Inspired by our love of warm caramel sauce and homemade ice cream, this is a wonderfully decadent ice cream. I’ve already made it twice in the past couple weeks.
The first time I made this was on a weekend my husband was out of town. I tasted it and then forced myself to hand the whole batch to a friend, because I knew I couldn’t be trusted with it on my own. (Yes, I have ice cream issues.) I made it again to share with my family this week and it was a huge hit.
Salted caramel is a beautiful thing. If you haven’t yet tried it, get to the stove and stir some together just as soon as possible. Just a tiny sprinkling of salt stirred into some warm caramel, one taste and you’ll understand its popularity.
And, if you haven’t made your own caramel sauce yet, get on it! You’ll thank me. Homemade caramel sauce is dangerously easy to make and like so many other things, it tastes ten time better than anything you can buy from a store.
Salted Caramel Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
Instructions
- Combine the sugar and the butter in a medium size saucepan, over medium heat. When the butter has melted, stir to combine and continue stirring for 4 minutes. When the sugar and butter have combined and are bubbly, smooth and thick, remove from the heat. Very slowly, pour the cream into the hot caramel, whisking constantly. Whisk until smooth, making sure there isn't a great deal of caramel stuck on the bottom of the pan. (A little bit of caramel stuck to the bottom edges is fine.) Add the milk, vanilla, and salt. Whisk again until smooth. Cover and refrigerate until cold.
- Process according to your ice cream machine's manufacturer's directions. Serve immediately for soft serve ice cream, or transfer to an airtight container and freeze for firmer ice cream. Enjoy!
ONE YEAR AGO TODAY: Breakfast Nachos
TWO YEARS AGO TODAY: Salmon with Black Bean, Corn, and Mango Salsa
THREE YEARS AGO TODAY: Vegetable Loaded Quesadilla
Sue/the view from great island says
I have to try this, I like that you don't need to fuss with a thermometer or anything, and it all comes together in one pan, yum!
Joshua Hampton says
I wouldn't trust myself alone with this ice cream either. I'll end up eating the whole batch on my own.
Jessica @ Stuck On Sweet says
This looks amazing Mary! I just made homemade caramel not too long ago and you are right…so much better than anything you can buy in a jar. Can't wait to try it in an ice cream now!!
Liz @ Floating Kitchen says
You are speaking my love language lady! I want to eat ALL the salted caramel ice cream!
Amanda says
I need to make this right now!!
Tangos Treasures says
Omgosh I made this yesterday and it's AWESOME! ! Thank you so much for sharing your recipes!! I've tried 2 other of your recipes and you can bet I'm going to try a lot more!!!
kay says
This is a **** recipe. I have made ice cream without eggs before and that is what I wanted. So yummly suggests this recipe. And it’s not even a salted caramel ice cream recipe it’s a caramel sauce recipe that says “Process according to your ice cream machine’s manufacturer’s directions. Serve immediately for soft serve ice cream, or transfer to an airtight container and freeze for firmer ice cream.” Thats just lazy!
Mary says
First, I’ve edited your comment to remove profanity. Normally, I’d ignore a comment altogether when it’s this rude, but I felt the need to address it. If you had actually taken the time to read through all the ingredients, and the directions, you’d realize that the recipe begins with a homemade caramel sauce that is then whisked into milk and cream to make a caramel ice cream base. I’m not even sure what you mean by calling this a lazy ice cream, but I truly wish you all the best in your ice cream making.
Katy says
Hey! I’m wanting to make this for my birthday dessert 🙂 What kind of milk do you use, or does it matter?
Thanks!
Mary says
I typically use whole milk. Enjoy!
stephanie says
I had been searching for an easy salted caramel ice cream forever (w/o eggs), made this this weekend, So yummy. We topped ours with toasted pecans, yum! thx for the recipe, its a keeper 🙂
Ann says
This recipe looks amazing. Can I still make this even though I don’t have an ice cream machine?
Keep up the great recipes 😊
Many thanks!
Pamela Kara says
Made this yesterday for company. I topped it with some toasted pecans. EXCELLENT! We all loved it! Thank you for the recipe.
Mary says
I bet this was amazing with toasted pecans, Pamela! I’m so glad you like the recipe.
Mignone says
Which butter best to use please? Thanks.
Mary Younkin says
I use salted butter in everything, Mignone.
Ellie-may Lansdowne says
Is this all the ingredients or do you make the caramel separate to go with it
Mary Younkin says
This is all of the ingredients. You’ll make the caramel on the stovetop first, Ellie-May.
Kay says
Perfect!! And I’m picky when it comes to salted caramel ice cream. This is yummy. Thanks!
Mary Younkin says
I am so happy to hear that you love the ice cream, Kay!
LB says
Caramel is not listed in the ingredients. Just, pour the cream into the hot caramel
Mary Younkin says
The first part of this recipe is instructions for making the caramel. The butter and sugar are cooked on the stove to form the caramel sauce. You add the cream after the caramel forms.
Vickie says
OMG!! I just made this and it has the BEST Carmel flavor ever for an ice cream. It won’t last long here.
Mary Younkin says
YAY! That’s how I feel about it as well, Vickie.
Linda says
I’m lactose intolerant so I’m curios as to whether either coconut or almond milk would work?
Mary Younkin says
Linda – You can but you will have to play with the amounts a little bit and know that the flavor will be different as the butter and brown sugar contribute to the salted Caramel flavor. If you do decide to try it be sure to use the Thai canned coconut milk as I have found that to work best. Also, there are several vegan ice cream recipes on this site that do not contain milk you might find helpful.
Fouzia Atif says
Mary can this be made without ice cream machine? Like beating or with a hand beater or egg beater?
Please let me know!
Thank you
Mary Younkin says
Here are some tips for making ice cream without a machine: https://barefeetinthekitchen.com/ice-cream-without-a-machine/