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Microwave Caramels are so incredibly easy to make and they turn out perfect! Soft chewy and perfect caramel texture made right in your microwave!

We love all recipes that have caramel in them! Be sure to try these other caramel desserts:  Salted Caramel Brownie Bites, Chocolate Caramel Fudge, or these Peanut Butter Caramel Chocolate Chip Bars.

Unwrapped Microwave Caramels pieces with wrapped microwave caramels behind them.

Microwave Caramels

Heyyyyy it’s Tiffany from Creme de la Crumb! Can you believe Christmas is one week away?? Crazy. Just crazy. I’m knee deep in wrapping paper and holiday treats and my house smells like pine and gingerbread. I’m one happy gal!

I’ll tell you what though, during Christmas time life is so busy and hectic that I LOVE finding really easy recipes that don’t take a lot of time. These caramels are no-fuss and sooo yummy – plus they make the perfect neighbor gift (if you can bear to part with a few!) I love to sprinkle  a little sea salt right on top of mine to get that salty-sweet thing going on – MMMM!

How do you make caramel in the microwave?

  • Start by generously buttering a 9×13 inch pan and set aside. In a microwave safe bowl, melt the butter. Once the butter has been melted, add the brown sugar, karo syrup, and sweetened condensed milk. Microwave on full power 4- 5 minutes.
  • Remove from the microwave and stir. Continue microwaving for 4-5 minutes. Stir again and add the vanilla.
  • Pour the caramel into the 9×13 inch inch buttered pan. Let them completely cool for 1-2 hours. Cut the caramel with a knife and wrap in wax paper.

Unwrapped microwavable Caramels with three of them on a parchment paper with wrapped microwavable Caramels behind them in the photo.

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Microwave Caramels

3.40 from 5 votes
By: Tiffany
Microwave Caramels are so incredibly easy to make and they turn out perfect!  Soft chewy and perfect caramel texture made right in your microwave! 
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours
Total Time: 2 hours 10 minutes
Servings: 24 caramels

Ingredients 

Instructions 

  • In a 9x13 inch dish, generously butter a 9x13 inch pan and set aside.
  • In a microwave safe bowl (make sure it is microwave safe!) melt the butter. Once the butter is melted add brown sugar, karo syrup, and sweetened condensed milk and mix well. Microwave on full power for 4-5 minutes.
  • Remove from microwave and stir. Continue microwaving for 4-5 minutes. Stir again and add the vanilla.
  • Pour the caramel into the 9x13 inch buttered pan. Let them completely cool for 1-2 hours. Cut the caramel with a knife and wrap in wax paper. Keep refrigerated.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 249kcalCarbohydrates: 42gProtein: 1gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 26mgSodium: 104mgPotassium: 94mgSugar: 42gVitamin A: 281IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 70mgIron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: American
Tried this recipe?Mention @alyssa_therecipecritic or tag #therecipecritic!

*Recipe from Simple As That

About Tiffany

Tiffany is an avid cook and photographer who enjoys eating food as much as she does preparing it. She likes to focus on quick, no-fuss meals with lots of big, bold flavors the whole family will love. Putting her own tasty spin on a classic meal or flavor combination is her passion!

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35 Comments

  1. Is that a total of 8 to 10 minutes in the microwave? Or do you stir once during the 4 to 5 minute period and then continue microwaving with a total of 4 to 5 minutes? The video doesn’t show a second microwaving of the caramel sauce.

    1. Yes, you will microwave a total of 8-10 minutes. You will stir after 4-5 minutes then again at the next 4-5 minutes. Hope that helps! These are amazing! XOXO

    1. Oh no! Sometimes putting them in the fridge longer does help the process. Caramels are a little sensitive to make but pretty simple in the long run too for a candy. Let me know if they made it! XOXO

  2. I have lost a recipe. Some of the ingredients are: peanut butter, white almond bark, dry roasted peanuts and i think perhaps rice krispies and/or marshmellows. Can you help me. Thanks

    1. I think I know what recipe your looking for, we just call it “Stuff”!
      Ingredients: 1 pound almond bark, which equals 8 cubes.
      2 cups each- rice crispy cereal
      dry roasted peanuts
      mini marshmallows
      Cap’n Crunch
      Peanut Butter
      Cereal
      Mix the dry ingredients in large bowl. Melt almond bark in microwave, just till melted. Pour over the dry ingredients and toss to coat. Pour out onto cookie sheet to let almond bark set up.
      Break apart and store in air tight container.

  3. 2 stars
    I made these yesterday and they wouldn’t harden, just like someone else commented. I left them in the fridge over night and they still didn’t harden. I was really disappointed’

  4. Hi.
    I wanna try this recipe. What do you mean by the following?

    1 – 14oz can sweetened condensed milk

    Could you please convert this to ml or grams? I just want to make sure it’s correct.

    Thanks.

  5. I tried these over the holidays and they would not harden. The flavor was wonderful but it was just a gooey glob. What did I do wrong??

  6. Greetings from Malaysia….is there a substitute for the light corn syrup?…it’s not always or easy to find in Malaysia….Can I use the Lyle Golden syrup instead?….It sure looks yummy….Thought I could make some to give as a present to my close friends celebrating Christmas….Thanks for the answer in advance…

    1. 4 stars
      You can replace 1 cup of light corn syrup with 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar dissolved in 1/4 cup hot water or other liquid used in the recipe. For 1 cup of dark corn syrup, you can use the following substitutions: 3/4 cup light corn syrup plus 1/4 molasses. 1 cup honey.

  7. So excited to try these! I have a question. Will altitude affect the cook time on these like with caramels made on the stovetop? I learned the hard way when I moved to Colorado and had to try THREE times. Do not want to do that again. 🙂 Thanks!

  8. Hi! Your recipes look great. I am making your Peppermint Meltaways from last year for a cookie exchange and wanted to know the yield. I have to bring 4 dozen cookies. Also what is the yield on this caramel recipe? The yield is important information that I think you should try to be sure to include on all of the recipes. Thanks so much!