Make your own sweetened condensed milk instead of purchasing expensive cans!
After writing the DIY Oatmeal Packets post, I’ve kind of fallen in love with the whole “do-it-yourself” style of thing. I’ve never been the crafty kind, but this kind of “food craft” gets me excited! Brainstorming ideas, figuring out ways to develop the recipe, testing and re-testing the recipe to bring it to my readers – it’s all so exciting!
This DIY Sweetened Condensed Milk recipe comes from my father’s mother, my abuela Norma. She’s typically known for her stuffed cabbage rolls but this time, she shared her quick recipe for sweetened condensed milk and I was in disbelief! Would throwing all these random ingredients really make the sticky sweet milk we’re used to? It did!
The fact that I always have dry milk powder in my pantry always wins over having sweetened condensed milk, since I basically use the condensed milk for flan primarily. The non-fat dry milk powder I get more use out of: in bread recipes, in smoothies, in situations when I’ve run out of milk for a recipe. This is mentioned because many people will say that they never have milk powder in their pantry, but you should! It’s a life saver, I promise. (I’ve loved using the Non-Fat Dry Milk Powder from Bob’s Red Mill, but you can check your local stores for other brands.)
Oh and if you follow me on Instagram, you’ll remember I received a massive shipment from Dixie Crystals, which I put to good use in this recipe. Their extra fine granulated sugar was used in this recipe, but I wonder if you can make sweetened condensed milk with dark brown sugar as well. Will report back!
As you’ll see stated in the recipe, you MUST use boiling hot water. I tested this recipe by taking a shortcut and just microwaving a bowl of water, but it didn’t get hot enough. Warm water will NOT dissolve all the sugar in this recipe, it definitely needs to be boiling water taken off the stovetop! Trust me, you don’t want grainy condensed milk!
Use this as you would for desserts such as flan and even adding it to Vietnamese coffee!
Make your own sweetened condensed milk!
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry non-fat milk
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 cup BOILING water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Before you start this recipe, make sure you have BOILING water. I don't mean warm water or hot water, I mean boiling hot water. The heat helps the sugar dissolve, so it's a must.
- Place the dry milk and sugar in the blender and pulse twice. Quickly add melted butter, BOILING water, vanilla, and salt. Blend on medium high for 3-4 minutes.
- Pour out into jars and store in a cool, dry place in an airtight jar.
I bookmarked this recipe from Becca (It’s Yummi) who credited your recipe back in 2012. I always seem to have SCM on hand but today I went to make fudge for a Church bake sale and didn’t have it in the pantry! So…I pulled this out and gave it a try. NEVER again will I buy SCM – thank you! Although I had to adjust my recipe for the difference in ounces, it was easy peasy to make and easy peasy to calculate the %age of chips I needed to SCM. Although I’ll adjust your recipe so it will make at least 14 ounces next time. Can never have too much SCM. Can’t wait to make dulce de leche out of it too, which I use often in brownies.
Would you happen to have a Non-GMO, without dairy version? I will try to make this with a nut milk and organic sugar. Conventional sugar made with sugar beets is one of the worst GMOs and unless the milk is organic, it’s also GMO because the cows eat GMO grains. Condensed GMOs, not good for your health, dangerous in more ways than one.
Thank you for the great idea.
Thank you abuela! Great recipe to have, thanks for sharing!
I feel like I’m always looking for a can of condensed milk…and I never have one. Totally saving this recipe. Thanks, Marnely!
I NEEEED to try this!
Oh my goodness. I go gaga over condensed milk, so I’m in awe that it can be done, and so simply, at home! The dangerous thing is I would eat it all at once!
Do you think this would work with a sugar substitute?
This is awesome! And dangerous. Because now I’m going to want to make this ALL the time.
Don’t know why I’m asking since I know this would be gone in a few days, but how long does this keep? Im surprised it isn’t refrigerated. Very interested in this money saver, thanks.
Honestly, I’ve always used it up in one week, so that’s about how long I know to keep it. My grandmother (who showed me this recipe) never refrigerated it. It hardens up quickly!
Sweetened condensed milk is one of those dangerous things that I struggle not to eat with a spoon once the can is open. But that won’t stop me from trying this!