Vegan Sweetened Condensed Milk

You guys!  It is possible to make Vegan Sweetened Condensed Milk.  I don’t know about you, but I see a lot for recipes that call for sweetened condensed milk.

I always thought I had to avoid those, but now I can make some of them.  This vegan sweetened condensed milk is actually super easy to make.

I checked out this site and got a basic idea.  I chose coconut milk to use as my base.  I liked that it is rich in texture.  However, you can use any other milk you like.


Vegan Sweetened Condensed Milk - My Whole Food Life


I know you are probably wondering why my sweetened condensed milk is dark in color.  That has to do with the coconut sugar I added.

It turns it into this caramel color.

If you had used traditional white sugar, it would probably still be white.   This vegan sweetened condensed milk was so yummy!

It reminded me of caramel.  All you need is 3 simple ingredients!  I can see this being an awesome topping for ice cream too.  Or you can swirl it into the mixture for my 3 ingredient coffee popsicles.

Vegan Sweetened Condensed Milk

Vegan Sweetened Condensed Milk

Prep Time 5 min Cook Time 40 min Serves 1 cup     adjust servings

It's super easy to make a vegan sweetened condensed milk! Only 3 ingredients!



  1. In a saucepan , on medium heat, add the coconut milk and the coconut sugar.
  2. Whisk together often. You will see the mixture start to bubble and thicken. It takes about 40 minutes. As it thickens, keep stirring. You may need to turn down the heat as it begins to thicken so you don't burn it. Keep a watchful eye one it. You want a nice simmer going.
  3. It should reduce down to about 1 cup. Once it's there, add in the vanilla beans and stir until those are combined.


Recipe Notes

Once the mixture has cooled, store it in a glass jar. I used mine almost immediately to make some magic bars (recipe coming soon). You can store the sweetened condensed milk in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Vegan Sweetened Condensed Milk - My Whole Food Life P


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62 thoughts to “Vegan Sweetened Condensed Milk”

  1. Ah, now this is useful! I've wondered about whether it would be possible to make vegan condensed milk at home (never seen it in shops) and this looks like a straightforward solution. Thank you! Looking forward to seeing the magic bar recipe :D
  2. This will be a great base for chai tea! My local tea shop sells a chai spice blend which they recommend mixing with sweetened condensed milk and adding to brewed assam tea. I'd tried mixing the spice blend with canned coconut milk and adding maple syrup, but it just wasn't quite right. So, thanks for this!
  3. Oh Melissa, thank you so much for this!! I've been struggling for years trying to figure out how to make sweetened condensed milk dairy-free but couldn't quite get it right. I will definitely be making this and using it for the holiday baking this year! :D
  4. Have not used coconut sugar. I can't use refined sugar, or honey - due to hypoglycemia. Do you know if coconut sugar raises your blood sugar? Recipes with any form of sugar such as molasses, honey, etc., are out. Thanks for your input, would like to try this.
    1. Coconut sugar is supposed to be low glycemic. Maybe try a little bit and see what it does to you before trying this recipe?
  5. If I don't use canned milk, how much would I use for this recipe? It calls for one can, but I'm not sure how much is in a can. I can't wait to try this!
  6. Can stevia in the raw be subbed for the coconut sugar? I only use coconut sugar in my house but am going sugar free for a lot of things now.
  7. Looks good, Melissa! Just wondering, once you had achieved the sweetened condensed milk in this recipe, if whether cooking it longer on a slow heat would caramelise it for tarts etc .. sweetened condensed milk in the can does this (2 hours slow boil in the can on a stove) and is great for caramel recipes .. just wondering :)
  8. There is already "condensed coconut milk" been sold. It's the stuff used for Piña Coladas, and it's called cream of coconut. Just an alternative if you are in a hurry.
  9. This might be a stuuupid question, and I apologise in advance if it is... But does this taste like coconut? I really want to make your salted caramel tarts this weekend for my family, but my Dad HAAATES coconut with a passion!! I know - he's weird!! If I neglected to tell him that there was coconut in the recipe, do you think he'd be able to tell? :) Thanks! I love your blog. I have made a list of all the recipes I want to try !
    1. No questions are stupid. :) Honestly, all I taste is the caramel. It gets cooked down for so long that the coconut flavor no longer comes through. You can always add a little extra coconut sugar to the milk when you make it. Coconut sugar tastes like brown sugar. Nothing like coconut.
  10. Another surprisingly delicious and easy "condensed milk" recipe is equal parts honey and tahini. While I have never tasted condensed milk due to a milk allergy, this is a delicious fruit topping that my husband tells me is exactly like condensed milk they use in Colombia on top of cholados (a delicious and healthy park treat including local fruits, shaved ice, and toppings like shredded coconut and condensed milk).

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