Make this simple 4-ingredient sweet salted caramel sauce at home with ease—no candy thermometer required! Ready in just 10 minutes, this rich homemade caramel is perfect for drizzling over cakes, cupcakes, cookies, pound cake, ice cream, cheesecake, scones, salted caramel apple pie, and more!
I originally published this recipe in 2013 and have since added new photos, a video tutorial, and additional success tips. This recipe is such a fan favorite, that it deserved a spot in print! You’ll also find this recipe in my cookbook, Sally’s Baking 101.
What once intimidated me became the subject of my 2nd cookbook: Sally’s Candy Addiction. As it turns out, homemade candy isn’t all that difficult. And salted caramel sauce is one of the easiest. There’s only 4 ingredients required: sugar, butter, heavy cream, and salt.
This salted caramel is a reader favorite recipe, consistently marking its spot in the top 10 most popular recipes on my website and published in 2 of my cookbooks. It’s sweet, buttery, and tastes phenomenal on anything it touches. (Though you really only need a spoon to enjoy.)
Trust me, after trying this 1 time, you’ll be hooked like the rest of us!
How to Make Salted Caramel
Use the written out instructions below, but here’s the basic process: The first step is to melt sugar, which is called caramelization. This requires 1 small (stainless steel, not nonstick) pot/saucepan and a wooden spoon. Stir until melted and caramelized. Stir in butter, then stir in heavy cream and let it boil for 1 minute. Finally, add the salt.
That’s it, the caramel is done.
As always, use caution when cooking over the stove because the hot liquid, butter, and cream may splatter. If needed, kitchen gloves come in handy.
No Candy Thermometer Required
Unlike most caramel recipes, this salted caramel doesn’t require a candy thermometer. Instead, I encourage you to follow the recipe and use your eyes to determine when to add the next ingredient. If you’d like to be precise and use a candy thermometer, the temperature will rise to about 220°F (104°C), and that’s when the caramel is done on the stove.
The caramel thickens as it cools.
What to Eat With Salted Caramel?
You will love homemade salted caramel with sweets like cinnamon rolls, cheesecake, and apple pie bars. Use it as a dip for apples, spoon over ice cream, or pour into decorated jars and gift it for the holidays.
The possibilities for salted caramel are endless:
- Turtle Brownies
- Burnt Sugar Caramel Cake
- Caramel Apple Cheesecake Pie
- Caramel Coconut Macaroon Thumbprints
- Butterscotch Pudding
- Snickers Caramel Tart
- Apple Cupcakes (pictured above)
- Caramel Dipped Pretzels
- Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake
- Salted Caramel Apple Pie & Apple Cake
- Cheesecake Pie
- Chocolate Bread Pudding
- Apple Turnovers
- Caramel Turtle Cheesecake
- Apple Cider French Toast
- Dutch Baby Pancake
- Cake Mix Chocolate Cupcakes
- Skillet Brownie
- Apple Cobbler
- Apple Cinnamon Scones
- Topping for Homemade Eclairs
- Drizzled on cookies like Shortbread, Brownie Cookies, and Snickerdoodles
- As a filling for your favorite cupcake recipe (see my How to Fill Cupcakes post for all the details)
- Butterscotch Pie & Apple Pie Bars (both pictured below)
What Is the Consistency Like?
The caramel is liquid as it comes off heat. As the caramel cools, it solidifies into a chewy texture. After refrigerating, the caramel is hard and you must heat it up to bring it back to a liquid consistency. Do you need a thinner caramel? Feel free to add 2 more Tablespoons of heavy cream to the recipe.
Can I Skip the Salt to Make Regular Caramel?
If you’re looking for a sweet caramel, rather than a salted caramel, you can still use this recipe. Do not cut out the salt completely because the caramel’s sweetness will be overpowering. Instead, reduce the salt to 1/2 teaspoon.
No. You can’t really turn this sauce into a homemade wrapped candy. Instead, try my soft caramel candies recipe which is a little different.
This caramel is not thick enough to coat apples for caramel apples. Instead, I recommend my homemade caramel apples recipe.
Yes. When the caramel is done, it’s thin and liquid. As the caramel cools, it thickens. After refrigerating, it thickens even more and must be reheated to thin out and use as a topping or dip.
This caramel isn’t ideal to layer between cake layers because it will just spill out the sides under the weight of top layers. However, it’s great as a filling for cupcakes, such as these chocolate caramel coconut cupcakes. See How To Fill Cupcakes for more info!
How to Store Salted Caramel
After the caramel cools down, pour it into a glass jar or container. Refrigerate for up to 1 month. The caramel solidifies as it cools, but you can reheat in the microwave or on the stove so it’s liquid again. You can freeze the salted caramel, too. Freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature, then warm up before using.
Print
Homemade Salted Caramel Recipe
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 1 cup (290g)
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Cooking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Made from only 4 simple ingredients, this homemade caramel is salty, sweet, and irresistibly buttery. No candy thermometer required and the possibilities for serving are endless. (Though just a spoon is acceptable!) Use caution as the cooking caramel may splatter. Stand back and wear kitchen gloves if desired. Review recipe notes prior to beginning. This recipe is also in my cookbook, Sally’s Baking 101.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar (make sure it’s labeled “pure cane”)*
- 6 Tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into 6 pieces
- 1/2 cup (120g/ml) heavy cream, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In a medium heavy-duty stainless steel saucepan (do not use nonstick) over medium heat, cook the sugar, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or heat-safe silicone spatula. Sugar will form clumps and eventually melt into a thick brown, amber-colored liquid as you continue to stir. On my stove, this takes about 6 minutes. Stir constantly, especially around the bottom edges, and be careful not to let it burn.
- Once the sugar is completely melted, reduce the heat to low and stir in the butter. Be careful in this step because the caramel will bubble rapidly when the butter is added. (If you’re nervous for splatter, wear kitchen gloves.) Cook and stir constantly until the butter is melted and well combined. If you notice the butter separating or if the sugar clumps up, remove the pan from heat and vigorously whisk to combine it again. Keep whisking until it comes back together, even if it takes 3–4 minutes. It will eventually—just keep whisking. Return to heat when it’s combined again.
- Very slowly and carefully pour in the heavy cream, stirring constantly. Since the heavy cream is colder than the hot caramel, the mixture will rapidly bubble and steam when added. When all of the heavy cream has been added, stop stirring, increase the heat to medium, and let it boil for 1 minute. It will rise in the pan as it boils. If you’d like to be precise and use a candy thermometer, the temperature should reach 220°F (104°C).
- Remove from heat and stir in the salt. The caramel will be a thin liquid at this point. Allow to slightly cool and thicken before using. Caramel thickens considerably as it cools.
- Cover tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 1 month. Caramel solidifies in the refrigerator. Reheat in the microwave or on the stove to desired consistency.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: You can make this caramel in advance. Make sure it is covered tightly and store it for up to 1 month in the refrigerator. Warm the caramel up for a few seconds before using in a recipe. See “What Is the Texture of This Salted Caramel?” in the post above. This caramel is OK at room temperature for a day if you’re traveling or gifting it. You can freeze the salted caramel, too. Freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature, then warm up before using.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Medium Heavy-Duty Saucepan (do not use nonstick) | Wooden Spoon | Candy Thermometer (like this one or this one)—optional
- Sugar: This recipe is most successful using granulated sugar that’s labeled “pure cane” on the packaging. I usually use and recommend Domino brand regular granulated sugar which says “pure cane granulated” on the packaging.
- Heavy Cream: Heavy cream (approximately 36% milk fat) may also be sold as whipping cream. Light whipping cream (30% milk fat), or double cream (48% milk fat) may be substituted. Do not use half-and-half or milk. Room-temperature cream is best.
- Salt: Use regular table salt or kosher salt. If using larger flaky salt, add 1 teaspoon, taste, then add more if desired. This recipe works with 1 teaspoon of any variety of salt. You can always add 3/4 teaspoon, taste, then add more if desired.
- Caramel Candies: This caramel is great as a sauce, topping, or filling, but won’t set up properly to make soft caramel candies. Here is my soft caramels recipe.
- Regular Caramel Sauce: If you want to make regular caramel, reduce salt to 1/2 teaspoon. Do not leave it out completely.
- Larger Batches: Avoid doubling or tripling this recipe. The added volume could prevent the sugar from melting evenly and properly. Make multiple batches instead.
Reader Comments and Reviews
I cant wait to try this. How can I get this to a thicker consistency for macaron filling?
Hi Brenda, this recipe works great as-is (when cooled) for filling in macarons. Let us know if you try it!
I was so nervous to make this. I’m an old lady & had never made Carmel. This was so easy. I made it in my cast iron skillet & it worked great. Tastes wonderful & is so pretty. Going to put it on your pumpkin Bundt cake.
Hi Sally! I love your recipes, I use them for everything! Is there a way to thin it out a bit? I wanted to use it as a drizzle.
Hi Jocelyn, We recommend adding 2-3 extra Tablespoons of heavy cream to the recipe when you stir in the heavy cream. This will thin out the caramel so it’s softer, although it will still solidify as it cools (especially if drizzled on cold ice cream!).
Can I add a little corn syrup to keep it from crystalizing?
Hi Jane, if yours is crystallizing, it sounds like your stove may have been a bit too hot. For next time, you can turn down the heat a bit and be sure to constantly mix to prevent any sticking. Using a stainless steel, not nonstick pot/saucepan is crucial, too. We don’t recommend adding corn syrup to this particular recipe. Hope this helps for your next batch!
Very delicious and so easy to make. Easy to follow direction. This will be my go to caramel sauce.
Can salted butter be used in the caramel and omit the added salt?
Hi Cathy, You can use salted butter and reduce the added salt depending on how salty you would like the caramel.
To Sally and all of her hard workers,
Would it be ok to use the stainless steel bottom of a double boiler used from the 60’s or how about the whole piece of any double boiler? What do you think?
Hi Sally, I’ve loved every recipe I’ve made from you so far ( its a lot!)
I was wondering if this caramel would harden enough to stack the cookies without sticking g together?
Hi Mary! If the cookies remain cool then the caramel won’t turn into a sticky mess but it won’t completely harden, so stacking may not be best. Thank you for making and trusting our recipes!
I’m so excited to make this but I am a beginner baker and kind of intimidated by it. I want to make this for the salted caramel mini chocolate chip cheesecakes but I won’t be serving them right away and I read that the salted caramel hardens in the fridge. Can it be stored at room temperature to avoid that? Also, if I top the cheesecakes with the caramel and put the uneaten ones in the fridge, will the cheesecakes become too hard to eat?
Hi Kacey, the caramel is best stored in the refrigerator and shouldn’t be left at room temperature. You could wait to make the salted caramel and top the cheesecake before serving, if possible, or, you can make and assemble them completely and then take them out a bit before serving so they soften up a bit. Either way, they won’t be too hard to eat directly from the refrigerator. Hope this helps!
The taste i great. I was stirring and using a instant thermometer to get to 220. I didn’t want to burn it but it has chunks of sugar in it. What did I do wrong?
Hi Bill! We would try a slightly lower heat next time to more evenly melt the sugar.
This is by far the best caramel recipe I’ve ever used. ! Made this to go along with the hand held spoke pies. Absolutely relishes !
Sally, I haven’t made yet as I need your advice on whether this would work as a topping on your cheesecake swirl carrot Bundt cake that I messed up today as it broke terribly coming out of the Bundt pan, but looks rather amazing “almost trifle”like in a glass bowl. Thought about serving as a pudding cake!!! – and using the caramel sauce.
Hi Catherine, this would be a great topping on the Bundt cake!
Can you can this salted caramel sauce? If so would it need a water bath, or pressure canner?
Hi Jackie, we haven’t tried canning this salted caramel before so we’re unsure of how it will work/preserve. Let us know if you do give it a try.
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I’ve tried making caramel so many times in the past and it never worked out—probably because I was always using a nonstick pan. This recipe was perfect! The instructions clearly explained to use a stainless steel saucepan, and the step-by-step guidance made it easy to follow (even when it looked like the caramel might separate). Smooth, delicious caramel at last! Thank you for such a great recipe and website.
I made two batches of the salted caramel today. One I will put in the freezer and the other I will use for ice cream and my apple pie…after all it is apple season. I live in an altitude of 8500 feet so I did have to adjust my reading for my candy thermometer to 206° instead of 222°F. I found the calculations to do that in “thespruceeats.com”. Sally your description and pictures made it possible for me to make the caramel sauce! Thank you.
Tastes divine and easy to make. Only problem was that I chilled it overnight to use it with the salted caramel apple pie. When I took it out of the fridge it was rock hard so I put it in a bowl of very hot water to soften to pourable consistency. It started to get very greasy as the fat from the butter and cream split from the rest of the caramel. Instead of drizzling it over the pie I dolloped it. When I was ready to serve the pie I gently heated the rest of the caramel in a saucepan and it was still split and greasy. In desperation I added a splash of cream and that rescued it – it was smooth and stable again. Might want to add that to tips on using it.
I am a dedicated Sally’s Baking fan, but this recipe has failed me every time. I try following it exactly as written and always end up with a solid rock stuck to my whisk after trying to get the butter to incorporate. I have wasted so many ingredients trying to get it right 🙁 I would love to see some more troubleshooting photos to help me know where I went wrong.
Hi Anne, I’m so sorry this one has given you such a hard time. I know how frustrating it is when something doesn’t come together, especially after trying multiple times. It sounds like the sugar may be seizing up when the butter is added. That happens when the sugar is a bit too hot or the butter is too cold. Next time, try removing the pan from heat for just a few seconds before adding the butter, and make sure the butter is cut into pieces and at room temperature. If the caramel clumps up or turns hard on the whisk, don’t toss it, just return it to low heat and whisk gently until smooth again. All is not lost! And thank you for the suggestion about more step photos to help with troubleshooting. I know that would certainly be helpful with questions like this.
Hi Sally. I made the caramel sauce today using cane sugar but the sauce turned darker brown and has a strong flavour. First I thought maybe I had burned it but I don’t think I did. Also my sugar was a tan colour to begin with, not white like yours in the photos. My regular white sugar doesn’t mention what it is made from so that’s why I bought cane. I’m a bit disappointed because I made it to go on your cream cheese filled chocolate Bundt cake. Other than the colour and strong flavour the sauce has a great texture and you are my go to for most of my baked goods. I am curious why you use granulated sugar made from sugar cane and not granulated white sugar from sugar beets.
Hi Susan, cane sugar melts more evenly, which makes it easier to achieve a smooth caramel, whereas beet sugar is more likely to crystallize or seize. But the cane sugar we use here in the U.S. is white, not tan, so we are wondering whether the cane sugar you used is different where you are? That would likely be the cause of the darker color and stronger flavor.
Hello. I love the caramel sauce for your caramel corn. It is slightly more involved than this one but, can I use that one in place of this? It doesn’t crystallize in my experience. Or is it specific to that recipe? I’m assuming, because it requires baking.
Thank you.
Hi Camilla, The caramel from our caramel corn recipe is a little different from this salted caramel sauce recipe, which is more like drizzle or garnish. The caramel corn version is a caramel sauce that has some elasticity (thanks to the corn syrup), and holding power. Meaning it can cling nicely to the popcorn, and not melt off. It’s best to reserve that version for caramel corn. Hope this helps!
Tried it with half amount. Well, it succeeded, but adding the butter was a bit messy – I shouldn’t pull it out from heat, as it started crystallization hard, which never turned back to normal – just as about 15% of the sugar, which sticked to the pan’s side and on the wooden spoon. Stirring seemed unnecessary as well (for the melting sugar), since it melted only when I let it undisturbed. At the end, I filtered out the liquid which was really nice and tasted well!
So be prepared as it’ll need strength, stamina, and difficult washing afterwards!
I would give more stars is possible for this salted caramel sauce. Your recipes never fail to please! Eagerly awaiting your new book in my mail.
When I follow your recipes and DIRECTIONS to the letter of your process the result is always first rate. This time I inadvertently used granulated sugar instead of pure cane sugar and there is a difference!
This is my go-to salted caramel sauce recipe. I need something to put between the layers of an 8-inch cake. Is there anyway to modify this recipe to use it for my layer cake? (I see a few recipes elsewhere online, but I trust yours more. And once you weed out the ones that don’t weight ingredients, it’s pretty slim pickings out there.)
I used a silicone spatula and the heat of the caramel made my spatula change color and smell toxic. I just checked on the Internet, and silicone spatulas when cooking at high heat can decompose and leach toxic chemicals. I had to throw the entire batch out. I would perhaps change the recipe so that it recommends using a wooden spoon only.
Hi Sally,
I just want to ask if you think I can use this salted caramel sauce as a filling for a chocolate 9-inch layer cake or it’s not suitable as a cake filling? Thank you very much for your assistance.
Hi Liz, This salted caramel is a little too loose to use as a filling on its own. You could pipe a buttercream “dam” around the edge, then fill the centers with salted caramel, or fold this caramel into vanilla buttercream. Let us know what you try!
absolutely turned out delicious but I made this to put on top of tres leches and realized there’s no tres leches recipe by Sally, I will be needing one immediately thank you ❣️
I also had a hard time combining the sugar and butter, they were fully separated and didn’t combine at all so I added the heavy cream anyways and it turned out really good!
Hello. At what altitude are your recipes developed? I need this info to do my high altitude conversions. Thanks!
Hi Laura, our recipes are developed at around 300-400 feet elevation.
Would this be a good consistency for filling the cruffins with?
Hi Alia, you can use it as cruffin filling, yes! You’ll need to let it cool for about 30 minutes first. Follow the instructions from this recipe for chocolate caramel coconut cupcakes
Dear Sally, I’ve made this caramel to incorporate into the apple pie recipe you have written out, and I have to say… It has little crystalized bits, but I have NEVER made anything as tasty as this. I have shamelessly licked all caramel from the spatula. I’m never buying salted caramel again.
THANK YOU
Hello Sally. I enjoy your recipes and have made and continue to make many of them.
Can I swirl this sauce in my apple cinnamon batter for a bundt cake? Thank you!
Hi Beverly, We have not had any luck swirling it into cake batter, but it’s wonderful drizzled on top!
I haven’t made it yet but the effort that was put into the website and the videos is actually really nice, I’m just hoping it works as i am using this as part of my recipe for a fusion scone project were we have to fuse scones with another contrey, we are doing native australia
Let us know how it goes, Luke!
Works every time! Thank you xxx
Stir the sugar while melting? What a load of bs. Never stir it until it’s melted as this causes it to cristallize
This is incorrect. If making wet caramel (sugar with water), you should not stir it. You most definitely need to stir it when it’s dry (this method).