This salted caramel sauce comes together with water, sugar, butter, and heavy whipping cream, with a little salt to help perfectly balance the sweetness.
Are you looking for the ultimate decadent drizzle for all of your desserts?
This salted caramel sauce comes together with just 4 ingredients (not including water): sugar, heavy cream, salt, and butter! It’s velvety, smooth, and creamy, and ready for the nearest spoon!
Whether you’re drizzling it over a seasonal pumpkin crisp, on top of some warm espresso chocolate chip brownies, or even to finish a delicious toasted marshmallow milkshake, there’s nowhere this caramel sauce can’t go.
Not to mention this sauce makes the perfect gift for your friends and family! Poured into little jars, adorned with ribbons and bows, this salted caramel sauce makes the sweetest homemade holiday gift.
Trust me, you’re going to love making this salted caramel sauce this holiday season!
Table of Contents
Ingredients for salted caramel sauce
- Cold water – The cold water will help dissolve the sugar and prevent it from burning in the pan.
- Granulated sugar – Granulated sugar is what is going to caramelize as it cooks in the pan, making the base for the salted caramel sauce.
- Heavy whipping cream – Heavy whipping cream will add a luscious texture and ensure the sauce is the perfect consistency.
- Unsalted butter – Unsalted butter is a necessary fat to help balance the sweetness of the caramel and add a glossy shine.
- Kosher salt or sea salt – Salt will help balance the flavors and will be what makes this salted caramel sauce!
How to make caramel sauce
This caramel sauce comes together fast, so get all of your measured ingredients ready beforehand.
In a pot on the stove, you’ll add your cold water and granulated sugar and heat until the sugar turns an amber color. This will probably take about 20 minutes.
Then go ahead and slightly warm up your cream–this will help the caramel to not bubble up as aggressively when the cream is added. Add your warmed cream and stir.
Once that is combined, off of the heat, and stir in your butter and your salt until everything is properly dissolved.
You can use this caramel sauce straight out of the pot while it’s still warm, or let it come to room temperature to thicken a bit.
What can I serve salted caramel sauce with?
Aside from eating it with a spoon, I love drizzling this salted caramel sauce on top of some homemade pumpkin cinnamon rolls, or some apple pie bars, and I’ve even used it as a dip for these crunchy air fryer cinnamon sugar knots!
Make ahead!
You know how much I love saving time, well this salted caramel sauce can be made up to two weeks in advance!
Simply store it in a mason jar fitted with a proper lid, in the refrigerator.
Storage and leftovers
You can store any leftover salted caramel sauce in a jar with a properly fitting lid in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
If you need it warm, simply place it in a microwave-safe bowl, heat for 15 seconds at a time, and stir until desired temperature.
More caramel recipes
- Looking for something no-bake? Try my Salted Caramel No Bake Cheesecake
- Want something for a party? Try my Caramel Apple Cupcakes
- Need something special for adults? Try my Boozy Caramel Apple Butter Milkshake
- Love an easy dessert? Try my Caramel Apple Dump Cake
Salted Caramel Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup cold water
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan add sugar and cold water and mix well with a whisk.
- Over medium-high heat place the pan and watch for it to turn amber, about 15-20 minutes. Don’t stir during this time.
- Place the cream in the microwave for 30 seconds, just enough to make it warm.
- Turn the heat to the saucepan down to medium-low heat.
- Slowly pour the cream into the sugar mixture using a whisk to continuously stir.
- Allow to simmer for a few minutes until smooth, still stirring.
- Add the butter and the salt and turn off the heat.
- Stir the sauce until nice and smooth, the butter has melted and the salt dissolved.
- Serve over ice cream or your favorite dessert.
Notes
- This makes a total of 1-1/2 cups of salted caramel sauce. I’m counting a “serving” as 1 tablespoon for a total of 24 servings.
Nutrition
