Vegan Condensed Milk (No Coconut Milk)

Learn how to make your very own homemade vegan style condensed milk using almond milk. An easy condensed milk recipe without having to rely on using some full fat coconut milk.

Something great just happened in my kitchen, so great that I just had to share this with with my faithful audience.

I love condensed milk, growing up in a Caribbean household, condensed milk was the go-to sweetener for many things including, porridge, pudding, desserts and pone.

Being a dairy free blogger and with conventional condensed milk being made from cows milk meant that I had to seek alternative options.

A  few years ago I discovered that full fat coconut milk and sugar (raw cane sugar or coconut sugar) made some pretty decent dairy free condensed milk.

However, as much as I loved the results that it yielded, I didn't care for the strong coconut taste and I know others feel that way too.

Back to the drawing board I went, finding another alternative that didn't contain coconut milk, soaking nuts overnight or any other unusual methods.

That's when I began to experiment with almond milk, following the same simmering method as you would do with coconut milk, except adding abit of tapioca starch and vanilla extract.

The results were outstanding, condensed milk albeit much darker than conventional and most vegan condensed milk, however, the taste and texture is very impressive, might I add.

What is vegan condensed milk?

In short, it is a dairy free alternative to condensed milk that is traditionally made using cows milk.

The plant based version uses only a few ingredients, usually a sweetener i.e coconut sugar, raw cane sugar or even granulated sugar.

Plant based milk or nuts are sometimes used which can include oat milk, coconut milk, almond/cashew nuts and sometimes water.

These ingredients are combined together and are typically simmered on the stovetop until it thickens and mimics the texture and sweetness or its conventional counterpart.

Reasons to make your own condensed milk 

In the realm of dairy free and veganism sometimes things such as condensed milk albeit vegan style aren't always easy to obtain.

Depending on where you are in the world, I know I struggled to find vegan condensed milk in the initial stages which is why I ended up making my own.

Almond milk is very much widely available, infact I will even go as far as to say it's probably the most accessible and recognised plant based milk that's out there.

Making your condensed milk from scratch guarantees you will always have some to hand.

Also, using almond milk instead of coconut milk which totally omits that strong taste in coconut.

That sounds like a win win situation to me and one that people who don't care for the taste in coconut milk.

Ingredients you will need 

• Almond milk - Since this recipe is coconut milk free, my first go to choice is almond milk. Almond milk  (unsweetened) is relatively cheap compared to other nut milks, it's texture is creamy although with that being said, cashew milk or hazel nut milk is another viable option.
• Raw cane sugar - This type of sugar is sweeter than coconut sugar which I feel makes it more foolproof.
• Vanilla extract - Used as an optional flavour enhancer.
• Tapioca starch - You only need a tablespoon to help aid thickening.

Recipe preparation

The recipe is relatively easy to follow and very very simple, as mentioned before you won't be using any coconut milk for this recipe.

First of all you will need to combine and stir the almond milk and tapioca starch in a saucepan.

You will want both ingredients to heat through so that the starch is completely dissolved before adding the vanilla and raw cane sugar.

Bring the saucepan to boiling point before reducing it to a low simmer.

The actual process of making the condensed milk will take roughly 40-50 minutes and during this time you will need to constantly stir.

Whatever you do, don't leave the saucepan unattended, so patience is key here!

During the cooking process you will notice that the condensed milk will darken and this is normal.

I used raw cane sugar which is quite light however this still resulted in the condensed milk looking relatively dark in appearance.

How dark your condensed milk will be will depend on the colour of your raw cane sugar, so don't be alarmed it doesn't look like mine.

Around the 30-40 minute mark, you will notice that the condensed milk will be more on the thicker side and should start to stick to the back of your spoon and that's a good indication that is almost done.

I like to wait until the 45 minute mark before removing the condensed milk from the stove and leaving it to cool down.

As it cools down it will become even thicker, just be patience and trust the process, it will workas long as you have followed the recipe to the TEE.

I like to leave the condensed milk to my refrigerator for some time to become very cold before using it, but that is an optional although recommended step.

The steps

• In a non stick medium sized saucepan, on medium heat, pour the almond milk into the saucepan.
• Whisk in the tapioca starch until it has completely dissovled.
• Add the vanilla extract and raw cane sugar.
• Mix and bring to the boil.
• Reduce the heat to low and simmer while constantly stirring for 40-50 minutes until the condensed milk starts to thicken and reduce to about ⅔.
• Once thickening has reached, leave to completely cool down before transfering to a sterilised mason jar (it will thicken up A LOT when cold).
• Keep in the refrigerator and use accordingly.

Notes and tips

• In order to replicate the results that are shown, it is very important to use the SAME ratio of ingredients.
• This recipe makes the equavalent of 1 cup worth of condensed milk.
• Keep the condensed milk refrigerated and stored in a sterilised mason jar for 5-7 days.
• It is perfectly normal for the condensed milk to be dark in colour, the colour will vary depending on colour of your raw cane sugar.
• You can use coconut sugar instead, I'm not sure if this recipe will work with liquid sweetener (i.e agave, maple syrup)
• Keep in mind that the condensed milk will thicken in its entirety once it is COLD.
• I recommed leaving the condensed milk to completely set overnight or several hours in the refrigerator once cool.
• If for whatever reason your condensed milk doesn't thicken up, return it to the stove to do further reduction (15-20 minutes).
• Make sure you simmer the condensed milk for atleast 40 minutes, if you remove it from the stovetop too early the recipe may not work.
• DO NOT exceed the amount of tapioca starch or you run the risk of your condensed milk being gummy.
• Feel free to use any other creamy plant based milk i.e cashew, hazelnut etc..

Other nut milks you can use

• Coconut Milk
• Pistachio Milk
• Hemp Seed Milk
• Cashew Nut Milk
• Brazil Nut Milk

Recipes you can use the condensed milk in

• Cornmeal Porridge
• Crustless Pumpkin Pie With Condensed Milk
• Jamaican Carrot Juice
• Slow Cooker Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal
• Jamaican Peanut Porridge
• Roasted Almond Milk

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