Homemade Dulce de Leche
Homemade Dulce de Leche is a rich caramel spread made by slowly cooking sweetened condensed milk until it becomes thick, silky, and deeply golden. I tried out all three methods so you don’t have to! I’ve written out my instructions for making your dulce de leche using Instant Pot, stovetop, and oven methods so you can make smooth, creamy caramel at home with just one ingredient.
Servings 12 servings
Calories 106kcal
Ingredients
- 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions
- To start, remove the paper label from the outside of your 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk and then use a can opener to open it. Discard the lid. Next, rip off a large piece of aluminum foil and wrap it tightly around the open can, covering the top and bottom. This step is vital, as you want to make sure that none of your dulce de leche can boil out of the can.
- Place the trivet in your Instant Pot, and fill it up with enough water to cover about half the can. The amount of water will depend on the size of your Instant Pot, but for me it took about 10 cups of water.
- Place the lid on your Instant Pot and then set the pressure to High for 60 minutes. This leaves a lightly colored Dulce de Leche. Perform an Instant release when the time is up. Allow the can to cool, then dump the contents of the can into a bowl and whisk it up until smooth. Enjoy!
- If you open your aluminum foil and your Dulce de Leche isn’t as dark as you’d like, simply rewrap the can and place it back in the pot. Seal it again, and turn the pressure on for longer. I would recommend increments of 10 if cooking it for longer.
Oven Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F.
- Pour the sweetened condensed milk into a pie dish or small baking dish and cover it tightly with aluminum foil.
- Place the dish inside a larger baking pan.
- Fill the larger pan with hot water until it reaches halfway up the sides of the smaller dish.
- Bake for 90 minutes for a lighter dulce de leche and 2-3 hours for darker, thicker dulce de leche.
- Carefully remove it from the oven and stir until smooth. If lumpy, whisk briefly.
- Let it cool before serving.
Stovetop Instructions
- Remove the paper label from the can and place the unopened can in a deep pot.
- Cover the can with water by at least 2 inches, then bring the water to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat. Cover the pot and simmer for 2 hours for a lighter caramel or 3 hours for a darker, richer caramel
- Check the water level every 20 minutes and add more hot water as needed to keep the can fully submerged.
- Remove the can carefully and let it cool completely before opening.
- Stir until smooth and enjoy.
The can will explode if it becomes uncovered.
Video
Notes
Recipe Copyright The Foreign Fork. For educational or personal use only.
Instant Pot Method
- If you open your aluminum foil and your Dulce de Leche isn’t as dark as you’d like, simply rewrap the can and place it back in the pot. Seal it again, and turn the pressure on for longer. I would recommend increments of 10 minutes if cooking it for longer.
- Removing the lid is a vital step for this process. If you choose to leave the lid on the can, entirely different safety precautions need to be taken.
- Use oven mitts to remove the can from the Instant Pot (or allow it to cool down first). The can will be very hot.
- If a little bit of water gets into your can while cooking, it won’t hurt anything. Simply pour it out of the can before stirring the spread.
- If you are not in a hurry, you can also perform a natural pressure release for more time to your Instant Pot Dulce de Leche to cook.
- The Instant Pot method offers an excellent balance between convenience, safety, and deep caramel flavor.
- If lumpy, whisk briefly.
- Let it cool before serving.
- The oven method works in a pinch, but it generally produces a lighter and slightly less smooth result unless baked for a longer period of time.
- This is a dangerous method, because the can will explode if it becomes uncovered with water. Continually check your water level to keep it submerged. Set a timer so that you do not forget to check it.
- This method often produces the smoothest and darkest flavor, but it requires careful monitoring of the water level.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 106kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 11mg | Sodium: 42mg | Potassium: 123mg | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 88IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 94mg | Iron: 0.1mg