Homemade browning sauce is made with brown sugar and water, simple to make and great for adding flavor to a variety of both savory and sweet dishes. This simple sauce will add smoky and slightly sweet notes to any dish.
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The full recipe with ingredients/instructions is available on the recipe card at the bottom of the post. Important tips/tricks are also included in the blog post.
My pantry is never without a bottle of this best Jamaican browning sauce, ready to add real depth of flavor to the dishes I like to cook at home. It works well with braised oxtail and in stews. However, I also like to add it to rich and fruity Jamaican cakes.
A homemade Jamaican browning sauce is a great alternative to store bought sauces. There is no salt or unnecessary preservatives or additives in this sauce. Just some brown sugar and water which makes it a budget friendly option too.
In this post I explain what browning sauce is, how simple it is to prepare, and how you can use it.
What is browning sauce?
Jamaican browning sauce is a sauce made by caramelizing sugar until it's rich and deep in color, then adding some water to it. You can also add a touch of salt to the sauce if you wish.
Browning sauce is used to flavor and season food and should not be confused with brown sauce, which is more of a sweet/savory condiment.
What does browning sauce taste like?
This sauce has a rich, deep smoky and slightly sweet flavor. It can be added to both savory and sweet dishes. Try adding a little to anything from stews and braised meat dishes, to spiced ginger cakes. Just don't be too heavy handed, as it can taste bitter.
Ingredients
With only 2 ingredients, here's what you will need for this recipe:
- Brown sugar
- Warm water
How to make browning sauce?
Place brown sugar in a small non-stick pot over medium heat. Stir occasionally until the brown sugar starts to melt. This should take about 4-5 minutes.
Once the brown sugar has melted, continue stirring consistently until it gets very dark, almost black. This should take about 2-3 minutes.
Once the sugar is dark, remove it from the heat and pour in the water, and stir. Allow the mixture to rest for about 5 minutes to cool down. Use in recipes or store for later use.
Can I adapt the flavor of the sauce?
When making your own browning sauce it all comes down to personal taste. Here are some suggestions of how you could adapt it.
- Add a touch of salt (I don't as I like to use it in sweet ginger cake as well as savory dishes).
- Swap the water for some beef, chicken or vegetable broth for a real savory flavor.
- If you don't have brown sugar, swap it for some white sugar.
How to use browning sauce?
I love adding this simple sauce to a variety of both savory and sweet dishes. Think of it as a seasoning, rather than a sauce, adding a hint of smoky, sweetness, and dark color. Try it in my Jamaican Oxtail recipe, my Brown Stew Chicken, or Brown Stew Fish. For a sweet twist add it to my Jamaican Black Cake, and it would also work in deep, rich ginger or rum cakes too.
You can also add this sauce to make your favorite gravies, like onion gravy and brown gravy, adding a richer and deeper color to them.
Recipe Tips
- Do not walk away from the pan when making this sauce, otherwise you risk the sugar burning and sticking to the pan.
- In order to avoid burning or damaging your cookware, I strongly suggest using a nonstick pan. It will also make cleaning up afterwards a whole lot easier.
- Take care when adding the water to the molten sugar to ensure you don't burn yourself.
FAQs
Browning sauce should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
If stored in an airtight container in your refrigerator, this sauce will keep for up to 6 months.
This homemade browning does not contain salt. You can season the sauce with a pinch of salt if preferred.
More Sauces & Seasoning Mixes
Homemade sauces and spice blends are a simple way of packing real flavor into our food, elevating it from good to great. Here are some of my favorite recipes for you to try.
- Homemade Remoulade Sauce
- Sweet Onion Dressing
- Homemade BBQ Sauce
- Apple Pie Spice Blend
- Pumpkin Pie Spice Blend
- Chicken Seasoning
- Jamaican Jerk Seasoning
- Homemade Taco Seasoning
If you have tried this homemade browning sauce recipe or any other recipe on my blog, then please rate it and let me know how it turned out in the comments below.
Homemade Browning Sauce
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup packed brown sugar
- ⅓ cup warm water
Instructions
- Place brown sugar in a small non-stick pot over a medium heat. Stir occasionally until the brown sugar starts to melt. This should take about 4-5 minutes.
- Once the brown sugar has melted, continue stirring constantly until it gets very dark, almost black. This should take about 2-3 minutes.
- Once the sugar is dark, remove it from the heat and pour in the water, and stir. Allow the mixture to rest for about 5 minutes to cool down. Use in recipes or store for later use.
Suggested Tools
Video
Notes
- Browning can be stored in the refrigerator for up to six months in an airtight container.
- This homemade browning does not contain salt. You can season the sauce with a pinch of salt if preferred.
- In order to avoid burning or damaging your cookware, I strongly suggest using a nonstick pan.
Patricia says
Second time making your recipe. Love it & Easy to make! This time I made 1/2 cup & next time will do 1 cup! So it last longer!
Tanya says
Thanks so much Patricia!
Vikki says
Too runny for me. Gravy browning is thick and concentrated so you only need a small amount. This didn’t colour my shepherds pie at all back to the drawing board.
Dan says
I'm excited to try,planning on browning some chicken and veg with some rice. I'll let you know.
Colin says
Hello! Hoping you can help me with this. The sauce never turned dark brown/near black (I stirred about 5 minutes after it fully melted), so I decided to go ahead and take it off the stove and stir in the warm water and even though I constantly stirred and poured the water gradually it almost immediately formed a tight hardened ball of mostly sugar with the darkened water around it. I used light brown sugar. Was that the problem? Or should I have just kept waiting for the molten sugar to blacken? Or let it sit off the heat for a minimum amount of time? Any suggestions are appreciated. I’m planning on making your oxtail stew and think it looks delicious.
Tanya says
Hi Colin, I used light brown sugar as well, so that's likely not the problem. Next time, I'd wait for the sugar to blacken a bit more before removing it from the heat and adding the water. I'd also go a little higher on the heat so that it can darken in the allotted time. Just make sure you are using a nonstick skillet so it doesn't stick or scorch the pot. I've also added a video to the recipe card so you can see it in action. I hope it helps 🙂
CaliCrissy says
This was a success on the first try! I think the key is medium heat, non-stick pan, and constant stirring, even once off of the heat. I continued to stir in the pan off of the heat until transferring to a glass jar. What a wonderful way to enhance corned beef!
Tanya says
Thanks so much CaliCrissy! So glad you found the recipe helpful and thanks for the additional tips 🙂
Betty Townley says
I tried to make this, but before it got almost black, it turned into plastic.
Tanya says
Oh no, what kind/brand of sugar were you using?
Rebecca says
I’ve never tried browning sauce. What’s it supposed to taste like? I made it and it definitely doesn’t taste sweet.
Tanya says
Hey Rebecca, lol. Your comment made me giggle because you are right, it isn't sweet. It used for color mostly. It's why brown stew chicken looks brown, black cake looks black, and oxtails look dark as well. I remember when I first tasted it by itself and was surprised that it wasn't sweet lol.
Jody Tatum says
hello! Wondering if this is with Light or dark brown sugar?
Tanya says
Hi Jody, I use light brown sugar.
Jody Tatum says
@Tanya, Thank you!
Terri Street says
I tried your recipe in desperation since I had to roast a turkey in an electric roaster and had no browning sauce. My experience has been that the moist heat of an electric roaster doesn’t create the beautiful golden finish we all want on our turkey. Your recipe was fast and easy, and it worked like a charm! Thank you so much!
Tanya says
Thanks Terri! I love that you used it to get a golden turkey. Great idea.
Michelle says
If I want to make more than 1/3 of a cup does this work if I double it? Or does too much make it harder to brown properly? I also usually do anything that caramelizes sugar in a lighter colored steel pot-- would hot sugar really ruin a pot that wasn't nonstick? Thank you!
Tanya says
Hi Michelle, I haven't tried doubling but I think you're theory may be right. Also, I use nonstick as I found sugar does stick to the nonstick and it didn't come out as well.
Paul Falls says
An impossible ingredient to follow nd here in Spain. Now my favourite brown fish stew is on the menu again!!
Tanya says
Awesome! So glad you find this helpful. I also love brown stew fish.
Cathy Mcdonald says
I made the brown stew chicken it was so good. Thanks for an excellent recipe.
Tanya says
Thanks so much, Cathy! So glad you liked the recipe 🙂
Mishelle says
I made this for my oxtail since my grocery store has been out. Came out so well. The same smell as “Grace”. Thanks for the recipe.
Tanya says
Thank you Mishelle, so happy the recipe worked for you.
Joel says
I've tried this a few times and every time I pour in the water the mixture suddenly turns hard, it does not remain a liquid.
Tanya says
Hi Joel, sorry this is happening to you. It sounds like the heat is too hot when browning the sugar, getting the mixture closer to candy. I'd suggest lowering the heat.
Alamrin semog says
@Joel, I had the same problem
Frank says
I'm curious how a recipe that calls for ⅓ cup of water and ⅓ cup of brown sugar yields 1 cup of sauce.
Tanya says
Hi Frank, that was an error. We typed it in wrong. It yields a little less than 1/3 cup.
Yolanda says
How do you store it for later use in other recipes?
Tanya says
Hi Yolanda, I store it in the fridge in a sealed container. It will last for months.