When faced with a surplus of milk from our milk cow, we started making all the fun things we could. Homemade caramel sauce without butter makes a great gift, or hide it away for yourself!
While I have never made this with storebought milk, or even whole milk, I am confident it would work. For us, dulce de leche uses up skimmed milk after we skim for making butter! Your yield will be a little lower with skim vs whole but for those who have a milk cow and are always trying to make enough butter...you understand this struggle!
Enjoy it with ice cream, your own caramel apple slices, drizzle into your coffee, you name it!
Drizzle on a cake- either before or after baking for a delicious treat.
Why You Need This Recipe
- Three ingredients you have on hand at all times? Why not!
- Absolutely delicious. I love having a treat on hand that is easy to make and has all simple ingredients.
- It comes together quickly so you can add it on to dessert or come up with a quick gift at a moment's notice.
Key Ingredients
Milk - Since we keep dairy cows, I use the raw milk that we skimmed cream off for butter. While I haven't tried, there's no reason store milk wouldn't work. Whole milk will have a larger yield, but skim is fine too.
Sugar - Granulated cane sugar or regular white sugar.
Baking soda - You might be scratching your head on this one, but it's science! This keeps it from burning to the bottom of the pot.
Now, I do say this is a 3-ingredient nothing strange caramel sauce, and it is. You can stop with just those 3 ingredients and be perfectly happy. But you can also add a touch of salt and vanilla to just smooth everything out.
How to Make Dulce de Leche
***See recipe card below for precise measurements and instructions.***
Step 1: Add the milk, sugar, and baking soda to a large pot on the stove. Over low heat, whisk to dissolve all of the sugar.
Step 2: Continue to cook until desired thickness, whisking often. Check the video in the recipe card below for what I look for in my caramel sauce.
Step 3: Remove from the heat, and stir in the vanilla and salt, if using. Transfer to jars, let cool, and store in the fridge.
Tips and Tricks
- Use a LARGE pot - not one that juuuuust fits the milk. The milk will bubble and expand as it cooks and you do not want this mess on your stove!
- I've never burned a batch when I keep the heat very low, no matter how thick I go.
- Store in jars in the fridge for easy eating.
- Print up pretty labels and use twine or ribbon so you can pass out mini jars as gifts.
Substitutions
I prefer organic, unbleached cane sugar here, but regular white granulated works just as well. I just think cane sugar tastes best. Now that I think of it, I wonder how coconut sugar would taste?
FAQs
Literally, "sweet from milk" in Spanish, so sugar + milk into something delicious! So many recipes are only a can of sweetened condensed milk that is cooked until caramelized. I prefer to go homemade here and our ingredients obviously cook down into condensed milk and then caramel.
I haven't tried with this recipe specifically. Dairy alternatives have different sugar and fat content than raw milk, so it likely won't thicken the same. I have heard of people using cans of coconut sweetened condensed milk, so if you give this recipe a try with any milk alternatives, let us know in the comments!
I stash some metal spoons in the freezer when I turn on the stove. When the caramel is looking about ready, I stick a spoon in the pot and pull it straight back up. This will cool off on the spoon and you can get a feel for how thick it will be once cooled. Other people will smear a bit on a cold plate and see how it tracks. Just remember the caramel is suuuuper hot - don't get burned.
More Sweet Treats to Enjoy
Hey friends, don't forget to follow me over on Instagram, cause if you like me here, I post there a LOT! I'm also on YouTube with tutorials and Facebook for all sorts of things.
If you like this recipe, I’d love if you reviewed it so others can find it easier. Sharing this recipe on Facebook or Pinterest is another way you can help us out at no cost to you. Thanks, xo Kate
Dulce de Leche
Ingredients
- 1 litre whole milk close to 1 quart
- 1¼ cups sugar preferably cane sugar
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- fat pinch salt optional
- 1 teaspoon vanilla optional
Instructions
- Pour the milk, sugar, and baking soda into a 1.5 gallon/6 qt pot or bigger. This will bubble up some and its much nicer to have extra space.
- Turn onto medium heat, whisk well to dissolve the sugar.
- Keep an eye on it, stirring occasionally.
- Put a freezer safe plate with a few metal spoons in your freezer for testing thickness later.
- When it starts to bubble (this takes 5-10 minutes for me), turn to medium- low.
- You can mostly leave it alone now when its settled into a gentle simmer.
- As you'll see in the video, when the bubbles start to change, get smaller, and all over the surface, you're getting close.
- When its looking real thick, take one of those spoons, take a dip out, and see how it cools down. When its room temp, is it as thick as you want it?
- If on low heat, I've never burnt a batch of dulce de leche; you can get it pretty thick, or leave it thinner as a sauce. Keep in mind after it sits in the fridge it will get a bit thicker.
- When it's to your desired thickness, take it off the heat and add vanilla and salt if desired.
- Pour into containers or jars and keep in the fridge. I've never had it go bad, it keeps forever and ever, amen! (Well, safely a few months...)
Video
Notes
- Make sure and use a much larger pot than you think - it will expand as it cooks and you don't want that mess!
- This is so quick to make, it's perfect for last minute holiday gifts.
Kay
Yum! I bet this can’t be beat with apples or ice cream.
Alyssa Heide
So delicious! Will definitely be making this regularly ?
Anajú
I don't know who lied to you, but this is an Argentinian recipe, not Mexican. I will fight with whom it may be necessary for the honor of my country ?.
Pro tip: if you put a marble inside, the convection cell that heat creates makes the marble to move around and it mixes the dulce de leche for you. You just have to scoop it when you finish so it won't be a choking hazard.
Christina
I was excited by the time you quoted in the beginning but then in the video you say an hour and a half. What the heck? It went from 30 minutes to an hour in a half. Boo.
[email protected]
I think the hands on time is 30 minutes as the milk bubbles away on its own. You keep the temperature low so you don't have to stand over the pot and stir the entire time.
Caitlin Gray
My boys love this recipe on their apples!
Rebecca
This my be my families favorite Venison for Dinner recipe. ?
Stephanie Haas
This is so good! I will be making this again and gifting small jars in some gift baskets I'm making for family. The gift baskets are going to be "ice cream sundae" theme baskets. They are going to be so fun to make, I need to get started organizing them soon.
Annette Heideman
WOW! This is so good. I make it when the grandkids come over for a special treat and now it’s known as ‘Mimis sauce’
Erin
Just know this is addictive and you won’t ever want to be without it in your fridge again. We love this syrup for use on pretty much everything. It’s a favorite on our best brownie recipe.
Bonnie
This is delicious!!! Will be making it over and over!
Alicia Stelling
If you make this you had better hide it from the children!! I set mine on the table and went to do something and it was gone when I came back!!
debrajean34
This is so good! With apples, in iced coffee, on cake, on ice cream, on a spoon... I’ve made it with up to a gallon of milk and it works great but it will take a long time to boil down with that quantity. One of my favourite ways to use up milk that isn’t cheese-making quality.
Tina
This recipe is fantastic! It has saved me $100 by stopping my husband from going to Starbucks each morning before work.
Nikki K
We go through this a little faster than I’d like to admit. It’s great on ice cream, apples, pears, and even popcorn. Not *quite* a caramel flavor, but still delicious. Usually makes 1.5 quarts for me
Amoore
Love this recipe! So easy to make. All the other recipes I found for Dulce De Leche wanted me to use condensed milk. I prefer to not use store bought canned milk. I was so happy to see this recipe.
Cassidy Davis
Seriously so yummy! Especially in coffee, drizzled on top of cake, or just off the spoon 😉
Mandy
This recipe is FANTASTIC!!! The only issue I have is that it takes about 1.5 hours to actually get that dark color. But it is worth the wait. My son begs for this. It’s our favorite on apples.
Chadwick Grass Farms
Yummy! I finished off a good portion of this by myself over the past few weeks. ? I may be guilty of having a spoonful of peanut butter with dulce on top. I like it.
kathleenschathotmailcom
Easy, delicious, will make again and again.
Love it on cheesecake , ice cream and in my coffee!!
gloria
great but I can't seem to get it thick enough. Can I put it back on and cook a little longer or will it turn to sugar???? Love it
kateschat
Absolutely! I've done that before.
gloria
I seem to take mine out too early and it doesn't get thick enough. Can I put back on stove and recook without turning to sugar? Thank you
kateschat
Yes you can!
Chelsey
Do you think this would work with monkfruit sweetener? (:
[email protected]
I don't think anyone in our family has tried it with that before. It's a true sugar so I think it could work.
Donnellon Nash Bigler Chugg
I really loved this recipe. It turned out beautifully! I do wonder if I could cut down the time by using brown sugar though. It's great but takes a long time!
[email protected]
I don't know that brown sugar would cut down on the time. It definitely takes a while, but if you have found the sweet spot on your element where is cooks, but doesn't burn, you don't have to stand over it. I usually just make sure I'm working in the kitchen to keep an eye on it. That being said, I will make a large batch because of the time it takes.
Amanda Fox
Today I am grateful for this recipe. It is one I have made before and it is quickly turning into my favorite caramel sauce because it is not a stand over the stove and monitor the temperature kind of caramel. Once it comes to a boil and you turn it down you can walk away and just check on it here and there. In the recipe she even mentions that she has never burned this caramel sauce........ Well, today I decided I would make a double batch of caramel sauce so the kids could have caramel and apples for a snack, and I would have extra to save in the fridge. I started it a little before 1:00 and was checking on it between working with the kids on school. At some point I forgot I was making caramel sauce and then a little before 4 I remembered and ran into the kitchen. This neglected sauce was a beautiful caramel color! I threw in a little salt and vanilla, poured it in a jar, then the kids grabbed the frozen spoons from the freezer and helped "clean" the pan. They claimed it was the best caramel sauce they have ever had. So if you are a scatter brained Mama like me, this is the caramel recipe for you!
[email protected]
Well this really made us laugh as we can totally relate to getting distracted!
Hannah
Great googlie mooglies this stuff is goooooooood. Like: eat it all in one sitting with a spoon in the kitchen when you should be doing other things and get a tummy ache good.
I made this for a Christmas party to dip pears and apples in. It did not last. (Maybe because I ate half of it with a spoon in the kitchen? Nah...couldn't be that)
10/10 would make again. And give away immediately. Because I will eat it all.
[email protected]
Yes it's hard to resist!
Sarah O'Brien
Hello! We also have a dairy cow whose skim milk I am always looking for ways to use. We made this recipe and enjoyed it over ice cream and in these dulce de leche bars: https://www.crazyforcrust.com/dulce-de-leche-gooey-bars/
I am wondering if you have ever tried canning the dulce de leche for shelf preservation. I am sure it would take a pressure canner, if it can be done at all. Curious!
[email protected]
Gooey bars sound delicious.
Kate says canning dulce de leche is "rebel canning....I will say I followed jam canning methods but it's not recommended"
Sarah
Since I milk goats, we use goat milk! Only difference is the name, Cajeta!
Jill
I have made this recipe many times. It's great with ice cream and as an apple dip. I'm going to try swirled into an apple bundt cake!
It's a very easy recipe and so yummy!
[email protected]
Yum!!!