Home » Desserts » Homemade Sweetened Condensed Milk

Homemade Sweetened Condensed Milk

This recipe for Homemade Sweetened Condensed Milk is a DIY hack that may come in handy on a busy baking day. Use it in recipes just as you would any condensed milk for your own version of this pantry staple.

Homemade Sweetened Condensed Milk

Easy Homemade Sweetened Condensed Milk Recipe

Every cook has found themselves in the middle of a baking project without a needed ingredient from time to time. One of those” oh no” moments.  Sweetened condensed milk can often be the missing link between your fabulous recipe creation and your lips. That qualifies as a bonafide baking emergency for sure. This homemade version works like a charm. Another handy resource, is this post featuring other common baking substitutions, as well. How to make Homemade Sweetened Condensed Milk: (Scroll down for full printable recipe.)

  • Cook – Cook together sugar, water, and butter over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil. Cook stirring constantly just until the sugar has completely dissolved. Remove from the heat.
  • Blender – Carefully pour into a blender. Add vanilla and powdered milk. Blend until smooth and thickened.
  • Thin – If needed, you can add additional boiling water in small amounts until you reach your desired consistency.
  • Cool – Cool to room temperature if using immediately. The sweetened condensed milk will continue to thicken as it cools.
  • Storage – If making in advance, store chilled in an airtight container chilled for up to 5 days.
recipes-using-condensed-milk

How to make the BEST Homemade Sweetened Condensed Milk

There are several techniques for making homemade sweetened condensed milk using a plethora of ingredients. The variations typically depend on personal dietary needs and the cook’s preference. This recipe is a terrific substitute for the real deal and will work well in most recipes a pinch.

  • Ingredients you’ll need to make this recipe for easy homemade Sweetened Condensed Milk: Granulated sugar, water, butter, dry powdered milk and vanilla extract.
  • Sweetened condensed milk is not to be confused with evaporated milk. Evaporated milk is whole milk that’s been cooked and reduced intensifying the flavor. Sweetened condensed milk is a thicker much sweeter product and they can’t be used interchangeably in recipes.
  • This recipe is meant to give you options in one of those “missing” ingredient moments. It’s always best to use the ingredients called for in any given recipe for the very best result. But, if you find yourself in the middle of a task and need a substitute, hopefully this will give you an opportunity to redeem your time and effort.
  • You can use this as an ingredient in recipes such as cakes, pies, desserts, cookies, bars or fudge that call for sweetened condensed milk. You can also use it to sweeten coffee, tea or make milk shakes and smoothies.
  • A 14 ounce can of sweetened condensed milk will yield approximately 1 1/4 cup. This recipe makes approximately 2 cups. So, measure according to the amount called for in the recipe that you’re following.
  • How long will it last? You can store this homemade sweetened condensed milk in the refrigerator in a mason jar for up to 5 days.
Homemade Sweetened Condensed Milk

Desserts Using Sweetened Condensed Milk to Make

Sweetened condensed milk has that thick and creamy irresistible texture that turns most any dessert into something special. More recipes using sweetened condensed milk to try:

Homemade Sweetened Condensed Milk

Thanks for visiting come back soon!

Disclosure ~ If  a purchase is made using one of the affiliate links on this website we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you!  

Helpful Kitchen Items:

Homemade Sweetened Condensed Milk

Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time5 minutes
Cooling time1 hour
Total Time1 hour 15 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American, Southern
Keyword: condensed-milk-recipe, homemade-sweetened-condensed-milk
Servings: 2 Cups
Calories: 820kcal
Author: Melissa Sperka

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 4 Tbsp butter
  • 1 1/3 cup powdered milk
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla

Instructions

  • On the stove top in a heavy bottomed saucepan cook together sugar, water, and butter over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil. Cook stirring constantly just until the sugar has completely dissolved. Remove from the heat.
  • Carefully pour into a stand blender. Add vanilla and powdered milk. Blend until smooth and thickened.
  • If needed, you can add additional boiling water 1 Tbsp at a time until you reach your desired consistency.
  • Cool to room temperature, if using immediately. The sweetened condensed milk will continue to thicken as it cools.
  • If making in advance, store chilled in an airtight container chilled for up to 5 days.
  • When chilled bring to room temperature to allow the condensed milk to loosen a bit before using.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cup | Calories: 820kcal | Carbohydrates: 108g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 44g | Saturated Fat: 29g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 143mg | Sodium: 522mg | Potassium: 1146mg | Sugar: 108g | Vitamin A: 1497IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 789mg | Iron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @melissassk or tag #melissassk!

13 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    This stuff is the bomb! I ran out of ID coffee creamer and I didn’t have any condensed milk to try to make some “homemade” ID. I found your recipe for condensed milk any this stuff turned out so good that you could just eat it by the spoonful!

  2. I like many, Love homemade fudge! Mom used to make it from her Mom, it took forever Temp and Constancy were critical to get good results! 2cups Sugar, 2cups whole milk, 1cup HEAVY Cream, 8oz to 12oz (depending on how chocolate you want it)Bakers hard Chocolate ( melted;) teaspoon of Vanilla, 1 stick of SALTED Butter. Put all in appropriate Pot, bring to a gentle boil until a DROP of boiling mixture into a container of cold water forms a soft ball. Get a heavy duty (NOT WOOD!!!) stir mixture until begins to lose “glossy” look! (Getting to that point “might wear out stirring arm -so have a relief stirrer stand by to relieve you !!!!!) When mixture starts to lose gloss, dump quickly into buttered pan or dish with at LEAST 1” walls! If you want nuts or marshmallows in the fudge put into pot mixture when fudge is ready to stir!! Not before fudge is boiling! ONLY WHEN FUDGE IS READY TO BE.STIRRED!! OH YEAH I FORGOT, Remove from heat as soon as the hot mixture finally forms that “semi hard yet soft drop ball when dripped into COLD water

  3. Hey, thanks for the little shout-out, Melissa! So very much appreciated. And isn’t is crazy how easy it is to make?

  4. Hi Annette, that is such a great question. I have never done it and really don’t know how well it would do. It would be super handy if it worked, I agree, I just can’t confirm from personal experience.

  5. This is a great idea. Thank you sharing. I would like to know do you think I could can this since it uses powdered milk? It would be a time saver if I could. I’m always looking for ways to preserve. Thank you in advance.

  6. Hi Linda, you just never know! There are other methods as well, but, when using whole milk, it requires quite a bit of time cooking to reduce. This method takes minutes in comparison. I hope this is helpful to the cooking community!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating