Sweet and salty together make coffee taste like a café drink. You’ll learn how to make salted caramel creamer with simple ingredients. Don’t stop here—check out the rest of the homemade recipes in this article.
The Creamer
This creamer gives your coffee a rich, sweet, slightly salty kick. It’s not hard to make at home, and you really only need a few basic tools and ingredients.
Equipment
Honestly, you don’t need anything wild here. A solid saucepan for heating and mixing, and a whisk to keep things smooth and prevent any burnt bits. A heatproof spatula comes in handy for stirring, and you’ll want a glass jar or something similar with a lid to stash your creamer in the fridge. Measuring cups and spoons help keep things consistent.
If you’re a texture perfectionist, a fine-mesh strainer will get rid of any lumps. And a little funnel saves you from sticky spills when transferring the creamer to its container.
Ingredients
You only need a handful of pantry staples for this. Here’s what you’ll want:
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
If you’re after a lighter version, swap in half-and-half for the milk and cream. Using unsalted butter? Just toss in a little extra salt.
Instructions
Here’s how to pull it all together:
- In a saucepan, melt the sugar over medium heat, stirring the whole time.
- Once it’s liquid and deep amber, add the salted butter and stir until it melts in.
- Slowly pour in the milk and cream, whisking as you go. It’ll bubble up—don’t panic.
- Keep whisking over the heat until it’s smooth and any stubborn caramel bits dissolve.
- Take it off the heat. Stir in the vanilla and sea salt.
- Let it cool a bit, and strain if you want it extra smooth.
- Pour into a container with a lid and pop it in the fridge.
Tasting Notes
The flavors here are pretty distinct. Caramel hits first—rich, sweet, but not too much. The salt doesn’t just sit in the background; it actually lifts everything up and keeps it from being one-note. The butter makes it all feel a little more luxurious.
You’ll notice the caramel right away, then that gentle saltiness sticks around for a second. The texture is creamy and coats your coffee just right. Vanilla’s in there too, but more as a supporting act.
This creamer works with hot coffee or iced, honestly. The milk and cream smooth out any bitterness and bring up the sweetness, but it never gets syrupy or heavy.
Quick Pro Tips
Keep stirring the sugar while it melts—if you stop, it’ll scorch in a heartbeat. A heavy-bottomed pan makes life easier, spreading the heat more evenly. If your caramel clumps up when you pour in the milk, don’t panic; just keep whisking gently over low heat and it’ll smooth out again.
Let the creamer cool down before you stash it away, or you’ll get a weird layer of condensation in the jar. Give it a good shake before using, since it does tend to separate a bit—totally normal.
Taste before tossing in more salt; some butters are really salty already. If you need a dairy-free option, coconut milk and a vegan butter substitute actually work surprisingly well.
Label your jar with the date (trust me, it’s easy to forget). Try to use it up within a week or so for the best flavor.
