Raise your hand if you’ve ever stuck a finger into a can of sweetened condensed milk. Me too. It was after Mom had already emptied out the can, but even the tiniest taste was a treat. Smooth, sweet, and addictive, it was a staple in our pantry.
When we decided to go keto, we packed up all our high carb food items to give away. So many yummy dessert recipes were now out of the picture – or so we thought.
For sometime now, we’ve been scouring the shelves at the grocery store for a sugar-free variety with no success. We recently searched online and found more sugar-free/keto condensed milk recipes than we could believe! So many sites with their own versions. Lucky us. It’s a breeze to make and it turns out perfectly every time. There are basically 3 ingredients in every recipe out there: butter, heavy cream, and confectioners sugar replacement. That’s it.
Use heavy cream not half-n-half or milk. You can also replace the heavy cream with canned full fat coconut milk for dairy-free. As far as sugar replacements, we use powdered, like Swerve or truvia; it dissolves nicely into the heavy cream. If you plan on storing in the fridge for more than a day or two, we recommend you sprinkle in a tiny amount of xanthan gum, which will thicken up the mixture a bit, and help to prevent crystallization. If you plan on using the sugar-free sweetened condensed milk in 24 hours, feel free to skip the xanthan gum.
Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Then add the heavy cream and confectioners substitute and stir or whisk continuously until it reaches a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer. If you’re adding xanthan gum, now’s the time. Whisk vigourously while you’re sprinkling it into the mixture.
Simmer for about 35-45 minutes, or until the mixture has reduced by almost a half, and the back of a spoon dipped into the condensed milk comes out well-coated. Remove from heat, and store in a heat proof container in the fridge. A mason jar works great for storage. The sugar-free sweetened condensed milk will continue to thicken as it cools.
Keto Sugar-Free Sweetened Condensed Milk
Our low carb/keto condensed milk is sugar-free and made with just 3 ingredients! Use in place of regular sweetened condensed milk in all your dessert recipes. Tastes just like the original!
- Heavy Sauce Pan
- Glass jar container - Mason jars are perfect
- 4 tbsp butter
- 2¼ cups heavy cream
- ¾ cup confectioners sugar substitute (Swerve, truvia, etc. )
- â…› tsp xanthan gum (optional)
Over medium heat, melt butter in a large, heavy saucepan. Add the heavy cream and confectioners sugar substitute.
Using a whisk or spatula, stir mixture until it reaches a boil. Slowly sprinkle in xanthan gum while whisking vigorously. This helps to thicken and reduce crystallization after refrigeration. If you plan on using within 24 hours, you may skip the xanthan gum. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for 35-45 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching, until thickened and volume is reduced by about half. When the back of a spoon is dipped in, it should be well-coated.
Remove from heat. Store in heat proof container in fridge. It will continue to thicken as it cools.
Have been looking for a sugarfree condense milk. Thank you. Haven’t made it yet,but will rate it anyway.
It’s surprisingly easy to make! You can use it in so many delicious treats to replace the regular store-bought brand.
Hi! Do you use unsalted butter!? I’m excited to try this! Thanks
Hi, Robyn! We use salted butter because salt enhances the sweet flavor, however using unsalted works perfectly fine, too! Our Sugar-Free Sweetened Condensed Milk is a snap to make and we hope you enjoy. Thank you for a great question.
Question, will this thicken up well when refrigerated? Like to a near solid? We make lemon icebox pie with is essentially sweetened condensed milk and lemon juice whisked together and poured in a pie crust. It gets refrigerated once it’s made so it can set.
If it doesn’t then maybe I can add a little unflavored gelatin… hmmm lol
Hi, Brittney. Yes, it does thicken up when refrigerated. The texture is the same as regular sweetened condensed milk (like Eagle Brand). I would not describe it as near-solid. Your idea of adding unflavored gelatin sounds like a good one, but will take a bit of trial and error! Thanks for checking in with us Brittney.
I made this over the Labor Day weekend and made keto magic cookie bars and it was heaven and very rich.
Dee Dee – Thank you for letting us know you you loved our keto magic cookie bars. We agree! They are rich and heavenly. So happy to hear from you, and hope you find other recipes you enjoy!