DIY Salted Caramel Creamer
Salted Caramel Coffee Creamer is an indulgent, sweet and salty coffee creamer that turns an ordinary cup of coffee into a special treat.
This creamer recipe begins with a homemade caramel sauce that’s mixed with real cream and milk. The rich caramel flavor pairs perfectly with the roasted notes of coffee, and is delicious in both hot and iced drinks.
What I love about this homemade creamer recipe is that you can use it straight from the fridge or steam some up for a velvety-smooth salted caramel latte.
Can’t get enough caramel & coffee in your life? Give my recipe for homemade caramel macchiato creamer a try.
Why You’ll Love this Homemade Creamer Recipe
Made with ingredients you may already have. What I love about this coffee creamer recipe, is that you don’t need to buy any unusual (and sometimes costly) ingredients like flavored extracts or nuts. All you need to make the DIY salted caramel flavor component of this creamer, is sugar, salt and cream.
Salted caramel sauce isn’t just for coffee. The first step of this recipe is to make homemade salted caramel sauce. The sauce is then combined with additional cream and milk to make the coffee creamer. As a bonus, now you’ll know how to make homemade caramel sauce for drizzling on top of lattes, ice cream and other yummy desserts.
Doesn’t contain any oil (ick) or additives. I’m a firm believer that coffee creamer should taste like…wait for it…CREAM! Have you ever looked at the labels on store-bought coffee creamers? Many brands actually have oil in them, not to mention a litany of ingredients you have no idea what they even are.
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Ingredients Needed
- granulated sugar
- water
- lemon (yes, lemon!)
- salt
- heavy cream
- milk
Sugar – This creamer gets all its caramel flavor by caramelizing granulated white cane sugar on the stove.
Water – A small amount of water is used to saturate the sugar. This “wet” method of making caramel is more forgiving than cooking it dry.
Lemon – Just a squeeze for acidity to prevent sugar crystallization.
Salt – Caramel sauce recipes have a small amount of salt to balance all the sweet. We’re going to add a little more since we’re going for salted caramel.
Heavy Cream & Milk – This recipe uses heavy cream twice. First, some is needed to make the salted caramel sauce. Then more is added to the sauce, along with some whole milk, to turn it into a flavored creamer.
For this recipe, equal portions of cream and milk are added to the sauce, so you can use half-and-half instead, if preferred.
How to Make Salted Caramel Coffee Creamer
This recipe begins by making salted caramel sauce on the stove.
You need a saucepan that has a lid
The way to tell when caramel is done cooking is when it turns an amber color! Use a light-colored saucepan with a glass lid, if you have it, so you can easily keep an eye on the color of the caramelizing sugar.
- Measure heavy cream for the sauce (3/4 cup). Warm it in microwave for 30 seconds. Set aside.
- Add sugar to a small saucepan, then add water a spoonful at a time, just until all the sugar is moistened. (about 3-4 tablespoons).** Do NOT stir. Add a squeeze of lemon for acidity to prevent crystals from forming. (See tips for cooking sugar below.)
- Cook the wet sugar over medium heat. Cover with a lid, preferably glass so you can watch the color of the sugar as it cooks. Do NOT stir. Once the sugar is amber in color (about 6-8 minutes), turn off the heat.
- Carefully add warm cream and salt to the caramel. It will splatter so be careful not to get burned. Do NOT stir the cream. Instead swirl the pan to combine. If needed, use a whisk. (At this point you have made salted caramel sauce that you can use as a topping for drinks and desserts.)
- To make salted caramel creamer, whisk in the remaining 1/2 cup heavy cream, and milk into the sauce. Give the creamer a taste, and add more salt, if desired. Funnel into a glass bottle and once cooled, store in the refrigerator.
Detailed recipe and instructions are in recipe card at bottom of post.
Making the caramel sauce.
Adding more cream to caramel sauce to make creamer.
Tips for Cooking Sugar
For the best caramel, free of lumps, you want to avoid crystallization forming along the sides of the saucepan. Don’t let that scare you off, just follow these tips.
- Add a squeeze of lemon. A little acidity helps prevent crystallization. Don’t worry, you won’t taste it.
- Cook sugar with water and a lid. Cooking sugar using the wet method helps it cook evenly and avoid scorching. Using a saucepan lid, as well, allows steam to form, hit the inside of the lid and wash back down the sides of the pan. This prevents sugar crystallization from forming around the pan.
- Do not stir.
- Don’t walk away. We’re cooking the caramel by color, so it’s important to keep an eye on it constantly. If you’re saucepan is dark, the true color of the caramel may be hard to distinguish. Put a small drip on a white dish to test the color.
- For the best flavor development, cook caramel to an amber color. Caramel goes from golden to amber (reddish-brown) quickly. As soon as it turns amber, turn off the heat.
- Add warm cream to keep caramel from seizing. To keep the caramel from breaking or seizing, swirl or whisk in heavy cream that’s been warmed up.
Ways to Use Salted Caramel Coffee Creamer
Add a splash to hot or iced coffee. Use this homemade creamer just like you would any coffee creamer. It’s delicious in brewed coffee, iced coffee, cold brew, espresso–you name it.
Make a salted caramel latte. A salted caramel latte is simply salted caramel sauce + steamed milk + brewed espresso.
This creamer already combines the sauce and milk, so you just need to warm it up. And since it’s made with real dairy, it steams and froths up nicely for lattes.
Make a quick iced salted caramel latte. Add 2 shots of brewed espresso to a cup. Top it off with this creamer and some ice. For a decadent option, add whipped cream with salted caramel drizzle. (Make a double batch of the sauce portion of this recipe, and reserve half of it for drizzling sauce.)
Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate – Replace milk in your hot chocolate recipe with this creamer, for a rich caramel and chocolate beverage.
Using salted caramel creamer for lattes or hot chocolate? This recipe make about 2 cups of creamer. If you need more for making lattes or hot chocolate, multiply the recipe.
More Homemade Creamer Recipes
- Homemade Cinnamon Roll Coffee Creamer
- Homemade Vanilla Sweet Cream Coffee Creamer
- Homemade Italian Sweet Cream Coffee Creamer
- Homemade Cookie Butter Coffee Creamer
- Homemade Sugar Cookie Coffee Creamer
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Salted Caramel Coffee Creamer
This Salted Caramel Coffee Creamer is sweet, creamy and loaded with rich, homemade caramel flavor. The recipe is made with natural ingredients like real sugar and cream, and only takes 10 minutes to put together. Salted Caramel Creamer is a delicious replacement for store-bought creamers like Dunkin' and Coffee Mate, and is perfect for splashing in coffee or making lattes.
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- 3-4 tablespoons water (enough to moisten sugar)
- squeeze of fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoons salt
- 1 1/4 cups heavy cream, divided
- 1/2 cup whole milk
Instructions
- Measure heavy cream for the sauce (3/4 cup). Warm it in microwave for 30 seconds. Set aside.
- Add sugar to a small saucepan, then add water a spoonful at a time, just until all the sugar is moistened. (about 3-4 tablespoons).** Do NOT stir. Add a squeeze of lemon for acidity to prevent crystals from forming. (See tips for cooking sugar below.)
- Cook the wet sugar over medium heat. Cover with a lid, preferably glass so you can watch the color of the sugar as it cooks. Do NOT stir. Once the sugar is amber in color (about 6-8 minutes), turn off the heat.
- Carefully add warm cream and salt to the caramel. It will splatter so be careful not to get burned. Do NOT stir the cream. Instead swirl the pan to combine. If needed, use a whisk. (At this point you have made salted caramel sauce that you can use as a topping for drinks and desserts.)
- To make salted caramel creamer, whisk in the remaining 1/2 cup heavy cream, and milk into the sauce. Give the creamer a taste, and add more salt, if desired. Funnel into a glass bottle and once cooled, store in the refrigerator.
Notes
Tips for Cooking Caramel Sugar:
- Add a squeeze of lemon. A little acidity helps prevent crystallization. Don't worry, you won't taste it.
- Cook sugar with water and a lid. Cooking sugar using the wet method helps it cook evenly and avoid scorching. Using a saucepan lid, as well, allows steam to form, hit the inside of the lid and wash back down the sides of the pan. This prevents sugar crystallization from forming around the pan.
- Do not stir the sugar.
- Don't walk away. We're cooking the caramel by color, so it's important to keep an eye on it constantly. If you're saucepan is dark, the true color of the caramel may be hard to distinguish. Put a small drip on a white dish to test the color.
- For the best flavor development, cook caramel to an amber color. Caramel goes from golden to amber (reddish-brown) quickly. As soon as it turns amber, turn off the heat.
- Add warm cream to keep caramel from seizing. To keep the caramel from breaking or seizing, swirl or whisk in heavy cream that's been warmed up.