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Crock Pot Dulce de Leche is the easiest way to make a thick, sweet, rich and delicious caramel sauce.
I became a big fan of dulce de leche about 8 years ago when we traveled to Argentina. They serve just about everything with dulce de leche in Argentina – they know how to eat! I remember at breakfast there would be big bowls full of caramel and I would pour it over my fruit. Yum.
It is next to impossible to find dulce de leche in the stores here in Portland so I have to make my own. The first time I made it, I made it on the stove top. You can read how to do it here. That method involved boiling cans of sweetened condensed milk in a pan of water on the stove top for several hours. It works but it takes some watching and you need to make sure the water doesn’t boil away.
I discovered that making crock pot dulce de leche is the way to go. No watching required.
How to Make Dulce de Leche in a Crockpot
I did three 14 oz. cans of sweetened condensed milk at one time but you could probably do 4 if you wanted. You just don’t want the cans to touch. The more cans, the longer it will take.
- Remove the labels from the cans and place them in the crockpot. Fill your crock pot with enough water that it covers about 1/2 inch over the top of the cans.
If you prefer, you can open the cans of sweetened condensed milk and pour it into half pint size jars with lids. This allows you to see how thick the dulce de leche is getting. Two 14 oz cans will make three half pint jars crock pot dulce de leche.
- Place the jars or the cans into the crock pot and then fill with water. The water should totally cover the jars, about 1/2 inch over the top.
- Place the lid on the crock pot and put it on low and allow it to cook for 10 hours. I have only done it on low so not sure how it would work on high. But if someone tries it let me know.
Easy Dulce De Leche
- After eight – ten hours remove the jars or cans from the crock pot and allow them to cool before opening. Trust me on this one or you will end up with a big mess. You will have the most amazing, thick, rich, caramel sauce. Grab a spoon and scoop yourself out some. Really, you want to do this.
- I cooked my crock pot dulce de leche for 8 hours so it wasn’t quite as thick as it would have been if I’d cooked it for 10 hours. We were planning on making these amazing Carmelitas so we wanted it a bit thinner. If you want it thicker, cook for a few more hours.
- Believe it or not it’s pretty darn good spread on toast! I store it in the refrigerator. Not sure on the shelf life as it never lasts too long at my house. It also makes a great little gift, especially in the 1/2 pint sized jar.
Besides eating it straight out of the jar there are lots of other fun ways to use dulce de leche:
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Slow Cooker Dulce de Leche
Ingredients
- 42 oz sweetened condensed milk 3 (14oz) cans
- water
Instructions
- Remove labels from cans and place into crockpot.Option 2: Open cans of sweetened condensed milk and pour into three half pint jars, dividing evenly. Put on lids and rings and place in crockpot.
- Fill crock pot with water so that it covers about 1/2 inch above the top of the jars.
- Turn crock pot onto low and set timer for 8-10 hours, depending on how thick you want it..
- After 10 hours and remove jars from crock pot. Allow cans to cool a while before opening.
- Open the lid and grab a spoon!
Tips & Notes:
Nutrition Facts:
Colleen says
My sister found this and is wanting to make it, she has a really cute gift bag idea to give the jarred Dulce with a granny smith apple and sprinkles, like a caramel apple BUT we are concerned about the refrigeration.
Can anyone tell me if it needs to be refrigerated immediately or only after opened? I would hate to give someone something that spoiled in a gift bag after a few days, please help… anyone?
Leigh Anne says
I do keep it refrigerated. It isn’t really “canned” so it needs to be refrigerated.
Frankie says
Hi! I love the idea of doing it in jars! I was wondering, if you have tried doing it like you would for normal canning, you know, sanitizing the jars, soaking the lids before putting them in and cooking them. That should allow the jars to seal, and if they seal the shelf life sould technically be similar to that of the can before it was opened. Just a thought, I’m definitely going to try this!!!
Annie says
So…
When I get bored I bake & cook. Lol
Tonight I baked/microed a cake, I currently have an apple pie in the oven & some sweetened condensed milk in the crockpot!! I am so excited to try this, thank you for posting your method. I can’t wait to try it on a warm slice of pie. Mmmm
cody says
my crockpot is too small to cover the lids completely with water..can i lay them on their sides or will that be disastrous?
Leigh Anne says
I think as long as the lids are on tight it might be fine. It may not take as long as more of the glass is in close contact to the heat. It might be worth a try but I would keep a close eye on it.
Heather says
I laid mine on their sides. I have two crock pots and the one was done after 6 hours. I’m still waiting on the other. Yep, I’m making it right now. One thing I noticed about having them lying down (my jars are a little too tall to be completely covered with water standing up) is that the water turned milky white in the crockpot. I made sure the lids were tight before putting them in so I don’t know if the heat causes them to not be water tight or what happened. There doesn’t appear to be excess liquid in the jars. What do you think?
Heather says
I should mention that is 6 hours on high.
Lynette Siler says
This sounded simple and delicious, but mine turned into a caramel glop after 10 hours in the crockpot. Should I have checked it earlier and trimmed down the cooking time…or what’s your take on this? Anyone else had that problem?
Leigh Anne says
Sounds like 10 hours was a little too long in your crockpot. I would go for 8 next time. Also you should be able to add some milk or cream to it and thin it out so it’s not so thick and it should still be delicious.