There’s nothing better than a perfect caramel iced coffee. It’s sweet, slightly bitter, and so easy to make and use for drinks and desserts. You can use storebought caramel for an insanely quick coffee or make your own cheap and decadent caramel.

This caramel iced coffee can take only 2 minutes to make once you make your caramel, and you’ll enjoy it for days on end. It’s the perfect twist on a classic iced coffee!

Here’s how to make a creamy homemade caramel iced coffee at home!

What is Caramel?

Do you know what’s in caramel? It’s simple! Caramel is a semi-thick caramelized sugar sauce made from heating sugar, cream, and butter together. Essentially, caramel is a creamy sugar syrup.

Food Science Break: Caramel is brown because of the Maillard reaction when amino acids and reducing sugars undergo chemical reactions under heat and produce melanoidins, which give different flavors and brown color.

Under the heat, the sugar combines with air and breaks down into smaller sugar molecules that interact with each other.

To stop the sugar from cooking, add cold cream and butter to lower the sugar’s temperature and prevent sugar molecules from bonding to have a smooth, runny caramel versus a hard caramel candy.

How to Make Caramel

There are two main methods to make caramel: dry and wet.

In dry caramel, you heat sugar in a small pot by itself until the sugar liquifies.

In wet caramel, you heat sugar and water in a small pot until all the sugar dissolves.

Once your caramel is all liquid and turns a golden amber color, slowly add cream, then butter. You get the same result from using a dry or wet method.

What’s the difference, then? The dry caramel usually cooks faster since there’s no water, so dry is the way to go if you’re in a pinch or want to make hard caramel. However, you need to be very careful not to burn sugar!

With a wet caramel, you have more control over the caramel because you must wait for the water to evaporate before the sugar caramelizes. The sugar heats up more gradually with water, so it’s a great method for beginners or those unfamiliar with caramelizing sugar.

Homemade Caramel Recipe

You can make as little or as much caramel as you like as long as you use the same amount of sugar and water. I adapted this recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction. You’ll need:

• 1 cup of sugar
• 1 cup of water (if using a wet method)
• 1/2 cup of heavy cream
• 1 tbsp butter (usually there is more butter, but I opted for less)

First, add sugar to a pot and let it liquefy on low to medium heat. Don’t stir your sugar if you add water; stir a dry caramel slightly until liquid.

Once you see that the caramel is turning brown, watch it closely until it reaches an amber color. Then, lower the heat and slowly add your heavy cream. Because the cream is cold, the sugar will bubble up and produce steam to keep your face away from the pot!

Then, add your butter until it mixes thoroughly.

This recipe will give you a little less than a cup of caramel.

What Caramel Syrup is Best for Iced Coffee?

If you want a convenient option, buy a caramel syrup from the store! They’re premade and bottled, so squeezing and making cute cafe-style drinks with them is easy.

Any brand is good, so the best one is up to your personal preference.

I prefer homemade caramel because it’s cheap, easy, and relatively healthier. However, there are tons of caramels you can get from the store.

Torani is a classic that has both caramel syrup and caramel sauce. I prefer the sauce because it’s thicker and more fun to use.

Monin is another brand of drink syrup that has caramel syrup. I love their mini versions so that way I can try multiple flavors without having to finish up a big bottle.

I hear 1883 is a fantastic syrup brand, but I have yet to try it. Ghiradelli is also a classic, with a caramel sauce (and a local brand as a Bay Area girlie).

How to Make Caramel Iced Coffee

Here’s what you’ll need to make caramel iced coffee at home:

• Caramel syrup or sauce
• Ice
• Milk
• Brewed coffee

First, brew one cup of your favorite coffee and brewing method. You can make pour-over coffee, cold brew, drip coffee, coffee machine, etc. You can also use a premade coffee as well like a Stok cold brew or Starbucks brew from the store.

Once you make your coffee, add some caramel syrup or sauce and dissolve it while warm. Then, you can set it aside to chill or flash-chill it using ice. Alternatively, you can dissolve caramel in your milk, but it will take longer because it’s cold.

Then, add ice to your coffee and top with your favorite milk.

That’s it!

What Else Can I Add to Caramel Iced Coffee?

You can try so many different flavor combinations with caramel! Caramel works best with chocolate, vanilla, white chocolate, and other subtle, rounded flavors.

However, you can also experiment and see what works with caramel. For example, orange adds a nice bright, citrus flavor, apples are a classic pair, bananas are another classic, etc.

What Coffee Works Best

Cold brews are a great choice for iced coffee because it’s smooth and not bitter. Plus, it’s really easy to make beforehand and keep in the fridge.

I also love pour-over coffees for iced coffee because they have more flavor than regular brewed coffee from a machine or French press.

In terms of coffee roast, medium roast coffee is always a good middle ground, especially for coffees with sugar and milk. Light roasts tend to be better on their own or unsweetened, while dark roasts can have an overpowering roasted flavor similar to that of diner coffee.

Tips

Here are some tips for making this easy, delicious caramel iced coffee at home:

• If your sugar crystallizes when cooking, add a little water and dissolve the sugar. This happens when a crystallized sugar crystal falls into your sugar and crystallizes the rest. It’s easily fixed!
• Add 2-3 more tbsp of butter for extra richness in your caramel. It will make it smoother, richer, and creamier. More butter also makes it softer in texture because there’s more fat.
• The fat in the caramel sauce may seize in iced drinks, so it’s normal to see solidified fat in your drink. You can always strain or scoop it out for a smoother drink.