These salted caramel macarons are absolutely packed with caramel! Not only are they filled with caramel buttercream and a straight up salted caramel center, they also are decorated with a drizzle of caramel sauce!!

They’re one of my favorite macaron flavors. There’s just something about that salty-sweet combination that keeps me coming back for more.

Equipment You’ll Need to Make These Salted Caramel Macarons

These salted caramel macarons don’t require a ton of equipment.

However, I find they turn out best when the ingredients are weighed, and the macarons are baked on a silpat mat. As macarons bake, they usually spread less on silpat mats than parchment paper.

Below is a list of the equipment I like to use when I make salted caramel macarons:

• Kitchen scale
• Stand Mixer or Electric Mixer
• Large piping bag
• Round piping tip
• Large, flat baking sheets
• Silpat Mats (or parchment paper)

Making Salted Caramel Macarons: Step-by-Step Process

While the recipe below is quite detailed, I find visual cues to be super helpful!

Below are some photos and a video tutorial of the process to help guide you through this recipe for salted caramel macarons.

Step #1: Prep Your Ingredients and Equipment to Make These Salted Caramel Macarons

After weighing your ingredients, wipe down your mixing bowl and whisk attachment with a bit of vinegar or lemon juice to remove any residual grease. This helps the meringue whip up better!

Step #2: Sift Your Dry Ingredients

Sifting the superfine almond flour, powdered sugar and cocoa powder will help your macaron shells turn out nice and smooth.

This step makes sure that no chunks of almond or powdered sugar get mixed into your macaron batter.

Step #3: Make French Meringue

Next, it’s time to make the French meringue! Whisk the egg whites on a medium speed until soft peaks form, then add in the granulated sugar.

Once the sugar is incorporated, increase the speed to medium high and mix until stiff peaks form.

Keep a close eye on your mixer to avoid over mixing the meringue. Stop the mixer once you notice the meringue begins to gather in the whisk.

Step #4: Mix the Dry Ingredients into The Meringue

Slowly fold the dry ingredients into the meringue. Continue to fold and mix the batter until it becomes smooth and somewhat shiny.

The batter should form a thick ribbon that flows off your spatula when it’s lifted. I like to perform the figure-8 test to check my consistency!

This is when you lift your spatula and see if you can draw a figure 8 with the batter running off your spatula in one consistent stream.

You should be able to draw a couple figure 8s once your macaron batter is the right consistency.

Step #5: Pipe the Macaron Shells

Fill a large piping bag with the macaron batter and pipe 1 1/4-inch rounds onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 1 inch apart.

Firmly bang or drop your pans on the counter a few times to bring any trapped air bubbles to the surface and pop them with a toothpick.

This can help you avoid hollow or cracked shells.

If desired, you can also sprinkle some flakey sea salt on top of your macaron shells while they’re still wet to really pack them with salty flavor.

Step #6: Rest the Piped Macaron Shells

Next let the macarons rest for about 30 minutes, or until they form a skin.

They should be mostly dry to the touch and look matte once they’re ready to be baked! While the shells rest preheat your oven.

Step #7: Bake the Chocolate Macaron Shells

Bake one tray of macarons at a time and place the tray in the middle rack of your oven.

Let the macarons cool fully on the pan then gently remove them from the silpat mat.

Step #8: Assembling These Salted Caramel Macarons

Pipe a ring of salted caramel buttercream onto one macaron shell, fill the center with salted caramel sauce and top it with a second shell.

You can either make your caramel sauce from scratch or use store-bought caramel.

I also drizzled some caramel sauce over the top of each macaron to give them a beautiful finished look.

Place the finished macarons in the fridge in an airtight container to mature overnight then bring the macarons back to room temperature and enjoy!

Salted Caramel Macaron Troubleshooting

I’d love to think everyone’s first batch of salted caramel macarons will turn out perfectly, but my own experience has taught me that’s not how things usually go.

Macarons can be incredibly temperamental, and it might take a few tries to get them just right.

If you run into any issues, please check out my detailed French macaron troubleshooting guide.

Choosing The Right Filling for Your Salted Caramel Macarons

While we put tons of energy into the shell of a macaron, almost all the flavor in a macaron comes from its filling.

The shell gives the macarons an incredible texture, but the filling is what determines its flavor. You can use just about any type of frosting or ganache to fill macarons.

I have a big sweet tooth, so I love using caramel American buttercream to fill these macarons. I also fill the centers with warm caramel sauce and a sprinkle of flakey sea salt to really pack them with that buttery caramel flavor.

If you don’t want your macarons to be super sweet, I recommend using Russian buttercream or Swiss meringue frosting instead!

Salted Caramel Macaron Recipe Yield

This recipe makes about 36 macaron shells, which can be used to make 18 macarons. You can double or triple this recipe to make more macarons if needed.

The yield and bake time will also vary based on the size of macarons you pipe. I pipe my shells with a diameter of about 1 1/4 inches.

Tips for Making the Best Salted Caramel Macarons

• Wipe your mixing bowl and whisk with lemon juice or vinegar to remove any traces of grease before making your meringue. It will help your egg whites whip up better!
• Separate your own eggs and age them if possible. Do not use egg whites from a carton.
• Measure your ingredients in grams with a kitchen scale. You really need to be precise with this recipe and your macarons will turn out best if the ingredients are weighed.
• Use superfine almond flour made from blanched almonds rather than trying to make your own! It more consistently yields great macarons.
• Carefully read through the directions before making these macarons. There are quite a few steps and it’s good to know your game plan before you start!
• Use a macaron mat or print out a template to help you pipe consistently sized macarons.
• You can either make your caramel sauce from scratch or use store-bought caramel.
• FIRMLY bang/drop your pans on your counter after piping your macarons. This helps release any air bubbles that may be trapped and prevent cracked or hollow shells.
• Rest the macarons for 30 minutes before they’re baked to allow them to develop a skin.
• Pipe a small number of macarons on a few sheets to test your oven for hot spots and to see if it bakes accurately. This way you won’t waste a whole tray of macs if your oven runs hot or cold.
• Drizzle some warm caramel and flaky sea salt on top of each macaron for a beautiful finished look.
• Let your macarons mature! Letting them rest overnight while they are filled softens them (in a good way) and allows the flavors to develop.
• If you run into any issues making these macarons, please check out my macaron troubleshooting guide.

Making These Salted Caramel Macarons in Advance & Storage Tips

• You need to let French macarons mature for a few hours or overnight in the fridge before eating them. This gives them their best texture and taste.
• Store macarons at room temperature for up to 2 days in an airtight container.
• Refrigerate macarons for up to 5 days in an airtight container.
• Freeze filled macarons for up to a month in an airtight container.
• Unfilled macaron shells can be frozen for up to a month in an airtight container.
• Make your filling ahead of time too or save any leftover filling! It can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for up to a month.

Let Me Know What You Think!

If you try this recipe for salted caramel macarons, I’d love to hear what you think of it! Please leave a rating and comment below.

Tag me @chelsweets and use #chelsweets on social media so that I can see your amazing creations!

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