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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:
Jax Nixon says
Hi, I just tried this! It’s brilliant. I used light condensed milk in a jar on high fit 6 hours. Worked perfectly. I am hoping to try it with normal condensed milk as soon as I pop to shops. The light condensed produces a very thick texture. I still thick it will work brilliantly for a banoffee pie though. X
Leigh Anne says
So glad you liked the recipe and that it worked well for you.
Melissa says
i just tried making this and it’s yummy! but i have a question about the consistency.. is it supposed to be thick like caramel or condensed milk? mine came out spreadable, with jelly/flan-like consistency.
Leigh Anne says
the thickness will depend on how long you cook it – the longer you cook it it will get more jelly/flan like. If you don’t want it that thick you can just cook it a shorter amount of time or add a little liquid to it to thin it down a bit. Either will work and it will still be delicious!!
Melissa says
thanks! i was just worried i didn’t do it right… 🙂 and thank you for sharing the recipe… so yummy!
Kate Wetmore says
The nice thing about cooking it in canning jars rather than in the can is that you can monitor how dark the dulce de leche ends up. I like mine rather dark.
A little advice on cooking it in a crock pot is that the newer crock pots cook at a much higher temperature than the older versions (I think it was some kind of a worry about low temp cooking). Anyway, I have several crock pots. One is a newer version (about a year old) and the others are the older kind. I cooked a batch of dulce in the newer crock pot for 9 hours and it pretty much became candy. It wasn’t even spreadable. It was still delicious, but not what I was looking for. That same 9 hours in the older crock pot ended up with a nice dark pourable dulce (kind of like your picture).
My favorite method for cooking dulce de leche these days is to cook it in canning jars on my stove covered with simmering water. It cooks much faster (2-3 hours depending on how dark you like it) and doesn’t really take much monitoring. I cover the pan so there is little evaporation and only occasionally have I needed to replenish the water. The main benefit, though, is that I can take the can out to check how dark it is getting without having to worry about lowering the temperature in a crock pot.
Monica says
There’s a wonderful and super classic dessert in Argentina (where I’m from) called “Panqueques de dulce de leche” or Dulce de leche pancakes. Just make a simple crepe batter to form very thin pancakes remove them from the pan make at least 2 per person. Then spread dulce de leche on them and roll them up like a cigar… Voila you got a simple and delicious dessert! Enjoy !
Roz Weitzman says
I know this may sound silly, but I live in China and am afraid of an explosion!! Like many readers here. Anyways, my question: I have never seen canning jars here. Would a regular jam jar, (cleaned and sanitized) work. Thanks in advance for your reply! Regards, Roz
Leigh Anne says
No need to worry about explosion in your crockpot. It is not like a pressure cooker. Since you are not “canning” it any jar with a lid will work.