Sweetened Condensed Coconut Milk
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Last updated on Jun 28, 2021
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This sweetened condensed coconut milk is a dairy-free, vegan alternative for regular sweetened condensed milk. You only need two ingredients!
If you’re vegan or dairy-free, I’m so excited to share that sweetened condensed coconut milk is a thing and it works great as an alternative for regular, dairy-based sweetened condensed milk. I discovered it a while ago when making my healthier magic cookie bars, but it wasn’t until recently that I realized there are so many ways to use it! With that, I figured I should share a full post about how to make your own sweetened condensed coconut milk instead of keeping it buried within the magic cookie bar post.
Making homemade sweetened condensed coconut milk is super simple and only requires two ingredients = canned coconut milk and sugar.
Here’s What You Need:
- 1 13.5 oz can of coconut milk
- 1/4 cup sweetener of choice = coconut sugar or cane sugar
How to Make Your Own Sweetened Condensed Milk
Other than having to stay nearby the saucepan for about 45 minutes while the milk condenses, it’s really easy.
You’ll just add coconut milk and sugar to a saucepan over medium heat, mix together and bring to a low boil. Once it starts boiling, reduce the heat and let the mixture simmer rapidly for about 45 minutes. Make sure you stay nearby and stir frequently. Sometimes it might seem like the mixture is going to boil over. If this happens, remove the pan from the heat until the mixture goes down and reduce the heat before putting the pan back on the stovetop. Continue simmering until the mixture reduces by about half and is quite thick – it should end up being 3/4 cup of liquid. Remove from the heat and let it cool before using in any recipes. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5-7 days.
What Can You Use Sweetened Condensed Coconut Milk For?
You can use sweetened condensed coconut milk instead of sweetened condensed milk in a variety of dessert recipes – everything from fudge to macaroons to my healthy magic cookie bars. I have a couple recipes planned that use sweetened condensed coconut milk so keep your eyes peeled!
Like This Recipe? Here are Are More Sweet Treats to Try:
- Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Bites
- Gluten-Free Monster Cookies
- Protein Muddy Buddies
- Flourless Black Bean Brownies
If you try this sweetened condensed coconut milk , be sure to leave a comment and star rating letting me know how it turned out. Your feedback is super helpful for me and other EBF readers who are planning to try the recipe.
If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below.
Sweetened Condensed Coconut Milk
Ingredients
- 1 13.5 oz canned coconut milk
- 1/4 cup cane sugar or coconut sugar
Instructions
- In a saucepan over medium heat, add coconut milk and sugar. Bring to a low boil, reduce heat and let simmer rapidly for approximately 45 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Keep simmering until the coconut milk mixture reduces by about half and is quite thick – you should end up with about 3/4 cup of liquid. Sometimes it might seem like the mixture is going to boil over. If this happens, remove the pan from the heat until the mixture goes down and reduce the heat before putting the pan back on the stovetop.
- Remove from the heat and let cool before using in a recipe or storing for later. For storage, place sweetened condensed milk in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5-7 days.
Notes
- If you use coconut sugar instead of cane sugar, the sweetened condensed milk will have a darker color.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Don’t have time to make your own sweetened condensed coconut milk? You can buy it from speciality grocery stores! There are a couple brands making it now including Let’s Do Organic! and Nature’s Charm.
Can one use raw honey or maple syrup instead of sugar?
Hi Taffy! I haven’t tested it with honey or maple syrup, and since the recipe relies on the sugar to thicken as it cooks down, liquid sweeteners might not reduce the same way. It could end up too runny. If you do experiment with it, I’d love to hear how it turns out!
Was looking for a way to make non-dairy sweetened condensed milk as we are dairy free for health reasons but still love our baked goods :-)! I used Thai Kitchen full fat coconut milk and light coconut sugar from Thrive Market. Turned out perfect right at the 45 minute mark! ABSOLUTELY delicious-thick, sweet with a slight caramel taste. Made my cashew “pudding” I was making DIVINE! I wonder if others had trouble due to different brands of coconut milk having additives or varying percentage of liquid? Also I believe gas/vs electric burners as well as size and type of pan would maybe cause varying results. Don’t give up on this recipe, it is worth the time if you can’t have dairy. Thank you Brittany!
Ahh yay! This makes me so happy to hear. So glad this recipe turned out for you. Good point on the different brands of coconut milk and the burners. All those variables will definitely make a difference. Thanks for bringing that up!
About to use this for some vegan fudge! Worked out great.
Yay! I am so glad this recipe turned out great for you – thanks so much for sharing your review & star rating, I really appreciate it!
I doubled the recipe and it never thickened even kept cooking it hoping it would thicken and after an hour and 45 minutes I gave up. Not sure where I went wrong it’s only two ingredients with clear instructions.
Hi Sarah – What brand of coconut milk did you use? and did you use cane sugar or coconut sugar?
Has anyone tried making this in the instapot?
Ohh I have not, but I bet it’s possible! I just haven’t tried it so am not 100% sure on the instructions. I’ll have to try this!
can a sugar free sweetner be used please?
Hi Jann – I haven’t tested it so I’m not sure if it would work but if you want to test it, I think a granulated monk fruit sweetener, erythritol or sugar free brown sugar could work! Let me know if you try it!
Could you use monk fruit for the sweetener?
Hi Anita, I’ve never tried it so I’m really not sure if it’d turn out the same. Let me know if you end up trying it.
Anita,
I’m going to use monk fruit sweetener. That’s what I use when I make regular dairy sweetened condensed milk and it comes out perfect!
Thank you so much for sharing, Catherine!
Just wondering if you used the monkfruit sweetener to make the sweetened condensed coconut milk. I am looking to make the almond coconut bars and need to stay away from refined sugars or natural sugars that affect GI levels.
Great question. I haven’t tried making this with monkfruit but I think if you used a monkfruit granulated sugar it should work. If you try it, will you let us know how it turns out?
Yes, I used pure monk fruit (not cut with Erythritol or anything else). I used about 1 1/2 tsp of pure monk fruit in place of the 1/4 cup sugar. If you are using Lakanto monk fruit then it is 1:1 ratio….so you would use about 1/4 cup of lakanto monk fruit sweetener. Hope that all makes sense. To me monk fruit is sweeter so I always add a little, taste it, then add more if I need to. Hope that helps!
Thanks so much for sharing, Rachel!
Can I double the recipe. Have you ever done that? Just wondering how much longer it would take? Thank you
Hi, Mary! You can definitely double the recipe. I’m not sure because I haven’t tried it yet, but it shouldn’t take any longer. I’d recommend keeping an eye on it and adding a few minutes at a time if you find it necessary. Let me know how it works out for you!