Easy Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce

Raise your hand if you've ever felt intimidated by the thought of making homemade caramel sauce.

We're all raising our hand, right? Because before tackling this recipe, I was right there with you!

Before I landed on the perfect recipe, I tested different ratios of ingredients along with several shortcuts, most of which were total flops. However, a few shortcuts or hacks that I tested proved successful:

• Add a little bit of water to the sugar when caramelizing it. The water cooks off, but it makes it less likely that the sugar will burn while you caramelize it.
• Skip the candy thermometer! In testing this recipe I found that my eyes were the most useful tool for determining when the sugar is caramelized. I included a note in the recipe that will help guide you in determining when the sugar is ready for the cream and butter.
• Many recipes for caramel sauce recommend heating the cream in a separate saucepan before adding it to the sugar. I found this to be unnecessary, so let's skip this step and save ourselves from having to wash a second pan!

Ingredient Notes & Substitutions

See recipe card at the bottom of this post for full ingredient list and measurements.

Granulated Sugar - Sugar is the key ingredient in caramel sauce. The sugar will caramelize, giving the sauce its rich, complex flavor.

Fine Sea Salt - Different types of salt will add different amounts of saltiness to the sauce. I prefer fine sea salt, since it dissolves easily, adding and enhancing the sauce's flavor without impacting the texture.

Heavy Cream - Heavy cream adds creaminess, helping to make the caramel sauce pourable. Do not substitute milk, since it isn't rich enough.

Unsalted Butter - Using unsalted butter allows us to control the amount of salt in the sauce. If you do use salted butter, reduce the amount of added salt to ¼ teaspoon.

Step-By-Step Recipe Instructions

See recipe card at the bottom of this post for detailed recipe instructions.

Step 1: In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, salt, and water. Bring the mixture to a simmer and stir occasionally until the sugar is completely dissolved.

Step 2: Continue to cook the mixture without stirring until the sugar caramelizes and becomes a deep golden color.

Allison's Top Tips

Be sure to read the recipe (and the notes at the end) all the way through and prep all of your ingredients before you begin. You need to be prepared to act quickly once the sugar caramelizes.

Watch your caramel carefully while it cooks. Once the sugar begins to caramelize, the process happens quickly, and the sugar is likely to burn if you're not paying attention.

How do you know when the sugar is caramelized? Pay attention to the color of the mixture. The sugar is caramelized when it turns a deep golden, copper color. Read the note at the end of the recipe card for an explanation of exactly what you're looking for.

To remove any last bits of caramel sauce from your pan or bowl, fill them with hot water to melt the caramel, then rinse before washing normally.

Uses for Salted Caramel Sauce

Homemade salted caramel sauce is perfect for drizzling on just about everything from pies to ice cream, cake, brownies, apple pie bars, and more! And blend it into buttercream frosting (and spread it on this spice cake recipe!) for the most velvety smooth caramel frosting. What will you eat it with first?

Storage Instructions

I like glass jars best for storing caramel sauce. Once the caramel has cooled to room temperature, seal the jar and store it in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Reheat the caramel in a pan on the stove or in the microwave before serving.