Quick & Easy Butterscotch Sauce Recipe - Blogtastic Food (2024)

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You just can’t go wrong with good old fashioned butterscotch sauce. You can put it on top of so many different desserts, it should take no longer than 10 minutes to make, and I’ll show you how to make a vegan butterscotch sauce.

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You really can’t go wrong with dessert sauces but butterscotch sauce is definitely a favourite of mine. Super naughty, super tempting and super addictive!

How easy is butterscotch sauce?

It’s as easy as putting butter and brown sugar in a pot.

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Dissolving that sugar through the melted butter.

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Adding some cream and mixing it through.

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And then letting the sauce simmer for about 5 minutes stirring occasionally.

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Yep, it’s that easy, I like to think of it as the easier version of caramel sauce.

SAFETY TIP: Now, I just want to quickly mention something important, I know you’ll be tempted to taste that butterscotch as it simmers, but DO NOT TOUCH IT! Any form of boiling sugar has the capacity of burning through layers of skin.

What to serve it with Butterscotch Sauce

The idea isn’t to just slurp this sauce like soup, although I wouldn’t blame you if you did, am I right?! (No, I’m just kidding, please don’t do that). The idea is to use it to make your desserts extra special. Here is a list of desserts that work beautifully with butterscotch sauce.

  • Sticky date pudding

Sticky date pudding recipe

  • Bread pudding (If you subscribe to this blog, you’ll receive a free ebook featuring 10 recipes. One of which is the most amazing bread and butter pudding.)
  • Christmas Pudding
  • Ice cream

9 no-churn ice-cream recipes

  • Pancakes

Maple bacon pancakes (probably best to leave the bacon on the side)

  • Cakes

Rosewater Cake with citrus buttercream

  • Waffles
  • Cinnamon Rolls

Vegan apple and cinnamon rolls by Crumbs & Caramel

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Just to name a few.

how to make vegan butterscotch sauce

In order to make this recipe vegan, we have to make it dairy free. And stripping away the dairy means making the sauce without cream and without butter.

So I tried using a margarine that was vegan and instead of using cream, I used coconut cream. Unfortunately the sauce split, and I am not 100% sure why but I think it has something to do with the fact that the margarine has a higher water content than butter, and it’s less fatty too. And that water content may have interfered (as we know, water and fat do not mix well at all).

So instead I just used brown sugar and coconut cream.

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And to my surprise, it actually worked! And the measurements are simple, for every 3rd of a cup of brown sugar, I add 1/4 cup of coconut cream. Now, the sauce is quite a lot thinner than the original butterscotch sauce, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I wanted the sauce to be thicker so I added a slurry.

I put 2 teaspoons of cornflour (I believe you Americans call it cornstarch) and the same amount of water in a small container and mixed it together until all the cornflour dissolved in the water. I then added that mixture to the sauce as it was simmering. And when you stir the slurry through as the sauce bubbles you’ll see it begin to thicken.

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So 2 ingredients, that’s all you need to make a vegan version of butterscotch sauce!

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Making it without brown sugar?

You can also sweeten the butterscotch sauce with other ingredients. For example, I had some leftover maple syrup and honey in the pantry, so I made another butterscotch sauce but this time, I replaced the brown sugar with those 2 ingredients.

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I used the same measurements of honey/maple syrup to brown sugar, but I knew I wasn’t going to get that nice dark colour that the classic butterscotch sauce has. Which isn’t a huge deal, but I tried to give this sauce a similar look by adding 1 teaspoon of cinnamon.

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And it actually worked out quite nicely!

The final photo right before the recipe below in the post is actually the butterscotch sauce flavoured with honey and maple syrup. And as you can see it looks pretty dang good.

Using golden syrup may also be a good option.

Butterscotch sauce vs caramel sauce

I couldn’t simply state which one is better, I personally think that butterscotch sauce is better but that is one opinion. So let’s just go over the 2 main differences.

  1. Caramel sauce is made with white sugar and butterscotch sauce is made with brown sugar.
  2. To make caramel sauce, you are required to bring the sugar to a syrup, letting it bubble until the syrup forms into a golden caramel. From there you add the butter and cream. There is a bit more of a process to making caramel sauce and extra care is required too because you have to make sure the sugar doesn’t crystallize as the syrup bubbles. Unlike butterscotch where you simply just have to dissolve the brown sugar in the melted butter before adding the cream and then just letting the mixture bubble for a short while.

If you prefer caramel sauce, you can check out my amazing Rum Flavoured Salted Caramel Sauce recipe.

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How long does butterscotch sauce keep?

Butterscotch sauce will keep in the fridge for about 2 weeks. So if you don’t think you’re going to use up a cups worth in 2 weeks, maybe try halving the recipe.

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As always thank you so much for checking out this post. If you would like to subscribe, you can sign up below, you can also follow me on Instagram @blogtastic.food.photography and feel free to tag me if you make one of my recipes.

Thanks again and have an incredible day!!

Quick & Easy Butterscotch Sauce Recipe - Blogtastic Food (18)

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Quick & Easy Butterscotch Sauce Recipe

An amazing dessert sauce that goes particularly well with ice-cream and pudding.

CourseDessert

CuisineEngland

Keywordbest butterscotch sauce, easy butterscotch sauce, quick butterscotch sauce

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Servings 1 cup

Calories 1255 kcal

Author Nicolas

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Put the brown sugar and butter in a pot over medium heat stirring occasionally until the butter has melted, the sugar has dissolved through and the mixture starts to bubble.

  2. Next, slowly and gently add your cream and stir through until well combined.

  3. Bring the sauce to a boil, then as soon as it's boiling bring the heat down to a gentle simmer. Let the sauce bubble for about 5 minutes until you have a nice saucy consistency. Keep an eye on the sauce, making sure it doesn't bubble over.

  4. DO NOT TOUCH THE SAUCE as it is extremely hot and any form of boiling sugar can burn through layers of skin.

  5. Once the sauce is done, turn the heat off, add your vanilla extract, stir through one last time and leave to cool for a bit.

  6. Store in a jam jar or something similar and leave in the fridge until you're ready to use it again.

Recipe Notes

  • This sauce will keep in the fridge for about 2 weeks.
  • This sauce is amazing on sticky date pudding, bread pudding, Christmas pudding, ice-cream, pancakes, cakes, waffles and cinnamon rolls.
  • To make vegan butterscotch sauce, add 1/4 cup of coconut cream to every 1/3 of a cup of brown sugar to a pot. Then simmer the 2 ingredients for 5 minutes.
  • If you want to thicken the vegan butterscotch sauce, add a slurry my mixing 2 teaspoons of water and cornflour in a bowl/container, then adding that mixture to the sauce as it simmers.
  • Use can replace brown sugar with honey, maple syrup and/or golden syrup. If however, you want to give this butterscotch sauce a darker colour you can add a teaspoon of cinnamon.

Nutrition Facts

Quick & Easy Butterscotch Sauce Recipe

Amount Per Serving

Calories 1255Calories from Fat 668

% Daily Value*

Fat 74.2g114%

Saturated Fat 46.8g293%

Cholesterol 207mg69%

Sodium 551mg24%

Potassium 305mg9%

Carbohydrates 150.3g50%

Sugar 146.1g162%

Protein 2.7g5%

Calcium 150mg15%

Iron 1.1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Quick & Easy Butterscotch Sauce Recipe - Blogtastic Food (2024)

FAQs

Quick & Easy Butterscotch Sauce Recipe - Blogtastic Food? ›

It's as easy as putting butter and brown sugar in a pot. Dissolving that sugar through the melted butter. Adding some cream and mixing it through. And then letting the sauce simmer for about 5 minutes stirring occasionally.

What is butterscotch sauce made of? ›

Ingredients for Butterscotch Sauce

A traditional butterscotch sauce recipe requires only three main ingredients: brown sugar, butter, and heavy cream. That's it! We also add in a little vanilla and salt to boost the flavor.

Why is my butterscotch sauce not thickening? ›

If the sauce cools down and you still find it to be too thin, then it's undercooked. You can place it back on the heat for a bit to let it thicken up even more. If it's too thick, gradually add a bit more cream until it reaches the desired consistency.

What is the main ingredient in butterscotch? ›

Butterscotch is a type of confectionery whose primary ingredients are brown sugar and butter. Some recipes include corn syrup, cream, vanilla, and salt. The earliest known recipes, in mid-19th century Yorkshire, used treacle (molasses) in place of, or in addition to, sugar.

What's the difference between caramel and butterscotch sauce? ›

At its simplest, caramel is sugar that's heated and melted until it's brown but not burned. Water can be used to thin it, or to make soft caramel, cream or milk is added. Butterscotch at its most basic is a mixture of brown sugar and butter, melted and cooked together. Cream is typically added.

What makes the flavor butterscotch? ›

The flavor of butterscotch is characterized by a mixture of browned butter, caramelized sugar + molasses (or dark brown sugar in modern versions) and salt.

Is butterscotch just vanilla and caramel? ›

Butter scotch is bit harder and as suggested by name is made by brown sugar and butter whereas caramel is softer and made by white granulated sugar with either milk/whipped cream or butter with pinch of vanilla.

How do you thicken butterscotch sauce? ›

Butterscotch is very liquid – This usually means your sauce has a very thin consistency often the result of undercooking. Sometimes, however, high-moisture butter or low-fat creams are usually the culprits. Place it back on the heat and let the liquid evaporate. The sauce will thicken as you heat the mixture.

Why is my butterscotch sauce grainy? ›

Graininess occurs when the sugar in caramel sauce hasn't completely dissolved before adding in butter and heavy cream or if the caramel is cooled too quickly. Luckily, you can bring grainy caramel sauce back to a smooth, creamy consistency with an easy fix. Simply reheat it on the stovetop and add more liquid.

How do I make my sauce thicker and creamier? ›

The most readily available sauce-thickener is flour. For a too-thin sauce, try adding a slurry (equal parts flour and water, whisked together) or beurre manie (equal parts softened butter and flour, kneaded together to form a paste)—both are ideal thickeners for rich and creamy sauces, such as steak sauce recipes.

What is the combination of butterscotch? ›

In the kitchen, FOBs (friends of butterscotch) include apples, pecans, cream, nutmeg, cloves, cardamom, chocolate, dessert sherry, rum and Scotch whisky. Here are some simple ways to showcase its flavor: Make butterscotch sundaes. Add a little Scotch or rum to warm butterscotch sauce.

Why is butterscotch so expensive? ›

Its ingredients, butter and sugar are relatively expensive for candy.

What's the difference between butterscotch and Scotch? ›

Butterscotch, on the other hand, is made with brown sugar instead. Butterscotch originally was just a hard candy. The suffix “scotch” is not related to alcohol, but to the method of cutting. Hard candy is difficult to break into clean pieces, so the candy is “scotched” (scored) to make it easy to cut later.

Is butterscotch just caramel? ›

Similar to caramel, butterscotch is made by heating sugar. The main difference between the two is that butterscotch uses brown sugar instead of white. The ingredients are also combined in a slightly different order for butterscotch: your start out by melting butter with brown sugar.

Is butterscotch made of butter and scotch? ›

No. The "scotch" part of butterscotch refers to the candy being poured out onto a flat surface, then scored (scotched) in a crisscross pattern to make little rectangular or triangular pieces. It's mainly made of brown sugar, butter and/or cream, vanilla, and sometimes a small bit of salt.

What is the origin of butterscotch sauce? ›

Origin. Butterscotch is claimed to have been first named in 1817 in Doncaster, England by Samuel Parkinson.

What's the difference between butterscotch and scotch? ›

Butterscotch, on the other hand, is made with brown sugar instead. Butterscotch originally was just a hard candy. The suffix “scotch” is not related to alcohol, but to the method of cutting. Hard candy is difficult to break into clean pieces, so the candy is “scotched” (scored) to make it easy to cut later.

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