Oven Dulce de Leche (2024)

Hello friends! Today I will explain how to make Oven Dulce de Leche from a can of condensed milk!

To read all about dulce de leche, please go to this post. I have all sorts of different recipes and methods showing you how to make dulce de leche at home from a can of condensed milk, or from simply milk and sugar.

A lot of people resort to the oven method when making dulce de leche because they don’t feel comfortable boiling a closed can of condensed milk, like we do in the instant pot, in the slow cooker, or in the stove top method!

Making dulce de leche in the oven is a great option if you are one of those people who don’t want to experiment with boiling the can (even though I think it’s totally fine, and do that myself as my preferred way, in the pressure cooker).

Anyway, I am here to give you options, and here is this very fine option.

Make sure to watch the video on this page, or on YouTube, showing you how to make dulce de leche in the oven, along with the other methods. Also, watch this video where I compare the methods and taste test them!

Anyway, let’s get to it! Here is how to make dulce de leche in the oven!

First, begin by opening a can of condensed milk. Then pour the contents in a baking pan. I usually use my bread loaf pan.

Then, place the pan inside of a larger baking pan.

Pour water in the larger pan, to form a water bath, to prevent the sweetened condensed milk from scorching.

Then, cover the sweetened condensed milk pan with foil, and place it in the pre-heated 350ºF oven, for 2 and a half to 4 hours.

Time baking will depend on your oven and on the brand of condensed milk you are using.

Also, make sure to stir the mixture every so often, to ensure even browning of the condensed milk, and to prevent the milk from scorching on the sides of the pan.

Baking sweetened condensed milk in the oven is a valid way of making dulce de leche. However, this method does have a few downsides.

• Lumpy: dulce de leche made in the oven tends to be lumpy. To minimize lumps, you can wait for it to come to room temperature after removing from the oven, and process it in the food processor or blender. Warning: it will be messy and sticky, but should do the trick. Also, you can strain the dulce de leche while it’s still hot and not too thick, as it will thicken out once it has cooled and you won’t be able to strain it then.
• Scorching: even if you stir the mixture constantly and keep an eye on the water level of the water bath, scorching is still going to happen on the sides of the pan, therefore making the dulce de leche even more lumpy, with burnt bits.
• Time: it takes even up to 4 hours baking the sweetened condensed milk in the oven to obtain dulce de leche.
• Thickness: in order to obtain a really thick dulce de leche, you have to bake it for a really long time. However, the longer you bake it, the more scorched it gets.
• Frosting use: if the dulce de leche is too lumpy it won’t work well for frosting. Make sure to not scrape the sides of the pan when removing the dulce de leche or scooping it out.

Tips on how to make Oven Dulce de Leche

• Stir occasionally. This will help minimize lumps in the dulce de leche.
• Check on the water level of the water bath and replenish it as needed, to minimize scorching.
• You can bake more than one can’s worth of sweetened condensed milk at a time. The more condensed milk you bake, the longer it might take to get to the desired thick point. And you may need a larger pan than a loaf pan depending on how much you are making.
• Have an oven thermometer while baking to ensure the temperature of the oven isn’t too hot, which can cause the dulce de leche to burn on the edges.
• Let the dulce de leche cool down all the way before using.
• Refrigerating the dulce de leche might help with the thickness.
• Make ahead! Dulce de leche will last for up to 15 days in the fridge and up to 2 months in the freezer!

Dulce de leche made in the oven is great for:

• filling cakes (such as this Dulce de Leche Mocha Cake)
• filling cupcakes (like this one Dulce de Leche Cupcakes)
• making cheesecake (like this Dulce de Leche Apple Cheesecake or Chocolate Cheesecake Pie)
• making trifles
• making brigadeiros (truffles)
• eating with a spoon
• spreading on toast
• topping ice cream
• topping scones (it would be great with these Espresso Scones)
• spreading on pound cake

Pictured below is my famous Chocotorta!

I hope you enjoyed today’s post and this Oven Dulce de Leche recipe.

Watch the video on YouTube, and also check out everything you need to know about dulce de leche here.