A homemade caramel sauce that you can make in minutes with 5 easy ingredients. Ooey, gooey, smooth, and creamy…the perfect homemade caramel sauce recipe! I like to add a bit of sea salt (I adore salted caramel sauce) and add it into my coffee, or on top of ice cream.
If you have never tried making your homemade caramel sauce before, drop everything and do it!! You will never buy it in a carton again. This recipe is soooo easy and utterly divine!
If you have made caramel sauce from scratch before, you totally know what I’m saying and are nodding your head in agreement. You know that your homemade caramel sauce is what dreams are made of.
Give this recipe a try. It’s very few ingredients and can be made in under 10 minutes. Make a batch, use some now, and store some for later. So good!
My relationship with homemade caramel sauce isn’t all rainbows and butterflies. I struggled for years with consistently making yummy sauce. It would be too thin, too hard, or separate. Soooo frustrating! Especially when it was apparently “easy” (ironically, just like I’m telling you :)).
I learned that there is a bit of a learning curve and your first (sometimes second) batch won’t turn out perfectly. But, you’ll figure out the kinks and it’ll be totally worth the trouble for that perfectly smooth and gooey caramel sauce!
Why isn’t my caramel thickening?
Simmer it longer and it will thicken up. Also, keep in mind that it will thicken significantly as it cools. If you haven’t yet, add a bit of salt to the sauce.
Why is my caramel sauce separating?
One reason could be you aren’t stirring it enough. If the recipe says to stir constantly…you better stir constantly. Another reason is if you are using too thin of a pan. Use a nice thick pan (which you should use with all candy and sauce making!) to get consistent heating.
Homemade Caramel Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup half and half
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
Instructions
- Mix brown sugar, butter, half & half, and sea salt together in a small, heavy saucepan on medium-low heat.
- Bring to a gentle boil, reduce to low and cook for 6-8 minutes (or until thickened) , whisking constantly. You want it to come to a deep golden color.
- When thickened and the right color, stir in the vanilla and let cool.
Other Homemade Sauces to try:
Just like the caramel sauce, this is a crazy easy recipe that you’ll love to have for coffee or ice cream!
Sure, you can buy your pizza sauce from a jar or can but this recipe is crazy easy and soooo good! Make your own for next pizza night.
Only 3 ingredients for this yummy and oh so easy flavored syrups to create your favorite coffee recipes at home!
Oh no. Thanks for letting me know. I’ve updated that. Add the vanilla at the very end when the caramel has thickened and colored.
When do you add the vanilla? It’s not mentioned in the instructions.