Description
This homemade caramel sauce is rich, buttery, and incredibly versatile—made with basic pantry ingredients and no heavy cream. Perfect for drizzling over desserts or gifting in jars.
Ingredients
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup Karo syrup (light corn syrup)
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Combine ingredients: In a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, add butter, sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup, sweetened condensed milk, and salt.
- Cook and stir: Stir constantly until butter melts and sugars dissolve, scraping the bottom of the pan to prevent sticking.
- Boil to temp: Increase heat to high and continue stirring until the caramel reaches 220°F on a candy thermometer.
- Cool: Remove from heat immediately once it reaches 220°F and let cool for at least 20 minutes before using.
- Serve or store: Pour into jars or containers for serving or storage.
Notes
- Add vanilla extract after removing from heat for extra flavor.
- For salted caramel, increase salt or add flaky sea salt on top.
- Bourbon or spices can be added for variations.
- Use a candy thermometer for the most reliable results.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Sauce
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 tablespoons
- Calories: 170
- Sugar: 22g
- Sodium: 90mg
- Fat: 7g
- Saturated Fat: 4g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 26g
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: 1g
- Cholesterol: 20mg
