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Well, it’s another one of those “Yippee! I’ve figured something out!” days. It’s a Condensed Milk Recipe.
Believe it or not, I’ve been trying to make vegan condensed milk for awhile now. What better thing to do with one’s time, right 
?
Finally, I think I’ve got it. A condensed milk recipe that is super easy to make and should work in any recipe that call for the canned stuff.
So happy to share this with you!
My search for a great Vegan Condensed Milk Recipe started when I first started working on homemade coffee creamers. And yes, I should have some of these coming soon . I tried a number of different recipes and just never really got it right.
But it’s right now.
And super easy.
Why Make Vegan Condensed Milk?
This is a simple question to answer.
1. If you are dairy allergic and have a great recipe (like those oh-too-tempting 7-layer bars) that calls for condensed milk, here is your answer.
2. It’s almost impossible to buy the stuff. I did a search to find vegan condensed milk and not much turned up.
3. It’s super cheap. The condensed product I did find wasn’t available on Amazon, but I am pretty sure when it is it will be way more than what it will cost you to do it yourself.
4. The only vegan condensed milk I found online was a brand made from soy and I’m not keen on a lot of soy as it is almost always genetically modified. Ick.
There are several ways to make Vegan Sweetened Condensed Milk. The main version online is:
- take any vegan milk alternative (like my Easiest Coconut Milk, Easiest Almond Milk, Homemade Rice Milk, or other) and then heat the milk
- add sweetener
- heat the milk to boil in a pan and simmer until the volume is reduced by 60% (this can take about 2 hours over low heat 
.)
I just thought that there had to be an easier way to do this so I didn’t have to keep my stove on for 2 hours. Energy bills are getting higher by the day, so I am trying to do what I can, short of going off grid.
Easiest Vegan Sweetened Condensed Milk
Makes the equivalent of one 14 oz. can
Ingredients
3/4 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut
Water to make 1 1/2 cups liquid, divided
2/3 cup sweetener (use as healthy as possible. I used xylitol for a candida-friendly version.)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Dash Salt
3 Tbsp coconut oil or other suitable fat (optional). This will add to the fat content of your milk. Coconut is so full of fat I didn’t find this necessary but it would be a nice addition.
Method
1. Grind coconut as fine as possible in a blender or spice grinder.
2. Add about 3/4 cup water and blend well for about 1 minute.
3. Add the remaining amount of water, sweetener, vanilla and salt. Blend well.
4. Store any excess in a closed container in your refrigerator.
Notes:
1. I used my Vitamix to make this milk. You will obviously get a smoother result by using a high-powered blender like the Vitamix. Now, this is not as creamy as the store-bought stuff, but with no 2 hour cooking time and the amount of money you can save, this completely fits the bill for me.
2. If you wish to use only stevia, then use 7/8 cup shredded coconut, and use 10 1/2 scoops (each scoop is 1/32 of a tsp) of stevia extract as your sweetener. You can leave the vanilla and salt the same. I use these great measuring spoons to measure my stevia extract (the 2nd smallest is the size of a typical stevia scoop). Of course, if you use a different sweetener, you might need to adjust the measurements.
I didn’t work on an unsweetened version. For that, use the stevia option measurements without adding the vanilla and stevia, of course .
Ways to use vegan condensed milk.
1. In recipes calling for condensed milk.
2. As a vegan coffee creamer.
3. As a super sweet drink. I know – sounds crazy, but my oldest was drinking this stuff straight as I tested the various versions .
4. If you have any left, just thin it out with some water and use as a sweetened milk drink.
5. Add cocoa or carob to the thinned out version and you have Vegan chocolate or carob milk.
Of course, if you like the traditional way of doing things, you can just take my Coconut Milk, Almond Milk or Rice Milk and add the sweetener and heat it on the stove for 2 hours. But why, when you’ve got this super duper simple way to get the job done ?
So now I am off to work on Non Dairy Coffee Creamer Recipes. And to other great life matters, of course.
Interested in other Processed Food Replacements? How about:
- Powdered Sugar Substitute
- Powdered Egg Replacer (like Ener-G)
- Homemade Nut or Seed Butter
- Homemade Vanilla Liquid Stevia
- Homemade Chocolate / Carob Chips
Shared at Cybele Pascal.
Very cool! Do you put the sweetener in on step 3?
Oops – thanks for catching that! Just updated the post. Yes
.
This would be awesome for Vietnamese iced coffee I’ve been missing!
Girl you are SO good!
Oh I cannot wait to try this
I love iced coffee but the whole foodie in me can only handle so much SCM from the baking aisle!
Blessings!
lib recently posted..31 dayd of Whole food Breakfast: Cupcakes for breakfast
So easy. I love that there’s a whole food option for this item that is traditionally so hard to substitute out of recipes.
France recently posted..Keep It Real Thursday – Raw Banana Pumpkin Crackers, Apple Sauce & More!
Love this idea and will use it.. Does anyone have a homemade gluten free biscuit mix??
Hi, Judee – I was just thinking about working on this. Do you mean like Bisquick?
I’m printing this out for the future when I may need a sweetened condensed milk. Thanks for working on it.
I would love to have you link up with us at the Clever Chicks Blog Hop this week!
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/10/clever-chicks-blog-hop-5-happy-hen.html
I hope to see you there!
Cheers!
Kathy Shea Mormino
The Chicken Chick
Kathy, The Chicken Chick recently posted..Chickens, Pumpkin Seeds and Worms. Oh my.
What does this mean?
“I didn’t work on an unsweetened version. For that, use the stevia option measurements without adding the vanilla and stevia, of course.”
Are you using stevia alcohol extract?
I just meant that if you just need condensed milk, use the water and coconut measurements and don’t add the vanilla and stevia. I do not use alcohol stevia extract. Does that help?
Thank so much. I have been looking so long on how to make vegan condensed milk. What do you use for stevia though. You mentioned stevia extract. Do you have a recipe for evaporated vegan milk?
Anna recently posted..Safe Chemical Act Must Pass for Our Children. Get Involved.
Hi Anna. I like NuNaturals stevia and Sweet Leaf is good as well. The evap milk recipe would be the stevia one above but w/ no vanilla or sweetener.
I love that picture!!!!
Good Girl Gone Green recently posted..7 Eco-Friendly Birthday Party Ideas & a Green Party Banner
Thanks! How are you doing?
Just discovered your blog today and am happy with all the practical information about substitutions and DIY ingredients. This one is very timely as the time for pumpkin pie is coming up. I do use coconut milk and coconut oil, though I don’t think the saturated fat is particularly healthy– yeah, I know that point can be debated, and I agree that trans fats and boatloads of sugar and processed food are likely the bigger problems. I’d like to compare pumpkin pie with this coconut condensed milk and also with a rice or almond condensed milk version, though you are right that all the simmering would be a pain!
Mary recently posted..Date Sweetened No Oil No Sugar Granola
could you use your crock pot on low for the simmer time, do you think?
I don’t know b/c the moisture won’t evaporate.
This is really great! Thanks for experimenting and sharing!
Milk Allergy Mom recently posted..Dairy-Free Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Shake
This is BRILLIANT! Just saw this on Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays. I am pinning this so I won’t forget. I’ve long been trying to figure out a way to swap out condensed milk for something vegan/non-dairy but just couldn’t think of anything. Albeit a bit higher in calories, this gives me an option to at least keep some of my recipes dairy free for those who need it. Whoohoo, thanks!
You’re welcome!!!
Twitter: aliGFhomebakery
says:
Hi Adrienne! Thanks so much for featuring my Low Carb Magic Bars! I can’t wait to try your condensed milk the next time I make them. hugs, Ali
Ali the Skinny GF Chef recently posted..Gluten Free Minestrone Soup Recipe
Of course! They look great!
This is so so so so brilliant. Thank you! I have so many friends who have intolerance or allergies, and it will make them so happy when I share your page with them!!
Thalita recently posted..DIY Daydreamin’
Awesome! I am wondering if I can make this in our fudge recipe.. will definitely have to try it. Thank you for sharing with us at Healthy 2Days Wednesdays. Always love your tips!
Carrie- young living oil lady recently posted..Coconut Oil to the Rescue
I would think so! let me know!
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I never thought about how difficult it would be to find an allergy free alternative to condensed milk. Yours sounds great!
Maybe this is a silly question, or maybe I just feel silly because I am a very good baker. I don’t understand the “sweeter” ingredient? Do you mean sugar, honey or a replacement low cal version like Splenda?
We are a Lactose free, Egg free family and love your blog Thank you!
Hi! Can you tell me what sentence you are looking at? Thanks and thanks for the kind words!
The recipe calls for 2/3 cup sweetener, what do you mean by that?
I mean whatever you would typically use. Obviously you will need to adjust if needed but I used xylitol. Glycerine, honey, sucanat – whatever you would use. I will adjust the post – thanks!
This is a great post! I’d love for you to share your recipe on my new blog hop, {Wheat-Free Wednesday}! Hope to see you there!
http://www.annemariecain.com/wheat-free-wednesday-blog-hop-party/
Anne-Marie Cain recently posted..Wheat-Free Wednesday {Blog Hop Party}
Wow. Perfect timing on this. We tend to be mostly dairy free and I have another kid sensitive to bleached sugar…this is perfect for us. Thanks a million.
I don’t see how your stevia recipe can be right. Looking at the stevia that you said you used (in comments), it’s 4x the strength of sugar. But if you’re only using 10.5/32 tsp, it ends up being equivalent to 4/3 tsp of sugar. Which is nowhere NEAR the sweetness of the full-sugar version. Is there a stronger stevia from nunaturals that I don’t know about?
I am not sure what stevia you are referring to that is 4x the sugar sweetness – could you point me to that? Stevia extract is waaay sweetener than sugar so a teeny scoop is about 1 T. I find disagreement about the measurement of the scoop so that gets confusing.
https://nunaturals.com/product/157
if you read the “sweetness” sidebar it says that it’s about 4x the sweetness of sugar. I have bought and used a couple of their products reliably using their notes on the sweetness (including the liquid, but not powdered stevia). Are you saying that in your experience this product is much sweeter than reported (around the order of 100x the sweetness of sugar)?
I am sorry but I don’t know what sweetness sidebar you are referring to. Could you copy and paste what you are looking at or tell me what comment this is in? Thanks.
Sweetness of NuStevia White Stevia Powder
$9.99
This product is the dietary supplement form of Stevia. Maltodextrin is used to make it easier to use this product.
1/2 of a teaspoon of NuStevia White Stevia Powder will taste as sweet as 2 teaspoons of sugar.
4 tablespoons (24 packets) of NuStevia White Stevia Powder will be as sweet as 1 cup of sugar.
1 packet of NuStevia White Stevia Powder contains 1/2 of a teaspoon.
That’s a stevia blend – not a pure extract. Did I link up to that by accident in a comment? I typically only link to an extract unless there is a reason to.
oh. my b. i see the other one now. the site says 1/32 tsp=2 tsp of sugar, which would mean using 15.5 scoops, but do you think the stevia is stronger than that (where 1/32=1T)? does the stevia version taste just as sweet as the sugar version, or is it less sweet but you like it like that?
I tend to use stevia as 1 scoop = 2 T but I have seen other folks with different measurements. So honestly it is a puzzle to me. I tend to mix sweeteners b/c I think it tastes better that way
.
how long does this last before it goes bad?
Hmm… I don’t know. The sweetener used might preserve it a little but just don’t make too much. Or – you could freeze it and use in your hot drinks later
I love my Vita-mix and I never get tired of recipes using it! This is a great idea and I will have to try it out. Cheap and delicious, wins every time.
I have a couple questions. 1)It looks like you do not strain the coconut meal out of the liquid or did I miss that? 2)When I make coconut milk, the fat comes to the top. I usually just use that in baking. Does this happen when you process the coconut this way? We like our coconut milk!
I don’t bother. I am just too busy. But you could. I think what comes to the top w/ this method is a tad different b/c of the absence of coconut water.
Adrienne,
ANOTHER amazing inventive way to do things!
Thank you so much.
Adrienne, do you think it would be possible to make evaporated milk using your rice milk recipe BUT just use say 60% less water to begin with so it wouldn’t be necessary to simmer off the water?
Also leave out the optional sweetener and flavoring?
Thank you in advance!
Yes, I was thinking the same thing. I just haven’t been using much grain-based milks these days. I think there’s a different quality to it (perhaps the simmered version is a little richer and maybe a little “caramelly” from heating (especially if you singe it a bit
), but overall, it’s the same.
WHOA! Impossible I had a half way decent idea about all this stuff
Yes I see 100% what you are saying, probably will miss out on some of that caramelly taste. But I usually singe when playing around with milk and make it taste pretty bad lol
RICE MILK RECIPE:
Thank you for the info. Any guess how much less water? Maybe 2 1/3 cups less to make up for the 60% or am I getting the math wrong?
Maybe I will be confusing people and should put this on the rice milk page?
Well, if you’re reducing by 60% then you want 40% left so I’m thinking 1.6 cups or a little over 1 1/2.
. I usually burned the milk too. 
Ok so it is 1.5 cups 1 tablespoon 1 1/4 teaspoons it is
For the RICE Milk Recipe
I need to put that on my blog next
. The r milk recipe I mean.
Thank you!!! been wanting something like this for awhile!!!! THANK YOU!!!
You’re welcome! Hope it works well for you!
Excellent recipe/idea – How about using a slow cooker? Might that be easier energy wise? Just a thought…
Thanks!
Not sure – I’m thinking it won’t condense, would it? i think the condensing depends on an open pot. That’s why slow cookers use very little water since little escapes when cooking.
Does this give off a strong coconutty taste? I’m looking for a vegan condensed milk recipe to use in place of regular condensed milk that is called for in Arroz con Leche (it’s like rice pudding). I don’t want the coconut to overpower the arroz con leche.
Hmmm…it’s likely going to taste fairly coconutty. How about just simmering almond milk or rice milk until it’s about 60% gone? I have recipes for both on my site.
Just a suggestion, but after reading the ingredient list, you added that butter was optional. I think you might want to take the butter option out as that would make it not vegan friendly.
Hi there. Thanks. I changed the wording.