Instant Pot Dulce de Leche is an indulgent creamy caramel. Let us show you how to make Instant Pot Dulce de Leche with just 1-ingredient with a can of condensed milk. This Milk Based Sweet Caramel with rich sweet taste and silky smooth buttery texture makes easy dessert to satisfy sweet cravings.
It is wonderful to see how pressure cooking a can of condensed milk turns magically into decadent dessert dip. This recipe post has all the details on how to make Dulce De Leche in the Instant Pot. Also check out the FAQs for dulce de leche vs caramel discussion.
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We use sweetened condensed milk to make this gooey, deep caramelized condensed milk caramel sweet dip. You heat it slowly so it changes it's color and texture. This recipe is one of our autumn - fall dessert favorite.
My 6 quart Instant Pot can easily fit 3 cans (14 oz.) of condensed milk. For holiday gifting, I cook big batch, transfer it to small mason jars. It stores well in the refrigerator for few weeks.
Tie a cute ribbon around it and use it for gifts. It is a well liked homemade edible gift and lovely party favor. Similar to Apple Ginger Chutney and Instant Pot Apple Butter , I always make it for fall / autumn season celebrations.
So grab a can of condensed milk and let's get cooking. You will get enough caramel cream for four 4 oz. jars or two 8 oz. jars from a 14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk.
Ingredients
- Sweetened Condensed Milk : You can use any store brand condensed milk. I prefer to use Eagle Brand. It is easily available in most grocery stores.
- Water to build pressure in Instant Pot
Additional Toppings
Even though pressure cooked condensed milk just as itself is so amazing, You can make it extra ordinary by adding few additional toppings. These are optional but I highly recommend it.
- Vanilla extract : Couple tablespoons of pure vanilla extract adds wonderful earthy taste. For me, sweet treats are incomplete without vanilla.
- Coarse sea salt ( crystals) to sprinkle over the caramel. The Maldon sea salt flakes are my favorite. They make this milk candy unbelievably good !
How to Make Instant Pot dulce de leche recipe
- Open the can of sweetened condensed milk using a can opener. Throw away the lid or top of the can.
- Using the aluminum foil, completely double wrap the opened can of condensed milk. You want to ensure that no water or steam goes in the can.
- Put the trivet in the main insert. Pour water ( 4-6 cups ) into it. Put the foil-wrapped can in the main insert on the trivet/rack.
- Close the lid and put the valve to SEALING. Press the Pressure Cook or Manual button and then press the + or - buttons to select 35 minutes on High Pressure.
- When the Instant Pot is finished cooking, turn it off so it doesn't switch to the warm setting. Let the pressure release naturally. When the silver pin drops, carefully open the lid.
- Let the leftover build up steam release and when it's safe to handle , carefully remove the can from the trivet. There will be some moisture ( water) over the aluminum foil wrap. Using a paper towel, blot it up.
- Remove the foil. Using a fork or the whisk, gently stir the mixture. It will go from lumpy to creamy after some good stirring.
- Once it cools down, add vanilla extract ( if using) . Transfer it to the container or the mason jar . Sprinkle some sea salt crystals on top and devour!
Pro Tips
- Separate Silicone Seal Ring: If you are like me, who often cooks flavorful savory dishes, you should change the silicon ring when making desserts. It is really hard to get rid of smells of spices even after air drying and dishwashing. Get a different color silicon sealing ring for dessert.
- Remove the lid of the can before pressure cooking : This is a MUST. It is extremely dangerous to cook sealed canned goods in pressure cooker. Make sure to open the can, discard the lid. You can then cover the can with aluminum foil and proceed to cook it.
Serving Suggestions
- You can use Instant pot caramel sauce as a dip or a spread. It's particularly delectable with sliced apples and pears. It is a great topping over ice cream and cheesecake.
- I love to add it to breakfast spread to spread it over waffles, pancakes, crepes or muffins. Amps up the decadent factor if you use it as a topping over brownies and cakes.
- You can stir it in coffee for rich buttery taste. And it can used to make a pie filling too.
- And if you are like me, you can just drizzle some sea salt crystals over it and eat a spoonful.. divine - decadent - delicious
Storage
For day or two, you can leave the leftovers at room temperature on the counter away from sunlight. For longer storage, keep it in air tight mason jars and refrigerate it for up to 10 days.
Recipe Q&As
Regular caramel is done when you heat and melt sugar at high temperature. Instant Pot caramel cream is a little different than regular caramel. It is creamier, and doesn’t get as hard and chewy as regular caramel. It's more like a sauce than brittle and hard candy caramel.
Dulce de Leche on the other hand, is slowly heated sweetened condensed milk. It changes to darker color and caramel like taste due to pressure cooking or high heating.
Dulce de Leche means sweet milk or candy of milk. It is a dip or a jam made from sweetened condensed milk. The Instant Pot Dulce de Leche is a home made caramel with sweetened condensed milk. It is the midway bridge between the hard candy caramel and caramel sauce. It's buttery rich flavorful and simply irresistible.
Because it is easy and quicker than making it in oven or slow cooker. Instant Pot method takes about 60 minutes. I comparison, oven takes about 2+ hours, Slow cooker 6+ hours. So clearly, it is easy , convenient and quick making dulce de leche in instant pot.
Easy Instant Pot Desserts
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📖 Recipe
Instant Pot Dulce de Leche
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 14oz. can Sweetened Condensed Milk
- 6 cups Water to build pressure in InstantPot
Optional Ingredients - highly recommended
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon Coarse sea salt crystals to sprinkle over the caramel.
Instructions
- Open the can of sweetened condensed milk using a can opener. Throw away the lid.
- Using the aluminum foil, completely double wrap the opened can of condensed milk. You want to ensure that no water or steam goes in the can.
- Put the trivet in the main insert of the InstantPot pressure cooker.
- Pour 4-6 cups of water into the main insert of the InstantPot. Since we are cooking for longer duration, you will want to have enough water to build the steam and continue cooking.
- Put the wrapped can in the main insert of the InstantPot on the trivet/rack.
- Close the lid and put the valve to SEALING. Press the Pressure Cook/Manual button and then press the + or – buttons to select 35 minutes on High Pressure.
- When the InstantPot beeps after it’s done cooking, turn it off so it doesn’t switch to the warm setting.
- Let the pressure release naturally. When the silver pin drops, carefully open the lid. Let the leftover build up steam release and when it’s safe to handle , carefully remove the can from the trivet. There will be some moisture ( water) over the aluminum foil wrap. Using a paper towel, blot it up.
- Remove the foil. Using a fork or the whisk, gently stir the mixture. It will go from lumpy to creamy after some good stirring.
- Once it cools down add vanilla extract ( if using) . Transfer it to the container or the mason jar . Sprinkle some sea salt crystals on top and devour!!
Notes
Nutrition
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This recipe first appeared on ProfusionCurry on September 25, 2019.
Jeff
Flavorful treat, but it never thickened. 🤷🏻♂️
Charity Murray
Does this need to be refrigerated?
Judith
While this looks wonderful, is it possible to make it less runny/thin? It seems to run down the apple. My mother used to make caramel apple for trick or treaters, with the nuts on the bottom then we placed them in individual.muffin papers. Kraft caramels are thicker dor dipping – can they be used instead? Thank you
admin
Judith, these won't stay hard coated for long. The ones you get in stores are made with sugar and corn syrup coating . This is milk caramel. So you have to eat it pretty soon after making since they will drip. But for kids afternoon snack and playdates these work great.
Lori Mihaly
Hello! I was just wondering what the serving size is on your Instant Pot Dulce de leche?
It says 121 calories per serving and didn’t know if that was per tablespoon?
This recipe looks so delicious!
admin
Thank you Lori. The serving size is roughly 2 tablespoons. So 14 oz can will get about 15 servings at 121 calories