I remember the first time I heard about making dulce de leche from sweetened condensed milk in the can. I know you all have probably heard of it; put a can of unopened sweetened condensed milk in a pan, cover with water and simmer for 3 hours. Of course I had to try it. That was absolutely mandatory. I was blown away by the thick, sweet, utterly perfect caramel that came from such a lazy cooking method. Score and a half!
As time went on, I had a couple of concerns pop into my head about this method. There were people who had experienced exploding cans while simmering. Whether the water level had dropped too low or the pressure had been to great in the can or whatever, the fact remained that those cans EXPLODED. Eek. And as I gave it more thought, I was more than just a little bit concerned that whatever the lining of the can, it wasn’t intended as a long, slow-cooking vessel and might be leeching unpleasant things into my lovely caramel. The draw of making caramel that easily was pretty hard to resist, though, so I decided to make one using the same methodology, minus the very real explosive and less clear chemical risks…
I realized that there was an additional advantage to taking out and re-housing the contents of the cans of sweetened condensed milk beyond the lack of potential shrapnel and chemical mutation; I could infuse my caramel with flavours. I started with today’s variation and simply split and scraped a vanilla bean into each jar before filling with regular old sweetened condensed milk. A lid was screwed in place, the jars were positioned in my slow-cooker, water was poured to cover the jars by an inch, the lid was popped into place and the whole shebang cooked for 8 hours on low while I slept. When I turned off the slow cooker in the morning, I removed the lid and let the jars rest in the water until it returned to room temperature. A couple of hours later, when I could comfortably stick my hands into the water to pull out the jars (because you can be darned sure I wasn’t experimenting with one dinky little jar of heavenly dulce de leche. Go BIG!) I was rewarded by seeing a gorgeous brown Slow-Cooker No-Stir Dulce de Leche inside the jars.
I stuffed two jars (like I said, GO BIG!) in the refrigerator and opened the remaining jar to sample my wares. Perfect, thick, luscious, velvety, caramel was my reward. The boys grabbed from our freshly acquired bushel of Western New York’s best fall apples, I sliced, and we all dipped and dunked Slow-Cooker No-Stir Dulce de Leche until we couldn’t any more. Even the no fruit twosome happily put aside their usual aversions to lick vanilla-scented, creamy caramel from crisp apple slices.
Is this the perfect caramel apple dip? Oh my, yes. Don’t forget, though, that it’s also wonderful in ANY dessert calling for caramel or dulce de leche. Use as a filler between cake layers, cookies, on ice cream, stirred into hot chai or coffee or cocoa, or simply convey to mouth with spoon; whichever way you eat it, you’ll be so glad you did!
Cook’s Notes
- Yes… This is safer than cooking in a can. Why? A) a can is lined with a substance designed to keep the contents from reacting with the metal of the can, but that lining also contains chemicals that aren’t meant to be heated for long, long periods of time like you do when you make dulce de leche IN the can. Besides that, B) Most canners will tell you that when a jar breaks, the bottom breaks away and things slowly bubble and ooze out into the water around the jar. Is that a bummer? Heck yes, but it’s a lot safer than the contents of a sealed can pressurizing and going KABLOOEY! I’ll take my chances with the jar that has a couple of week points that are almost like safeguards.
- I mentioned the infusion of the Slow-Cooker No-Stir Dulce de Leche with different flavours. I used a vanilla bean for my recipe, but I can imagine a tablespoon of bourbon or rum wouldn’t be misplaced here, either! Maybe some cardamom or cinnamon? Go wild! Tell me what you do with YOUR Slow-Cooker No-Stir Dulce de Leche!
- If you leave the lid on the jar, rinse it to clean it, and pop it straight into the refrigerator, this caramel should keep well for at least two weeks. I have not tried freezing it, so I can’t speak to whether it stores well that way. Educated guesswork tells me that you’d probably want to scoop some out (directly into mouth, if you’re wise) before freezing to allow room for expansion. If you try, do let me know how it works for you!
Slow-Cooker No-Stir Dulce de Leche in Jars {no cans}
Rate RecipeIngredients
Per Batch of Slow-Cooker No-Stir Dulce de Leche in Jars:
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk 14-16 ounces
- 1 half of a vanilla bean split and scraped, seeds and pod reserved
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pint sized canning jar with a clean two-piece lid
Additional equipment needed:
- 1 slow cooker deep enough to hold lidded pint sized canning jars topped with at least an inch of water.
Instructions
- Add the split and scraped vanilla pod and seeds to a clean pint canning jar. Open the can of sweetened condensed milk and pour it into the jar, scraping the can to be sure to get all of the sweetened condensed milk. Add the pinch of salt. Screw the lid in place to fingertip tightness, then slowly invert and turn the jar right-side-up several times. Put the jar(s) in the slow-cooker and add hot tap water to the slow-cooker to cover the jars by an inch. Place the lid on the slow-cooker, set to LOW and let it cook for 8 to 12 hours. When the cooking time is up, turn off the slow-cooker, remove the lid, and let it stand undisturbed until the water reaches room temperature. Rinse the jar(s), refrigerate, and use within 2 weeks!
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Reader's Thoughts...
Ryan C says
Hey, the recipe looks great!
I don’t own a slow cooker, but do you think there’s a chance you could mimic one by putting it in a covered pot filled with water in the oven at a low temperature? Or is that just asking for disaster?
Thanks!
Rebecca says
As long as you’re nearby, Ryan, I think it’ll work fine! My Amish friends did something similar putting their pot with the jars and water on the coolest corner of their cookstove for several hours. They found they had to add water from time to time, but it worked!
Ryan C says
Thanks!
Angela says
First I want to say that I have never responded to a blog post before. I had to this time! This article has exactly all the info I’ve been looking for so that I could make dulce de leche with sweetened condensed milk! I’m trying this tonight! Although I only have one can of SCM, do you think the cooking time will still be around the same? I have a 3qt crock pot I will be using. Mmm…..can’t wait! Thanks for the great post!
Rebecca says
Hi Angela! I’m so glad you weighed in with your question! I think it’ll probably be around the same time, but you may want to check it a time or two to be certain the water levels are good and check on the colour of your caramel!
Angela says
Thank you for the tips! I’ve tried this twice since posting. The first time I left it on low for about 9 hours. It came out good but I wanted try again and let it go longer…so I did. 🙂 Second time I left it for 12 hours and it came out perfect! My crock pot is 3qts and the smallest jars I could find locally were 8oz so I divided one can of SCM between two jars. There ended up only being about half an inch of water covering the jars. I had some with an apple this afternoon and it was soooo good. Thanks!
Christine says
This turned out really great. I buy huge packs of vanilla beans online and am always looking for good uses for them. The only weird thing is that the vanilla caviar is in huge clumps. Still tastes great but looks a little funny….
I am thinking of making a batch of hot apple cider and putting a little of this in the bottom of each glass. Yum…
Karen says
This is in the slow cooker, and has a few more hours to go. You must have one monster slow cooker if pint sized jars fit in it. I had to go down to 1/2 pints.
Rebecca says
I actually have TWO monster slow-cookers. 😀 Seriously, though, I also have some wide mouth pints that are slightly more squat than narrow mouth ones, and some tulip shaped jars, too.
IndianaAnna says
I originally saw this blog post a few days before I met with my women’s cooking group to plan a Peruvian dinner. When one member suggested we make Peruvian cookies that are filled with dulce de leche, I jumped on the chance to try out this method for making it. The big dinner was last night and everything turned out fabulously, especially the dulce de leche. I received many compliments on it.
I didn’t have a deep enough slow cooker, so the water only covered my jars by about a millimeter but that didn’t matter. I stopped the cooker after 8 hours and used tongs to get the jars out so I could stir in vanilla extract (since I didn’t have vanilla beans). I think next time I make this, and there WILL be a next time, I will leave it in about 10 hours to get a bit darker. It is so delicious though and my kids are eating bowls of diced apples drizzled with the leftovers right now. Thank you!
Rebecca says
That’s so fantastic, IndianaAnna!! I’m so glad it went well for you and thank you for relaying the info on it doing well with a smaller amount of water over it!
Freddy says
Hi there,
I’m about to try this myself after finally having found jars (2nd hand but super well washed!) and a can of condensed milk!
My questions are – and the reason why I had such a hard time finding the jars – I only have a small slow cooker, so I had to find the smallest 2 piece lid jars I could find and a smaller can of CM so that I could still manage an inch of water above the jar… will that affect the cooking time?
Even so, it’ll literally be JUST an inch, no more. Will the water level go down during the 8 hours (or whatever amount time I have to cook this amount) and if so can I top it up with hot tap water during cooking?
Do the jars have to be full or should I make sure that there’s space left in the jar before closing and putting in the slow cooker? (does the milk expand?) The ratio is not going to be the same as your 14/16 oz can of CM in a pint jar so and there isn’t a picture of the before and I’m not sure if it’s important, so I’d rather ask so I don’t end up with an exploding slow cooker!!
Sorry about the silly questions but this is all new to me!! Really looking forward to making it though…
Thanks for sharing this and all your great recipes ..
Rebecca says
Okie doke, Freddy… Let’s see if I can cover your questions for you…
1) It may affect the cooking time or it may not. The great advantage of doing this in jars is you can peek at the contents from time to time. Watch for that lovely caramel colour. When you hit that, turn your slow cooker off…
2) The water level shouldn’t alter too much as long as your slow-cooker is covered. If you find it dropping, your lid doesn’t fit properly on it… You can just pour in a bit more boiling water to make up for the evaporated water.
3) When you pour the milk in the jar, no matter which size jar you use, you should leave about 1/4-inch of headspace between the condensed milk and the rim of the jar. That will allow for any expansion while cooking.
These are not silly questions if you don’t know the answer, so please don’t worry about it! If you have any more questions about it, let me know! Caramel for the world!! 😀
Freddy says
of Thank you so much for the super quick reply and you’ve actually answered ALL my questions, too!!
I’d just assumed it would be at least a few hours or even a couple of days before I heard back so I decided this wasn’t gonna happen today after all, but now it can!! Yay!
Thank you!
Freddy says
Did it! …and it was a massive success!
(I say “was ’cause it’s practically all gone already, so I’ll be making another jar tomorrow!)
Thanks again for the recipe and for your answers to my questions. 😉
Rebecca says
You’re so welcome, Freddy! So glad it worked well for you!
NMCynthia says
This is Gluten-Free, and if you eat it with fruit, it’s Guilt-Free as well! Thank you!
Missweb says
So you think the CM could be split up into 125ml jars? That would be perfect for gift giving…
Rebecca says
I think it should work! You may just want to keep a closer eye on it as the size/volume/capacity of the jars is slightly different and the timing may change!
Sarah says
I can’t wait to try this recipe! I was always so wary of boiling in the can and this seems just as easy, but without the worry of eating the can’s liner (aka weird chemicals). My husband is in LOVE with this stuff and eats it on waffles and pancakes instead of maple syrup sometimes, so I was looking for an easy recipe to make it myself. Just wondering if you can use real vanilla extract instead of a vanilla bean? (Since I can’t always get a vanilla bean). Thanks!
Rebecca says
You can absolutely substitute real vanilla extract here. I prefer the added richness of the vanilla bean, but I think it would still be VERY tasty made with extract!
Sandra Thieme says
Would this work in a yogurt cooker, without the water covering it, of course?
Rebecca says
Hmmmm, Sandra… I don’t actually HAVE a yogurt cooker, so I haven’t tested it that way. It’s worth a try, though, right? Please let me know if you give it a go!
Miriam says
This sounds like a great variation to the recipe! I grew up with dulce de leche since my Dad was from Buenos Aires, Argentina. We always had it in the house and always made it in the can (he insisted the can always had to be on its side.) This is a great solution to making multiple batches for gift giving.
As for flavor options, the rum option is also popular in Argentina. There is a candy confection made with this as a filling in rice wafers bathed in dark chocolate. That flavor profile was also used for a tart: chocolate base with the rum and dulce de leche filling.
Thanks again for this great option!!!
Marie says
Did you just say run?? Holy cow, does that GOOD!! What a great idea. 🙂
Carol says
Would it be possible to safely preserve this in jars using traditional canning methods?
Rebecca says
I’m going with a no on that one, although I haven’t personally tested it. I think it’s too thick to be canned properly for shelf stability.
Denise says
On canning this, it can be done if you use a pressure cooker, here is a link to try and that explains it all. However, i would proceed with caution as it is a dairy product, you cannot do it with a regular water bath it must be done under pressure and at a very high heat to kill a certain bacteria which is explained at the link. http://www.canning-food-recipes.com/canning.htm
Rebecca says
Hi Denise- I’m still going to advise against pressure canning this at home because it is almost pure dairy and because there are currently no circumstances under which home canning of dairy is advisable.
Jill says
That looks amazing!
Alice E. says
Oh, Rebecca, what a good idea! I too remember the original instructions and did try it back in the seventies. We hadn’t heard of Dulce de Leche in those days, we put it in a pie crust and chilled it for Really, Really, rich caramel pie. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
Lorraine says
What a wonderful idea! So easy I have to try it.
Rebecca says
Hooray!!! Enjoy, Lorraine!
CarrollWC says
Thank you for this. I, too, have been “afraid” of the can method, so I had saved, for many years, Lora Brody’s version of homemade dulce de leche. Ironically, I finally tried the recipe this week and it was an utter fail. You’re supposed to cook your mixture on high (in a 4qt crockpot -which I used) for 9 hours, then stir every 20 minutes for an hour and then add more milk. Well, I never got the caramel color, found another recipe online where it was cooked on high 12-14 hours – I continued cooking and it still looked like condensed milk only not as thick. The next day I put it on the stove and it took a couple more hours to get it sort of caramel colored – it looks and tastes OK, but not dark enough or thick enough. We’ll still use it, but I’ll never use that recipe again!
Rebecca says
Oh my gosh. That’s a LOT of hours to put into something to have it fail. Ugh. Booooo! I hope you get to try this version soon!
CarrollWC says
I also shared it as a cautionary tale for others who might want to try it. At least most of the time it was in the crockpot so I wasn’t standing over it the whole time. Oh, and I forgot to share one of the important directions – this was done with the lid OFF the crock pot.
But, thanks for your sympathy 🙂
Brenda F says
Yep, gonna do this.
Rebecca says
Because CARAMEL! 😀
Sarah says
Can’t wait to make this Rebecca – thank you!!!
Rebecca says
You’re so welcome, Sue!
Rebecca says
No problemo, Sarah! I’m glad you’re happy!
sue/the view from great island says
This is such a great idea, I’ve been on the verge of finally trying the can in the microwave thing but I’m so glad I procrastinated!
Marie says
In the instructions, you’ve got 8-12 hours to cook it, and then turn it off when the time is up. That’s a big gap of time. What are the variables as to when the time would be “up”? Is there something I should be looking for or is it dependent on how big is my slow cooker? I’ve never made it with the can at all cause I was always worried about the exploding factor myself. Any tips would be appreciated. This is a wonderful idea and I’m grateful you shared.
Rebecca says
No problem, Marie! The reason that huge 4 hour gap is there is because it’s a very forgiving recipe. It can be done at 8 hours, but you could also let it go as long as 12 with no ill effects other than it’ll be thicker and darker! As long as the water stays an inch over the top, you’re fine!