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Have you ever noticed how expensive sweetened condensed milk is? Here, I'll show you how to make homemade sweetened condensed milk. There's even a dairy-free option, and it's all so easy!
Sweetened condensed milk is the nectar of the gods. It's something about that combination of milk and lightly caramelized sugar that just sends me.
One of two essential ingredients in my favorite no-churn homemade ice cream, it's actually relatively expensive to buy ready-made. I usually find it in my local grocery store for at least $3.50 for 14 ounces.
Lately, my kids have been asking me to make a homemade Starbucks-style Frappuccino drink. They spend their onw money on things like that, and it's not cheap! One of the cheapest ways to make a café-style drink like that at home is with my homemade sweetened condensed milk.
You can even make it with unrefined sugars, and even dairy free.
Homemade sweetened condensed milk: 3 varieties
We're going to make it three ways: from fresh whole milk, from evaporated milk, and dairy-free from canned coconut milk. I used granulated sugar, but you can use unrefined sugars if that's your preference (see the ingredient lists for suggestions).
Keep in mind that, if you use maple syrup, it will take longer to reduce as maple syrup has a very high liquid content. In the photo above, the variety in the foreground is made with evaporated milk (my favorite kind, as it's by far the easiest).
All it takes is simmering a mixture of your chosen milk, sugar and a pinch of salt over medium heat until it thickens. To prevent anything from burning on the bottom of the pan, whisk occasionally.
It will go from thickened to burnt rather quickly, so keep an eye on things. The variation made with whole milk is the one I rarely make. It develops curds as you cook the milk and it thickens before it turns particularly amber in color.
The evaporated milk variety and the dairy free variety are my favorites. They're the easiest in preparation, and even my favorite in taste, texture and usefulness.
For my dairy-free friends, today's recipe is especially important. Lately, I have seen dairy free sweetend condensed milk for sale, but I'm afraid to even look at the price tag.
Keep in mind that the dairy-free variety never really turns any more amber in color. Even though the sugars begin to caramelize, the canned coconut milk is just.so.white.
Of course, you can also use regular whole milk, but as you heat the mixture it will develop curds that must be skimmed off, and it will take a significantly longer time to reduce and thicken. The end result is certainly worth it, though. Without sweetened condensed milk, how would we make homemade Gluten Free Red Cherry Licorice?
Homemade Sweetened Condensed Milk
Ingredients
Whole Sweetened Condensed Milk
- 3 cups (24 fluid ounces) whole milk
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar, (can be replaced with 1 1/4 cups (420 g) maple syrup, or 1 cup (336 g) honey)
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
Evaporated Sweetened Condensed Milk
- 2 cans (24 fluid ounces) evaporated milk
- 1 ½ cups (300 g) granulated sugar, (can be replaced with 2 cups (670 g) maple syrup, or 1 1/2 cups (505 g) honey)
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
Dairy-Free Sweetened Condensed Milk
- 1 cans (14 fluid ounces) (not low-fat) coconut cream
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar , (can be replaced with 1 1/4 cups (420 g) maple syrup <div class="mv-video-target mv-video-id-xt0z24elbabvdr1nhw36" data-video-id="xt0z24elbabvdr1nhw36" data-ratio="16:9" ></div>or 1 cup (336 g) honey)
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- The three lists of ingredients (Whole-, Evaporated-, and Dairy-Free- Sweetened Condensed Milks) above are alternatives.
- Choose the ingredient list that best suits your needs, place all 3 of the ingredients in that list in a medium-size heavy bottom saucepan, and whisk to combine well.
- Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat.
Whole Sweetened Condensed Milk.
- Only the whole milk variety will begin to develop curds that accumulate on the top of the liquid. Skim those off and discard them.
- Continue to simmer the mixture, stirring occasionally, until it is reduced by about 5/8 (more than half, less than three-quarters) and has begun to thicken (about 1 hour).
- Place a sieve over the top of a heat-safe container, and pour the sweetened condensed milk through the sieve to remove any dark, caramelized bits.
- Allow to cool completely before covering tightly and storing in the refrigerator and use within 2 to 4 weeks.
Evaporated Sweetened Condensed Milk.
- This variety is significantly easier to work with, as it will not develop curds and will thicken much more quickly.
- Continue to simmer the mixture, stirring occasionally, until it is reduced by about 1/2 and has begun to thicken (about 30 minutes).
- Place a sieve over the top of a heat-safe container, and pour the sweetened condensed milk through the sieve to remove any dark, caramelized bits.
- Allow to cool completely before covering tightly and storing in the refrigerator and use within 2 to 4 weeks.
Dairy-Free Sweetened Condensed Milk.
- This variety is perhaps the easiest to work with, as it will not develop curds and thickens very quickly.
- Continue to simmer the mixture, stirring occasionally, until it is reduced by about 1/2 and has begun to thicken (about 12 minutes).
- Transfer to a heat-safe container until cooled completely. Cover tightly and store in the refrigerator and use within 2 to 4 weeks.
Video
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Can I use this sweetened condensed milk in recipes that call for evaporated milk?
Sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk are totally different things, Jody. Evaporated milk is just concentrated milk, with some of the water removed. Sweetened condensed milk is what this recipe is about. They are not interchangeable at all.
Once you have the sweetened condensed milk how do you make the frappe?
I make mine with 1 shot of espresso, 3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk, 2 tablespoons vanilla pudding mix (I use my own homemade kind—just use the search function on the blog), and 2 cups ice. Blend!
I jsut made the coconut milk one – it was quick, easy and not nearly as sweet as I thought it would end up being. Now to wait for it to C O O L so I can whip up some ice cream for desert! This is going to be a regular in our home. Thanks Nicole for creating and sharing !!;-)
YAY Nicole! Thanks a million for these recipes. I am going to try using aquafava for egg sub in the cone recipe. But for the ice cream recipe – I am curious – the recipe for the coconut milk condensed milk calls for one 14 oz can of coconut milk which is then reduced by half. That would leave around 7 oz of condensed milk. But then, the recipe for the ice cream calls for 14 oz condensed milk. Maybe I missed something, but should we either double the condensed milk ingredients to get to a total of 14, or half the ice cream ingredients and make half as much ice cream (LOL – I am laughing because the second option is not very realistic in my family!!;-)
Thanks again –
Julia, if you are going to be making my recipe for dairy free no churn ice cream, please follow the directions and ingredient amounts in that recipe, which can be found here: https://glutenfreeonashoestring.com/gluten-free-dairy-free-easy-ice-cream/.
THANK YOU for the non dairy directions as I am allergic to dairy and this can be my go-to for recipes.
Thanks for this! We have a local tea shop that sells a chai spice mixture by the ounce, which you then mix with sweetened condensed milk to make “chai goop.” Chai Goop sits in the fridge until you’re ready to stir a big spoonful into a cup of tea — voilá — Chai! Excited to try this.
Very pleased to get this week’s email – I haven’t tried the recipe yet, but I’m going to make the whole milk one, as I get my milk raw from a local dairy farm. I will use white sugar first, but later I will try honey, as we produce our own.
You know one of the best things about these condensed milk recipes is that they are not made by Nestle. In New Zealand that is the only company to produce sweetened condensed milk – and I have not bought Nestle products since the early 1970s. In those days it was because they were promoting infant milk formula in African countries, and their morals have not improved – today they take water from third world countries, to sell in bottles in the West. This makes life even more difficult for women in eg Pakistan who must walk greater distances to fetch water as village wells run dry.
You’re my hero now – thank you so much!
Janet in New Zealand
Just made my first non dairy version of this, and wow! I used local honey instead of refined sugar. It took me a little longer to get the reduction, but the taste is fantastic. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us!