This homemade Caramel Milk is a simple and delicious treat that uses a caramel syrup instead of caramel sauce for easy stirring and extra sweet and buttery flavor impact. It's a flavored milk that will be loved by both kids and adults!
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Caramel feels like one of the most universally loved flavors. It's easy to see why considering it's the perfect combination of sweet, buttery, and creamy and pairs well with so many other flavors.
I love using caramel in everything from ice cream to donuts to
But one of the simplest ways to enjoy the rich, slightly nutty delicacy? In milk!
This caramel milk recipe will be a favorite amongst both kids and adults and it couldn't be easier to make!
❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
If you enjoy flavored milks, you'll definitely want to try caramel milk!
While most caramel milk recipes call for mixing caramel sauce into milk, I recommend using a caramel syrup instead. I find that sauces don't stir into cold milk very well, but syrups easily do.
Homemade caramel syrup is incredibly easy to make, but you can certainly use a store-bought syrup if you prefer.
🗒 Ingredients
You can probably guess that you don't need many ingredients to make homemade caramel milk... You really only need two! But I do recommend making your own caramel syrup to make this recipe truly homemade. The syrup only has three ingredients involved.
Here's what you need (be sure to check out the recipe card at the bottom of this post for ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions):
- 2% milk: I like to use 2% milk, but you can use the milk or non-dairy alternative of your choice
- Caramel syrup: I'm sharing my homemade syrup recipe with you in this post, but you can also feel free to use store-bought caramel syrup
I also drizzled my glass with caramel sauce just for visual appeal, but you certainly don't need to do this! Or you can drizzle it with caramel syrup instead.
And here's what you need if you're making your own caramel syrup:
- Granulated sugar
- Water
- Vanilla extract
🫙 How to make caramel syrup
Making homemade caramel syrup is super simple. In fact, I think it's easier than making a caramel sauce!
Put sugar and ½ cup water in a medium saucepan and bring mixture to a boil while stirring occasionally.
Once sugar has dissolved, let the mixture continue boiling without stirring.
Watch closely for the mixture to turn a light amber color. It usually takes about 8-10 minutes for me, but it can go from light amber to being burnt very quickly, so be sure to watch it closely.
Once the mixture is light amber, immediately remove the saucepan from the heat and slowly and carefully pour the remaining ½ cup water in.
It will likely splatter and steam up, so stand back while pouring. Add vanilla and stir well to combine.
Pour the syrup into a heat-proof bowl or mason jar and place in the fridge to cool completely.
The syrup will continue to thicken as it cools.
Yes, it's that easy to make your own caramel syrup for coffee, milk, and all kinds of other treats!
🥛 How to make caramel milk
Once you have your syrup ready and cooled, you're so close to enjoying a nice tall glass of caramel milk!
Just pour the milk of your choice into a glass and stir in about 2 tablespoon caramel syrup until it's combined.
Taste and add more syrup if desired. It all depends on how sweet and caramel-powered you want your milk.
I drizzled my glasses with a little caramel sauce, too, just for visual appeal.
⏲️ How to store
You should store the caramel syrup in a mason jar or other airtight container in the fridge. It should keep fresh there for about a month.
If you want to make a big batch of caramel milk, instead of just a glass, you can do that, too. Just be sure to store it how you would store any kind of milk: in an airtight container in the fridge.
You should consume the caramel milk by the milk's expiration date.
🎉 Variations on recipe
This milk is sweet treat perfection in my eyes. But you can also feel free to utilize additional ingredients to make it even more fun! Here are some ideas:
- When you're making the caramel syrup, add salt to turn it into a salted caramel syrup. Or you can simply add a dash of salt to the caramel milk as you're stirring the syrup in.
- Line your milk glass with chocolate sauce - chocolate and caramel are a delicious pairing!
- Top your caramel milk off with a dollop of whipped cream.
- Use it as the milk in a milkshake. Or simply serve it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream in it.
- Add caramel bits or crushed toffee over the top or line the glass rim with them.
- Use this caramel milk in your coffee - it's better than any store-bought coffee creamer! Or you can add coffee ice cubes to the milk to add just a little bit of ice coffee flavor.
- Turn it into a hot cocoa by heating it and mixing in some cocoa powder. Add mini marshmallows, too!
🔥 Can I make hot caramel milk?
Yes, you definitely can!
Just warm the milk in a saucepan, until it's hot but not boiling. Alternatively, you can warm the milk in a mug in the microwave.
Once hot, stir in the caramel syrup. Pour into a mug and enjoy!
As I mentioned above, you can stir in some cocoa powder, too if you want a hot chocolate caramel milk. You can also stir in some salt or add a shot of espresso.
🙋♀️ Can I use other kinds of milk?
You can use any kind of milk or dairy or non-dairy alternative for this caramel milk!
I like to use 2% milk as it's creamy and decadent an turns this into a total treat. But you can certainly use skim milk or 1% (or, of course, whole milk, if you want even more of a treat!).
And if you prefer nondairy milks, anything will work, though the taste of the milk will obviously change a bit depending on the type of milk used. Caramel and oats go well together, so oat milk would be delicious. Coconut milk would also be fabulous with the caramel flavors.
You should also note that some of the dairy alternatives aren't pure white in color so the color of the milk may change a bit (especially with almond milk and oat milk).
🍓 More flavored milk recipes
Did you know that you can make flavored milk in essentially any flavor you want? It's especially easy with my arsenal of simple syrup recipes!
Here are some of my favorite easy milk recipes, but I think sugar cookie milk and cinnamon dolce milk would also be absolutely delicious.
If you're more of a traditionalist, try this perfect chocolate milk recipe!
I will take caramel in any form I can get it and that includes both eating and drinking it!
I hope this homemade caramel milk brings some extra happiness to you and your family!
What flavor of milk would you love?
📖 Recipe
Caramel Milk
Ingredients
- 2 cup 2% milk (or milk or dairy alternative of your choice)
- 2 tablespoon caramel syrup (recipe below or store-bought)
Caramel Syrup
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup water, divided
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Pour milk into glass and stir in about 2 tablespoon caramel syrup until combined. Taste and add more syrup if desired.
Caramel Syrup
- Put sugar and ½ cup water in a medium saucepan and bring mixture to a boil while stirring occasionally.
- Once sugar has dissolved, let mixture continue boiling without stirring. Watch closely for mixture to turn a light amber color. It usually takes about 8-10 minutes for me, but it can go from light amber to being burnt very quickly, so be sure to watch closely.
- Once mixture is light amber, immediately remove from heat and slowly and carefully pour remaining ½ cup water in. It will likely splatter and steam up, so stand back while pouring. Add vanilla and stir well to combine.
- Pour syrup into a heat-proof bowl or mason jar and place in fridge to cool completely. Syrup will continue to thicken as it cools.
Notes
- Store leftover or a big batch of caramel milk in an airtight container in the fridge. You should consume the caramel milk by the milk's expiration date.
- When stored properly in an airtight container in the fridge, caramel syrup should keep fresh for about a month.
- For more information on caramel syrup, check out this post.
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