When you hear Buttermilk Syrup, you still probably think about maple syrup. This syrup is amazing because it can be used similar to a maple syrup on breakfast recipes from pancakes to waffles to crepes, but it’s also my go-to caramel sauce for desserts like ice cream and cheesecake and makes an incredible gift, all wrapped up in a cute mason jar. The flavor is incredibly well rounded and it lends itself well to so many different uses. It’s also a great use for leftover buttermilk, if you bought a container for a single recipe (like my Buttermilk Ranch Dressing) and now don’t know what to do with the rest! Once you learn how easy this is to make, it will become a household staple!
Ingredient and Equipment List
- Buttermilk – I don’t recommend buttermilk substitutes in this recipe, and I haven’t tried it with powdered buttermilk. I like to use real buttermilk, though low or full fat is just fine.
- Butter – I use real, salted, butter. If you use unsalted butter, you’ll want to add a little extra salt to the sauce to balance out the flavor.
- Sugar – Use regular white granulated sugar.
- Corn Syrup – Corn syrup is an important ingredient because it prevents the sauce from crystallizing.
- Baking Soda – Baking soda is important because it reacts with the acidic ingredients and helps with the sauce’s texture.
- Vanilla – Vanilla adds flavor to the finished caramel sauce.
Instructions
- Combine buttermilk, butter, sugar, corn syrup, and baking soda in a large pot.
- Heat and stir to combine all ingredients and then bring to a low simmer.
- Continue to simmer until the mixture turns deep golden in color.
- Let cool to warm and stir to smooth.
Store in an airtight container in the fridge. You can heat in the microwave to warm up.
Your sauce will probably start to get a little grainy and crystallize before it goes bad. Eat up up in 3-4 days for best results.
No, this recipe is not designed for canning. If you gift it in a mason jar, make sure the recipient knows to just keep it in the fridge. TIP: Sometimes after this sauce sits unused for a day or two, it will get a little crystallized (but still tastes amazing!) Testers have found adding an extra tablespoon or so of corn syrup helps with this. If you plan to gift this buttermilk caramel, you may want to try that.
Buttermilk Syrup
- Total Time: 15
- Yield: About 2 cups sauce
Description
Your newest go-to sauce and syrup for…well, everything.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 1 1/2 cup sugar
- 8 Tablespoons (1 stick) real butter
- 2 tablespoons corn syrup
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Combine buttermilk, sugar, butter, corn syrup, and baking soda in a LARGE pot. Like one you’d make soup in. Yes, you’ll have way more pot than ingredients but this will boil all over your newly-cleaned stove if you put it in a smaller saucepan.
- Bring ingredients to a boil and reduce heat to low (as long as it’s still bubbling, you’re okay). Cook, stirring very frequently, for 8-9 minutes. You’re basically making candy here and candy-making requires constant vigilance.
- When it’s done, it should take on a golden-brown color. Remove from heat and add vanilla.
- There will be foam on top. As it cools a little, just keep stirring and the foam will subside.
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 10
- Category: Condiments
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Questions & Reviews
I made this with waffles tonight and my kids are now calling it “mom’s magic syrup.”. It’s a hit around here!
Oh my word!!!!! I am making this in the morning for my kids for breakfast! How do you store leftovers? Not that I anticipate any leftovers!
Just pop it in the fridge 🙂
I almost laughed out loud when I saw that you have a 12 lb bag of baking soda! Awesome 🙂 Anyway, I’m making the caramel apple bread pudding with this tonight and cannot wait to try it!
I just made this yesterday and it turned out thin. Is it supposed to thicken on the stovetop or after removed from the heat? Not sure if I cooked it too long or not long enough…
If it’s thin, then chances are it was undercooked.
What role does the 2 Tablespoons of corn syrup play in this recipe? I try to avoid corn syrup and would not use the remainder of the bottle for any other recipe. Thanks!
Well, corn syrup is different chemically from high fructose corn syrup–Karo has been around way longer than HCFS. 🙂 That said, it’s used in candy making for stabilizing the final product. I’ve heard you can substitute honey, but I’ve never tried it, so I can’t say if it works or how it tastes.
This is the best syrup ever! My family won’t allow anything else on their pancakes anymore. I do change it up sometimes and add coconut extract in place of vanilla for an *amazing* coconut syrup. So good!!
i made a batch of this and it was *life changing* the morning that i made it… perfectly smooth and caramel… ly. we put it in the fridge and took it out tonight, heated it up on the stove and it was gritty. grainy. like the sugar crystals have separated out. have you ever had this happen? i’m thinking it means i didn’t cook it long enough… or is that normal and i should’ve just heated it longer? we don’t have a microwave, so that’s not an option…
Hmmm…I’m not sure what happened, but I’ve always reheated it in a microwave. Maybe try adding a little bit of water and heating it up very slowly? I wish I were Alton Brown sometimes. 🙂
Wow! This is crazy good! Will be making this again!
I rushed through reading the recipe for the caramel sauce and accidentally added the vanilla to the pot with the rest of the ingredients, what difference does that make? Thanks Girls~
I did the same thing, but it still tasted delicious. 🙂
This is soooooo goood. We had this for breakfast with the buttermilk pancakes and leftovers for lunch. Can I just say, I’m in Heaven!!
I just tried this recipe. Oh, yum! I’ve never had any kind of homemade caramel syrup come out well, but this is wonderful stuff. And easy. I think I will always have some of this on hand from now on.
Hi, do you have a print option on your recipes?
Finally got around to making this. YUM. we had it on top of pumpkin spice waffles! and don’t worry. I did lick my plate 🙂 I used milk/vinegar for the buttermilk, and also dark caro. it turned out awesome. thanks!
Wow lots of info! Besides sweets, Buttermilk is great for Chicken!! It is a tenderizer; marinate your legs and breasts ect.. in the buttermilk and roll them in your preffered breading and seasoning, throw them in the oven and wow! very tender, great tasting Buttermilk Baked Chicken.
Buttermilk! Do you have some food combinations that you carry from childhood? For me buttermilk is combined with a liverwurst on rye sandwich with sliced raw onion and tomato. My saliva production just increased.
Absolutely delicious! I feel like I have to apologize, too… I had my doubts when I threw everything into the pot and all I smelled was buttermilk, and I thought, “How in the world is this going to be tasty?” but holy moly, I’ve been dipping bananas in it all day long just to have an excuse to eat it! Thanks guys!!!
Thank you for this recipe! I’m 57 and had no idea it would be so easy to make caramel. I used the buttermilk powder, and have already had it on a bowl of vanilla ice cream and some from the spoon. It will make a great dip for apple slices, and much better than the kind sold in stores as a dip.
My family LOVES this syrup! It really is lick-the-pot good. I wonder, do you think that you could can it (seal it in canning jars)? It would make for some wonderful Christmas gifts!
Renee- this recipe hasn’t been tested for food safety when canned so we wouldn’t recommend it. But it certainly looks darling packaged in mason jars and gifted fresh! I’ve done that many times; just let people know it needs to be stored in the fridge.
You don’t have to buy buttermilk — you can make it. For every cup of milk, substitute one tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice for a tablespoon of the milk. Let it sit for at least five minutes. It will curdle the milk, turning it to buttermilk.
Everytime I make this it’s SO DARN GOOD. I’m looking forward to being pregnant again sometime in life so I can gorge myself on this syrup with no shame.
Hands down the hit of our homemade ice cream extravaganza at work. An easy and straight forward recipe. Thanks.
I have fallen in love with your site. i am a mother of all daughters so there is always something being cooked and tried here at my house. the only thing i would like to see added to your site (unless i just haven’t found the spot to do it) is a way to mark certain recipies or like a “recipe box” some way to keep them marked.
YUM! I love this syrup! It’s the best I’ve ever had.
I get so many comments / requests for this recipe! It makes an ordinary waffle something amazing. I don’t think I’ve had a better syrup. We stock buttermilk powder in our pantry; love having everything I need for this on hand.
Oh how I love this! It is so good!!! I’ve had it on your puffed French toast and ice cream and just plain eating it out of the bowl. So evil….
think I’m gonna make this to go with the red, white & blue pancakes I plan to make my family for Monday – who cares if I’ll likely be the only one eating it – that just means MORE FOR ME!!!!! *happy dance*
I just made this recipe after searching the Internet for a quick-and-easy caramel recipe. I used honey instead of corn syrup, since I’ve never had a need for the latter. After reading of the possibility of it being too thin, I also cheated a bit and mixed one or two tablespoons of cornstarch in. I don’t like such “tricks,” but it turned out wonderfully. I realize, however, my shortsightedness: I don’t have in the house anything on which to put the sauce!
that would be my issue, but i am a MAJOR caramel fan and eat it from the spoon every time the fridge is opened like they were talking about earlier lol.
if you don’t have buttermilk, you can use 1 t. vinegar and regular milk. I’ve been making it for years and don’t ever buy the buttermilk anymore.
One comment, one question.
1. I stirred this the entire time and got no foam, just a wonderfully delicious syrup and I’m dying to let it cool so I can have it on ice cream :).
2. Is there a way I could convert this somehow to be the caramel topping on the faux twix recipe?
Sara- that was a recipe that I photographed for our cook book and it got pulled at the last minute! But no fear- it is sure to show up either on the blog or in another book soon!