DIY Dulce de Leche
An amazing one ingredient recipe that tastes like heaven- this slow cooker DIY dulce de leche will make all of your dessert dreams come true!
Update: Instant Pot/Pressure Cooker version of this recipe HERE!

DIY Dulce de Leche.
Did you just shiver in excited anticipation? Because you should. I have been living in a dulce de leche dream world since stumbling upon this foolproof and non-explosive method of making dulce de leche.
I’m not kidding when I say that I’ve made a batch of this about every other day for the last week because I can’t stop myself from a) eating it by the spoonful and b) giving it away so I can win the friend-of-the-year award.
Listen, I’m not above bribing people to be my friends. Glad we got that out of the way.
Let me back up a bit. A week or so ago, a friend I’ve made through blogging, Amy M. (who has fantastic, impeccable food taste), emailed me to tell me she had boiled a can of sweetened condensed milk in water, stirred in a bit of vanilla, and made the best dulce de leche ever. I emailed her back and said I’d heard of this method, but like pressure cookers in general, it scared the bejeebers out of me to try it. I mean, I don’t know about you but the risk of exploding cans of hot sugar make me nervous. Amy assured me it wasn’t that big of a deal (probably rolling her eyes all the while) especially if you keep an eye on the water level and add water as necessary.
But I was still scared. So I did a little research and in doing so found I wasn’t so crazy about boiling the can for another reason – the possible (or real, whose to say for sure) risk of BPA toxins from lined cans leaching into the milk while boiling. Enter the canning jar theory. I have a ton of canning jars sitting in my basement so I decided to try it out in the slow cooker.
Toxin risk eliminated.
Explosion risk eliminated.
Now I just had to decide if it really was the stuff dreams are made of. So I opened up two cans of sweetened condensed milk, poured them equally into 3 (1/2-pint) canning jars. Capped them with lids and rings and set them in my slow cooker, covered with water by an inch and cooked the magical jars for 8 1/2 hours (another overnight solution, baby). And oh yes, my friends, the golden, glorious dulce de leche that was pulled from my slow cooker (with a bit of vanilla stirred in) truly is life-changing.
For a week or so now, we’ve been dipping apples like crazy into the silky, smooth dulce de leche, not to mention drizzling it slightly warmed over ice cream and…as I sheepishly admitted earlier…simply eating it by the spoonful (my husband insists I mention right here and right now how divine this is on bananas, also).
So what are you waiting for? Make some! It’s easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy and I’m left wondering how I’ve managed to live without a constant supply of dulce de leche in my kitchen before now.
Thanks, Amy, for getting the wheels spinning for some fantastic, homemade dulce de leche!
How can you resist a one (possibly two if you add the vanilla) ingredient recipe that tastes like heaven? Plus, you’ll want to have some of this on hand thanks to the dessert recipe I’ll be posting next week that utilizes the dreamy stuff.
DIY Dulce de Leche
Ingredients
- 2 cans (14-ounces each) sweetened condensed milk
- 1-2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract or vanilla paste, optional
- 3 1/2 pint each canning jars with lids and rings
- Water
Instructions
- Open the cans of sweetened condensed milk and portion them equally into the three canning jars. Wipe the tops and sides of the canning jars, if needed, in case any of the sweetened condensed milk spilled down the sides. Place a lid and ring on the canning jar and screw tightly to seal. Put the three canning jars in a slow cooker and cover with water by one inch. It doesn’t matter whether the jars are laying on their side or standing up straight – do what works best for the size of slow cooker you have. Place the lid on the slow cooker and set to low for 8-9 hours, until the dulce de leche is deep golden brown. Carefully remove the jars from the hot water and let them cool. If desired, open the jars and stir in 1/2 – 1 teaspoon vanilla extract into each jar. Replace the lids and rings and store in the refrigerator. Supposedly it keeps in the refrigerator for up to a month – good luck getting it to last that long!
- The dulce de leche can be warmed up on low heat in the microwave or on the stovetop in a pan of water to be drizzled over ice cream, used as dip for apples, spread over crepes etc. We also enjoy it cold or at room temperature for a spread on bananas, apples, sweet breads (like banana or zucchini). The options are endless!
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: inspired by this post after Amy M. sent me an email regarding dulce de leche
Can you can this?
Teri – Not sure, I haven’t tried but it keeps for several weeks in the refrigerator.
nope! milk and it’s products are not safe for canning, according to the NCHFP. I sure wish it were though! Then I could make my Christmas gifts right now instead of the day before.
The method Mel uses for this Dulce de leche is perfectly safe for storing in the Refrigerator , Not in the pantry . Store in refrigerator for up to 1 month . I always pour mine in canning jars as well . Dulce de leche makes wonderful gifts , lable for refrigerator storage only and ( us by ) 1 month out from the date you made it . Happy gift giving !
SO YUMMY! The only problem I have with this recipe, when I get a craving for dulce de leche, like I have right now, I can’t wait 8 hours!
Thanks for posting this! I have known about this recipe for several years, but was too afraid to boil the can for fear of an explosion. What a mess to clean up that would be! Anyway, you solved the problem and it works great! I cooked mine for 6 hours in my slow cooker on high and it worked just fine.
You can also do it stove top in a thick pot. You can use the jars it comes in or glass jars. Place either method in the pot I usually use a tall pit and fill it full so I don’t have to worrie about it boiling down below lid line. If u use a small pot make sure you keep water an nice or so above the submersed jars. So you have to keep another pot boiling to add to the pot withies in it. You can not add cold water to the milk pot once it boils. Boil for 3 hours . I don’t add vanilla but you may. I use this method to make my Carmel for my homemade turtles, they are fantablouse, also you can add creme or milk to it to thin the mixture down I do this for a cheese cake topping. It’s to die for. But I’m glad to find the slow cooker method. Thank you
Is this any better than what you can buy? President’s Choice makes dulce de leche and it tastes quite good. I haven’t tried any other prepared ones, so nothing to compare it to.
Thanks, Cathy
So does it have to be stored in the Fridge all the time or just after you open it?
I will share an even easier way. Leave it in the can, take the pop top off (at least the kind of milk we buy at our Latin grocer has a poptop), put rest it back on the top of the can. Fill crock pot with water to within 1 inch of the top of the can,cook on slow for about 3-4 hours. You’ll know it’s done as you’ll see the brown caramel color rise to the top. Spoon it out, if too thick add a table or so of milk to make it smooth to your liking. I am married to a Latin man, and checked with some of my Latin cook friends, and they never heard of adding vanilla so I’m guessing that’s a preference thing.
Can you add the vanilla to the condensed milk before you boil/can it ? I would love make some as a thank you for our daughters wedding….she loves dulce de leche!
Hi Barbara – definitely worth a try. I’ve only added it at the end so you’ll have to experiment but I think it should work – I’d err on the side of adding less vanilla so the flavor isn’t too strong by the end of the cooking time.
Yesterday I made home made sweetened condensed milk again after many recipes that I found not to taste quite right, I ended up by making my own recipe to my families delight. Yesterday I decided to see if it will turn into the lush caramel (dulce de leche). I was pleasantly surprised when it turned into the best dulce de leche I have ever had.
Homemade condensed milk: 1/4 cup milk powder, 1 cup white sugar, 1 cup milk (Cook on low heat till sugar has dissolved and mixture has thickened. It will thicken more once cooled.) To make the dulce de leche, place in slow cooker on high for 9 hours. End result pure delight.
I’m just wondering if you are going to publish a cookbook anytime soon? I am not known to buy cookbooks but I would be first in line to buy yours!
Kim, I made this for all the family get togethers we had over the Holiday season and it is excellent. When my girlfriend stayed overnight to help get ready for our large Thanksgiving, she told me that she grew up with her mom doing the same thing, only in a deep pot on top of the stove. She doesn’t even open the cans. The unopened cans are immersed in water with 1-2 inches above the tops of the cans, then simmered for 4 hours. You MUST watch the water level. You do not want these under pressure from uneven heat! Our grocer carries the cans with flip tops which I wouldn’t trust to this particular method, but I am going to try it the next time I run across an “old-fashioned” can of sweetened condensed milk! Hope this helps.
Do you think I could transfer the sweetened condensed milk to a glass jar and then just cook on my stove top the standard way versus cooking it in the crockpot? I wanna use it tonight for a dessert but I am getting started a little late.
Kim, I’ve never tried it that way but if you keep a close eye on it, it should probably work. Also, I’ve seen it baked in a shallow pie plate in the oven too so a Google search may help with that. Good luck!
Hi Katie – sounds like you might need to keep it in the slow cooker for longer, maybe even 9-10 hours. Each slow cooker varies slightly in temperature and perhaps yours cooks on the cooler side of things. That’s the only reason I could guess for why it didn’t thicken (just to be sure, though, you might try switching brands of condensed milk for next time and make sure it isn’t fat-free or reduced fat). Good luck!
I made this the other day, and although super tasty, it was not as thick as yours. When I used it in your Banoffe pie and cut into it, the carmel oozed all out. I had it in the crockpot for over 8 hours and after refrigerating…. it was thick but still pourable. I tried to put it back in the crockpot for a few hours but it didn’t get any thicker….any ideas why? Thanks so much
Thanks, Mel. That’s what I thought and how I’ve treated the batch. But then I thought, “What if I’m wrong.” Thanks for your answer.
Stef – just to clarify, even though the dulce de leche cooks in canning jars, it isn’t considered shelf stable after it comes out of the slow cooker. It still needs to be stored in the refrigerator. My jars sometimes leak, too. I just give them a good wipe down and put them in the refrigerator so you should be good to go!
I made this yesterday, but was way too tired to try it out last night before going to bed. And woke up thinking about what was waiting for me. Amazing! Dulce de Leche is one of my favorite things, mostly because it’s yummy but not TOO sweet. Now, I can make it at home!
I do have a question. I wiped the tops and sides of drips, but must have left something because while it was slow cooking, one of the jars leaked milk out into the water bath. I’ve never canned (quite honestly, it scares me), but it seems like this is ok as long as I’m not trying to keep these indefinitely on the shelf (it won’t last that long, anyway!) Any canners out there that can give me some advice on cause and safety for this particular recipe? Thanks!
I made this the other day and a jar of it is already gone! Simply wonderful!! I followed the procedure almost exactly as you described, only, I used the wide mouth half pint canning jars so only 2 fit in my crock pot at a time. My time was a similar 8.5 hrs give or take 15 minutes or so. The only hiccup I experienced occurred when I removed the jars and opened them to stir in the vanilla. I felt as though the consistency was not very smooth and a bit more lumpy than it should be, but after some stirring and then further stirring in of the vanilla (and letting the second jar settle in the fridge overnight) the lumps are pretty much gone. Thank you so much for sharing your idea! This is great!!
I have a question (insert drooling sound). This sounds so yummy. I had heard of people boiling the condensed milk can but I saw the mess it made in my friend’s kitchen when it exploded so I never tried it. Oh, right, my question. Has anyone tried stacking the jars in the slow cooker? I’d like to make a bigger batch by stacking them and setting them to cook. I’d like to use smaller jars so i can use them as party favors. Thanks for the yums! 🙂
Yeah, I think it was overlooked! It was darker brown than the pictures here. Will try again 🙂
Kerry – what color was the dulce de leche when you pulled it out? It does sound like it was overcooked – if it was darker brown that’s probably what happened. If you think your crockpot cooks on the warm side, I’d decrease the time by 30 minutes to an hour to see how that works out.
I was so excited to try this. I put mine in the canning jar and set on low overnight-figured I’d leave it in a bit longer since it was a 14 oz can in one jar. It’s not quite right though. It is lumpy and smells slightly of spoiled milk. Do you think i cooked it too long or not long enough? Temp too high? I do think my crock pot does cook a bit hotter than others I ave used. I will be trying this again and perfecting it, so tips would be great! 🙂
Thank you for the tip. I have wondered about the can but as you say how do you stop a good thing. We also put this on a good french bread!
Ive made this a few times and love it! Now I’m thinking that I’d like to can it if possible. Anyone know if it’s possible… My idea is to mix it with some Starbucks via packets and can it, to give away as gifts. Then you can have instant caramel coffee!
I’ve boiled the milk in the can before and had no problems. Used in for a cookie called caramel tassies or better yet mix a little Kailua in for Kailua Carmel tassies. You will die!!!
Do you have your heat on high or low? I want to do this tonight.
Oh Thank God I found this!!! I came across a recipe last week that instructed you to boil the sealed can and I thought “NO WAY” can I do this. I would definitely get distracted and have a huge mess on my hands. I can’t wait to try this….I’m salivating! THANK YOU for doing the research!
I’m so excited to try this! I actually want to make several jars of this to give away as baby shower favors…..does anyone know how long this will last in the refrigerator?
Okay, just made the recipe for the 2nd time this week (it was a BIG hit with my friends & family!). Decided to experiment again, and added some unsweetened dark chocolate once the caramel was done cooking. I added 2 squares or so (amount is entirely TT), but first chopped it up into smallish-chunks to help it melt more easily). It took a bit of stirring, but the results were well worth the effort. I used ghirardelli, but I imagine that any decent quality baking chocolate would work. Question: What makes dulche de leche even better? Answer: Why chocolate does, of course!
I experimented with both fat free & regular sweetened condensed milk. The verdict? The fat free was basically inedible. As a comment above noted, it seemed to “curdle” and the consistency was completely wrong. I also tried one version where I mixed the two kinds together before cooking. Also terrible. Conclusion? I will make this recipe for my family & friends again and again. However, I’ll skip the fat free & go for the regular — the results of the latter were utterly delicious (my 3 taste testers agreed that is was hands-down the winner).
I am so glad I found this recipe. I saw a post on pinterest of someone boiling it in the can and I was like OMG are you freaking crazy. There literally hundreds of posts from people saying this is amazing, I am going to do this. I mean what if the can explodes and burning caramel gets all over your face! Or like you said about the toxins leaching in from the can.
Thank You for giving us a safe and non toxic way to make this.
I tried this using homemade sweetened condensed milk and it turned out fabulous! I have not made it from the canned stuff so I can’t compare tastes but I thought this version was great. After reading some comments I was also happy that straight out of the fridge it was thick enough to not be able to really pour out of the jar but it was soft enough to easily spread on brownies or cake. So far I have tried it on cake, apples, and cinnamon french toast….oh my! Tasty! The recipe I used was 1/2 C hot water, 1 C dry powdered milk, 1 C sugar, 1 Tbsp butter. Blend VERY WELL in a blender. (recipe from http://www.everydayfoodstorage.net) I did a half batch since I wasn’t sure how it would turn out. I need to try the canned version to compare tastes but this will not be the last time I make it from scratch!!
Jodee – I’m so excited to know this worked with homemade sweetened condensed milk. You are a gem for checking back in to post! You better believe I’ll be trying it. Thanks!
Hi! I was so excited to try this as my whole family are dolce-de-leche-aholics! I put it in (3) 1/2 pint jars, covered them with water, and set the timer for 8 hours on LOW. When I checked it after 7 1/2 hours, the water inside was bubbling— is it supposed to? and I cooked it for another hour, to make it the 8 1/2 hours!– It looked scrumptuous through the jar, all golden, I couldn’t wait! visions of apple slices, cupcake fillers, bananas, spoonfuls of this delicacy were dancing through my head! I cooled them a bit, opened one to put in the 1/2 tsp of vanilla– the top seemed to have a film on it and when I stirred in the vanilla it was all curdled— didn’t look a thing like your picture. I think it’s overcooked? and I must confess, I used one regular and one low fat can of sweetened condensed milk— I stirred them together before putting in the jars! HELP!! what did I do wrong!
Martha – the lowfat sweetened condensed milk may have been a factor but I can’t be sure since I haven’t tried it. I was just talking to my sister the other day and trying to convince her to try it with fat-free or lowfat sweetened condensed milk. My guess is that it was overcooked which could simply be a matter of your slow cooker cooking at a higher temperature than mine (the can vary in temperature just like an oven). My water was never bubbly hot so that makes me think the temp of your slow cooker was higher. I’d definitely try it again if you dare, using regular sweetened condensed milk (just until it turns out perfectly – then experiment with lowfat!) and cook it as low as 7 hours to see if the results are better. Good luck!
Why do you do this to me?? I love Dolce le Leche. (I love to use it in the Banana Caramel Pie recipie also.) I can’t just eat a little bit, so there goes any diet plans!! Thanks for the recipe!
Brooke – as long as your jar is big enough to fit the entire 14 ounce can of sweetened condensed milk and your slow cooker is big enough to cover the jar with water, it should work fine. But yes, you’ll want to watch cooking time…at least 8 hours but it may take longer with a larger jar.
It sounds SO delicious and easy!! Do you think I could put one 14oz. can into a jar and just put that in the crockpot? I wonder if that would change the amount of time required?
Just made this last night! We can’t keep our spoons out of it. The boys and I ate it with bananas at lunch and I took one jar to a friend for her birthday. Thank you so much. This is really brilliant. Definitely a keeper.
Kati – gotcha. Yes, I think they would work just fine.
I mean that the lids are one solid lid. Not the lids that are two separate pieces.
Andrea – I’ve had that same thing happen a time or two when I’ve made this. In my case, I think I had some residual sweetened condensed milk on the outside of the jar and another jar I didn’t seal super well. I don’t think you’ve done anything wrong – my sister said the same thing happened to her. I just wiped down my finished dulce de leche jars really well and called it good.
Kati – I guess I’m not sure what type of jar you are referring to. I use flat lids and screw rings for my canning jars – are we talking about the same thing?
This intrigued me since my mother-in-law still boils the milk in the can to make her famous “Caramel Tart”. I knew my hubby would love it… So, I made it this weekend. It worked but even after screwing on the lids as tightly as I could, I got a bit of a milky mess in my crock pot. The milk was not watery so obviously the milk seeped out without water seeping in. Does this happen to anyone else? Is there anything that I’ve done wrong? It all cleaned up alright, so there was no harm done. Thanks! 🙂
I had to try this. Who can’t use a good excuse to eat sweetened condensed milk?! It was so easy! So far I’ve dipped apples in it, drizzled it on strawberries and bananas (especially complimentary) and cookie-ice cream sandwiches, and, of course, eaten it from the jar with a spoon! This afternoon I had to bring a fruit platter to a family dinner. As I was loading up I saw the jars in my fridge and thought of serving it along side the fruit. With that one act I upped my food offering from the level of ordinary to special.
I already own a bunch of jars, but they are screw lids. Will those still work?
This would make a great addition to housewarming baskets or holiday treat gift bags!!! I am so planning my Christmas cooking and crafts now!
I just HAVE to try this! I, too, heard of the pressure cooker method and was terrified for all of the reasons listed by everyone. This is a perfect solution. I made Dulche de Leche from whole milk once – it was super delicious, but did take almost an hour of constant stirring…but my husband thought it was worth it! 🙂
i’ll try it again! Thank you!
If your worried about spreading it on the brownie, I would suggest slightly under-cooking it so that the dulce de leche spreads easier. You could also warm it before layering it on the brownies.
Charlie – I’ve never made it in the microwave so I don’t know the timing/method but you can judge the color by the pictures above in the post – my goal is a light to medium brown color.
Mel- overcooked it?? I did it the microwave method : pour everything out on a shallow plate and microwave until it changes color… What color should i be looking for?
I totally forgot to add the vanilla but it was still tasty! I only had one can in the pantry (which has now been remedied), and I put it in a squat, widemouthed pint jar, cooking it for 10 hours. I’ll definitely try the suggestion of adding a bit of salt next time.