This is the best caramel dip recipe ever. Made on the stove with butter, sugar, and sweetened condensed milk, it's the perfect consistency for dipping pretzels and apples.
THIS recipe is the one that your friends and family are going to be begging for! When you take it to a get-together you'll be the star of the show. And the best part - it only took you a few minutes to put together. This is the first recipe I publish online because SO many people asked me for it. You are going to love it too.
The Best Caramel Dip
This caramel dip recipe is something you need in your life. It is actually the very first recipe that I published as a blogger way back in 2009. I didn't even have a picture of the end product but wanted to share the goodness. And goodness it is! This is the perfect homemade caramel for dipping. It's thick and smooth, while still being scoop-able. I've made this recipe every fall since I first discovered it. I hope you try it and love it like I do.
I think of this caramel as party food and take it to fall parties over and over again. It makes about 3 cups of caramel dip, so there's plenty for a crowd. It's really simple to make, too -- you are just cooking a few simple ingredients on the stove. I serve it with apples and pretzels for dipping. There's something magical about fresh caramel and homegrown apples this time of year.
How do you get the perfect caramel consistency?
The goal for this dip is to be well, dippable, so you'll want to bring the sugar mixture to a nice bubble but not a full boil. If you boil it too long or hard, you'll end up with a thicker caramel that is great for dipping whole apples, but less great for dipping little apple slices and pretzels.
Can you use something other than corn syrup?
I often get asked about switching out the corn syrup in this recipe, and I haven't played with that much, so I don't recommend doing it. I only use corn syrup in this recipe, my white cloud frosting recipe, and in caramel corn. That being said, it is a different product than high fructose corn syrup. Here's an article from The Kitchn about it.
What should I do if I notice my caramel is burning?
Don't wander away from this recipe while it is cooking. You need to do a lot of stirring, or the bottom of the dip will scorch and burn -- not the dream. If you do see that the bottom is starting to scorch (you'll see little flecks of really dark sugar when you stir), remove the pan from the heat right away.
If the caramel hasn't finished cooking, you can return it to the heat while being careful to only stir the top of the caramel and avoiding scraping up the burnt sugar on the bottom of the pan. If the scorch isn't too bad, you won't be able to taste it, but you still might have little flecks of dark sugar in your caramel. It's not ideal, but it's better than feeling like you ruined the whole batch.
The Best Caramel Dip
- Total Time: 20 min
- Yield: 3 cups 1x
Description
Ingredients
- ½ cup salted butter
- 1 ½ cups brown sugar (light or dark)
- ¾ cup light corn syrup
- 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.
- Add the brown sugar, corn syrup, and sweetened condensed milk, stirring to combine.
- Stir constantly until mixture comes to a light bubbly boil, with just a few bubbles popping through the surface of the caramel (see notes for more details).
- Remove from heat right away and add the vanilla. Stir to combine.
- Serve warm or at room temperature with apple slices and pretzels, or drizzle over ice cream.
Notes
- The goal for this dip is to be, well, dip-able, so you'll want to bring the sugar mixture to a nice bubble but not a full boil. If you boil it too long or hard, you'll end up with a thicker caramel that is great for dipping whole apples, but less great for dipping little apple slices and pretzels.
- I often get asked about switching out the corn syrup in this recipe, but I haven't played with that much, so I don't recommend doing it. I only use corn syrup in this recipe, my white cloud frosting recipe, and in caramel corn. That being said, it is a different product than high fructose corn syrup. Here's an article from Serious Eats about it.
- Don't wander away from this recipe while it is cooking. You need to do a lot of stirring, or the bottom of the dip will scorch and burn -- not the dream.
- If you do see that the bottom is starting to scorch (you'll see little flecks of really dark sugar when you stir), remove the pan from the heat right away. If the caramel hasn't finished cooking, you can return it to the heat while being careful to only stir the top of the caramel and avoiding scraping up the burnt sugar on the bottom of the pan. If the scorch isn't too bad, you won't be able to taste it, but you still might have little flecks of dark sugar in your caramel. It's not ideal, but it's better than feeling like you ruined the whole batch.
- Prep Time: 5 min
- Cook Time: 15 min
- Category: Dip
- Method: Stove
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: caramel dip, how to make caramel dip, easy caramel recipe, homemade caramel apples, homemade caramel, how to make caramel, best caramel recipe
Other easy desserts you might like:
- Glazed Donuts
- Cinnamon Caramel Corn with White Chocolate and Pecans
- Pumpkin Sheet Cake with Caramel Frosting
- Caramel Apple Cake
- Gooey Caramel Corn
- Salted Caramel Pretzel Bark
- Cake Mix Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Grandma Shoaf's Quick and Easy Chocolate Sheet Cake
- Easy Apple Pie Recipe (Using Fresh Apples)
- The Best Easy Apple Cake
- Perfect Pumpkin Bread
- The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe Ever
- Soft Gingerbread Cookie Recipe
- The Best Simple Oatmeal Cookie Recipe
This post was originally published in October 2009, was republished with updated text, recipe instructions, and nutritional information in October 2017, and was updated and rephotographed again in September 2019.
This is truly the BEST caramel dip, and it's perfect for your next party because it's always a crowd favorite (and it only takes you about 20 minutes to put together -- you can't beat that!).
Hannah v
This stuff is incredible!!! The perfect consistency. I made a caramel, Cream cheese and skor bits dip and it was a HUGE hit! Just wondering if the caramel can be put in the freezer? Will it thaw nicely?
★★★★★
Melissa
You know I haven't actually tried putting it in the freezer and now I must! Let me know if you beat me to it and how it works out. I think it would reheat fine and if it's too thick just add a splash of cream when gently reheating...
Pamelia Bell
Does this dip have to be refrigerated?
Melissa
If it's just a day or two no, but if you want to store it longer than that I would.
Renee'
I made this recipe - Caramel dip last night. I like it but it doesn't taste caramel enough. It's pretty sweet ... sweetened condensed milk too strong. Can I add something to eat to curb the sweetened condensed taste? Thank you
Renea Holliday
Made a Carmel apple bar using this for the dip for my daughter’s high school cheer team. HUGE hit!! the favorite item of the dessert table! I served the dip with topping choices of chopped nuts, chocolate sprinkles, mini chocolate chips, regular sprinkles, and a squirt bottle with chocolate. No one used the chocolate syrup because the dip was so good. It was up against some heavy hitters too (cupcakes, cheesecakes, candy, cookies etc)
Tracy Taylor
Perfect caramel dip! Don't stop stirring, and keep on medium heat. Very creamy and perfectly dippable. Apples tonight and pears tomorrow. Thank you for a simple, quick recipe that is sooooo yummy!
★★★★★
Lisa
We loved this so much! It takes a while to cool down after cooking so be careful not to burn your mouth. We put this in the fridge after and it hardened up pretty good so we had to microwave before it was dippable again. Definitely recommend!
★★★★★
Debbie
If I make this a couple of days ahead, I assume I should refrigerate it? If I do that, will it thicken up too much, or will it just thin out to normal when I reheat it?
Melissa
Yep, it'll be thicker when it's cold so just reheat it a bit before serving.
Andria
This was easy and oh so yummy! Our family loved it as a dip for our freshly picked pears and drizzled over popcorn. The only thing is, I did not realize what a big batch it would make so next time I will simply cut it in half. We will definitely be making it again!
★★★★★
Melissa
Party-sized batch indeed! Pears sound wonderful! Thank you for the suggestion.