Slow Cooker Condensed Milk Caramel

Make silky smooth slow cooker condensed milk caramel with just 1 ingredient and 5 minutes prep time.

Use this luscious caramel on your favourite desserts, or eat from the tin with a spoon!

This slow cooker condensed milk caramel recipe is smooth and lusciously sweet – and so easy to make!

Use it to make no-bake salted caramel cheesecake, 3 ingredient caramel chocolate tartlets, chocolate and caramel butternut snap tartlets and Twix cookies.

Or spoon the caramel – also known as Dulce de Leche – over a scoop of ice cream (add a square of warmed brownie for the most amazing dessert!), drizzle over chocolate cake, vanilla cupcakes, or you favourite dessert recipe – it’s so good on apple pie or sticky date pudding!

Totally decadent, this condensed milk caramel has so many uses and is quite irresistable!

Why You’re Going To Love This Recipe

Making caramel using condensed milk is a 1 ingredient recipe!
Easy recipe – let the slow cooker do the work to turn condensed milk into caramel – you don’t need a thermometer, or to worry about the caramel burning in the pan.
You can easily double the recipe, without adding any more work. Just add an extra tin of condensed milk!
Homemade condensed milk caramel tastes so much better than shop bought, has no unnecessary additives, and is cheaper too!

What You Need

You just need one ingredient to make slow cooker caramel!

Note: Scroll to the recipe card at the bottom for the ingredients quantities and full detailed method.

Sweetened condensed milk – I like to use Nestle sweetened condensed milk but you can use other brands too.

Equipment Required

Just one piece of equipment too!

Slow cooker – or crockpot.

If you’re thinking about the cost of running a slow cooker for hours, ‘s the facts. When it comes to energy consumption, no other electrical appliance can beat a slow cooker. The reason behind a slow cooker’s use of very little energy is that they cook at such a low temperature. Research shows that 6-8 hours on low in a slow cooker uses similar power to 35-45 minutes in the oven.

Step By Step Instructions

Here’s how to make caramel from condensed milk. This recipe for slow cooker caramel with condensed milk could not be simpler – one step, just set and forget!

Note: Scroll to the recipe card at the bottom for the ingredients quantities and full detailed method.

Step 1 – Slow Cok Condensed Milk

Place the can of sweetened condensed milk (or cans) into the slow cooker and cover with hot (but not boiling) water. Ensure the water is 5cm above the top of the can.

Note: if using a ring pull can, make sure the ring pull is facing downwards.

Cook on LOW for 8 hours (or up to 10 hours for a thicker caramel).

Very carefully remove the can from the slow cooker and place into a bowl of cold water to cool. Alternatively you can switch off the slow cooker and leave it overnight to cool.

Open the can when cooled. Look at all that luscious caramel!

Serve this beautiful condensed milk caramel with your favourite desserts.

Expert Tips

Use full fat condensed milk, not skim.
Check the water level stays 5cm above the can at all times during cooking. Some slow cookers release more liquid/steam than others and may need topping up. If the water level goes below the top of the can, it may burst (and that can be dangerous!) – I recommend checking the water level every hour.
Store any leftover caramel in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a couple of weeks – although it always gets eaten within a day or two in our house!
Stir some sea salt flakes through to make salted caramel (extra yum!) and use it in these salted caramel recipes.

FAQs

Why is my condensed milk caramel not thickening?

The condensed milk caramel thickens as it cools, so if it is still warm it can be a thinner texture.
The caramel can also be thinner if it hasn’t been cooked for long enough, and this can be as power levels vary in different slow cookers. If you want a very thick caramel you should cook it for up to 10 hours in the slow cooker.

Does a slow cooker cost much to run for 8-10 hours?

A slow cooker is one of the most energy efficient kitchen appliances. On average, a slow cooker uses about the same amount of energy as a standard electric light bulb. So this means that despite being on for a longer period of time, a slow cooker actually uses very little energy.

What do I do if my condensed milk caramel is too thick?

Just warm the caramel in a pan over a low heat or in the microwave.

Do I need to remove the labels from the condensed milk tins before making caramel?

You can, but t’s no need to remove the labels prior to submerging cans in the water, as they will lift off on their own during cooking.

If you’re like me and love all things caramel, then are some more sweet and luscious caramel recipes to try: