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This foolproof homemade Caramel Sauce asks for just 5 ingredients and 20 minutes of your time. Drizzle this easy Caramel Sauce on ice cream, bread pudding, or cheesecake. Or. enjoy it straight from a spoon!
Most homemade caramel recipes involve a finicky process of meticulously melting granulated sugar and brown sugar with butter, corn syrup, heavy cream or evaporated milk and vanilla until it reaches a deep amber color and a very specific temperature on a candy thermometer.
My easy Caramel Sauce tastes just as rich and luxurious, and will score you the same silky texture, just without all of the prep time and fuss. When you opt for all brown sugar instead of some white sugar, you can simply bring that duo to a bubble, then take it off the heat and use a whisk or wooden spoon to mix in 3 more ingredients.
With this, my best Caramel Sauce recipe, you’re just 20 minutes away from 2 full cups of caramel to doctor up with sea salt, if desired, then pour over any and all of the desserts.
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Light brown sugar: The key ingredient to make ace the consistency for this surprisingly easy Caramel Sauce recipe. Melting butter and brown sugar together allows you to skip right over the often tricky candy-making aspect or homemade caramel.
- Butter: Salted or unsalted butter; either works well.
- Evaporated milk: Heavy cream (AKA heavy whipping cream) is a fantastic alternative if you don’t have or can’t find evaporated milk.
- Salt: My classic Caramel Sauce recipe calls for ¼ teaspoon of salt to balance out all of the sweet flavors. Start there, then add more salt, to taste, to create homemade salted caramel sauce.
Step-by-step instructions
- In a pan over medium heat, melt brown sugar and butter together. Bring to a boil and remove from heat.
- Whisk in evaporated milk, vanilla, and salt. Use immediately or store covered in the refrigerator for one month.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: My homemade Caramel Sauce recipe makes 2 cups of sauce, enough for 8 servings, ¼ cup each.
- Storage: Pour Caramel Sauce into a glass jar or another easily-accessible container and cover tightly. In the fridge, it thickens up even more. It can get gritty when eaten cold straight out of the jar, but reheats beautifully.
- Make ahead: Refrigerate this dessert sauce for up to 2 weeks. When you’re ready to serve, transfer to a heat-safe bowl and microwave until warm. Or it stovetop is your style, transfer to a pot and reheat over low.
- Freezer: Stored in an airtight container, caramel sauce keeps for up to 3 months in the freezer. Thaw it overnight in the refrigerator before reheating over low heat on the stove. Stir occasionally as the Caramel Sauce comes up to temperature.
Frequently Asked Questions
The only limit is your imagination. I originally developed this as a sauce for Bread Pudding. Since, I’ve tried (and adored it) over ice cream, Vanilla Cheesecake, Cheesecake Brownies, The Best Apple Pie, Peach Crisp, and Cream Puffs. For a luxurious breakfast or brunch, consider topping Chocolate Pancakes or Croissant French Toast with a swirl of homemade caramel.
This is not the right caramel for dipping apples or making candies. Check out my Caramel Apple for the ultimate dipping caramel. For an ultra-easy candy caramel, see my Homemade Snickers Recipe.
Try this caramel sauce on…
Sweets
Brownies
Cake Recipes
Vanilla Pound Cake
Pie and Tart Recipes
Apple Pie a la Mode
Cold Desserts
Ice Cream Sundae Bar
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Caramel Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup light brown sugar (see note 1)
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup evaporated milk (see note 2)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt (see note 3)
Instructions
- In a saucepan over medium heat, melt brown sugar and butter together. Bring to a boil and remove from heat.
- Whisk in evaporated milk, vanilla, and salt. Use immediately or store covered in the refrigerator for one month. Yield: About 2 cups.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Light brown sugar: The key ingredient to make ace the consistency for this surprisingly easy Caramel Sauce recipe. Melting butter and brown sugar together allows you to skip right over the often tricky candy-making aspect or homemade caramel.
- Evaporated milk: Heavy cream (AKA heavy whipping cream) is a fantastic alternative if you don’t have or can’t find evaporated milk.
- Salt: My classic Caramel Sauce recipe calls for ¼ teaspoon of salt to balance out all of the sweet flavors. Start there, then add more salt, to taste, to create homemade salted caramel sauce.
- Yield: My homemade Caramel Sauce recipe makes 2 cups of sauce, enough for 8 servings, ¼ cup each.
- Storage: Pour Caramel Sauce into a glass jar or another easily-accessible container and cover tightly. In the fridge, it thickens up even more. It can get gritty when eaten cold straight out of the jar, but reheats beautifully.
Nutrition
Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.
Can you use low-fat evaporated milk??
Hi Smilene, I haven’t tried this recipe using low-fat evaporated milk. Sorry! – Meggan