No Fail Homemade Caramel Sauce (My 10 Minutes to Heaven Caramel Sauce Recipe)

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Do you know how to make caramel sauce?

Let’s be clear – this is so easy your kids can do it! (And they should do it cause then they can spoil you with this decadent treat!)

Let’s Break It Down!

1. Melt butter in pan
2. Add the other stuff
3. Whisk (fancy name for stirring with a wire whisk)
4. Leave sauce to simmer

There you are – FOUR steps anybody old enough to turn on the stove can follow! Just save it in a jar and try not to eat it all with a spoon. You. Are. Welcome!

What do you do with caramel sauce?

The better question is what do you NOT do? (Answer please don’t smear it on the cat – this makes the cat ANGRY.)

• drizzle in coffee
• slather on creme brulee french toast
• eat on bread pudding
• dip apples
• ice cream Sundays
• on apple crisp
• cocktails
• drizzle on cookies
• spoon over warm brownies
• dutch baby drizzle
• as syrup on pancakes
• to sweeten oatmeal
• pack in brown bag lunch as a fruit dip
• creatively on date nights with your spouse (oops – did I write that out loud?!?)

Is it safe to can homemade caramel sauce?

Inquiring minds want to know all the details on storing this sauce for the long term. The simple answer is that NO, you should not can dairy products either in a water bath canner or a pressure canner. This recommendation comes from the FDA so I’m not going to mess with it. There are places I bend the rules with our personal food storage but canning is not one of them!

I know you see it in glass jars “canned” in grocery stores. Please understand that home canning and commercial canning are two different processes. For reasonable food safety when it comes to canning follow FDA guidelines.

Can I freeze homemade caramel sauce?

YES! After readers started asking about canning the sauce I decided to do a little test to see if it could be frozen!

I made a sample batch and froze half and refrigerated half. Then I thawed the frozen sauce in my refrigerator overnight. It actually thawed quite a bit faster than overnight but you get the idea.

There was zero flavor or texture difference between the sauce that was frozen and the sauce that was refrigerated.

To freeze caramel sauce follow these easy steps:

1. Let the sauce cool to room temperature in the pan.
2. Use a canning funnel to pour into the jars without getting them sticky.
3. Leave SPACE – at least 1″ at top of jar so the sauce has room to expand. Everything expands when it freezes and if you don’t leave room glass jars will crack / break. (You can freeze in plastic jars instead of glass to avoid the hassle.)
4. The freezer life should be about 6-12 months. If you keep garlic or other pungent items in your freezer the caramel might pick up the flavor.

Tip: I love getting plastic screw top lids for my mason jars! For freezing or refrigerating these lids are wonderful!

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4.54 from 13 votes

Easy Homemade Caramel Sauce

I call this my no fail 10 minutes to heaven caramel recipe! It is stupid easy and makes the most rich, lovely caramel sauce! I use it on all sorts of stuff from stirring it into warm apple cider to drizzling it on pancakes instead of syrup. Just try not to eat it all out of the jar with a spoon! (That would never happen in my house…)

Course Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes minutes

Servings 16

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

• ½ cup salted butter
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp. sea salt

Instructions

• In a heavy bottom sauce pan melt butter over medium-high heat. While it is melting measure cream. Add brown sugar, vanilla and salt to the measuring cup with the cream.
• When butter is melted use a rubber spatula to scrape everything from the measuring cup into the butter. Whisk until combined. When the mixture returns to a hard boil, turn the heat down to a medium-low temperature. The stove should be just hot enough to keep the caramel sauce bubbling a little bit at a low simmer.
• Leave the sauce to simmer for 8-9 minutes. You don’t need to stir. It will thicken and turn a more golden brown as it cooks down.
• Cool to room temperature and then refrigerate for up to 1 month. This recipe makes a scant 2 cups.
• Eat with a spoon, serve over ice cream, brownies, cake, bread pudding, in coffee, with gingerbread, as a dip for apples, or drizzled over shortbread cookies!

Helpful Recipe Notes

This sauce can be frozen for 6-12 months! 

1. Let the sauce cool to room temperature in the pan.
2. Use a canning funnel to pour into the jars without getting them sticky.
3. Leave SPACE – at least 1″ at top of jar so the sauce has room to expand. Everything expands when it freezes and if you don’t leave room glass jars will crack / break. (In fact a wise person might freeze in plastic instead of glass to avoid the hassle.)

Your Rating Matters

When you leave a comment or star rating, it means more than you might think. It helps me understand what you’re enjoying, builds trust for other readers, and supports real, tested cooking content. If you have a moment, I’d truly appreciate you sharing your experience. – Mirlandra

Nutrition Estimate

Calories: 138kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 36mg | Sodium: 71mg | Potassium: 11mg | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 396IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 11mg

A Note on Nutrition

Nutritional info is an imperfect estimate. Please take it with a grain of salt.

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