Marshmallow Sauce for Ice Cream: Homemade Topping RecipeABy Ashton · Updated September 4, 20264.5151 reviews·Total 20 minJump to Recipe Save Pin Add to Google posted by Ashton on September 4, 2026 Summertime is absolutely the best time for ice cream sundaes, and the only thing that makes a bowl of ice cream better is a generous drizzle of homemade marshmallow sauce for ice cream! 🍦 This nostalgic homemade marshmallow sauce is a total soda fountain favorite — creamy, dreamy, pour-able, and honestly kind of magical. Whether you’re spooning it over vanilla ice cream, chocolate ice cream, or your wildest homemade ice cream flavors, this sauce delivers every single time. Mix it with a little homemade chocolate sauce and you’ve got a chocolate marshmallow sauce situation that I literally can’t even. Be still my heart! Three simple ingredients and an incredibly easy recipe for homemade marshmallow sundae sauce. Why This Is the Best Version of Marshmallow Sauce for Ice Cream Can we talk about why this homemade marshmallow cream beats a jar of marshmallow creme or the store-bought variety every single time? This is the magic sauce, you guys. It’s silky, it’s a pour-able marshmallow sauce (not stiff or gloppy!), and it comes together with simple ingredients you probably already have. We’re talking a combination of sugar, a cup of water, and light corn syrup — the use of corn syrup here is what gives it that gorgeous glossy, candy-like syrup texture. Think of it as the very beginning of homemade candy territory, without all the stress. You’ll use an electric mixer and a candy thermometer, and I promise it’s way more foolproof than it sounds! How to Make Homemade Marshmallow Sauce Okay, here’s what’s happening in the pot: you combine a cup of sugar, a third cup of honey (hello, honey taste! 🍯), and a combination of corn syrup with a really small amount of water — like, cup water level small — and cook it over high heat until the syrup boils and hits soft-ball stage (235–240°F on your candy thermometer). This soft ball stage is the beginning of homemade candy magic! While your sweet syrup is bubbling away, beat your egg whites in a grease-free mixing bowl with your electric mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form. Then — and this is the Italian meringue move — you slowly pour the hot syrup in a thin stream into the egg whites. This case of Italian meringue is what makes the texture so impossibly fluffy and creamy. Bump up to high speed and beat for a couple of minutes until glossy and dreamy. Stir in vanilla extract and you are DONE. 🙌 Fun Variations to Try on Your Next Ice Cream Sundae This sauce is incredibly versatile — it’s one of a very small handful of desserts that plays nicely with literally everything. Spoon it over chocolate ice cream for a rich chocolate marshmallow sauce vibe, or swirl it into vanilla ice cream for the most lovely ice cream sundae moment. You can even fold it with melted chocolate or peanut butter for next-level flavor! For a s’mores situation (obsessed), top your marshmallow ice cream bowl with graham crackers, crunchy graham chunks, and a drizzle of hot fudge sauce — it’s a PB S’mores Sundae dream come true, and honestly the perfect marriage of flavors. If graham cracker ice cream sounds amazing to you right now, same. The graham cracker part is truly everything. You could also add a tiny bit of gelatin to the gelatin mixture stage if you want a slightly firmer texture — totally your own rule to make! Homemade Marshmallow Sundae Sauce FAQ What is the difference between marshmallow sauce and frosting? Marshmallow sauce is made with sugar, cornstarch, and salt, while frosting typically contains butter, powdered sugar, and milk or cream. Marshmallow sauce has a smoother consistency than frosting, and it’s also less sweet. It’s perfect for topping sundaes, cakes, or other desserts. Can I use marshmallow sauce as a filling for cakes or cupcakes? Yes, you can use marshmallow sauce as a filling for cakes or cupcakes. It’s the perfect way to add some extra sweetness and creaminess to your dessert. Just be sure to let the sauce cool before using it. Can I make marshmallow sauce ahead of time? Yes, you can make marshmallow sauce ahead of time. Just be sure to store it in an airtight container in the fridge. It will keep for about a week, unless you eat it all before then! Tips for Storing and Serving Your Creamy Sauce The best part? This sauce keeps beautifully! Store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week — though in my real life it never lasts more than a few days, ha! When you’re ready to serve, let it come to room temperature for a couple of minutes or give it a quick zap in the microwave and a good stir. It’ll loosen right back up into that gorgeous, creamy sauce consistency. A tablespoons of fluff (or three!) over a bowl of ice cream is truly a delicious topping situation. Serve it alongside S’mores Bread Pudding for an epic dessert spread, or drizzle over a scoop next to some chewy brownie mix cookies for the most indulgent treat. No maple syrup, no powdered sugar, no simple syrup, no heavy whipping cream, no heavy cream, no swiss meringue fussiness required — just that gorgeous marshmallow fluff magic. Looking for Homemade Ice Cream Recipes to Pair With This Sauce? Pair This Marshmallow Sauce for Ice Cream with These Delicious Ice Cream Recipes! Salted Caramel Oreo No Churn Ice Cream My Favorite No-Churn Ice Cream Semi-Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream So what are you waiting for?! Whip up a batch of this delicious, decadent homemade marshmallow sauce and go on your own little marshmallow adventure — drizzle it over everything, use it as a dip, stir a few tablespoons of fluff into your next ice cream sundae bar spread. It’s truly one of the most simple ingredients recipes you’ll ever fall in love with. Once you do a quick taste, I promise you will never go back to the store-bought variety. Next time you need a delicious topping that wows every single person at the table, this is your move. Have to make this. Enjoy! 🍦✨ Homemade Marshmallow Sundae Sauce Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 5 minutes Total Time: 20 minutes Save this recipe for later: Save Pin Add to Google Three simple ingredients and an incredibly easy recipe for homemade marshmallow sundae sauce. Print Ingredients 1 cup heavy whipping cream 11/2 cups miniature marshmallows 1 tsp vanilla Instructions Over medium heat, stir together all of the ingredients until the marshmallows are melted and the mixture is smooth. Continue stirring until mixture begins to bubble and thicken. Let cool completely. Pour over ice cream or brownies or anything else you can think of! Store in an airtight container. Notes I combed through several recipes before finally settling on this one, and I'm so glad I did. All of the recipes that were made completely from scratch (so, marshmallows aren't one of the ingredients) had a common reader complaint that the homemade sauce stiffened up too much once drizzles on the ice cream. This recipe, however, is PERFECT. It stays sauce-like after it's drizzled on the ice cream and is extremely easy to scoop up with your ice cream 🙂Vanilla will discolor the marshmallow cream a little bit, so be sure to use clear vanilla if you want to keep it pure white.
