Do you celebrate “I Got Out of My Pajamas” day? How about “I Mopped The Bathroom Floor With My Kids Bath Towels” day?
I sure do, and my little ones love celebrating unconventional holidays as well. Today is “My Kids Finished Math A Month Early” day, which of course means sliced apples dipped in this easy salted caramel sauce recipe.
I’m going to make a double batch so that I have extra to stir into my coffee this week, plus some to drizzle on the secret fudgy brownies in my freezer.
Worried that you won’t know what to do with a full batch of caramel sauce? Well, it’s delicious stirred into yogurt with a little fruit, poured over slow-cooker “baked” apples, or frozen in cute silicone ice cube trays (like these or these) to make individual candies. Or just eaten straight of the spoon . . . ask me how I know.
For a more decadent experience, you can drizzle it over coffee ice cream, the fudgy brownies I mentioned above, grain-free cheesecake, or as a (messy but delicious!) glaze for these grain-free chocolate coconut donuts.
Quick Salted Caramel Sauce
Equipment
- small pot
- whisk or fork
- stirring spoon
Ingredients
- 1 cup cream
- ½ cup raw honey (you can sub sucanat, or coconut sugar – when made with sucanat or coconut sugar, the recipe will be a deeper caramel color than with honey)
- ¼ cup butter
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract (how to make vanilla extract)
- 1 pinch sea salt
Instructions
- Place cream, honey (or sucanat/coconut sugar) and butter in a small pot. Bring to a boil over medium/high heat, whisking occasionally.
- Reduce heat to medium and allow to boil gently for 7-12 minutes. Coconut sugar is more prone to burning so I keep the cooking time around seven minutes and check it often. Honey, on the other hand, takes the longest to develop a caramel flavor – about 12 minutes, sometimes longer.
- Stir in the salt and then place in the fridge to cool. Warm to room temperature before serving.
Nutrition
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make this with coconut milk and oil instead of cream?
I tried it and it was okay, but the flavor wasn’t quite right to me, so I tested and developed a super yummy dairy-free caramel sauce that you can find here.
Can I drizzle this over popcorn?
A lot of people have and report that it’s delicious.
Does it need to be refrigerated?
Yes, it does.
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Good for popcorn?
I haven’t tried it, but possibly! If you do please let us know how it turns out. 🙂
We tried this on popcorn yesterday and it was so delicious!! We are making it again today!
If you have a stovetop popper you can add the butter (or coconut oil) and a small amount of maple syrup or honey directly to the pot and it pops up into lovely kettle corn. If you add a bit more syrup or honey you get something more akin to caramel corn.
The post shows zero calories, zero carbs, etc. This isn’t right is it?
Hi Linda, it looks like there was a problem with how the recipe was displaying. The nutritional info should be visible now.
Can coconut milk be used instead of cream and ghee instead of butter?
I haven’t tried it, but if you do please let us know how it turns out! You might try coconut oil or sustainably harvested palm shortening in place of the butter.
I always do with coconut milk and it’s really yummy!! You should try!
Coconut milk to replace the cream? What about the butter? Thank you!
I’d like to know as well, please!
I see it’s been a few years, but I am wondering the same thing – about using coconut milk or almond, etc. for the lactose intolerant girl in the house!
Since posting this recipe I tested and refined a dairy-free version, which you can find here: https://mommypotamus.com/dairy-free-caramel-sauce-recipe/
What kind of cream? Heavy whipping cream?
Yes 🙂
Oh. My. Goodness. Giddy joy for the tastebuds… Thank u so much!
I would like to make this and was wondering which gives the better caramel flavor, honey or maple syrup. I have both and would like to use what tastes best. Can’t wait to try this, thanks.
I’m sorry, I meant honey or coconut sugar. Thanks
I think the sucanat gives the best caramel flavor. The coconut sugar is second but watch it closely as it tends to burn. Then again, my kids love the honey version so maybe it’s personal preference. 🙂
Just finished making this; two batches are cooling in the fridge. I confess, I did some finger-dipping, and HOLY SMOKES is it good!! I’m thinking of drizzling it over homemade vanilla ice cream ice cream. If it is reheated with some coconut oil it might “crackle” just like the chocolate version. Thanks for perfection in a recipe!
Wondering if I can substitute erythritol for the honey to make this keto friendly?
WOW!!! This is what dreams are made of! Thank YOU!!
This is heavenly!!!! I have made this three times now and it is always great. The first two times I used coconut sugar which was really good. However….I just made it with some raw honey and it was AMAZING!! I have yet to try the sucanat but I am sure it just as wonderful. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Does it need to be refrigerated?
Yes 😉
I. Did make this but with warm bananas I then took ,the sauce and warm bananas and poured that over vanilla ice cream so good.
So glad you liked it, Dienna!
Is it possible to use maple syrup as the sweetener?
What is the “shelf life” when refrigerated? I’m sure it will be long gone before it expires though…
Dreaming of cheesecake with this sauce and spiced pecans…or maybe Turtle! Thanks!!
Much easier folks to go to pressure cooking today and get the recipe for your instant pot, there’s two I know of out there, one in the can which takes a long overnight cool down, or put it in a mason jar and thirty minutes later you’ve got caramel sauce!
Thanks for the recipe, I can’t wait to make some, will be doing this after I go grocery shopping.
Hi. Lovely recipe. I am wondering if it firms up enough, when cooled, to be used to drizzle over nuts with chocolate to make caramel turtles.
I’d like to know too!
Thank you very much for this recipe. I have made it twice using honey, cooking for about 13 minutes after getting the sauce to a boil. It is luscious over homemade, honey-sweetened vanilla ice cream, and it is delectable right out of the jar. I hadn’t had this flavor since I stopped eating regular sugar about two years ago. Psalms 37:4 states “Delight thyself also in the LORD; And He shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” Finding an excellent and easy recipe for salted caramel sauce that used honey as the sweetener was a desire of my heart that I had spoken to no one. This is certainly the favor of God manifested! [To The Person Vetting This Submission: I respectfully request that you post the comment above in its entirety or not at all. This is a testimony to the goodness of God. Thank you for your time and consideration.]
My daughter has allergies to dairy and coconut. Can you suggest an alternative to the cream?
Unfortunately I don’t know of one that would work 🙁
Maybe try soy cream? That is my plan once I get home.
Holy goodness, THIS IS AMAZING! Bringing a grain free chocolate truffle cake over to bible study tonight and have this now to top it! Here’s the cake recipe: https://www.smallfootprintfamily.com/indulge-grain-free-chocolate-cake
The caramel is SO DELICIOUS!!! Thank you so much for the recipe!
Hi, Momma,
If I’m wanting to have a little, all natural, make-your-own candy apple bar at a birthday party, would this work in that way? Like if it was left out in a bowl, at room temperature, would it be thick enough to stick to apples without running off, but gooey enough to have toppings stick to it?
Thanks so much! : )
Hmmm, I think it would likely be too thin. I have a caramel apple recipe but unfortunately I don’t think it would be very easy to work with at room temperature. I dip the apples while it’s still warm.
I made this, but it is very light looking, not very thick, and had large clumps in it. Was there something I did wrong? I used whipping cream (the stuff to make whipped cream) honey and butter.
I had the same problem as Camille. It tastes like sweet, buttery, milk and looks very light.
I was a little hesitant about making a healthier version of caramel sauce but this is amazing! I added a little vanilla extract and it tastes exactly like the caramel sauce I used to make with corn syrup 😃 thank you for the great recipe!