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Elevate your dessert game with my sugar free condensed milk recipe! Made with three key ingredients, it’s creamy, sweet, and tastes like the real thing! Just 1 gram carbs.
Need more low carb baking staples? Try my keto maple syrup, sugar free chocolate syrup, and powdered sugar substitute.
Avid bakers are all too familiar with sweetened condensed milk, but what about those of us who love to bake but need to cut out excess sugar?
There aren’t too many sugar-free varieties on the market, and the ones I’ve tried… miss the mark. So, I came up with a sugar-free version of classic condensed milk, and now I use it in everything!
Table of Contents
Why I love this recipe
- Only 3 simple ingredients. And I’m fairly certain you have most, if not all of them, on hand right now.
- Versatile. Instantly turn any dessert sugar-free, be it tres-leches cake, 2 ingredient fudge, or (my mom’s favorite) Vietnamese coffee!
- Minimal hands-on time. Mix everything and let it simmer for nearly an hour. All you have to do is keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn.
- Make it your way. It’s hard enough to find keto condensed milk in stores, and by making it from scratch, you can have it as sweet or as thick as you need it to be.
★★★★★ REVIEW
“Best sugar free condensed milk ever!” – Marlo
Ingredients needed
- Heavy cream. Let it sit at room temperature before using it. Heavy whipping cream also works. Avoid low-fat substitutions, as you need that fat content to develop the right consistency.
- Butter. I suggest using unsalted and softened butter.
- Powder sweeteners. I prefer using powdered allulose, though any sugar-free sweetener can technically work.
- Vanilla extract. Optional, but I like the subtle vanilla flavor it adds.
How to make sugar free condensed milk
I’ve included step-by-step photos below to make this recipe easy to follow at home. For the full printable recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Step 1- Combine ingredients. Add all of the ingredients into a small saucepan over medium heat.
Step 2- Simmer. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring regularly. Once simmering, reduce the heat to very low and continue simmering for 45 minutes.
Step 3- Store. Remove from the heat and allow it to cool down completely. Once cool, transfer to a mason jar and refrigerate.
Arman’s recipe tips
- Dairy-free. Use full fat canned coconut milk (or coconut cream) and dairy-free butter.
- Stir often. So the bottom of the pan doesn’t scorch.
- Turn it into caramel sauce. Let it simmer for an hour or until it takes on a golden caramel color.
- Be patient. The mixture will thicken up quite a bit as it cools, so don’t fret if it’s liquidy when you remove it from the stovetop.
Storage instructions
To store: Store leftover condensed milk in an airtight container or glass jar and keep it in the refrigerator for up to one month.
To freeze: Place the cooled milk in a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to six months. Let it thaw overnight in the fridge.
Frequently asked questions
Technically, no, that’s called evaporated milk.
Recipes with sugar-free condensed milk
Sugar Free Condensed Milk
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 1/4 cup butter
- 3/4 cup granulated sweetener of choice * See notes
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract optional
Instructions
- Add the heavy cream, butter, allulose, and vanilla into a small saucepan.
- Over medium heat, bring the mixture to a boil. Stir regularly, until it begins to simmer. Once it begins to simmer, reduce the heat to very low. Let the condensed milk simmer for around 45 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and allow it to cool down completely. Once cool, transfer to a glass jar or container and refrigerate.
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published December 2020, updated and republished September 2024
Great recipe for people watching their sugars, on keto, etc
Thank you
Now I can make my keto crapes and smear them with peanut butter and condensed milk. Or I can make Singapore coffee, much like Vietnamese coffee.
I see 4 ingredients, not 3?
Looks like you are counting the optional ingredient. Enjoy this 3 ingredient recipe.
Lush
Hello A!
Can I try this with heavy coconut cream?
Big fan here
N
Haven’t tried, but feel free to experiment and see 🙂
My mom is looking for sugar free condensed milk for agesê. Thanks for the recipe xx
WOZZA!! Where has this been all my life. Tastes like a mild caramel sauce. Was looking for something to sweeten my regular coffee and Vietnamese coffee. Winner winner. Could use for sliced apple dip, on apple pie and over vanilla ice cream. So good. ♥️♥️♥️♥️
This site was… how do I say it? Relevant!! Finally I have found something that helped me. Thanks!
Can’t wait to get my book
My result was very thick and would not fit into a single pint jar, so was about 18 ounces. I let the two jars sit in the refrigerator overnight and it shrunk to 14 ounces. It was very thick requiring a spatula to remove. I used a Nellie and Joe’s Key Lime Pie recipe in a pecan ready to use crust. Cooling before refrigerating now, so who knows how it will turn out?
Oops, my Cortado is 2 parts Cafe Bustelo Espresso and 1 part Zero Sugar Italian Sweet Cream. I usually make 64 pounces with about 20-21 ounces of the creamer.
I will use this recipe in a key lime pie. If it does not set, I will have some
great key lime syrup with crust chunks!
As for the coffee drinks, rather than this, I suggest a Zero Sugar Coffee Mate creamer. I use 3 parts strong brewed Cafe Bustelo Style Espresso and one part Zero Sugar Italian Sweet Cream to make a tasty Cortado. You are welcome!!
Why doesn’t someone market a zero sugar condensed milk?
Check amazon for Splenda sweetened condensed milk. Expensive but good.
This is AMAZING!
OK
I finally found the amounts needed after scrolling up and down a few times. I retract my comment.
Thank you for condensed milk receipe.
You are welcome!
So excited to make this recipe tomorrow. Thanks for your clever way to eat sugar free food. Cheers Mary
So welcome, Mary!
I needed sugar free from the key lime pie.. I am looking for to making the pie for Easter Sunday get together. Thank you..
Could you use coconut milk instead of heavy cream?
Best sugar free condensed milk ever!
Cool completely
Do you have to let it cook completely to use in other recipes?
And is this the same amount that would be in a can?
Yes let it cool. Not sure, you’d need to measure it.
I make this weekly!
Great idea, thank you for sharing
Very welcome!
This is amazing! I made a double batch to use for a Les Tres Dulche De Leche birthday cake for one of my diabetic clients for my dietetic bakery! Thickened up nicely with a little xanthan gum! Definitely saving this to make again!
Sooo 👍 good
Terri Nichols
I think that (1) 1/4 cup.
I have a question… can I possibly use this to make Puerto Rican Coquitlam now for the holidays?
Under the nutrition it should read 1/4 cup for a serving, not 11/4 cup. I have not made this yet but I will soon. I made your coffee creamer a few times and I want to add this instead of the HWC next time. I just made the chocolate, for the second time, and one with cake batter extract coffee creamer.
I like sugar free food
Thank you very much am pre diabetic it very hard to find sugar free desserts and I like desserts thank you again
best keto condensed milk!
Fabulous! It makes sticking to KETO so much easier! I will make it again and again!
This recipe is outstanding!
I made it for an awesome keto cherry ice cream.
Thank you so much!!!
Cool! I’ve been making no-churn ice cream, which is basically condensed milk and whipped cream with whatever flavourings and mix-ins you fancy. But I can only find sweetened condensed milk, which just tastes way too sweet. I’m not on a keto diet, but I’d like to be able to control how sweet my ice cream turns out. I assume I can adjust the amount of sweetener in this to suit my taste? And is the butter in this integral to the texture of the finished product, or is it there for flavour and/ or to increase the fat content for keto macros? It’s never occurred to me to make my own condensed milk, thank you very much for the inspiration! 🙂
Wonderful
I made this stuff the other day to use in your key lime pie recipe. Aside from its taking about 30 minutes longer on the stove, it came out beautifully! It thickened up nicely after going into the fridge and was the perfect color! Thank you so much for sharing the recipe with us! I so appreciate it!! Be well,
Nancy
Thanks for this. I was just wondering how well it would set up in a pie!
Seems easy
It works great and so easy to make
Wonderful’. I made a wonderful key lime pie with this!!
I love that i found this recipe , thank you.
Can this be made without sweetener added.
I don’t do sweet at all but want to make sweets without sweet…
Thanks Camille 😊
I’m not sure it will taste very good without it
This stuff is delicious, I just wish it were thicker. Any tips for making it thicker? I saw a comment about xantham gum, but there’s nothing in the recipe about xantham.
I could seriously just eat this with a spoon.
lov d recipe for keto condensed milk. thank u so much for sharing
Fabulous recipe for Sweetened Condensed Milk; I use Monk Fruit and it tastes like the real thing. I use it Key Lime Cheesecake and no one can tell the difference. Thank you!
It sounds good, but I want to know if I can use Splenda (Sucralose) in this recipe for sugar free condensed milk?
I haven’t tried 🙂 I like allulose as it dissolves like sugar!
Hi Lorie! Did you end up trying this with Splenda? I can’t tolerate allulose. :/
They sound lovely to make, which I will do this afternoon
I was wondering if you had the carb count on this. If I missed it just call me old! Haha
I love this recipe!! I’m trying to get away from Creme Brulee, and I think this is close.
What is Allulose?
The recipe doesn’t have xantham gum listed, but the comments do? How much do you add, and when?
Brilliant tried it 3 times and each time a success
I couldn’t love this recipe more!! Thank you!!!
Perfect!! I added about 2 TBS of corn starch,,, Absolutely like the canned !!!
I used monkfruit and when it cooled down it returned to its “grainy”
texture. Any suggestions? I really want to make this my husband is diabetic.
Yes, allulose.
Rachel,
I do not see Xantham Gum needed for this recipe so you can make it right away~
Hi. I was wondering if Stevia (in the raw) will also be a good sweetener to use.
Not for this, just allulose
Hi, can you advise if coconut sugar would be a suitable brown sugar alternative?
That should be fine as it is derived from sugar.
Dear, i wonder about how much cream and how much butter i should use?
You gave no measurements and i have no clue 🙏
Thank you for all your lovely and helpfull recepies. 🌷🌷🌷
Omg. I just made this for key lime pie, and I honestly think I will keep some on hand to satisfy sweet cravings! This taste so amazing!!!!
Hi, I am sooooo happy.💕
I can have my key lime pie now, and it will be semi-keto till I get coconut flour to make my crust. Thank you so much for this recipe. If it comes out great, I’ll make and freeze some.
Hi Arman,
This sounds so delicious! My husband and I are in the early days of Keto still, but I truly look forward to testing out your recipe when we’re a little bit further along the journey and the Carb count opens up.
One note for your website, the “personally-authored, written content protection laws” are called “COPYRIGHT,” as in “protecting your Rights to the Copy (a.k.a., ‘written content’) that you create.” It’s an easy mistake to make when you’re chugging along the myriad mountains of tasks related to site setup.
I hope your weekend is phenomenal, and I’ll let you and your other commenters know how the recipe turns out when transposed to dairy-free, as I’m allergic to cow milk and my daughter is lactose-intolerant.
This is wonderful!!!! Great for banana pudding. Can’t wait to try it on other desserts!
Arman
Your recipes are amazing! You need to add a “recipe box” type function to your site so we can save the ones we love and make often to retrieve them quickly the next time we want to make them. I’m tree friendly and don’t print but would love to be able to go to my own “saves”. ❤️🙏😘
I halved this recipe on my first round (simply bc I only had that much heavy whipping cream left) and saw that after 15 minutes of simmering, the color changed slightly darker and didn’t think anything of it. I wanted a thicker consistency so I kept the simmer going, but to my surprise, I quickly made caramel 🥴 Tried the recipe again and learned my lesson to stop once it initially becomes thick (it will get thicker after cooling). Just a disclaimer that you might end up with caramel if you make smaller quantities and get ambitious on the consistency!
Bless you for this! I’ve always loved Vietnamese style coffee and during the pandemic have gotten in the habit of making it at home. Want to go back on keto and it’s one of the few things I’d really miss! Can’t wait to make your version, just need to track down the xantham gum.
Ooooh, what is Vietnamese coffee? Anything w/ sweetened condensed milk (and now the keto version) sounds yummy
Would it be possible to cook a larger amount in a crock pot on “Keep Warm”? I make ice cream, but need to exchange the sweetened condensed milk for a low carb. equivalent. If so, I can be canning my veggies and jellies while the milk is cooking.
This is awesome
I can’t wait to try it in making my simple fudge recipe!🙂💕
Hello, have you tried making dulce de leche with the keto condensed milk. Usually I make it in the instapot still in the sealed can.
Maybe after it’s cooled, in a mason jar in a crockpot. I’ve heard others say that’s how they make dulce de leche. Can’t wait to try it! Never thought of making homemade condensed milk, THANKS!!!!
I executed this EXACTLY as stated here. 45 minutes later…perfection! This is a game changer!Have already used it in my Mounds Bar recipe (keto). Will be making this by the gallons for holiday baking!!
Are there any other recipes on the site (besides the key lime pie, which was great!) that use this sugar-free condensed milk? I have leftovers and would like to try to use it for something else.
Hi Carrie- Yes, plenty. You can use the search function and plenty should come up 🙂
THANK YOU for this recipe!
1 question: How much should it be reduced by? I was aiming for 14 oz (same as a store-bought can, for recipes; Had to cook almost two hours before it thickened, and ended up with a wee bit more than 16 oz.
So I started with 2 3/4 cups, down to 2+ cups–does that seem about right?
Love this keto condensed milk!!
What other recipes do you use this in?
Thank you for sharing! I want to try making a keto ice cream for my diabetic father, original recipe is HWC, cocoa powder, and Sweetened Condensed Milk. Curious if you’ve tried using liquid stevia in this recipe, or if the recipe needs the “body” of a granulated sweetener. I’m very GI sensitive to erythritol, and prefer not to have the maltodextrin in powdered stevia.
I used erythritol and it became full of crystals once I put it on the fridge. Do you know why?
We recommend allulose. Erythritol always crystalizes.
Hi would I be able to use coconut cream instead of heavy cream?
Not that i’ve tried
Easy to make & such a useful recipe.
I love that i found this recipe , thank you.
Can this be made without sweetener added.
I don’t do sweet at all but want to make sweets without sweet…
Please respond to the Xantham gum, not Xantham gum. Should I add some?
I used Lakanto brand MonkFruit Sweetner, with Erythritol, available at Walmart.
Not sure sure why mine came out pretty thin, compared to Sweeten condensed milk.
Hi Mike, that was for another recipe. This thickens the longer you boil it or it’s best to try out Allulose.
I wonder if a crock pot would work for this?
I haven’t tried!
Xantham gum is not listed anywhere in the Recipe. Was it missed or are you thinking of a different recipe?
I simmered mine for 50 minutes and I’m disappointed it is not thicker, I thought it would be thick like Sweetened Condensed milk. Did yours get that thick?
Hi Mike! It could be the brand of xanthan gum- Sprinkle a little. more!
New low-carber here, and am so happy with how this recipe turned out. Dare I say, it tastes even better than the regular canned sweetened condensed milk. I used allulose, 3 drops of French vanilla stevia, and about 1/4 tsp of salt and it’s DELICIOUS. Increasing the cook time to allow for more caramelization would lead to an incredible sugar-free salted caramel sauce, too!
Has anyone ever tried putting this in fudge? I just want to know how much it change the texture or flavor.
The recipe says cook 10 minutes. The instructions say cook approximately 45 minutes. Which would be correct? Thank you.
Hi Val! Sorry it is 45, I’m not sure why the post is saying 10, as it has been changed 🙂 Will follow up on it!
Can we convert this into a dairy free version?
You are welcome to experiment and see!
Great alternative!
Its a great recipe,easy to follow.turned out great.i find it a little sweet thou
How about dairy free condensed milk?
Could you can this in a pressure cooker? And could you prepare it in a slow cooker?