How to Make Dulce De Leche Fast & Safely on Instant Pot

Here’s how to make dulce de leche in 25 minutes only!

It’s no secret that many Brazilian recipes use sweetened condensed milk. But what many people don’t know though is that we also love to add creamy and soft dulce de leche to desserts whenever it fits.

And we do that a lot.

Well, since we use dulce de leche in numerous Brazilian desserts, and this is by far my favorite sweet after brigadeiro, I decided to share with you my effortless dulce de leche recipe that calls for one ingredient only. Isn’t that amazing?!

How to make dulce de leche

At first, I felt uneasy about making dulce de leche in an instant pot. That didn’t feel natural to me.

Still, I followed some guidelines as I will explain below and the result was a delectable sweet!

So, although it might seem intimidating, you don’t have to be afraid. Seriously.

Simply follow my tips on how to make dulce de leche fast, and you will have a creamy and delectable sweet paste to eat with cookies, bread, cake, churros, you name it.

Oh, and while there is a recipe card at the bottom of this post, I recommend reading the whole article because I answer essential and relevant questions in the text.

Let’s me show you how to do it!

Tips for a making homemade dulce de leche safely

• Ensure the can has no nicks, dents, or bulges.
• Do not jostle or shake the pressure cooker containing a heated can.
• Remove the label and glue, unless it’s printed on the can.
• Make sure you do not exceed the max fill line in the instant pot.
• Don’t open the hot can, let it cool down first.

Dulce de leche pronunciation: dool-seh deh leh-tcheh

What is dulde de leche?

Dulce de leche is a delicious confection prepared by slowly cooking–or in our case, pretty fast–sweetened milk. It translates literally to candy of milk.

Where does dulce de leche come from?

No one knows for sure. The internet will tell you it’s Argentinean, Chilean, Uruguayan, or Mexican. But the truth is there is no proof for any of that.

One thing is for sure, though – it is Latin American.

Are dulce de leche and caramel the same thing?

Although they are both delicious dulce de leche and caramel are not the same thing.

Dulce de leche is made of milk and sugar, while the caramel is made of water and sugar.

How do you make dulce de leche with condensed milk?

In today’s post, I’ll teach you exactly how to make dulce de leche from scratch using condensed milk.

For this dulce de leche recipe, you’ll only need your instant pot, sweetened condensed milk can, and kitchen tongs.

Is it safe to boil a can of condensed milk?

Yes. I asked Nestlé myself.

I won’t lie to you, though. Before making this recipe, I felt uneasy about boiling an unopened can of condensed milk in the instant pot.

Still, I followed their guidelines, and it turned out D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S!

How to make dulce de leche in the instant pot or pressure cooker

You can make dulce de leche in your home in just a few minutes. Simply follow these steps:

Remove the label and the excess of glue of the can.

It’s crucial you follow this step; otherwise, the glue will melt, and it might clog the steam releaser valve of the pan.

To remove the glue easily, damp a sheet of kitchen paper with olive oil and rub on the can. It works like a charm.

Then, put the sweetened condensed milk can in an instant pot filled with water.

You can place the can either standing or on the side–either way is fine, but I found that when the can is on its side, it cooks more evenly.

But the most crucial detail is that there should be water enough to cover the can. Because my instant pot is small, I filled it with water just until the maximum allowed–about 2-3 fingers above the can.

Close and lock your instant pot or pressure cooker, choose the manual program if applicable, and let it cook.

How long do you cook dulce de leche for in the pressure cooker?

Once the cooker has come to pressure, let it cook for the time necessary to reach the consistency and darkness you want.

Here’s what it looks like on different cooking times:

• Paste-like and light brown: 15 minutes – ideal for spreads and dippings
• Medium thickness and medium brown: 30 minutes – ideal for cake fillings
• Thick enough to cut and dark brown: 50 minutes

My cooker came to pressure at 10 minutes, then cooked for another 15 minutes.

Once the desired time has passed, turn the instant pot off and turn the steam release button to allow the steam to leave the pan.

Once there is no pressure left in the pan (when it makes no more noise), open the instant pot, cautiously remove the can from the water, and place it on the counter.

To do that, use kitchen tongs. Remember, the water is boiling, so please, be careful.

Let the can cool in cold water for about 10 minutes before opening it.

How can you store the dulce de leche?

Since the can is unopened, you can keep it in your pantry for as long as the printed expiration date of the can says.

If you want to eat a little portion and keep the rest, transfer the dulce de leche to a clean mason jar and keep it in the fridge for up to a month.

Can you make dulce de leche in the slow cooker?

Yes. All you have to do is place the can of sweetened condensed milk in the slow cooker covered with water (about 2 inches/5 centimeters) and set the slow cooker for 8 hours on low.

Recipes where you can use dulce de leche

• Filling/topping for cakes or pies
• Ice creams
• Sweetening for coffee
• Dulce de leche mousse
• Dulce de leche pudding
• Cookies, such as bem casado (a Brazilian wedding cookie)
• Dip for churros – very popular in Brazil
• DIY gifts – mason jars, Christmas baskets

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