Evaporated milk substitutes
Evaporated milk substitutes — 6 options, ranked, with the exact amount
Also called unsweetened condensed milk, evaporated whole milk, tinned evaporated milk, carnation milk
Use Half-and-half
Same amount as the evaporated milk
Evaporated milk is concentrated, unsweetened milk — thicker than milk, no added sugar, and it does not curdle easily. The closest swap is half-and-half poured straight from the carton, 1 cup for 1 cup. If all you have is milk, simmer 2 ¼ cups of whole milk down to 1 cup and you have made the real thing.
- Verdict —
- Tweak it
- The tweak —
- Use 1 cup half-and-half, straight from the carton.
- Best for —
- when you want a pour-and-go swap with no preparation
- Pantry —
- Likely in your cupboard
Checked 22 Jul 2026 · no sponsored swaps
But first: what’s the evaporated milk doing?
Pick your caseDoes the finished dish have to set, or is the evaporated milk just the liquid?
You need a concentrated liquid, not a thin one. Half-and-half works poured straight from the carton; heavy cream works diluted, ¾ cup cream to ¼ cup water. Plain milk does not, because the extra water leaves the filling loose — boil it down first.
Notes on half-and-half, heavy cream + water or homemade: simmered whole milk · Full guide: Pumpkin pie
Same amount
This is the forgiving case, and anything from half-and-half to whole milk works. If you go down to milk, thicken with 1 teaspoon of cornstarch slurried in cold water per cup.
Notes on half-and-half, whole milk or coconut milk (full-fat) · Full guide: Baking
Same amount
Full-fat canned coconut milk is the closest match on thickness and richness, and it brings coconut flavour you cannot remove. In a spiced pumpkin pie that reads as a feature; in a plain flan it reads as a mistake.
Notes on coconut milk (full-fat) · Full guide: Vegan
Same amount
Sweetened condensed milk is not a swap for evaporated milk — it is roughly 40-45% sugar by weight and far thicker. See our condensed milk page for the arithmetic before you attempt it.
Ask whether the dish has to set. If it does — pie, flan, custard, fudge — you need a liquid as concentrated as evaporated milk, so use half-and-half, diluted cream, or boil 2 ¼ cups of your own milk down to 1 cup. If it is just the liquid in something savoury, almost any dairy works and plain milk plus a teaspoon of cornstarch per cup will do. And check the can in your cupboard before you open it: the sweetened one is a different ingredient entirely.
Evaporated milk is milk with about 60% of its water removed, so a cup of it carries roughly two and a half cups' worth of milk solids. Those concentrated proteins and sugars are what make a pumpkin pie set, what stop a cheese sauce going watery, and what brown quickly in a fudge pan. It also survives heat without curdling, because canning has already cooked its proteins.
Fat & richnesssecondary
At about 6-7% fat it is roughly twice as rich as whole milk, enough to make a cheese sauce cling without making it heavy.
Moisture & hydrationprimary
It is the recipe's liquid, but a concentrated one — about 73% water against milk's 88% — so swapping in plain milk adds water and leaves a custard that never sets firm.
Setting & gellingprimary
The concentrated milk protein is what coagulates around the eggs in a pumpkin pie or flan and holds the slice upright when you cut it.
Browning & colorsecondary
Concentrated milk sugars and proteins brown fast, which is why evaporated milk fudge and dulce de leche darken in minutes and why it can scorch if you walk away.
Every option, one card
Ranked · per 1 cup evaporated milk| # | Substitute | Instead of 1 cup evaporated milk | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Half-and-halfwhen you want a pour-and-go swap with no preparation | 1 cup, straight from the cartonTweak it | Tweak it |
| 2 | Homemade: simmered whole milkwhen the recipe must set and milk is all you have | 2 ¼ cupsWorks | Works |
| 3 | Heavy cream + waterwhen heavy cream is what is open | ¾ cup + ¼ cup waterTweak it | Tweak it |
| 4 | Whole milksavoury dishes where nothing needs to set | 1 cupYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 5 | Milk powder + waterwhen there is no fresh dairy in the house at all | 1 cup instant dry milk powder whisked into 1 cup warm waterTweak it | Tweak it |
| 6 | Coconut milk (full-fat)when the answer has to be dairy-free | 1 cup full-fat canned coconut milk, stirred smooth firstYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| Not a swap | Sweetened condensed milk | not a swap — no direct amount works; the sugar has to come out of the recipe first, and 1 cup of condensed milk carries about ¾ cup of sugarNot for this | Not for this |
Half-and-half
cleaner and fresher, without evaporated milk's slightly cooked
Similar thickness and no added sugar, so it drops in with no mixing at all. It is richer: 10-12% fat against evaporated milk's 6-7%.
- Covers
- Fat & richness
- Moisture & hydration
- Setting & gelling
- Amount
- 1 cup half-and-half, straight from the carton for 1 cup evaporated milk
- Best for
- when you want a pour-and-go swap with no preparation, pumpkin pie and baked custards, cream soups and cheese sauces
- Taste
- cleaner and fresher, without evaporated milk's slightly cooked, faintly caramel note
- Texture
- a little richer and silkier
- Look
- a pie filling sets a shade paler and glossier; a sauce looks slightly creamier
- Prep
- Use 1 cup half-and-half, straight from the carton.
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
- Contains
- dairy
- Nothing to add, but keep the heat gentler than you would with evaporated milk — half-and-half has not been sterilised in a can, so its proteins are more likely to curdle in a hard boil or with acid.
- In fudge or caramel, watch it more closely from the 5-minute mark; the extra fat makes it catch faster.
If you have only heavy cream and want to land nearer evaporated milk's richness, use ¾ cup heavy cream plus ¼ cup water per cup rather than cream straight.
Not in a recipe that calls for boiling the milk hard, where evaporated milk's canned stability is the reason it was chosen.
Homemade: simmered whole milk
fresher and less tinny than canned — most people prefer it
This is not an approximation — boiling water off milk is exactly how evaporated milk is made.
- Covers
- Fat & richness
- Moisture & hydration
- Setting & gelling
- Browning & color
- Amount
- 2 ¼ cups whole milk for 1 cup evaporated milk
- Then
- simmer gently in a wide pan, uncovered, stirring every few minutes, for about 25-35 minutes until it measures 1 cup; keep it at a lazy bubble, never a rolling boil, and scrape the bottom or it will scorch
- Best for
- when the recipe must set and milk is all you have, pumpkin pie and flan, fudge and dulce de leche
- Texture
- the same body as the canned product if you reduce it to the measured cup
- Look
- slightly whiter than canned evaporated milk, which is faintly beige from sterilisation
- Prep
- Simmer gently in a wide pan, uncovered, stirring every few minutes, for about 25-35 minutes until it measures 1 cup; keep it at a lazy bubble, never a rolling boil, and scrape the bottom or it will scorch.
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
- Contains
- dairy
- Use a wide pan rather than a tall one; more surface area means it reduces in half the time.
- Pour it into a measuring cup to check rather than judging by eye. Under-reducing is the usual failure and it leaves you with thin milk.
- Cool it before adding it to an egg mixture, or you will scramble the eggs.
- It will taste less cooked than canned evaporated milk. If the recipe wants that caramel note, simmer the last few minutes a little harder until it turns faintly ivory.
A skin will form on top as it cools. Whisk it back in or lift it off; either is fine. Made ahead, it keeps about 4-5 days in the fridge, less than the years an unopened can keeps.
Heavy cream + water
richer and rounder, with none of the canned note
Diluting cream is how you get from 36-40% fat down towards evaporated milk's range without ending up with a heavy, greasy result.
- Covers
- Fat & richness
- Moisture & hydration
- Setting & gelling
- Amount
- ¾ cup heavy cream + ¼ cup water for 1 cup evaporated milk
- Then
- stir to combine; there is no resting or heating step
- Best for
- when heavy cream is what is open, custards and pies that must set, cream soups
- Texture
- silkier and heavier on the tongue
- Look
- custard sets a little softer and more luxurious; sauces look glossier
- Prep
- Stir to combine; there is no resting or heating step.
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
- Contains
- dairy
- Do not use cream undiluted in a large quantity. Swapping a full 12 oz can of evaporated milk for straight heavy cream nearly triples the fat and gives a dense, greasy pie.
- In a savoury sauce, add a pinch more salt — fat mutes salt, and you have added a lot of fat.
Our heavy cream page has the full fat ladder if you want to work out any other dilution: heavy cream 36-40%, half-and-half 10-12%, evaporated milk 6-7%, whole milk 3.25%.
Straight heavy cream, undiluted, is the version to avoid — it is roughly five times the fat of evaporated milk.
Whole milk
cleaner but noticeably thinner and less sweet
Fine in savoury cooking, where nothing has to set. Not fine in a pie, because it is adding back the water the can had taken out.
- Covers
- Moisture & hydration
- Misses
- Fat & richness — not covered
- Browning & color — not covered
- Amount
- 1 cup whole milk for 1 cup evaporated milk
- Then
- for a sauce, thicken it: whisk 1 teaspoon cornstarch into 1 tablespoon cold milk, stir in, and simmer 1 minute
- Best for
- savoury dishes where nothing needs to set, mac and cheese, chowder, scalloped potatoes, when you have no time to reduce anything
- Texture
- watery; a cheese sauce breaks and pools rather than clinging
- Look
- a custard or pie filling stays loose and weeps a ring of liquid at the edge of the slice
- Prep
- For a sauce, thicken it: whisk 1 teaspoon cornstarch into 1 tablespoon cold milk, stir in, and simmer 1 minute.
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
- Contains
- dairy
- In a savoury sauce, thicken with 1 teaspoon cornstarch per cup or the dish will be watery.
- Add it off a hard boil and keep any acid until the end — at 3.25% fat it curdles far more readily than evaporated milk.
- If the recipe sets, do not use this row. Simmer the milk down first, as above.
This is the most common evaporated milk mistake, and it happens because both liquids look identical in a jug. A cup of evaporated milk contains the solids of about 2 ¼ cups of milk.
Never in a pie, flan, custard or fudge without reducing it first.
Milk powder + water
flatter, faintly chalky, without the caramel note of canned
Double-strength reconstituted milk, which is close to what evaporated milk is — with the fat left out if your powder is non-fat.
- Covers
- Moisture & hydration
- Setting & gelling
- Browning & color
- Misses
- Fat & richness — not covered
- Amount
- 1 cup instant dry milk powder whisked into 1 cup warm water for 1 cup evaporated milk
- Then
- whisk until no grains remain and let it stand 10 minutes so the powder fully hydrates, then whisk again
- Best for
- when there is no fresh dairy in the house at all, pumpkin pie and custards, where the milk solids matter more than the fat, batters and quick breads
- Texture
- the same body if you doubled the powder correctly; slightly lean without the added butter
- Look
- a pie filling looks matte rather than glossy and can show a very fine grain on the cut face
- Prep
- Whisk until no grains remain and let it stand 10 minutes so the powder fully hydrates, then whisk again.
- Contains
- dairy
- Non-fat powder brings no fat. Whisk in 1 tablespoon of melted butter per cup to land near evaporated milk's 6-7%.
- Check your tin: standard reconstitution is usually about ½ cup powder per cup of water, so double strength is about 1 cup powder. Adjust to your brand's figure and double it.
- Let it hydrate. Undissolved powder gives a chalky, slightly gritty custard.
Instant and non-instant powders dissolve differently; non-instant needs whisking into warm water and a longer rest.
Not for a dish where the milk is tasted plain, like a milky coffee or a delicate panna cotta.
Coconut milk (full-fat)
clearly coconut, sweeter and more tropical
The best dairy-free option: canned coconut milk is concentrated and around 17-22% fat, so it has real body.
- Covers
- Fat & richness
- Moisture & hydration
- Setting & gelling
- Misses
- Browning & color — not covered
- Amount
- 1 cup full-fat canned coconut milk, stirred smooth first for 1 cup evaporated milk
- Then
- shake or whisk the can until the thick and thin layers are one liquid before measuring, or you will get an unpredictable mix
- Best for
- when the answer has to be dairy-free, spiced pumpkin pie and coconut flan, curries and Southeast Asian dishes
- Texture
- rich and slightly waxy when cold, which softens as it warms
- Look
- the filling is bright ivory rather than golden, and the top browns much less in the oven
- Prep
- Shake or whisk the can until the thick and thin layers are one liquid before measuring, or you will get an unpredictable mix.
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
- Suits
- vegan, dairy-free
- Contains
- coconut
- Use full-fat canned, not the carton drink and not light — those are mostly water and will leave a custard loose.
- In a savoury dish, add an extra pinch of salt and a squeeze of lime rather than sugar, to keep the coconut from reading as dessert.
- It browns less than dairy because it has almost no milk protein, so a pie top stays paler and a fudge will not darken the same way.
There is no way to make coconut milk taste neutral — the flavour is in the milk solids, not just the fat. Choose it because coconut suits the dish.
Wrong wherever the milk is meant to taste of nothing, and wrong in a fudge that relies on milk proteins browning.
Sweetened condensed milk
cloyingly sweet; in mac and cheese it is inedible
Listed because the two cans sit side by side on the shelf and look almost the same. One is unsweetened; the other is nearly half sugar.
- Covers
- Moisture & hydration
- Misses
- Fat & richness — not covered
- Setting & gelling — not covered
- Amount
- No direct amount works; the sugar has to come out of the recipe first, and 1 cup of condensed milk carries about ¾ cup of sugarper 1 cup evaporated milk
- Best for
- nothing on this page — see the condensed milk page instead
- Texture
- much thicker and stickier, so the mixture will not pour evenly
- Look
- the dish browns to a deep, almost burnt brown long before it is cooked through, because of all the extra sugar
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
- Contains
- dairy
- If you have absolutely no alternative in a sweet recipe: use ½ cup sweetened condensed milk plus ½ cup water per cup of evaporated milk, and cut the recipe's sugar by about 6 tablespoons. Treat it as a rescue, not a plan.
- Never do this in a savoury dish. There is no correction that removes the sugar.
The plain way to tell them apart on the shelf: evaporated milk cans are 12 fl oz and say unsweetened; sweetened condensed milk cans are 14 oz and list sugar as the second ingredient.
Savoury dishes: never. Sweet dishes: only with the sugar arithmetic above.
Don’t swap it here
3 cases- Pumpkin pie, flan, tres leches or baked custard, using plain milk poured straight in.Use half-and-half, or simmer 2 ¼ cups of whole milk down to 1 cup first. It takes about half an hour and it is genuinely the same ingredient.
- Any savoury dish, using sweetened condensed milk from the similar-looking can.Check the can before you open it: 12 fl oz and unsweetened is evaporated; 14 oz with sugar listed second is condensed. If the shop only has condensed, use half-and-half or reduce your own milk.
- Fudge, caramel and dulce de leche made with a low-fat or non-dairy swap.Use canned evaporated milk, or reduce your own whole milk. If the recipe specifies temperatures, use a thermometer rather than guessing.
Safety
1 note- Diet
Evaporated milk and every dairy swap on this page contain dairy. Full-fat canned coconut milk is the dairy-free and vegan route. Evaporated milk is not an infant formula and must not be used as one.
If it went wrong
3 fixes- The pumpkin pie came out of the oven with a wet, wobbling centre that never firmed up.Too much water in the filling, usually from using plain milk where the recipe wanted evaporated.Give it another 10-15 minutes covered loosely with foil, then chill it at least 4 hours — a lot of custards firm up considerably cold. If it is still soup, scoop the filling into glasses, chill it and serve it as a pumpkin pudding with the crust crumbled on top.
- The milk you were reducing caught and there are brown flecks and a scorched smell.Too high a heat, or no stirring, so milk solids settled and burned on the bottom.Pour off what is above the scorched layer immediately without scraping the bottom, and taste it. If it tastes burnt, start again — the flavour will carry through the whole dish. Next time use a wide pan, a lazy bubble, and stir every couple of minutes.
- The cheese sauce went grainy and split after you swapped in plain milk.Not enough fat and milk solids to hold the emulsion, and probably too hard a boil.Off the heat, whisk in 1 teaspoon of cornstarch slurried in 1 tablespoon cold milk and warm it gently without boiling. A splash of half-and-half also brings most sauces back.
Measure it
6 measures- 1 standard can evaporated milk12 fl oz = 1 ½ cups = about 354 mlThe small can is 5 fl oz, a scant 2/3 cup.
- Concentrationabout 60% of the water removedSo 1 cup of evaporated milk holds the milk solids of roughly 2 ¼ cups of whole milk.
- Evaporated milk fatabout 6-7% fatRoughly twice whole milk (3.25%) and about half of half-and-half (10-12%).
- Make it from milk2 ¼ cups whole milk simmered 25-35 min down to 1 cupWide pan, gentle bubble, stir often, and measure it rather than judging by eye.
- Milk powder route1 cup dry milk powder + 1 cup water = 1 cup evaporated milkDouble the normal strength. Add 1 tbsp melted butter per cup if the powder is non-fat.
- Evaporated vs sweetened condensedevaporated: 12 fl oz, no sugar. Sweetened condensed: 14 oz, about 40-45% sugarNot interchangeable in either direction without changing the recipe's sugar.
Questions
6 questionsCan I use half-and-half instead of evaporated milk?
Yes, 1 cup for 1 cup, with nothing added. Half-and-half is 10-12% fat against evaporated milk's 6-7%, so the result is slightly richer and cleaner-tasting without the faint canned caramel note. Keep the heat a bit gentler than the recipe says, because half-and-half has not been sterilised in a can and its proteins curdle more readily in a hard boil.
What is the difference between evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk?
Both are canned concentrated milk, but sweetened condensed milk has a very large amount of added sugar — around 40-45% by weight — and is thick and syrupy. Evaporated milk has no sugar at all and pours like thin cream. They are not interchangeable. Swapping condensed into a savoury dish makes it inedible, and swapping evaporated into a no-bake pie means it never sets.
Can I use regular milk instead of evaporated milk?
In savoury cooking, yes, with 1 teaspoon of cornstarch slurried into cold milk per cup to make up for the missing body. In anything that has to set — pumpkin pie, flan, custard, fudge — no, because plain milk adds back the water the canning process removed and the filling stays loose. In that case simmer 2 ¼ cups of whole milk down to 1 cup first.
How do I make evaporated milk at home?
Pour 2 ¼ cups of whole milk into a wide pan and simmer it uncovered at a lazy bubble, stirring every couple of minutes, for about 25-35 minutes, until it measures 1 cup in a measuring jug. Do not let it boil hard and scrape the bottom as you stir, or the milk solids scorch and the burnt taste carries into the whole dish. Cool it before using it in an egg mixture. It keeps about 4-5 days in the fridge.
Can I use heavy cream instead of evaporated milk?
Dilute it first: ¾ cup heavy cream plus ¼ cup water per cup of evaporated milk. Heavy cream is 36-40% fat against evaporated milk's 6-7%, so using it straight in a whole can's worth makes a dense, greasy pie. Diluted, it sets well and tastes richer than the canned original.
Is there a dairy-free substitute for evaporated milk?
Full-fat canned coconut milk, 1 cup for 1 cup — it is concentrated and around 17-22% fat, so it has genuine body and will set a custard. It tastes distinctly of coconut, which suits a spiced pumpkin pie or a curry and does not suit a plain flan. Use the canned full-fat kind, not the carton drink or the light version, both of which are mostly water.
Tips for substituting evaporated milk
7 tips- Evaporated and sweetened condensed milk are not the same thing. Evaporated comes in a 12 fl oz can with no sugar; condensed comes in a 14 oz can that is about 40-45% sugar.
- A cup of evaporated milk holds the milk solids of about 2 ¼ cups of whole milk, which is why swapping in plain milk leaves custards loose.
- To make it yourself: simmer 2 ¼ cups whole milk in a wide pan for 25-35 minutes until it measures 1 cup. Stir often and never let it boil hard.
- Cool any homemade version before you whisk it into eggs, or you will scramble them.
- Because it has already been heat-sterilised in the can, evaporated milk takes a hard simmer without curdling. Fresher dairy swaps do not, so keep the heat lower.
- Chilled hard for 15-20 minutes and beaten, evaporated milk whips into a soft foam — but it collapses in about 20-30 minutes, so only use it on a dessert going straight to the table.
- Once opened, decant it out of the can into a covered container and use it within about 4-5 days.
Source — US FDA, Code of Federal Regulations 21 CFR 131.130 (evaporated milk) (opens in a new tab)