This is how to make caramel with sweetened condensed milk in a Crockpot with ingredient!! You can make this good dulce de leche with a can surrounded by water in a few hours. It is great on top of ice cream.

A bowl of melted caramel made from condensed milk is being stirred with a white spatula, showing how to make caramel with condensed milk at home.

Making Crockpot caramel is way easier than you might think. We mean what doesn't this go good on? We haven't found anything sweet that it doesn't make even more fabulously good. make as a Crockpot recipe drizzle on the top of pie, cake or ice cream takes your bites to a whole new level.

We shared above how to make this in a fraction of the time, but if you do have the time low and slow is key to everything being more yummy. You only need 1 ingredient to make homemade caramel sauce at home. The longer it cooks the darker, richer and thicker it will get. Less time will yield a lighter milder outcome.

Either way it is a fun experiment to do with your kids and they will love it when the top is opened up and they get a taste. Do this. Teach them ice cream in a bag recipe and then move on to this one. Enjoy together after dinnertime and makes the weekend an interactive one.

Ingredient notes

You can fit 2 – 4 cans of sweetened condensed milk in your pot at a time depending on how large it is. We made 2 since there aren't many of us at home and you want to enjoy it fresh.

Water is all you need beyond that in order to essentially boil the contents right inside the can!!

Equipment Needed

A slow cooker is the method of choice this go around and a piece of parchment paper is helpful as well as tongs to lift them out.

NO need to open the cans you throw them right in there for the whole day basically to transform. Like we explain below, the longer it is in the heat the darker, thicker and richer flavor you'll experience.

Both outcomes are quite good really, depends on your tastebuds and what you're making with it. Once done you can change up the flavors a bit with a touch of extract. Think vanilla or even coconut is good.

Two metal cans in boiling water inside a pot lined with parchment paper, demonstrating how to make caramel with condensed milk.

Swaps

You can make this “regular” or dairy free caramel too!! This comes in handy when we are making some that our husband can enjoy as he is lactose intolerant. Luckily there is a coconut milk version you can buy here online that doesn't taste much different.

Below are instructions for the thickened caramel in a slow cooker, but you could make it similarly a lot faster with our Dulce de Leche Instant Pot instructions as well under high pressure. We would say they both turn out great.

Then serve on your Banana Upside Down Cake or ice cream. Compared to store bought especially over a bowl of vanilla ice cream you can feel and taste the richness.

Glass jar of caramel sauce made with condensed milk, cork lid, and a small wooden spoon, next to apple slices on a white plate—solid for those learning how to make caramel with condensed milk at home.

How Long to Cook Caramel in Crockpot

You essentially could make this overnight if you prepped it before you went to bed in the slow cooker because you need to set to the low setting and cook for 8 hours. After the cooking time, turn off the slow cooker and let the cans sit inside for four hours.

Once the cans are cool enough to handle without burning yourself, open the cans. Opening the cans before cooling could cause the caramel to splatter. Proceed with caution as the contents are pressurized. poon into a bowl, stir and enjoy as an ice cream topping or on top of caramel apple bread pudding.

Will homemade caramel thicken as it cools?

Yes this Crock pot dulce de leche recipe or other methods will, definitely if you store leftovers in the fridge inside mason jars it will. To thin do so with warm milk into a medium saucepan adding slowly and stirring until you get it right to drizzle over Pumpkin Pecan Pie.

Crockpot Caramel Recipe

By This is how to make caramel with condensed milk sweetened in a crockpot. Homemade thick caramel sauce. Prep: 10 minutes minsCook: 8 hours hrsServings: 24 Save Recipe Saved! Pin Recipe Comment Print Recipe

Equipment

Ingredients

2 cans sweetened condensed milk
8 cups water, or enough for cans to be submerged

Instructions

To prepare the caramel: Remove the labels from the sweetened condensed milk cans and wash the cans. Place a sheet of parchment paper in your slow cooker to avoid rust rings.
Position the cans on the parchment paper and fill the slow cooker with water until the cans are covered by about two inches of water, cover with lid. Set the slow cooker to the low heat setting and cook for eight hours.
After the cooking time, turn off the slow cooker and let the cans sit inside for four hours. Once the cans are cool enough to handle without burning yourself, open the cans. Opening the cans before cooling could cause the caramel to splatter. Proceed with caution as the contents are pressurized. Spoon into a bowl and enjoy.
**** DO NOT open cans until cooled to room temperature

Nutrition

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: DessertCuisine: American Tried this recipe?Mention @thetypical_mom or tag #thetypicalmom!

Kitchen questions

What happens if you overcook dulce de leche?

If you forget about this too long it will get rather dark and thick. You can thin it out with a bit of warm cream unless cooked too long and past the point of no return.

Why is our dulce de leche gritty?

You may experience this texture if the sides get heated too much and harden a bit. When stirred those bits will have a brown sugar like quality to them and stay hard. Jump to recipe and watch it closely.

How long does it take to boil a tin of condensed milk?

The answer to that depends on your method of choice of course. Under high pressure is the fastest, start to finish around 1 hour with cooling and all. The slowest which takes all day and in the middle would be in a pot of boiling water.

How to make dulce de leche runny?

If it's refrigerated and has become thick and firm, you can gently heat it in the microwave or on the stovetop to soften it slightly. This will make it easier to mix with the liquid. Heat milk or cream until it's warm, in the microwave or on the stovetop. Use as much as you want depending on how runny you want it to be.

Can you eat dulce de leche by itself?

you can! Dulce de leche is a good and sweet caramel sauce made from sweetened condensed milk. It has a rich and creamy texture with a sweet and caramelized flavor that's often enjoyed on its own as a dessert or snack.