This easy and delicious homemade Caramel Sauce is made with six pantry ingredients and only takes 10 minutes to make!
This caramel sauce is enjoyed as a topping on anything from ice cream to Better than Sex Cake. I also have a Homemade Caramel recipe that requires a longer cook time and is great for dipping Caramel Apples.
A spoon dripping caramel sauce into a glass jar full and some caramel spilling over the side of the jar.
It is so incredibly easy to make homemade caramel sauce, and you can store it in the fridge for weeks to use in lots of different ways (see my ideas below).
This caramel sauce is unique in that it uses brown sugar instead of granulated sugar. Doing so yields a richer flavor and cuts down on the cook time.

Labeled ingredients needed to make caramel sauce.
How to make caramel sauce:
1. Add butter, brown sugar, water, and salt to medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir continuously until the butter melts.
Two process photos for cooking caramel sauce in a saucepan.
2. Once the butter has melted bring the mixture to a boil. Boil for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and ½ cup evaporated milk. Stir until smooth. Add more evaporated milk if you’d like a thinner consistency (the caramel will thicken as it cools).
Evaporated milk poured over caramel sauce cooking in a saucepan, then stirred together.

Store caramel sauce in the refrigerator for 1-2 weeks. Rewarm in the microwave for a few seconds, or over low heat on the stove.

To freeze, store in a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
Homemade caramel sauce in a glass jar with a hand towel on the side.

Consider serving Caramel Sauce with:

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Recipe

A spoon dripping caramel sauce into a glass jar, with some of the sauce pouring over the side of the jar.
Prep 5 minutes
Cook 5 minutes
Total 10 minutes
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Ingredients
  

  • 3/4 cup butter
  • 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar , firmly packed
  • 2 Tablespoons water
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup evaporated milk , or heavy cream, or more, to thin the sauce

Instructions
 

  • Grease the sides of a medium saucepan with oil or non-stick spray. Add butter, brown sugar, water, and salt to saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the butter has melted.
  • Once the butter has melted, bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 5-8 minutes until golden brown and thickened (keep in mind it will continue to thicken as it cools). Stir constantly as it cooks, particularly the sides of the pan to prevent crystallization.
  • Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and ½ cup evaporated milk. Stir until smooth. Add more evaporated milk if you'd like a thinner consistency. 
  • Store caramel sauce in a covered container or jar in the refrigerator for 1-2 weeks. Re-warm in the microwave for a few seconds, or on the stove over low heat.
  • Serve this over ice cream, apple crisp, or with caramel filled chocolate cupcakes!

Notes

Yields about 2 cups of caramel sauce.
Butter: salted butter can be used. Reduce salt to ⅛ teaspoon, or to taste.
For Salted Caramel: Use unsalted butter and replace salt with Sea Salt, adding extra salt, to taste.
Freezing Instructions: Store in a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight.

Nutrition

Calories: 251kcalCarbohydrates: 32gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 36mgSodium: 189mgPotassium: 47mgSugar: 32gVitamin A: 425IUCalcium: 31mgIron: 0.2mg

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Recipe adapted from Food.com

Have you tried this recipe?!

RATE and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.

I originally shared this recipe September 2015. Updated May 2020 with process photos and improved instructions and tips.

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Lauren Allen

Welcome! I’m Lauren, a mom of four and lover of good food. Here you’ll find easy recipes and weeknight meal ideas made with real ingredients, with step-by-step photos and videos.

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Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Made this late last night because it seemed easy and quick and it was DELICIOUS!! I seriously cannot stop eating it and even had enough to make small containers for my friends!

  2. 5 stars
    In-fricken-credible! I made this to be used in caramel apple cider, but I had a decent amount left over afterward, so we have been using it as a topping for ice cream & I cannot promote this enough!! The flavors, consistency, & mouth feel are all perfect. This is now something that we are going to keep in constant supply in the house.

  3. 5 stars
    So yummy! Wanted something for a ice cream sundae without all the chemicals and preservatives! This will be a go to for me!

  4. 5 stars
    Truthfully, I wasn’t sure how to rate the recipe, although the results are quite good so I went with 5, even though I had to wing it a bit. The ingredients and directions written below the photos aren’t consistent with the recipe below. Examples: under the photo it says “stir continuously until the butter melts”; but the recipe itself makes no mention of stirring. Under the photo lists 1/2 c. heavy cream or Evaporated Milk, the recipe only mentions Evaporated Milk. In the end, the inconsistencies were resolved by me opting to stir until the butter melted, bringing the mix to a boil, then stirring continuously while it simmered. I added about 3/4 c. Evaporated Milk, and 1 tbsp. vanilla and stirred until it was smooth. I don’t know if this is the best recipe for caramel sauce since this was the first batch I’ve made. Next time I’ll use the same basic idea but will try it with dark brown sugar as I think that would add a deeper layer of flavor. Still … all things considered, this is definitely good enough to serve (and eat!).

  5. 5 stars
    This is the easiest way to make caramel, your instructions are spot on. I like that you use simple ingredients and what I have at home. Tastes great. I am waiting to see how well it stores in the refrigerator. Thank you.

  6. The ingredients are highlighted beautifully in this recipe. It is rich with buttery sweetness and a nice hint of vanilla. The tones are perfect.

  7. 5 stars
    Decided to try this when I wanted to make a caramel apple pie and the store was out of caramel. Super easy to make, and it tastes delicious! The pie was a hit, and I have a jar of caramel left over. Win, win!

  8. 5 stars
    This caramel sauce is the best I’ve ever tasted 😭❤️ All the ingredients mesh into such a beautiful color and consistency. So easy to make and it’ll make your jaw drop on the ground!!!

  9. Hi! I just tried this recipe and it tastes really good. The only thing is that mine came out really “grainy”. What should I do, or what did I do wrong?

  10. Can this sauce be frozen?

    (Sorry about leaving same question for apple crisp – thought I was on this page.)

    1. It can be frozen for up to three months in an airtight container (NOT GLASS!). Place in fridge overnight to defrost 🙁

  11. Hi! this sounds delicious! I am making it right now and it looks to be very runny. The recipe says how to make it thinner, but what can i do to make it thicker? Please respond as fast as possible! I would really appreciate it 🙂

  12. 4 stars
    Sweet. Caramel was drizzled over a dollop of Alden’s Vanilla organic ice cream that nested atop your apple crisp; it was a family hit, even on a full belly. Could you tell me why the water is necessary and suggest modifications for a caramel flavor that is a little sharper, I guess meaning less sweet.

  13. Hi! Sounds delicious, but a couple questions before I try this.
    1. I’m confused on the measurement listed for the evaporated milk. It’s listed as … ‘1-2 – 3/4 cups evaporated milk’ .
    2. I took the butter to be regular salted butter, but then read through all the comments and noticed you say to use “Unsalted”. So, if I use regular butter – do not use additional salt, but if I use unsalted butter then add the salt?

    This sounds so delicious and I’d love to make it for Thanksgiving. I just want to make sure I understand everything since Thanksgiving is a few days away!

    Thank you!

    1. Hi Joanne, I hope you enjoy it! To answer your questions:
      1. you will use somewhere between 1/2 cup to as much as 3/4 cup of evaporated milk. As you’ll see in the recipe instructions, you start by adding 1/2 cup and add a little more if you need to.
      2. that’s right about the butter. If you use salted butter you don’t need to add all of the 1/4 teaspoon extra salt.
      Hope that helps 🙂

  14. 5 stars
    I was a little leery because it started to smell burnt, but it just added to the flavor!
    Also, I like to improvise, and I didn’t have evaporated milk on hand, but I did have sugar-free French vanilla coffee creamer so I used it instead, omitting the vanilla extract. DELISH!!!!!

  15. 5 stars
    I made this sauce for the first time today to fill cupcakes with. Well they were excellent thanks for the quick and easy recipe

  16. 5 stars
    Is it wrong to eat half the jar of Carmel off a spoon. Lol I’ve made this recipe several times now and it never lasts more than 2 days. That’s a beautiful thing

  17. 5 stars
    Hello!!! This tastes great! Added a little milk only so it wouldn’t be too thin. However, it seems that my sugar didnt melt? It’s a bit rough on the tongue and felt like there were granules and the butter has separated, you can see it accumulating on the top. Is it supposed to be like that? I made 1/2 recipe and added 3/4milk. Thinking if i should add more

    1. Hi Mia, It seems that the sugar didn’t dissolve as it should. Next time, try stirring it really well the entire time, scraping the sides of the pan as you go. Also, be sure to maintain the heat at medium–don’t fluctuate the temperature at all. Hopefully those things should fix the problem!

  18. 5 stars
    I made the apple crisp along with the caramel sauce! It turned out beautifully! And my kitchen smells so good now too. Thank you for sharing! My family loves it!

  19. What chocolate cake mix did you use it looks lovely & moist , can’t wait to try this recipe thanks.

    1. Unsalted butter. You could use salted butter too, just taste the mixture before you add the additional 1/4 tsp that the recipe calls for.

  20. i made the caramel sauce and I couldn’t even ruin it! It was so easy. I didn’t have the evaporated milk on hand so I used regular 2% milk and simmered it down to a cup. You couldn’t tell the difference.
    This was the first time I didn’t ruin the sauce.
    It does take a little time, and you have to stay with it, but totally worth it. So now I triple the recipe for the kids and my mom and it’s never gone bad.
    Something to definitely keep on hand!!!!!

  21. Just made this and it turned out super think but I think I know what I did wrong. I used margarine instead of butter. I knew better but it’s late……
    It does taste really good, though. It’s just that margarine has a lot of water added to it…
    I’m going to try again. I wonder how many people made this mistake?

  22. What is your secret to making the Carmel thick as pictured?! I follow the directions to a T but as soon as I add the milk it becomes thin as water – and I very carefully measure only 1/2 cup. I’ve made it twice now – boiling it longer the second time and still the same result. Do you pour in the milk & vanilla immediately or let it cool a little first? I would love any pointers because the taste is amazing!

    1. Hi Jen, Next time just add a Tbsp of milk at a time until you reach your desired thickness. Also, it will thicken as it cools 🙂

    1. Hi Mickey, if it’s too thin you probably just added a tiny bit too much milk. But that’s ok. Allow it to refrigerate and it should set up nicely.

  23. What could I substitute for the evaporated milk? I’m lactose intolerant. I love your recipes you post! Thanks so much. 🙂

    1. Hi Connie, any dairy-free milk, like soy milk, should work great! The evaporated milk’s purpose is to thin the sauce and make it creamy. 🙂 Hope you enjoy it!

    1. Add 1/2 cup of evaporated milk. If, after you stir in that much, you’d like the sauce to be a thinner consistency, add a little more evaporated milk.