The easiest homemade Caramel Sauce made in minutes, with just 5 basic ingredients. Enjoy it on top of ice cream, in your hot chocolate, or literally over anything!
If you love caramel, you have to try my Homemade Caramels, Caramel Apples, Caramel Popcorn, Chocolate Covered Pretzels, or Chocolate Covered Marshmallows!
Homemade Caramel sauce is a big reward for little effort.
Homemade Caramel sauce is a big reward for little effort.Before you even think about buying an artificially flavored caramel sauce from the store, let me tell you how EASY it is to make yourself. You get that real, rich caramel flavor, with no of the additives or preservatives, and it will keep in the fridge for weeks. Drizzle it over pumpkin cheesecake, apple crisp, or better than sex cake. Use it for ice cream sundaes (with brownies and hot fudge, too), or as a dip for fresh sliced apples.
How to make Caramel Sauce:
Combine: Grease the sides of a saucepan, then add butter, brown sugar, water, and salt, and cook over medium-low, stirring constantly until butter is melted. Bring mixture to a boil then simmer on low for 5-8 minutes, stirring constantly. It should be golden brown and thickened (it will continue to thicken as it cools).
Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and evaporated milk. Add additional evaporated milk if you want a thinner consistency. Serve easy caramel sauce over ice cream, apple bundt cake, chocolate chip skillet cookie, or drizzle over pumpkin eggnog or hot cocoa.
Storage and Freezing Instructions:
To Store: Refrigerate leftover caramel sauce for up to 2 weeks. Rewarm in the microwave for a few seconds.
To Freeze: Store in a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw completely in the refrigerator before using.
Serve Caramel Sauce With:
- Caramel Apple Dip
- Pumpkin Cheesecake
- Baked Peaches
- Better Than Sex Cake
- Ice Cream Cake
- Bread Pudding
- Hot Cocoa
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Recipe
Homemade Caramel Sauce
Equipment
- saucepan
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup butter
- 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar , firmly packed
- 2 Tablespoons water
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup evaporated milk , or heavy cream, or more, to thin the sauce
Instructions
- Grease the sides of a medium saucepan with oil or non-stick spray. Add butter, brown sugar, water, and salt to saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the butter has melted.
- Bring the mixture to a boil., stirring constantly. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 5-8 minutes, stirring, until golden brown and thickened (keep in mind it will continue to thicken as it cools).
- Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and ½ cup evaporated milk. Add more evaporated milk if you'd like a thinner consistency.
- Store caramel sauce in a covered container or jar in the refrigerator for 1-2 weeks. Re-warm in the microwave for a few seconds, or on the stove over low heat.
Notes
Nutrition
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I originally shared this recipe September 2015. Updated May 2020 and October 2024.
Original recipe adapted from Food.com
This post contains affiliate links.
This recipe sounds great. But if you are open to suggestions, I’ll add that I don’t like photos of spilled food. It just screams MESS! No one wants to clean up spilled sauce.
This turned out very well. I substituted the vanilla extract because I ran out with rum extract and it turned out so good. It added alot of depth to the flavor. I will definitely be making this recipe again. I can’t wait to try it with vanilla like the recipe calls for. When ever I look for a recipe I search to see if this site has one first and they’ve never disapointed.
Made this late last night because it seemed easy and quick and it was DELICIOUS!! I seriously cannot stop eating it and even had enough to make small containers for my friends!
In-fricken-credible! I made this to be used in caramel apple cider, but I had a decent amount left over afterward, so we have been using it as a topping for ice cream & I cannot promote this enough!! The flavors, consistency, & mouth feel are all perfect. This is now something that we are going to keep in constant supply in the house.
So yummy! Wanted something for a ice cream sundae without all the chemicals and preservatives! This will be a go to for me!
Can I replace heavy cream in the caramel sauce with half & half?
Truthfully, I wasn’t sure how to rate the recipe, although the results are quite good so I went with 5, even though I had to wing it a bit. The ingredients and directions written below the photos aren’t consistent with the recipe below. Examples: under the photo it says “stir continuously until the butter melts”; but the recipe itself makes no mention of stirring. Under the photo lists 1/2 c. heavy cream or Evaporated Milk, the recipe only mentions Evaporated Milk. In the end, the inconsistencies were resolved by me opting to stir until the butter melted, bringing the mix to a boil, then stirring continuously while it simmered. I added about 3/4 c. Evaporated Milk, and 1 tbsp. vanilla and stirred until it was smooth. I don’t know if this is the best recipe for caramel sauce since this was the first batch I’ve made. Next time I’ll use the same basic idea but will try it with dark brown sugar as I think that would add a deeper layer of flavor. Still … all things considered, this is definitely good enough to serve (and eat!).
This is the easiest way to make caramel, your instructions are spot on. I like that you use simple ingredients and what I have at home. Tastes great. I am waiting to see how well it stores in the refrigerator. Thank you.
The ingredients are highlighted beautifully in this recipe. It is rich with buttery sweetness and a nice hint of vanilla. The tones are perfect.
Can I use this as a drip for a cake?