This is the easiest vanilla sauce recipe ever! It contains only 3 ingredients and goes perfectly on just about anything sweet like bread pudding, cakes, pancakes, or almost any dessert.
When I made these chocolate pound cakes, I wanted to add a little something to it. I ended up making chocolate ganache and vanilla sauce to serve with the cakes, and honestly, our family was split 50/50 on which was better. This sauce is so good on any cake, but I find myself pouring it on non-chocolate cakes more often. In fact, it’s a staple to serve with our Buttermilk Apple Cake and Creme Brulee Bread Pudding.
Only 3 ingredients
With only 3 simple ingredients: heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla, this is the easiest vanilla sauce recipe in history. You’ll find yourself making it over and over again. Pour over cakes, pancakes, waffles, crepes, bread pudding, ice cream, and blondies.
How to make vanilla sauce
All you need for this sauce is to heat together heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla, for a few minutes, and voila! Letting it simmer gently for about 10 minutes as the sauce reduces. That should be enough for it to thicken, but if it doesn’t, leave it for longer. It should be like thick liquid. I once forgot about it and left it on the stove for a while, luckily on very low heat, and that’s how I learned how thick and wonderful this sauce can get over time.
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Helpful Tips:
- Use quality vanilla. I use pure Traditional Mexican Vanilla or Vanilla Bean Paste for this. Don’t use artificial. My favorite vanilla comes from Blue Cattle Truck. It has a very low alcohol content (just 10%), which makes the flavor incredible. If you prefer using a vanilla bean, substitute the extract with 1 split and seeded vanilla bean. Cook the mixture with both the pod and seeds, and once the mixture is ready, discard the pod.
- For a richer, thicker sauce, you can add butter to the recipe – up to 1 stick/113g. .
- For a thicker consistency, you can add about 1 tablespoon cornstarch. If you do, you’ll have to whisk the mixture constantly until it’s smooth, or it can get lumpy.
Storing Vanilla Sauce:
Whether you make this creamy vanilla sauce ahead of time or simply have extra left over, store it in an airtight container. Keep it in the refrigerator for up to two days for best results.
The best recipes to use this sauce with:
- My Favorite Bread Pudding: Classic custard bread pudding with a torched creme brulee top for extra crunch and flavor.
- Apple Cake: Cinnamon and fall spices combine with delicious apples and buttermilk in the batter.
- Almond Cherry Cake: This simple to make, moist, light cake is full of almond flavor and unique in taste. The cherries are just a bonus!
- Pumpkin Pancakes: These pumpkin pancakes are soft, fluffy, and full of pumpkin flavor! Made with pumpkin spices and brown sugar.
Vanilla Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 cups (480 ml) heavy cream
- ⅓ cup (65 g /2.3 oz) granulated sugar
- 1-2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (or 1 vanilla bean – read above post)
- Optional: up to ½ cup (1 stick/113 g) butter for more flavor and a thicker, creamier consistency
Instructions
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Place all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture thickens, 10-15 minutes (or keep cooking until desired consistency).
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Drizzle sauce over cakes, pancakes, waffles, bread puddings, and more. Serve warm or slightly cool (the sauce will thicken as it cools).
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Sauce will keep in the fridge, in an airtight container, for up to a week.
Recipe Notes
Sugar: This sauce can be made with any sugar. I’ve also used coarse turbinado sugar, changing the flavor ever so slightly to a caramel-y cream sauce. It’s wonderful. It could also be made with a maple sugar and drizzled over pancakes.
וויני says
שבוע טוב שירן
קודם כל אני עם ארז 🙂 גם אני מעדיפה וניל
זה קרם וניל שאני לא מכירה, כי את מבשלת פה את השמנת המתוקה – חייבת לנסות
תודה על החידוש!!
Jess @ whatjessicabakednext.com says
This vanilla sauce looks amazing! Love it Shiran!
Shiran says
Thanks Jess!
pamela higgins says
can you reheat it a day later
Shiran says
Yes Pamela, you definitely can!
Coach Cheryl says
I used swerve instead of sugar, Delish!
Jenny says
I made this with condensed milk and a vanilla bean. OMG amazing.
Khaleel says
Hi Shiran, what’s the difference between Vanilla beans and vanilla extract. I tried Vanilla Sauce in Malaysia and am in love with it. I would like to make the tastiest, best, most flavoursome vanilla…I have searched and it seems vanilla beans are harder to get hold of than vanilla extract. in addition vanilla beans seem to be more expensive…I was wondering does it make a huge difference in the taste?
Shiran says
Hi Khaleel, yes, there’s a difference in taste and vanilla bean has the best vanilla flavor, but if it’s hard for you to find, using pure vanilla extract tastes really good, too.
Hermit says
By “seeded”, do you mean remove the seeds from the pod but leave them in the mixture?
Shiran says
Yes, exactly. You need to add the seeds to the mixture.
catherine says
how do you make it not liquidly?
Shiran says
Hi Catherine, the sauce should have the consistency of a thick liquid.
Nanette says
HI Shiran, just found your site. I have gained five pounds just READING, can’t wait to try a few recipes! Beautiful job summarizing and then detailing recipes, great photos! My new “go to”! Do you have a clever trick to get the flavor of simmering vanilla beans/pods, without the black flecks? Thinking of making crème patisserie (spell check keeps replacing word!) and vanilla sauce (not together…sugar overload!). I always use pure vanilla extract, but in ice cream LOVE the richness and little flecks. In pastry creams, not so much liking the look of black pepper! I’m looking for a new source for clear vanilla since I used mine all up.
Shiran says
Thank you Nanette! If you’re using vanilla pod, I’m not sure how you can avoid those black flecks. Personally I like their look. Otherwise, I use vanilla extract.
Peter says
Just a theory.
Could you add cinnamon to spice up the flavor?
Shiran says
You can definitely try. Sounds good to me!
Julie says
Do you need to cook it
Sharmila says
Just made this sauce and paired it with a marmalade pudding cake. It’s divine.
Thank you
Sharmila says
Made this wonderful sauce today and paired it with a marmalade pudding cake. It tasted divine
Emily @ Emily’s Tasty Adventures says
I’m making this tonight to go along with your Strawberry Cake recipe! Can’t wait to try it!!
Rose says
Hi. Can you use regular milk instead of heavy cream?
Shiran says
Hi Rose, I recommend sticking to the recipe. If using milk, the sauce will be thin and not as rich.
Kayte Krout says
I actually did 1/3 heavy cream and 2/3 cup whole milk and mine came out pretty creamy! I did have to boil it down for quite some time but it came out delicious!!
Stephanie @ Pretty.Simple.Sweet. says
Thank you, Kayte! That’s good to know. I’ve only ever made this with heavy cream.
Ingrid says
Would it work as well to replace the sugar with honey or maple syrup?
Shiran says
Hi Ingrid, I don’t recommend it because maple syrup and honey have a strong flavor.
Susan Rhode says
I made this sauce for some bread pudding I had made. I used a half stick of butter but next time I’ll only use about two tablespoons. This sauce was delicious! I added about 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg to the finished sauce. My bread pudding had cinnamon and nutmeg in it and this sauce with nutmeg was the perfect compliment! It is very similar to what my Mom used to make as I was growing up. Thank you for such a wonderful recipe!
Paul Edwards says
Hi shiran have you ever made a caramel sauce using golden syrup? I did following a recipe but once cooled i stored in jars in the fridge and the next day the syrup had separated and sunk to the bottom of the jars I don’t know where I went wrong
Johanna Gibbons says
Delicious!
Can the leftover vanilla sauce be frozen?
Janet says
Can you tell me how much this recipe makes? thank you
Shiran says
About 2 cups!
Amy says
This was the best. First time trying to make this sauce. My family loved it. Complimented the bread pudding
Kenn says
Can I substitute the heavy cream for whipping cream?
Shiran says
Yes!
Karla Linares says
Really good recipe 😋 I love it.
I was trying to find a vanilla sauce for eat with bananas pancakes and is perfect. I will try to add some cocoa powder will see if it works… what do you think?
Shiran says
You can, or you can add some melted chocolate. You can also try this chocolate ganache recipe or this hot fudge sauce recipe.
London says
Absolutely perfect! This was a huge hit for my boyfriend’s birthday strawberry shortcake. Everyone loved it, I should have made double!
Mary says
I love this sauce. I use it in my coffee as a substitute to white chocolate sauce. I love that I know exactly what the ingredients are, rather than the list of many hard to pronounce & full of preservatives ingredients in the ‘white chocolate’ sauces that can be purchased from the store.
Stephanie @ Pretty.Simple.Sweet. says
What an excellent idea, Mary! Thank you so much!
Amy E Martin says
The sauce turned out way too thin never thickened I do not recommend adding all of ingredients at once definitely add the vanilla at the very end Once you pull it off the heat
Stephanie @ Pretty.Simple.Sweet. says
Hi Amy! I’ve made this sauce many many times and it always comes together perfectly and gets as thick as you’d like as it reduces over the heat.
Marilyn says
I was hopeful, but this sauce never thickend up. What a wast of ingredients. I have been stirring this for 1 hour already
Stephanie @ Pretty.Simple.Sweet. says
If you stirred it for an hour over medium heat, it would have burned and evaporated.
Tammy says
I’ve been looking for a vanilla version of chocolate syrup. Can this sauce be used in recipes?
Stephanie @ Pretty.Simple.Sweet. says
Hi Tammy! I haven’t tried using it in a recipe – usually just drizzling it over desserts. What recipe are you trying to use this substitution in?