This caramel sauce recipe is simple with just five ingredients and it only takes about 20 minutes to make! If you want salted caramel sauce, you simply add a little sea salt at the end. Yum!

I love this homemade caramel sauce on all sorts of things, like drizzled over ice cream or on top of a caramel macchiato. No matter if you use this for desserts, drinks or in your next baking project, you will love this easy caramel sauce recipe.

Related: Check our caramel apples post for how to make the best caramel coating for things like apples. This recipe is more of a pourable sauce.

Ingredients

• Granulated white sugar
• Brown sugar
• Water
• Unsalted butter
• Heavy whipping cream

And flaky sea salt if you want salted caramel sauce.

Directions

In a medium pot or sauce pan, combine the sugar, brown sugar and water. Cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, begins to bubble then turns an amber brown. This may take 5-7 minutes depending on how hot you have your temperature turned to. It’s best just to keep an eye on it so it doesn’t get too dark or burnt. 

During this process do not stir the mixture. If needed, you can swirl the pan, but avoid stirring as splashing the mixture up the sides of the (cool) pan can cause the sugar to crystalize.

Once it turns that deep amber brown, add in the remaining ingredients. Be careful as you do because the mixture will bubble.

Continue to cook over medium heat for an additional 3-4 minutes.

Allow the mixture to cool for 10-15 minutes before storing.

Do I need a candy thermometer?

No, but if you have one, it does help! You can make caramel sauce by visual cues (the deepening amber color) and smell (it will start to smell bitter and burnt when it’s cooked too long).

That being said, if you do already own a candy thermometer, use it! The caramel sauce should reach around 220°F to 230°F (around 110°C). Some candy thermometers have this marked as “soft ball” stage and you want to avoid heating the sugar to “hard ball” stage as this will make a chewy, hard candy as opposed to a pourable sauce.

Why did my caramel sauce turn out grainy?

If your caramel sauce is grainy, your sugar has likely crystalized. This happens if you stir or even swirl the pan too much during cooking, causing the sugar to coat the sides of the pot where it then cools.

To fix this, add a couple tablespoons of water to the sauce and heat to dissolve the crystals.

How to store caramel sauce

This sauce recipe does need to be stored in the refrigerator after it’s made (it contains dairy). You can store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for at least 2 weeks or much longer if you choose to freeze it.

Caramel sauce will harden when refrigerated, so it’s best to store in a microwave-safe container so you can easily soften/reheat it. You can also do this on the stovetop if you don’t want to use a microwave.

Why did my caramel sauce harden?

Likely your sugar got too hot, and reached past 240°F or “hard ball” stage. Again, while you don’t absolutely have to use a candy thermometer for this recipe, it can help to avoid heating the sugar too much.

More Caramel Recipes