The creamy, sweet, gooey goodness that is dulce de leche isn’t that hard to make. With a little patience and 4 ingredients you can make this caramelized milk sauce.

Jars of homemade dulce de leche made from milk and sugar.

Did you know you can make your own dulce de leche from scratch? It takes a little time, but it’s super easy. Plus the results are creamy, caramel-y and delicious.

It’s a great way to use up extra milk before it goes bad. It’s a fabulous way to top ice cream or make a cup of coffee more special.

Use it as a dip or drizzle or apple slices. Or drizzle it over cake for an extra decadent treat!

I think I may be slightly obsessed. After making a few batches of homemade cajeta and telling you how similar it is to dulce de leche, it occurred to me that I’ve never actually made dulce de leche.

I know, it was a wrong that needed to be fixed immediately.

Enameled cast iron sauce pan with homemade dulce de leche and wooden spoon in it.

Looking down on the top of a jar of deep golden creamy dulce de leche.

Now there are a few ways to go about doing such a thing. One involves cooking a can of sweetened condensed milk.

Now that would certainly be easy enough, but if you come here often you know I am much more likely to adapt than run to the store for an ingredient and I don’t always stock sweetened condensed milk in the pantry.

So I decided to make some using ingredients I do always have. The process is the exact same as the cajeta.

Jars of hot freshly made dulce de leche, ready to cool.

Baked apple half with brown sugar and oat filling topped with scoop of vanilla ice cream and drizzle of caramel sauce.

So it is not hard, but does take a bit of time and patience. The biggest thing to worry about is ensuring your pan is big enough.

It will grow and foam before it concentrates and reduces, so make sure to use a bigger pan than you think you’ll need. Other than some stirring along the way, it basically makes itself.

A little science experiment

One more thing to discuss. When making the cajeta, you may remember I was curious about the baking soda.

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In fact, even after finding an explanation that I could at least fathom I still wasn’t sure. So I made two batches.

(I know, but sometimes you have to sacrifice and eat twice as much dulche de leche in the name of science. It’s rough, but somebody has to do it.)

In one batch I used a quarter teaspoon of baking soda and in the next batch I used a half teaspoon. While both batches tasted similar with that sweet, rich, creamy flavor and texture you’d expect, there was a quite noticeable difference in color.

Just that little change in pH really affected the look of the end product. Isn’t that interesting?

So next time you want some dulce de leche, don’t be afraid to make it yourself! It’s fun and a bit of a kitchen science experiment!

Great uses for your dulce de leche:

Whip up some caramel apple empanadas. This caramelly goodness is perfect for the filling and drizzling over the top of these tasty treats.

Drizzle some over homemade ice cream for an extra special treat, or stir some into a vanilla ice cream base to churn up some caramel ice cream. Or just use it to make your store bought ice cream even better.

Make a rolo poke cake with pockets of dulce de leche in moist chocolate cake. Top it all with fluffy frosting and some chopped rolos for a perfectly decadent treat.

Slice of chocolate cake with caramel sauce coating topped with fluffy vanilla icing, hot fudge sauce, and bits of Rolo candies.

Warm dulce de leche drizzled over apple slices.

Use some to make easy caramel fudge. It only takes two ingredients, so it is beyond simple.

You could also stir a little bit into your cup of coffee for a bit of a treat. Or just warm a little bit up and drizzle it over apple slices. The possibilities really are endless!

If you love making things from scratch like this, you may also want to try making your own homemade sweetened condensed milk. It is another way to take some milk that is close to its date and make it last a bit longer, or a way to avoid a last minute trip to the store if you don’t have a can in the pantry!

4.88 from 16 ratings

Homemade Dulce de Leche with no Cans

Author: Carlee

Servings: Servings (about 4 cups)

Creamy, sweet, gooey goodness isn’t that hard to make. With a little patience and 4 ingredients you can have homemade dulce de leche!

Cook: 1 10

Total: 1 10

Equipment

Ingredients

▢ 4 cups whole milk
▢ 1¼ cups granulated sugar
▢ ½ teaspoon baking soda
▢ 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or ½ of vanilla bean

Instructions

In a small dish, dissolve the ½ teaspoon baking soda in a couple Tablespoons of the milk and set aside.
Get out a very large pot (the mixture will bubble and foam, so you need a pot at least twice the size you think. I used a 6 qt dutch oven.) Stir together the remaining 4 cups whole milk and 1¼ cups granulated sugar in the pot. Add the vanilla bean pod if using.
Over medium heat, bring the mixture to a low boil, stirring frequently. Turn off heat and stir in the dissolved baking soda mixture. Be careful, this is one of those bubbling like crazy moments!
Return to medium heat and cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture is golden and thick like honey. This will take about 45 minutes to an hour. You don’t need to stand over it the whole time, but you’ll want to keep an eye on it as it will bubble and you don’t want it sticking to the bottom of the pan.
Remove from heat and remove vanilla bean if you used it. If not, stir in 2 teaspoons vanilla extract and let cool.
Store in airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a couple of weeks. It will tighten up in the cold, but can be made pourable again with a short stint in the microwave.

Notes

For a little extra flavor, you can steep a cinnamon stick in the mixture while it cooks. Remove it when you are done cooking.