The Best Sweetened Condensed Milk, According to Our Taste Test
If pantry staples were ranked on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, sweetened condensed milk would land somewhere near the top (closer to black garlic and malted milk powder than to true essentials like flour, salt, and eggs). You might not use it every day, but when you want fudge or Vietnamese iced coffee, it suddenly feels essential.
The “Father of Canning”—French chef and confectioner Nicolas Appert—invented condensed milk (the unsweetened variety, now largely known as evaporated milk) in 1810, more than 50 years before Louis Pasteur would have his way with microbes. In 1835, English civil engineer William Newton added sugar to milk before reducing it, thereby increasing its shelf stability.
Sweetened condensed milk was popularized in the US in 1858 by Gail Borden Jr.’s Eagle Brand, which you’ll still find on many store shelves. During the Civil War, the Union bought condensed milk—prized for its portability and high caloric value—in large quantities. After the war, returning soldiers helped bolster the product’s popularity.
Today sweetened condensed milk is beloved for the rich, creamy sweetness it adds to desserts like flan, halo halo, and brigadeiros and to festive drinks like coquito. But which can is best? We put 13 brands of sweetened condensed milk through a taste test to find the best for desserts, drinks, and more.
Methodology
How we picked the products
We tested 13 sweetened condensed milks, selecting brands that are widely available in grocery stores and online, including popular bestsellers. We also included a few options with smaller distributions.
How we tested
No brands were revealed to our panel during the course of tasting. They tasted each sample on its own, evaluating for sweetness, milkiness, and texture. Because sweetened condensed milk is usually used as an ingredient, we then tested the top contenders in hot tea and as the base for a simple no-churn ice cream (without the raspberry and almond add-ins) to see how each performed in real recipes.
How we evaluated each sweetened condensed milk
Our tasters focused on four main factors: sweetness, milkiness, texture, and overall flavor complexity. The ideal condensed milk is sweet but balanced with a light, creamy milk flavor. Subtle hints of vanilla or caramel were welcome, but shouldn’t dominate. The best sweetened condensed milk should be thick and lush, yet pourable enough to drizzle over desserts or to stir into drinks. Any metallic notes or grittiness would disqualify a contender; smooth, creamy, and well-balanced products rose to the top.
Our favorite sweetened condensed milk: Longevity
A staple in Vietnamese coffee, Longevity Sweetened Condensed Milk is also known as Sữa Ông Thọ, which translates to “Mr. Longevity’s Milk.” Its ingredients list is simple—just milk and sugar.
Why it won us over: In our taste test, Longevity struck the perfect balance. It was sweet but tempered by a true-milk flavor. Senior cooking and SEO editor Joe Sevier praised its “balance of dairy and sugar,” while associate Test Kitchen manager Inés Anguiano called it “the standard classic.” Food director Chris Morocco noted, “It’s got that, you just opened up a fresh carton of milk and gave it a sniff.”
Stirred into hot tea, its milkiness became even more pronounced, and in our no-churn ice cream, it developed a mellow, buttery flavor. Overall, tasters agreed it struck a balance of creamy sweetness and milky flavor, earning it the title of all-around best.
We’d love it in
Anything, really: Try it in a sweet and sour semifreddo with black sesame, or use it to make a stunning chocoflan.
The wild card: Nela
A distinct brand in Goya’s line of sweetened condensed milks, Nela is technically a “filled milk,” meaning it’s made with nonfat milk and vegetable oil instead of whole milk. The swap is partly economic: Dairy fat can be diverted into higher-value products such as butter and cream, increasing the value of the milk supply. Vegetable fats are also more stable, which can help extend shelf life, particularly in hot climates. Along with nonfat milk, sugar, and palm oil, Nela includes vitamin A palmitate and riboflavin to fortify the finished product.
Why it won us over: Nela Sweetened Condensed Filled Milk had a beguiling flavor and a thick, spoonable texture. It didn’t rest on the clean, straightforward milk-and-sugar notes we generally expect from sweetened condensed milk. Chris remarked on the brand’s “brightness and slight dairy funkiness,” which remained prominent when incorporated into tea and ice cream. Inés, meanwhile, was captivated by notes of burnt caramel. The flavor reminded some tasters of blond fudge, which they enjoyed—but agreed wasn’t the best all-purpose option.
Several of the sweetened condensed milks we tasted were serviceable—good, even! Although the above two stood head and shoulders above the rest, here are a few more our tasters enjoyed:
- Nice!: Tasters said that Nice! Sweetened Condensed Milk (the Walgreens store brand) had a rich milkiness, a round sweetness, and the lightest touch of caramel flavor.
- California Farms: Although its consistency was slightly thin, tasters particularly enjoyed California Farms Sweetened Condensed Milk in the ice cream portion of our taste test, where its milky sweetness tasted perfectly balanced.
- Parrot: With a particularly caramel-centric flavor, our tasters declared Parrot Sweetened Condensed Filled Milk ideal for flan. In fact, many said this milk tasted like flan, straight out of the can. If you’re feeling autumnal, try it in Pumpkin Flan de Queso.
We also tasted
- 365 Organic Sweetened Condensed Milk: Tasters detected a powdery grit, which took this one out of the running.
- Aldi Baker’s Corner Sweetened Condensed Milk: A loose texture left tasters wishing for more body.
- Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk: Some tasters noticed a grittiness, others didn’t—either way, Eagle Brand didn’t lead the pack.
- Good & Gather Sweetened Condensed Milk: Tasters compared the texture to pudding—not a bad thing if you’re hoping to use it in a pudding, but too thick for most other uses.
- Goya Sweetened Condensed Milk: Tasters described the caramel flavors in this one as too robust—more along the lines of dulce de leche than classic sweetened condensed milk.
- La Lechera Sweetened Condensed Milk: A creamy flavor, akin to crème anglaise, was pleasant, but, overall, too mild to meet our criteria.
- Magnolia Sweetened Condensed Milk: A slightly waxy, melted frosting texture was off-putting to our panel.
- Rosita Sweetened Condensed Creamer: Some tasters noted a pleasantly milky flavor; others picked up notes of overripe fruit, which were too distinct to deem this an all-purpose sweetened condensed milk.
