Making homemade caramel is incredibly easy when you use the dry method for making caramel!
You simply heat the sugar until rocks form, let them melt, and then add in the other ingredients. No thermometer required.
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It's quick, too! You can make a batch in under 30 minutes from start to finish.
In this article, I will show you step-by-step how to make caramel sauce using the dry method.
Whether you're drizzling it over ice cream or using it in baking, this caramel sauce is sure to impress.
Uses for Homemade Caramel Sauce
There are so many uses for homemade caramel sauce that you will want to keep a batch in the fridge at all times!
You can quickly warm it up in the microwave (only heat for 10-15 seconds at a time and stir) or leave it on the counter for about 30 minutes if you want it a little more pourable.
Here are some of my favorite uses for caramel sauce.
- Drizzle over Apple Pie
- Drizzle over Ice Cream
- Use as a Caramel Apple Dip
- Add to Homemade Greek Yogurt
This caramel will stay scoopable even in the fridge, so it is ready when you want a little caramel sauce!
Ingredients & Substitutions
Sugar
Sugar is the main ingredient in making homemade caramel. In fact, true caramel is simply cooked sugar. The sugar caramelizes with heat and time which creates the signature caramel flavor.
You must use granulated white sugar in this recipe, or it will not turn out. Sorry, no artificial sweeteners for this one.
Butter & Cream
Butter
You can use salted or unsalted butter in this recipe based on your personal preference and what you have on hand.
There isn't any need to make any adjustments in the salt amount when using unsalted butter.
I have not tested the recipe with any butter substitutes like margarine or dairy free alternatives so I do not know how they will work.
The butter gives the richness to the caramel and I don't recommend skipping it.
Cream
The heavy cream in this recipe is what transforms hard and brittle cooked sugar (technically caramel) into a smooth and creamy caramel sauce.
I have not tested the recipe using any other liquid other than cream so I do not know how it would turn out if you used milk or water instead.
Flavorings
Salt
A little pinch of salt in the caramel will not make it salty, but it does bring out the sweetness of the caramel and blances out the complex flavors in caramel.
You can skip the salt if desired. It will not affect the texture of the caramel, but you may notice the caramel is a bit flat tasting. I use a touch of salt even when using salted butter.
Vanilla
Adding some vanilla extract to the caramel sauce is entirely optional, but it is delicious!
I don't recommend using vanilla paste in this recipe only because you will have specks of black dots in your caramel from the vanilla beans and that isn't visually appealing.
How to Make Homemade Caramel Sauce in the Ninja Possible Cooker Pro
You can make this recipe for homemade caramel in any appliance that has the sear/sauté function or in a skillet on the stove.
I used the Ninja Foodi Possible Cooker Pro in this recipe because I love the size of the pot and it's non-stick qualities. I found the temperature control to be perfect and I have never had a failed batch of caramel using it!
You can use any appliance that has the ability to sauté like the Ninja Foodi Pressure Cooker & Air Crisper, the Ninja Speedi, or an Instant Pot. The instructions are exactly the same except you may not have the preheat time that the Possible Cooker has.
If you are using a different appliance that has a stainless steel pot, reduce your heat to medium-high or medium.
Mise En Place (Prep for Recipe)
There isn't much prep needed, but when making any kind of candy you want to have everything ready and measured out because it moves quickly and you won't have time to go searching for an ingredient or measuring it.
- Remove the butter and cream from the fridge 30 minutes before making the caramel sauce
- Gather and measure out the other ingredients.
Making Caramel
- Start your Ninja Possible cooker on high sear/sauté.
- Dump in 1.5 cups of granulated white sugar into the possible cooker. This amount of sugar will yield about 2 cups of caramel sauce.
- Spread the sugar out over the bottom of the pot so it is in an even layer at the bottom.
- About halfway through the preheat time, give the sugar a stir and continue to do so a couple more times until the preheating is complete. The preheat on the Ninja Possible Cooker takes between 4-6 minutes.
- As the sugar heats, you may notice little specks of darker amber sugar; this is normal.
- Once the preheat is finished, stirring constantly is important to prevent burning.
- Continue stirring until the sugar rocks form. This will happen fairly quickly and you may think you ruined your caramel, but you did not. This is part of the process.
Continue stirring until all the sugar clumps into rocks and you will see it begin to melt and the color will be a tan or light caramel color at this point.
- As the sugar rocks melt, the liquid will deepen in color, indicating that caramel is forming. Actual caramel is simply cooked sugar. It is imperative that you stir constantly during this time or you could burn the sugar.
- If you smell burning sugar, turn the Possible Cooker off and remove the pot immediately from the base and place it on a heat proof surface like a wooden cutting board.
- When all the sugar rocks have melted, turn off the Ninja Possible cooker, but you can leave the pot in the base.
Quick Tip
Continue stirring the caramel as you add the rest of the ingredients.
Making Caramel Sauce
Now, it is time to turn this caramel into a pourable and dippable sauce by adding the remaining ingredients.
- Add ¼ cup (4 tablespoons) of room-temperature salted or unsalted butter. Expect some sizzling and bubbling as you stir it in.
- Incorporate a pinch of salt (about ¼ teaspoon sea or kosher salt) into the mixture while stirring.
- Pour in ½ tablespoon of vanilla extract. Avoid using vanilla paste to prevent black specks in your caramel..
- While stirring, gradually pour in ¾ cup of room-temperature cream.
- Once the cream is completely incorporated, your caramel sauce is done.
- Pour the caramel sauce into a glass jar like a canning jar and let it sit at room temperature for 30-60 minutes.
Quick Tip
The Caramel Sauce will thicken as it cools, but even refrigerated remains scoopable. You can warm it up or leave it out at room temp for 30 minutes prior to serving if you want it to be thinner and pourable.
How to Make Caramel Sauce on the Stove
The process for making caramel sauce on the stove is the same as making it in the Possible Cooker or another type of appliance, but there are a few tips to keep in mind.
Tips for Making Caramel Sauce on the Stove
- Use a pot or pan that is about 10" in diameter so the sugar can spread out in a thin layer for even heating.
- Don't use a thin aluminum pot or pan or the sugar may heat unevenly and burn in spots.
- If you use a stainless steel pot versus a non-stick pan you may need to turn your heat down a bit more.
- When using an electric stove, the heating elements don't cool down as fast, so remove the pan from the stove before adding the butter, salt, vanilla, and cream.
Making the Caramel Sauce on the Stove
- Add the sugar to a large skillet and turn the heat on medium-high. Stir frequently until you see the sugar rocks forming and then stir constantly.
- Once all the sugar has clumped into rocks, it will begin to melt and make caramel. Continue stirring until all the rocks have melted and you have a deep caramel color liquid.
- Turn the heat off and remove the pan from the burner if using an electric stove. Add the butter and salt. Stir to incorporate. Add the vanilla extract and stir.
- Slowly add the cream while stirring constantly and, once the cream has been incorporated, your caramel sauce is done.
- Pour into a heavy glass jar, like a canning jar, and let it sit at room temperature for 30-60 minutes.
- Put the lid on and store the caramel in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it.
How to Store and Reheat Caramel Sauce
How to Store Caramel Sauce
Refrigerator
Because of the large amount of cream in the caramel sauce, it is best to store it in the refrigerator where it will keep several weeks in an airtight container.
Canning jars are very convenient for storing the caramel sauce.
Freezer
Once it has cooled completely, you can store the caramel in the freezer. For the best quality, use within 3 months.
How to Reheat Caramel Sauce
This recipe will produce a caramel sauce that is pourable when warm and scoopable when cold. It will not harden or become chewy even in the fridge.
It is perfectly fine to warm the caramel sauce before serving, but remember heated sugar is extremely hot. I recommend only heating it in glass containers as it could reach temperatures that could melt plastic, especially if you reheat in a microwave.
Microwave
Every microwave is different in how it reheats and how powerful it is. However, you can usually reheat at full power in 10-second intervals until it is warmed through. Stir in between each interval.
Hot Water Bath
Place the sealed jar of caramel sauce in a hot water bath to quickly warm it up. You can also use a sous vide machine to set your exact serving temperature if desired.
Room Temperature
If you just want your caramel sauce to be a little softer for drizzling over your favorite desserts, let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Wet caramel starts out with sugar and water and is heated until the water evaporates. This is said to slow down the melting the sugar and produces a more pronounced caramel flavor, although I have made both types and have never noticed a difference.
Wet caramel can be finicky and crystalize easily which will ruin your caramel sauce.
Dry Caramel starts with heating sugar only until it forms sugar rocks and then melts into an amber liquid. I much prefer making dry caramel over wet caramel.
You can absolutely double the recipe if you want to make 4 cups of caramel sauce.
The process is exactly the same, but it may take a little longer for the sugar rocks to form and then melt.
Make sure you stir constantly so you don't have sugar sitting in one place for too long or it could burn.
Dessert Recipes that are perfect for Homemade Caramel Sauce
There aren't too many desserts that I can think of that don't go well with caramel!
Here are few recipes for you to try out with your homemade caramel sauce!
- Cinnamon Roll Bread Pudding
- Triple Chocolate Cheesecake ~ Pressure Cooker Recipe & Oven Directions Included
- Chocolate Pot De Crème in the Ninja Foodi
- Slow Cooker Brownies in the Ninja Foodi
- 10-Minute Apple Pie ~ Ninja Foodi Recipe
- Ninja Foodi Recipe ~ Cinnamon Apple Oatmeal Bake
- Banana Pudding with Meringue Topping
- Air Fryer Apple Fritters
Homemade Caramel Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 1½ cups granulated white sugar
- ¼ cup butter salted or unsalted at room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon fine grind sea salt or kosher salt
- ½ Tablespoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup heavy cream
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Instructions
- Turn the NInja Foodi Possible Cooker on high sear/saute and add the sugar. Spread it around so it is in a single layer. During the preheat time, stir the sugar a couple of times. I recommend using a wooden spoon to stir, but you can also use a high heat silicone spatula. Make sure whatever utensil you use can withstand temperatures over 340℉/170℃. It will take about 4-5 minutes for the Possible Cooker to preheat, and when it says "Add Food," you don't have to do anything. It will automatically go directly to Sear/Sauté.1½ cups granulated white sugar
- Stir constantly so the sugar is moving around in the pan, this will prevent it from burning. As the sugar heats, it will start to clump and form sugar rocks. As the sugar rocks form, they will start out light tan and darken in color. Once all the sugar has clumped into rocks, you will start to see it melting and deepening in color. This is the caramelization of the sugar occurring, and it is very important that you stir constantly during this process. it takes about 10 minutes or so for all the sugar rocks to melt.
- As soon as all the sugar melts, turn the Possible Cooker off. You do not need to remove the pot. Add the butter and stir to incorporate. It will bubble up some. Add a pinch of salt and the vanilla extract and stir.¼ cup butter, ¼ teaspoon fine grind sea salt or kosher salt, ½ Tablespoon vanilla extract
- Slowly pour in the heavy cream while stirring constantly. Once all the cream has been incorporated your caramel sauce is done.¾ cup heavy cream
- Carefully pour it into a glass jar or another heat-safe container and let it cool for 30 minutes at room temperature. Cover and store in the refrigerator until use. It is normal for the caramel to thicken as it cools, and while it remains scoop-able even refrigerated, leaving it to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before using will soften it. You can also microwave it in 10-second intervals, stirring between intervals until it has warmed through.
Notes
Stovetop Directions:
The stove top directions are the same as when using the Ninja Foodi Possible Cooker. Use a large skillet that is about 10", and your heat should be on medium-high for most cooktops.Other Appliances:
You can make this recipe in any appliance that has the sear/sauté function and follow the same directions. Most Ninja appliances will use high sear/sauté, but if you are using a stainless steel pot, you may want to reduce that to medium.Storage:
Homemade Caramel Sauce should be stored in the refrigerator and will last at least 2 weeks when stored in an airtight container. My preference is to use canning jars for storage of the caramel. You can also freeze the caramel if preferred.Nutrition
About the Recipe Author, Louise Long
Louise is a full-time recipe creator and food blogger @ The Salted Pepper. She has over 30 years of experience with cooking and recipe development. She owned a restaurant for several years and was a full-time RN until retiring to blog full-time.
She published her first cookbook in the Fall of 2018 and is very interested in writing several more.
Louise is also the creator of an online Ninja Foodi Pressure Cooking Course with over 100 instructional step-by-step videos. People absolutely rave about the course and all the value they have received from it.
Louise has several very active Facebook groups that help people with the basics of cooking and learning more about the appliances they love.
Ninja Foodi Pressure Cooker & Air Crisper 101
Ninja Woodfire Outdoor Grill & Smoker
Louise is also a YouTube creator and you can find most of her recipes in video format on The Salted Pepper YouTube channel.
She is very responsive to messages and eager to help in any way she can. Get more Information about Louise & contact information
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Amber
I made this a sauce a week or so ago and it is almost gone! We put it on everything from bread pudding, to homemade ice cream to sourdough apple pie with streusel topping. It is AMAZING!!!!!!!
Louise
I'm so glad you are loving it!
Theresa Murray
Is half and half considered heavy cream?
Louise
No, half and half is equal parts heavy cream and whole milk. This recipe uses heavy whipping cream, which is around 38% milk fat. Half and half is around 15-18% milk fat.
Theresa Murray
Thank you for replying. I can’t wait to make this.