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March 15, 2019

Instant Pot Dulce de Leche

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A simple recipe for rich, creamy Instant Pot dulce de leche. Easy to make, delicious, and foolproof!

Sweetened condensed milk has long been a favorite ingredient of mine – I love it in Vietnamese iced coffee, in delicious lattes at my local coffee shop, and also in tasty no-churn ice cream. And it’s the secret and only ingredient in rich, creamy, delightful dulce de leche.

Instant Pot Dulce de Leche

Why make this rather than buying it from the store? Because it tastes so good and it’s fun to make things from scratch! If you don’t have time, buy a can of dulce de leche from the store. But if you have a bit of time (it’s mostly hands-off), then try this delicious recipe and everyone will be impressed!

What is Dulce de Leche?

Dulce de leche (meaning candy of milk) is a rich, caramel-like sauce often used in Latin desserts.

While caramel and dulce de leche taste similar, the processes to make them are different. Caramel is made by heating sugar while dulce de leche is made by heating milk and sugar together (or sweetened condensed milk to speed up the process).

The delicious dulce de leche flavor comes from the Maillard reaction, a chemical reaction between reducing sugars and amino acids. This is the same chemical reaction that gives a golden brown crust for brioche, the flavor of roasted meats, and the color of maple syrup.

10 Ways to use Dulce de Leche

  1. Mix into your coffee
  2. Serve with apple slices
  3. Make delicious dulce de leche frosting
  4. On top of waffles or pancakes
  5. Spread on top of cheesecake for a simple dulce de leche cheesecake
  6. Mix into your oatmeal
  7. Mix into caramel swirl no-churn ice cream in place of the caramel
  8. Spread on top of brownies with a sprinkle of salt on top
  9. Add to plain yogurt as a tasty sweetener
  10. On it’s own!

What is an Instant Pot?

This post contains affiliate links. See my disclosure policy.

If you already have an Instant Pot, you know all of this already. But if you have not jumped on the Instant Pot bandwagon yet, this section is for you. An Instant Pot is a brand name of multi-use, programmable electric pressure cookers.  The Instant Pot brand offers several different sizes and there are a number of other brands on the market as well with similar features.

Instant Pot

I have the Instant Pot Duo 6qt, so all of my instructions are based on that one.  All of the pressure cookers brands and models are pretty similar; they just name things a bit differently, so refer to your manual if I reference a button that you don’t have on yours – or leave a comment in the notes and I’ll try to help you out!

How to Make Instant Pot Dulce de Leche

There are many methods to make dulce de leche. Many stovetop recipes call for boiling an unopened can of sweetened condensed milk, watching the pot to make sure that the can stays submerged in the water. You can pour into a pie plate and roast in a water bath in the oven for almost two hours. Or you can use this super simple Instant Pot recipe that doesn’t require you to boil an unopened can (the thought of that has always scared me) or heat up your house by roasting in the oven.

To make Instant Pot Dulce de Leche, open a 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk and pour into a 16 oz or larger glass canning jar. Cover the jar tightly with foil. The foil will keep the steam from dripping into the jar.

Place a trivet in the bottom of the Instant Pot. The trivet that came with the Instant Pot is perfect for this recipe, or use another short trivet like this one.

Instant Pot Dulce de Leche

Place the foil-covered jar on top of the rack, then add water to the Instant Pot until the water reaches halfway up the jar. Lock the Instant Pot lid in place and close the pressure release valve. Press the “Pressure Cook” or “Manual” button until it’s on “Normal” and then press the “Pressure Level” button until it’s on “Normal”. Press the +/- button until you get to “00:35” or 35 minutes.

  • Instant Pot Dulce de Leche
  • Instant Pot Dulce de Leche
  • Instant Pot Dulce de Leche

When the Instant Pot is done, press “Cancel” to turn off the Instant Pot, then just leave it sit for 15 minutes to allow the pressure to release naturally. After 15 minutes, quick release the rest of the pressure by opening the pressure release valve.

Using an oven mitt or kitchen tongs, carefully remove the jar from the Instant Pot. Let it cool for about 10 minutes, and then carefully remove the foil and stir the dulce de leche well. Store covered in the refrigerator.

Instant Pot Dulce de Leche

If you try this recipe for Instant Pot Dulce de Leche, leave a comment and a review below and let me know how you used it!

Instant Pot Dulce de Leche
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5 from 6 votes

Instant Pot Dulce de Leche

A simple recipe for rich, creamy Instant Pot dulce de leche. Easy to make, delicious, and foolproof!
Prep Time5 mins
Cook Time55 mins
Total Time1 hr
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Latin
Author: Danielle Howard

Ingredients

  • 1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

Instructions

  • Open the can of sweetened condensed milk and pour into a 16 oz glass canning jar. Cover the jar tightly with foil.
  • Place a trivet in the bottom of the Instant Pot (the trivet that came with the Instant Pot is perfect here). Place the filled, foil-covered jar on the rack. Pour enough water into the Instant Pot so that the water reaches halfway up the side of the jar.
  • Lock the lid in place. Close the pressure release valve and press the “Pressure Cook” button until it’s on “Normal”. Press the “Pressure Level” button until its on “High”. Then press the +/- buttons until the display says 00:35 for 35 minutes.
  • When the Instant Pot is done, press “Cancel” to turn off the Instant Pot. Then just leave it sit for 15 minutes to naturally release the pressure. Quick release the remaining pressure by opening the pressure release valve, steering clear of the steam.
  • Using an oven mitt or tongs, carefully remove the jar from the Instant Pot. Let it cool for 10 minutes, then carefully open the jar using an oven mitt. Stir thoroughly.
  • Store leftover dulce de leche in the refrigerator.
Instant Pot Dulce de Leche

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16 comments

  • Theresa Maricle
    January 30, 2022

    Can you use coconut condensed milk?

    Reply
    • Cardamom & Coconut
      February 12, 2022

      I’ve never tried it with coconut condensed milk but I have heard of others trying it with great results!

  • anna
    April 15, 2020

    Nice, thank you very much! I use the silicone trivet with heat-resistant handles and it’s so much better than the metal trivet that came with the instant pot. Got it on Amazon.

    Reply
  • Kathy Bishop
    September 26, 2019

    I so wanted this to eat with all the apples I have but not sure why it hasn’t worked. Followed recipe exactly and first time came out looking exactly the same. Put it back in for 30 minutes again and only slightly darker and still tasted like milk. It is cooking again because I have nothing to lose at this point:(

    Reply
    • Cardamom & Coconut
      September 27, 2019

      Oh no! I have never had that happen. When it came out after pressure cooking and naturally releasing the first or second time was it extremely hot? As in close to boiling? Do you know if you were pressure cooking on high or low? What model of Instant Pot do you have? Just trying to think of what may be going wrong…

    • Teresa
      August 14, 2021

      Just asking. Did you use sweetened condensed milk or evaporated milk. They are totally different.

    • Cardamom & Coconut
      September 13, 2021

      I used sweetened condensed milk! Evaporated won’t work in this recipe.

  • Diane Frisco
    August 8, 2019

    just found your recipes for my instant pot. Keep me posted on new recipes.
    thanks
    Diane

    Reply
  • Shelly
    June 13, 2019

    I made this yesterday. Wow! A home run for sure. Never knew it was this easy! Thanks for sharing this!

    Reply
    • Cardamom & Coconut
      June 17, 2019

      Awesome! Thanks for the feedback!

    • Joey
      June 30, 2019

      So much safer than the old way with the can in the boiling water. Thank you!

  • Kristina Allori
    March 17, 2019

    Such an easy recipe and it turned out perfect! YUM!!!

    Reply
  • Bintu | Recipes From A Pantry
    March 17, 2019

    This looks so good, I am definitely going to have to try it in my Instant Pot!

    Reply
  • Ben Myhre
    March 17, 2019

    I still havent gotten on the Instant Pot train, but recipes like these make me reconsider. I, also, am a fan of dulce de leche and I think a person would be insane if they didn’t like it. What’s not to like?

    Thanks for sharing this great recipe and maybe you inspired me to finally get an IP.

    Reply
  • Andrea
    March 17, 2019

    I love making dulce de leche but I had no idea I could make it in my InstantPot!! Super excited to give it a try soon!

    Reply
  • Katie
    March 16, 2019

    WOAHHH what!? I had no idea it was this easy to make dulce de leche in my instant pot. I am SO making this! Thank you so much for the easy instructions!

    Reply

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About Me

I’m Danielle and I’m obsessed with food, from trying new foods in my travels to recreating memories from the past in my own kitchen.  Cooking, eating, and traveling with the people I love is what I live for.  I’m excited to share a bit of my world with you.  Read more about my life here.

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