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This 6-Minute Small Batch Salted Caramel Sauce is so easy and makes just enough!!! Made with just 5 simple ingredients, you’ll want to make this all the time!
Easy Caramel Recipe
It’s that time of year where I want salted caramel EVERYTHING. It’s such a cozy treat! Be it drizzled over your coffee… or straight into your mouth. If you’ve been looking for an easy way to slip into the salted caramel game, this recipe is here for you. No thermometer needed, No fancy ingredients, and No hours of waiting and waiting and waiting. All you need is six minutes and five ingredients!This recipe calls for:
- sugar
- water
- butter
- cream
- and salt.
You can add a splash of vanilla or bourbon at the end, but if you’re watching money and not trying to spend a lot, the sauce will be just as dreamy minus the vanilla. And that’s a promise!
That said, I sometimes add a little splash of Madagascar bourbon vanilla and HOLY SMOKES. It’s so good.
This recipe makes a VERY small batch of caramel because as much as I love salted caramel, it’s one of those things I would rather make fresh and use up all in one shot. Trust me when I say having a giant sticky jar of seductive sweetness lurking in the back of your fridge isn’t as glamorous as it sounds. Have you ever tried getting cold caramel from the depths of a mason jar? Not a fun way to spend the evening. No no no. Lucky for us, I’ve got a solution. Six minute small batch salted caramel sauce.
So now you can have warm, sticky, sweet and salty caramel sauce ready in just SIX minutes! And it makes just enough for two hearty servings! We like to drizzle this over ice cream… or brownies… or lattes… or well, basically anything! So, what will you drizzle your batch over?! Let me know! xo
P.S. This sauce cooks REALLY fast so I don’t recommend leaving it unattended while it’s on the stove. No one wants burnt caramel if their life… I know this from experience 😉
This recipe was updated on 10/22/2018!
I hope you love this quick salted caramel sauce as much as we do!!! If you make it, let me know below!
More Salted Caramel Recipes:
6-Minute Small Batch Salted Caramel Sauce
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon water
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 teaspoon flaky sea salt
- Dash of vanilla or bourbon, optional
Instructions
- In a small saucepan over medium-high heat whisk together sugar and water and bring to a boil. Cook until sugar has dissolved, about 1 minute.
- Reduce heat to a simmer. Add in butter and whisk until combined. Simmer until the mixture turns a deep amber color, about 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat and carefully whisk in the cream (it will bubble up ferociously after you add it!). Whisk until well combined. Whisk in salt.
- Pour caramel into a heatproof jar. Allow it to cool a few minutes before using.
I’m about to indulge in my small batch of salted vanilla caramel. I can’t wait! Thanks for posting this recipe!
Yay! I hope you love it, Angela 🙂
It is truly amazing and a great time saver! I made it with half and half cream (10%) it turned out fantastic. Thanks for posting this recipe.
Hi Lauris. You’re so welcome! Very happy to hear you experienced wonderful results with the recipe 🙂
I definitely will try this! I always buy unsalted butter. Do you have any idea how much salt I should add if I use unsalted butter instead of salted butter as shown in your recipe? Thank you.
Sue P.
Hi Sue. I would add 1/4 teaspoon or a 1/2 teaspoon of salt, depending on how salty you like your caramel 😉 Enjoy!
Can I use regular cream, not heavy cream?
Hi Amelia. It needs to be whipping cream or heavy cream 😉
Thank you, just made this for Sourdough Bread Pudding! Yes, it is amazing.
Hi Lori. Wow – sourdough bread pudding sounds delicious! I’m so happy to hear this salted caramel was a hit 🙂
Would love to make this salted Carmel sauce for gifts for my staff. What size mason jar and when it’s cooled, can it sit out or does it need to be refrigerated?
Hi Kathy. I use very small mason jars as this is a small batch (for two) caramel sauce. It should be refrigerated until needed.
curious why does it need to be refrigerated? I have for years and years made caramel and I make it all the time and never refrigerate it. I sometimes use preservatives due to when I am making it like if between Christmas and Valentines. I make sauce and harder pieces to dip in chocolate. I also have heard to squeeze some lemon in it to prevent crystalization but it curled a batch I did so I never tried it again wondering have you?
I have made it the old fashioned way and it’s so tricky! This is WAY better and so fast. Love it!!!
AMAZINGGGG!!!! I totally need to try this asap!!! Pinninggggg (and def. making)
Can I puhleeeease bathe in this? Because OMGITS’AWESOME. And the sprinkling of salt on top is just ridic.
I saw this on IG and had to hop right on over! Yes to caramel sauce on everything. I’ve never made it with brown sugar (only white sugar) but now I’m super duper excited to try brown sugar. I bet the flavor is amazing! Yeah!
Omg YES girl. You gotta try it with brown sugggg!!!! xo
Y is my caramel always gritty when my caramel gets cold no matter what sugar I use? And do u refrigerate unused caramel,cuz mine again is gritty,help!
Hi Brenda. You may not be cooking the sugar long enough…
Yes; you do need to refrigerate the leftover caramel, then simply reheat it for a few seconds when you want to use it. Reheating it (either by microwave or place the jar in very hot water) should remove any gritty texture it may have taken on while in the fridge. I hope that helps! xo
Hi, mine is also gritty. When it was fresh it was awesome, but as it cooled it became crystallized. I was hoping to use it cooled on top of a cheesecake. Any recommendations?
Hi Marie. This small batch salted caramel is best served right away. I’m working on a recipe for a more stable caramel sauce and hope to have it up soon!
Hi Marie
I made a double batch of this recipe. It was sooo good. My daughter and I had to make another batch to replace what we had spooned it to our mouths (for tasting purpose only). Anyway after it cooled I put in the fridge. I made a box carrot cake cut into cubes. Then made cream cheese icing whipped with whipped cream. Cut the cake in cubes and layer with the cream mixture, the new walnuts and this salted caramel. I just reheated for 1 minute and stirred. Heated and stirred. Not to warm so it didn’t spoil the cream mixture. It was still a little gritty but in this receipe. You couldn’t even taste anything but the delicious Carmel. I got this carrot cake truffle recipe on Pinterest. I wish I could go back to see the name. Anyway this receipe is Awesome!!
SO happy you enjoyed it, Jennifer! The truffles sound amazing!
So everything I am seeing online says this is a butterscotch, not a caramel FYI-this explains well. https://www.quora.com/Whats-the-difference-between-butterscotch-and-caramel
Are you using a metal whisk? Because I was always told to stir with a wooden spoon to avoid the sugar to form lumps.
Hi Rik. I have always used a metal whisk (or a silicon covered metal whisk) with no issues, but feel free to use a wooden spoon if you’d like!
Hi Ashley and Brenda,
After reading comments about gritty texture – I decide to make a hybrid of Ashley’s recipe and what I know from make caramel the traditional (time consuming) way.
Instead of combining everything at the start (not vanilla), I resuerved the cream for later. I cooked the butter, sugar and salt for about 5-6 minutes – strring constantly at a soft boil. (My thought was just to make sure that I let the sugar granuals completely disolve.)
Then I added the cream. If you haven’t made caramel before BEWARE that when adding the cream to the sauce after it’s been boiling will cause everything to bubble up quite a bit. Just keep stirring. I cooked this for another 3-4 minutes. Removed from heat and added vanilla as directed.
My total cooking time was about 10-12 minutes, yet still very minimal compared to normal caramel making.
I didn’t want to post until I had regridgerated and taken out to use. But I’m happy to report NO gritty texture.
Thank you Ashley for posting a way to make a quick small batch — was perfect for my need.
How long do you think it would be safe to refrigerate this?
I usually make homemade caramels for my neighbors and daughter’s co-workers but this year I’m recovering from a lumpectomy I had on Dec. 17. Not wanting to let down my neighbors, I found your recipe on Pinterest and decided this was doable. I can stand and stir small batches for the 6 minutes, no problem, and the sauce is absolutely yummy! (I’m dipping my healthy apple slices in it!) My gift won’t be full blown caramels but my friends & neighbors will get a sweet taste of the holidays with love! Thanks!
This sweet comment just made my day! Thank you so much for sharing your story with me – and happy holidays! 🙂
Hello 🙂 I love that the recipe is a small batch–I’m planning on making cheesecakes in mini mason jars so this is perfect! Does this recipe still work if I use white sugar? How will it affect the flavor? (This is my first time making caramel sauce, btw).
Hi Maryanne. I’ve never made this with white sugar, so I am unsure how it will turn out. If you give it a go, I’d love to hear about the results 🙂
I made it for the first time with refined sugar, but then had to add a bit more vanilla extract to give it more colour. It still tasted great, I just felt like I tasted the cream more. Just made it with brown sugar and it tastes more rich. But I think it will turn out alright with white sugar! 🙂
How long does it last unopened and opened?
Thank you for this easy ans extremely delicious recipe!
Hi..need permission to share it..thanks in advance