The Best Caramel Dip

4.75 from 44 votes

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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.

apples and pretzels dipped in homemade caramel dip.

I have a few favorite fall recipes that I always make for fun fall parties and events: apple cider, my favorite apple cheese board, and this Caramel Dip.

This caramel dip recipe is something you need in your life. It’s 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 I wanted to share the goodness. And goodness it is! I’ve made this recipe every fall since I first discovered it. I hope you try it and love it as much as I do!

apples and pretzels on a blue and white tray with homemade caramel dip.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

  • This is the perfect homemade caramel for dipping. It’s thick and smooth while still being scoopable.
  • I think of this caramel as party food and repeatedly take it to fall parties. It makes about 3 cups of caramel dip, so there’s plenty for a crowd.
  • It’s really simple to make, too—just cook a few simple ingredients on the stove.

Recipe Ingredients

  • Butter – I use salted but if using unsalted butter, add a tiny bit of salt
  • Brown sugar – either light or dark will work
  • Corn syrup
  • Sweetened condensed milk
  • Vanilla extract

See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities.

apples and pretzels dipped in homemade caramel dip.

How to Make the Best Caramel Dip

  1. Melt butter over medium heat.
  2. Add the brown sugar, corn syrup, and sweetened condensed milk, stirring to combine.
  3. Stir constantly until it comes to a light, bubbly boil.
  4. Remove from heat right away and add the vanilla.

Recipe FAQs

How do you get the perfect caramel consistency?

The goal for this dip is to be 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 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?

If you see that the bottom is starting to scorch (you’ll see little flecks of really dark sugar when you stir), remove the pan immediately. If the caramel hasn’t finished cooking, you can return it to the heat, being careful to stir only the top of the caramel and avoiding scraping up the burnt sugar on the bottom of the pan.

apples and pretzels laid around a bowl of homemade caramel dip.

Expert Tips

  • 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.
  • If the caramel does start to burn, remove the pan from the heat. 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.
  • I serve it with apples and pretzels for dipping, and it’s also fabulous on churro waffles and an easy apple cake.
apples and pretzels dipped in homemade caramel dip.

More Fun Fall Recipes & Projects to Consider

apples and pretzels dipped in homemade caramel dip
4.75 from 44 votes

The Best Caramel Dip

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.
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Total: 20 minutes
Servings: 24 (Make 3 cups)

Ingredients 

  • 1/2 cup salted butter
  • 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, light or dark
  • 3/4 cup light corn syrup
  • 1 can sweetened condensed milk, (14 ounces)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
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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.

Video

Notes

  • The goal for this dip is to be 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 not for dipping little apple slices and pretzels.
  • The corn syrup is a necessary ingredient so please don’t try any substitutes! (See my note above for more details, as well as this article from Serious Eats.)
  • Don’t wander away from this recipe while it is cooking. A lot of stirring needs to be done so the bottom of the dip doesn’t scorch and burn.
  • 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 carefully stirring 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.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 of 24 servings, Calories: 170kcal, Carbohydrates: 31g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 5g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Trans Fat: 0.2g, Cholesterol: 16mg, Sodium: 62mg, Potassium: 81mg, Sugar: 31g, Vitamin A: 162IU, Vitamin C: 0.4mg, Calcium: 61mg, Iron: 0.1mg
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Recipe Rating




179 Comments

  1. Elaine Root says:

    I got some pretty nasty looking burn pieces in mine so I strained it through a fine mesh strainer! Made it look a lot nicer and still tasted great!!

  2. Danni says:

    Do you think I could use this for a dipped donut glaze?

    1. Melissa says:

      It’s a lot thicker than a glaze BUT you could remove a bit when it hot and stir in additional cream to think it out, I think that would work.

  3. Kaylee says:

    5 stars
    I made this to go with apple slices and it turned out really well. I only made one change- I added a little sprinkle of salt and about 1/8 tsp baking soda at the end. The baking soda causes the caramel to foam up, which results in the final product having a softer texture from the microscopic air bubbles trapped inside. I found that 1/8 tsp baking soda was sufficient for a dip that could be scooped (with a spoon) straight from a cold fridge and would soften at room temperature quickly, but if you want it softer you can add a little more.

  4. Tricia says:

    1 star
    Just fixed this and even let it come to a full boil for a minute. Itโ€™s funny and doesnโ€™t taste like caramel. Not a fan. No idea why itโ€™s turning out for everyone else. Followed all the directions.

    1. Melissa says:

      The instructions say to NOT bring it to a full boil, it’ll be too hard and burns easily. You just want a few bubbles along the top.

  5. Jennie says:

    5 stars
    Do you store it at room temperature or in the fridge?

    1. Melissa says:

      I pop it in the fridge and just warm it up a bit before serving again!

  6. Emily says:

    Can you put this in a crockpot to serve?

    1. Melissa says:

      I’ve done it once. It worked better to make like a double boiler, put water on the bottom of the slow cooker on warm and then just set a thick bowl with caramel in the middle, keeps it from scorching!

  7. Sarah Ocean says:

    5 stars
    I made this and it turned out amazing ๐Ÿ˜‰ thank you! ๐Ÿ˜‹ I will make this again for sure. My whole family loves it. Yummy!!!

  8. Terresa Janvier says:

    Can I freeze this? For later use?

    1. Melissa says:

      I haven’t tried it! Will you let us know if you do and how it works?!

  9. Rachel says:

    5 stars
    Trying this recipe now. Thank you for posting such a simple recipe for hopefully a fantastic dip

    1. Melissa says:

      This is forever one of my favorite recipes, I hope you love it!

  10. Nowelle S says:

    4 stars
    Thank you for the recipe. The dip turned out good. I ate an apple with it. I am freezing the rest until I buy some more apples and I’m going to try it on ice cream.