24 Desserts That Start With a Can of Sweetened Condensed Milk

This versatile ingredient is essential for everything from lemon bars and no-bake cheesecake to fudge and frozen treats.

Key Lime Bars — Credit:
Rachel Marek

Sweetened condensed milk is one of my favorite foods, and it's always in my pantry. You never know when the need for key lime pie, lemon squares, no-bake cheesecake, ice cream, milk pops, chocolate fudge, or cookie bars will hit. One small can delivers intense sweetness and a creamy texture to all these desserts. (It’s also essential for Vietnamese-style coffee and Thai-style tea.)

Made by cooking dairy milk down by 60 percent, then adding sugar, sweetened condensed milk is a thick, rich product. Don’t confuse it with evaporated milk, another canned milk, often found beside sweetened condensed milk on the supermarket shelf. Evaporated milk is not sweetened and has a totally different texture.

Condensed milk is versatile and shelf-stable, too, so stock a couple of cans in your kitchen and explore the many decadent recipes that start with it.

01 of 24

No-Bake Cheesecake

no bake cheesecake slice on plate — Andrea Araiza

Sweetened condensed milk is the key ingredient in this easy, crowd-pleasing dessert. Together with cream cheese, vanilla, and lemon, it makes a rich filling for a simple press-in graham-cracker crust.

02 of 24

Condensed-Milk Pound Cake

condensed milk poundcake martha bakes — Mike Krautter

There is sweetened condensed milk in the batter for this pound cake and in the lime glaze that's drizzled on top.

03 of 24

No-Churn Raspberry Frozen Yogurt

No-Churn Raspberry Frozen Yogurt — The Morrisons

There's a lot to love about this raspberry frozen yogurt. It's made with just three ingredients and doesn't require an ice cream maker or any churning.

04 of 24

Chocolate-Coconut Bars

Chocolate-Coconut Bars — Brie Goldman

These chewy, sweet bar cookies are easy to make. Inspired by a popular Southern dessert known as Hello Dollies, magic cookies, or seven-layer bars, they’re egg-free and irresistible.

05 of 24

Easy Dulce de Leche

Dulce de Leche — Rachel Marek

You only need one ingredient, sweetened condensed milk, to make dulce de leche. The rich, spoonable treat can be frosting for cakes, a topping for ice cream, or a dip for fruit. And, it's the filling for Martha's take on the beloved South American cookies, Alfajores de Dulce de Leche.

06 of 24

Easy Chocolate Fudge With Pretzels

This five-ingredient treat is simple to make and will satisfy everyone's sweet (and salty) tooth.

07 of 24

No-Churn Vanilla Ice Cream

A bowl of scooped vanilla ice cream next to a tub with an ice cream scooper — Jason Donnelly

This genius recipe makes it simple to whip up rich, creamy vanilla ice cream at home—no ice-cream maker required, no eggs needed. Sweetened condensed milk and heavy cream are the key ingredients.

08 of 24

Creamy Lemon Squares

Creamy lemon bars with powdered sugar on a white plate served with drinks and utensils on the side — Jason Donnelly

One of Martha's all-time favorite desserts, these citrusy bars have just the right balance of sweet, tangy, and buttery.

09 of 24

Cherry-Cheesecake Celebration Bombe

A cheesecake bombe dessert with sections of different filling exposed, displayed on a pedestal plate — Con Poulos

This showstopping dessert is an ice cream bombe with four layers: a no-bake cheesecake batter made from cream cheese and condensed milk, a blend of freeze-dried cherries and cookie crumbs, store-bought ice cream spiked with cherry syrup, and a tender sponge cake, all frozen in a large bowl.

10 of 24

Key Lime Tart

Key Lime Tart — Rachel Marek

Need an easy make-ahead dessert? Try this key lime tart. It has a simple graham cracker crust, which means there's no pastry to roll out. The filling is also super easy: whisk together condensed milk, sugar, and fresh lime juice, pour it into the crust, bake, cool, and refrigerate.

11 of 24

Melon Milk Pops

melon milk pops — Marcus Nilsson

Cantaloupe, honeydew, and watermelon give these popsicles their tricolor flair. Puree the fruit with lime juice and condensed milk, then layer into molds and freeze.

12 of 24

Tres Leches Cake

portions of tres leches cake with strawberries — Jake Sternquist

Along with evaporated milk and dairy milk, sweetened condensed milk is one of the three milks in this luscious cake. It's topped with whipped cream and served with fresh fruit.

13 of 24

Coconut-Pecan Tart

coconut-pecan tart topped with flaky sea salt — Dana Gallagher

With a gooey chocolate-pecan filling and a no-bake press-in crust, this dessert is easy to make. The crust uses coconut and almond flour, so it's gluten-free.

14 of 24

Pumpkin-Pecan Tart

Bryan Gardner

Part pumpkin pie, part pecan pie, this recipe combines the best of both. It's the perfect holiday dessert.

15 of 24

White Chocolate Fudge With Cranberries and Candied Citrus

white chocolate citrus fudge with cranberries and candied citrus — Lennart Weibull

It looks impressive, but it's oh so easy. This fudge requires minimal work—just mix the ingredients, pour into a loaf pan, and let it set in the refrigerator. The hardest part is waiting until it's firm enough to slice.

16 of 24

Coconut Cake With Berries and Cream

Johnny Miller

A riff on tres leches, this coconut-spiked sponge cake is soaked in condensed milk, heavy cream, and —in place of the usual evaporated milk—coconut milk.

17 of 24

Lemon Custard Tarts

lemon custard tart martha bakes tarts — Mike Krautter

There's a citrusy custard filling in a sweet press-in pastry. If that wasn't enough, gorgeous piped swirls of meringue finish these fancy mini tarts.

18 of 24

Chocolaty Pretzel and Peanut Cookie Bars

Another salty, chocolately treat, these cookie bars use ground-up pretzels for the crust and whole pretzels on top. In between are layers of sweetened condensed milk, chocolate, and peanuts.

19 of 24

Peach Sherbet

Marcus Nilsson

The simplest, most sublime frozen dessert, that's this two-ingredient wonder. Get out the frozen peaches and sweetened condensed milk, and your blender. That's all you need for this frosty treat.

20 of 24

Key Lime Bars

Key Lime Bars — Rachel Marek

These mouthwatering bars are an easy-to-share option for lovers of the tart, tangy taste of Key lime pie, They have a creamy condensed milk filling flavored with Key lime juice atop a buttery graham cracker crust.

21 of 24

Quick Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge

Mike Krautter

This double-layer treat combines a peanut butter layer and a chocolate layer—and sweetened condensed milk is essential to both.

22 of 24

Lamington Thumbprint Cookies

three variations of lamington thumbprint cookies — Chris Simpson

Our easy thumbprint cookies are inspired by Lamingtons, the famous Australian cake squares. They features the signature trio of flavors: coconut, chocolate, and jam.

23 of 24

Coconut-Lime Semifreddo

Coconut-Lime Semifreddo — Petrina Tinslay

Similar to a frozen mousse, this semifreddo is a wonderful make-ahead dessert. Coconut milk and sweetened condensed milk are cooked together, lime zest is added, and the mixture cooled. Then, whipped cream is folded in and it's poured into a loaf pan and frozen.

24 of 24

Key-Lime Mousse Pie

Key-lime Mousse Pie — Christopher Testani

It's like a tart creamsicle in a cookie crust. This pie has a light, airy filling made with whipped cream and lime curd in a baked crust of crushed spice cookies.

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