These microwave caramels are easy to make in one bowl in 6 minutes with no candy thermometer! Soft, chewy and buttery homemade caramel candies are a holiday favorite.
I love pretty much any dessert that has caramel like this microwave caramel corn, caramel brownies and caramel apple pie bars.
Table of Contents
6-Minute Microwave Caramels
Microwave caramels are soft, chewy and super easy to make! I seriously love how these homemade caramels taste with a delicious soft, chewy flavor. At the holidays, everyone always wants this candy recipe, my Christmas crack recipe and chocolate turtles!
These easy caramels made in the microwave are pretty close to my grandma’s homemade caramel candy recipe but much easier to make. I still love making those every year, but they take quite a bit of time (and stirring), so it is nice to have this recipe on hand for for a quick treat.
Ingredients
There’s only 6 basic ingredients in these caramels from condensed milk, I bet you have most of these already in your pantry.
- Butter: You can use salted butter or unsalted butter. You can always add in a pinch of salt if you prefer saltier caramels.
- Sweetened condensed milk: This adds a sweet taste and a creamy consistency. You can find this in a can on the shelf in the baking aisle.
- Karo syrup: The light corn syrup works best. It has a more mellow flavor than the dark (which has a similar flavor to molasses).
- Sugar: Use granulated white sugar for this recipe (light brown sugar will give it a butterscotch taste).
- Pure vanilla extract: A little goes a long way to add a big boost of flavor.
How to Make Microwave Caramels
You seriously won’t believe how easy these soft caramel candies are to make! It’s done in one bowl in your microwave.
- Melt butter in a large microwave-safe bowl. Then you’ll add the sugar, corn syrup and sweetened condensed milk and stir until smooth.
- Place in the microwave and cook for six minutes, stirring caramel mixture halfway in between.
- Allow to set and then slice and wrap in wax paper. Place in fridge to set faster if needed.
Helpful Tips
- Test the caramel by dipping a spoon in the caramel and then dipping in cold ice water. If it comes out the caramel texture (soft ball stage), it’s ready. Then pour it in your dish and allow to set. If it’s too soft, microwave another 30 seconds.
- I love using a plastic knife to cut the caramels. I’ve tried fancy knives and for some reason the plastic knives work better.
- Once the caramels are cut make sure to wrap them in your wax paper squares and then place in an airtight container to prevent the homemade candy from drying out.
- If you’re adding nuts, make sure to add right away before batch of caramel starts to harden.
- Dip in chocolate similar to my homemade toffee or drizzle melted chocolate over top with a little sea salt for a more gourmet caramel.
How to Store Microwave Caramels
After the caramel has set, use a plastic knife to cut them into pieces. Then wrap each piece in wax paper so that they don’t stick. They will stay soft for about 2 to 3 weeks.
More candy recipes to make for holiday treats include Twix cookie bars, buckeyes and divinity candy.
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Microwave Caramel Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light corn syrup
- ½ cup sweetened condensed milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of sea salt
Optional: 1/4 cup chopped pecans
Instructions
- Prep. Line an 8×8″ pan with parchment paper. Run a stick of butter over the top to prevent the caramels from sticking. Set aside.
- Microwave. Melt 1/4 cup butter in a large 8-cup microwave-safe bowl. Add 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup corn syrup and 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk and stir until smooth. Place in the microwave and cook for six minutes, stirring halfway in between.
- Test. To test if the caramel is ready, place a spoon into the caramel and then dip into a cup of cold ice water. If it resembles a soft ball (the texture you’d want your caramels to be), then it’s ready. If it’s still too soft, cook for an additional 30 seconds at a time. It should be about 240°F.
- Add vanilla, pour in pan. Remove bowl from microwave and stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla and a pinch of sea salt. Add pecans if desired. Pour caramel into prepared pan and allow to set. Sprinkle with sea salt if desired. You may place in the refrigerator for 20 minutes to cool them quicker.
- Cut into pieces. Cut with a plastic knife and then wrap in wax paper to prevent the caramels from sticking. Enjoy! :)
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Categorized as: American, Candy + Fudge, Christmas, Desserts, No-Bake, Vegetarian
Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook and shares easy family-friendly recipes and desserts for every occasion.
This recipe is totally a keeper! I love it! But BTW, if you put salt on it, first of all, the salt falls off, second, it sucks some of the moister out of the caramel, making it harder to chew. Not to mention cut. It was still very good i my opinion, but just wanted to let you know;)
Thanks for sharing! I’ll stick to nuts! :)
I tried this and the flavor turned out PERFECT, but it ended up being really hard. I made it exactly according to the instructions, what do you recommend tweaking? I’m going to wait to rate until I give it another shot. :)
Hmmm…I would probably recommend decreasing the time by 30-60 seconds. Every microwave cooks things so differently, so they may have been a little overcooked. Hope that helps with the texture! Caramel can be tricky sometimes, I remember when I tried making stovetop caramels it took me about 3 tries to get them perfect.:)
Hi Stacey, I fixed these today but I must have messed up mine boiled over in the microwave, there was almost a minute left. I cleaned the microwave, stirred everything again, added salt vanilla and some pecans. I left them sitting on the cabinet they are pretty soft but I took some of them and wrapped in wax paper that didn’t look like any wax paper i ever saw, read the box microwavable, anyway I wrappedsome of them but could I have put them back in and cooked them, they taste goodand disolve in
I usually make caramels on the stove and use heavy cream in place of evaporated milk. Would that work in your recipe?
Hi! I also have a recipe on the stove where I used heavy cream. I’ve never tried substituting it in this recipe, but I don’t think it would work as well as it does on the stove.
Y mixture kept boiling over I microwave. So had to keep stopping it. Caramel was too soft to wrap in wax paper. Going to try again thoigh
Definitely try again, it sometimes takes a couple tries to get it just right but it is so worth it! Maybe try using a larger bowl next time and make sure to do the ice water test! :)
I’m SO going to give this recipe a try for Christmas gifts this year. However, i need to double and maybe even triple or quadruple the recipe. Any cautionary advice on making your recipe in a much larger batch?
Hi Stacey! I haven’t tried doubling the recipe, but I would probably only recommend doubling the recipe and then doing another double batch. You made need to add another minute of cook time, just do the ice water test first and then add more time. :)
Can you use unsalted butter? How many watts is your microwave?
Definitely! :) I believe its 1000 watts.
I have been making caramel on stove top for a number of years, especially, to give as Christmas gift . My caramel is somewhat darker, well, like the color of caramel. Yours looks much lighter, but takes very little time to make. Can you cook it longer in the microwave to make it a bit darker? I will try your version also.
Hello! I wouldn’t recommend cooking it longer in the microwave as it may change the texture of the soft caramel!
I haven’t tried this yet, but try the Kari dark syrup…it might give the color you are after… God bless and enjoy?
Maybe use brown sugar for 1/2 of the sugar.
to keep them from sticking to each outher any suggestions before placing in giftbags .
Hi Roxanna! If you wrap them individually in wax paper that should prevent the sticking! :)
Looks good, and so easy!
I cannot get over that these are made in the microwave!
Wow, how easy is this? Totally adding this recipe for the holidays ahead!
I’m bookmarking this recipe to make next week. I can’t believe how easy these are – so perfect for gift-giving!
These look incredible! I cannot wait to try this out!
Can’t believe how easy these are!
LOVE that these are made in the microwave! :) So easy!
YUM! I’m obsessed with caramel! I can’t believe how easy these are.
Love it very much. It could also be a perfect ingredient for a lot of dessert we make these days ! Thank you and have a pleasant day !