream, and boil the mixture for 1 minute.
  5. Remove the caramel sauce from the heat and stir in the salt.
  6. Let the mixture cool for 10 minutes, then pour it into an uncovered jar until it has cooled completely. Cover the jar after it’s cooled and store the salted caramel sauce in the refrigerator.

Once the salted caramel sauce cools, you’re ready to drizzle some into your mouth your ice cream, hot chocolate, or any dessert you’d like! Caramel drizzling off of a spoon into a jar of sauce.

Cook’s Note:

  • With this salted caramel recipe, you need to stir constantly the entire time it’s on the stovetop. It takes only 7 minutes, so put down your phone and make sure the kids are occupied for the next 7 minutes. You want to keep this mixture moving because it can burn very quickly.
  • If you use unsalted butter, add 3/4 teaspoon of salt to the caramel sauce in step 5. If you use salted butter, add 1/2 teaspoon salt to the caramel sauce in step 5.
  • The vanilla bean seeds are completely optional in this recipe. I like using them because I feel they heighten the luscious caramel flavor! You can use 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla bean paste instead of the vanilla bean seeds.
  • I do not recommend doubling this recipe. I’ve tried to a few times, and the sugar doesn’t melt properly. I end up with shards of sugar in my sauce, which is not ideal at all!
  • When I want to make a lot of this salted caramel sauce for gifting or whatnot, I just make back-to-back batches.
  • You can keep this salted caramel sauce at room temperature for about a day—anything longer than that, and you’ll want to keep it in the refrigerator.
  • This sauce will keep, covered in an air-tight jar, for about 2-3 weeks, but I doubt it will last that long!

Cook’s Tools and Special Ingredients:

Picture collage with text overlay for Pinterest.

How much will this Salted Caramel Sauce recipe cost to make?

RECIPE COST: $3.03

COST PER SERVING: $0.38

NOTE: The recipe prices are calculated by using grocery store websites. The actual cost of the recipe will vary depending on what ingredients you already have.

1 cup granulated sugar – $0.23

6 Tablespoons unsalted butter – $0.60

1 vanilla bean – $1.60

1/2 cup heavy cream – $0.59

3/4 teaspoon salt – $0.01 

More Caramel Dessert Recipes:

A spoon getting a scoop of caramel sauce that's in a storage jar.
4.63 from 8 votes

Salted Caramel Recipe

Author Jillian - a Food, Folks and Fun original!
Recipe Cost $ 3.03
Serving Cost $ 0.38
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 7 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 7 minutes
8 people
This homemade Salted Caramel recipe is so simple to make with these easy-to-follow instructions. With this easy recipe, you'll be in salted caramel bliss in no time!

Equipment

  • heavy-bottomed saucepan
  • heat-resistant rubber spatula
  • vanilla bean or vanilla bean paste
  • storage jar

Ingredients
 
 

  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter see note below
  • 1 vanilla bean seeds removed (optional)
  • ½ cup heavy cream
  • ¾ teaspoon salt

Instructions

  • In a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, heat the sugar. Stir constantly with a heat-resistant rubber spatula.
  • The sugar will clump, but it will eventually melt. Keep stirring until the sugar melts into a light brown liquid, about 3-4 minutes.
  • Once the sugar melts, immediately add in butter and vanilla bean seeds (if using). Stir constantly until butter is melted, about 1-2 minutes.
  • Slowly pour in heavy cream while stirring constantly. Continue stirring until mixture comes up to a boil. Keep stirring and boil for 1 minute.
  • Remove pan from heat and add salt, stirring until combined.
  • Let sauce cool for 10 minutes, then pour into a glass jar. Cool completely with the lid open, then cover and store in the refrigerator. The salted caramel sauce will thicken as it cools.

Video

Notes

  • With this salted caramel recipe, you need to stir constantly the entire time it's on the stovetop. It takes only 7 minutes, so put down your phone and make sure the kids are occupied for the next 7 minutes. You want to keep this mixture moving because it can burn very quickly.
  • If you use unsalted butter, add 3/4 teaspoon of salt to the caramel sauce in step 5. If you use salted butter, add 1/2 teaspoon salt to the caramel sauce in step 5.
  • The vanilla bean seeds are completely optional in this recipe. I like using them because I feel they heighten the luscious caramel flavor! You can use 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla bean paste instead of the vanilla bean seeds.
  • I do not recommend doubling this recipe. I've tried to a few times, and the sugar doesn't melt properly. I end up with shards of sugar in my sauce, which is not ideal at all!
  • When I want to make a lot of this salted caramel sauce for gifting or whatnot, I just make back-to-back batches.
  • You can keep this salted caramel sauce at room temperature for about a day—anything longer than that, and you'll want to keep it in the refrigerator.
  • This sauce will keep, covered in an air-tight jar, for about 2-3 weeks, but I doubt it will last that long!

Nutrition

Serving: 2Tablespoons | Calories: 225kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 43mg | Sodium: 225mg | Potassium: 11mg | Sugar: 25g | Vitamin A: 481IU | Calcium: 12mg

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14 Comments

  1. Rebekah | Kitchen Gidget says:

    Thank you for all the great tips! Homemade caramel sauce is SO much better than anything store bought!

    1. I agree, so so SO much better than store bought!

  2. Sam | Ahead of Thyme says:

    Yummmm I love salted caramel sauce! I did a similar post! It’s sooo good on green apples 🙂

  3. Bintu | Recipes From A Pantry says:

    One day soon I will actually make salted caramel at home myself. Yours looks sooooooo good.

  4. I just love working with salted caramel so much that I need a dedicated post as well. I’d bathe in it if it just weren’t weird!! 🙂

    1. I love it, too. And I don’t think it’s weird to want to bathe in it. 😉

  5. Barbara Carlos says:

    Just made today. It came out DELICIOUS! Thank you!

    1. Yay, I’m so glad you loved it! Thanks for letting me know! 🙂

  6. Nellie Tracy says:

    This is a great recipe for salted caramel. Perfectly salty and sweet!

  7. wilhelmina says:

    This sauce is so perfect! It was easy to make and absolutely delicious, this recipe is going to get a lot of use at our house!

  8. This caramel sauce was the bomb on the ice cream pie we made!

  9. My MOM LOVES salted caramel. She would be so impressed if I made it!

  10. This salted caramel sauce looks amazing! My daughter and I were just talking a few days ago about how we’d love some apples with caramel sauce. Definitely making this soon!