An easy, rich sea salted caramel pumpkin sauce that’s delicious drizzled over ice cream or used as a flavor enhancer in a variety of desserts.

Sea Salt Caramel Pumpkin Sauce

When I shared my pumpkin chocolate chunk bread, I warned you that there were going to be a handful of pumpkin recipes already in the pipeline ready to go. I get it, pumpkin flavored anything in July seems crazy, but hey, there are people who are also celebrating Christmas in July so you tell me who is crazy now. (It’s just a joke; I fell asleep watching a cheesy Christmas movie on Hallmark last night.) 

This sea salted caramel pumpkin sauce was inspired greatly by the caramel pumpkin butter you can buy in the fall from Williams-Sonoma which I almost seem to be buying in bulk every  year. Since I was going off of memory, the two recipes have their differences: mine is much smoother, less gritty, while theirs is obviously a butter and has a thicker, less pourable consistency. Theirs has some citrus flavors buried within the recipe, while I have swapped that out for the unexpected bite of ground coriander. 

The caramel base is made with a single can of sweetened condensed milk that is baked in the oven. Baked in a water bath, it’s transformed over two hours into a delicious caramel that can be used in just about everything. Midway through the making process, I like to remove the baking dish from the oven, stir in a couple of punches of sea salt and let it finish cooking. 

Once it’s a beautiful golden color, I remove it from the oven, let it cool slightly before I combine it with pumpkin purée and spices. It’s really not difficult at all. Plus, any leftover sauce can be stored covered in the refrigerator for up two weeks when stored in a mason jar with the lid on right.