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angled view of homemade salted caramel sauce being drizzled into a glass jar on a white surface with sugar, butter, and cream in the background
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5 from 3 votes

Easy Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce

This homemade salted caramel sauce recipe is dangerously easy to make (no candy thermometer necessary)! Four simple ingredients, one saucepan, and 15 minutes are all you need to whip up a batch of the most luxuriously smooth and buttery sea salt caramel sauce you'll ever taste.
Prep Time2 minutes
Cook Time13 minutes
Total Time15 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: French
Servings: 8
Calories: 172kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ¼ cup water
  • ¼ cup heavy cream
  • 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into cubes

Instructions

  • In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, salt, and water. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat and stir occasionally until the sugar is completely dissolved, about 5 minutes.
  • Increase the heat to medium-high and continue to cook the mixture without stirring until the sugar caramelizes and becomes a deep golden color*, about 7 more minutes.
  • Remove the pan from the heat and immediately stir in the cream and butter. The caramel will bubble up when the cream and butter are added, so be careful.
  • Allow the caramel to cool for 10-15 minutes in the pan (it will thicken as it cools) before drizzling over your favorite treats or transferring to a glass jar (making sure to let the caramel cool completely before sealing the jar).

Notes

Storage: Once the caramel is completely cool, store salted caramel sauce in a glass jar in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Reheat the caramel in a pan on the stove or in the microwave before serving.
*The caramelized sugar should be a deep golden, almost orange color (think the color of a copper penny). If the sugar is yellow or lightly golden, it's not yet caramelized. The resulting caramel sauce will be light in color and lacking in flavor (and gritty if the sugar wasn't fully dissolved). If the sugar is burnt orange or red in color, the sugar had burned and the caramel will taste burnt and terrible. It would be a waste to add the cream and butter; instead, wait for the burnt sugar to cool before disposing it and starting over.

Nutrition

Serving: 2Tablespoons | Calories: 172kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 23mg | Sodium: 221mg | Potassium: 9mg | Sugar: 25g | Vitamin A: 284IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 7mg | Iron: 1mg