9+ Easy Ways to Substitute For Evaporated Milk in Everything!

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Last Updated on April 10, 2025 by Toya

Are you looking for a substitute for evaporated milk? How about seven easy alternatives that work? Keep reading to see what they are and the recipes they can be used in.

These alternatives are good for you if you’re looking for a quick alternative for a pumpkin pie recipe, sweet potato pie, mac and cheese or even any other recipe. There are also quite a few options if you’re vegan, diary free or keto!

Therefore, if you’re looking to make a recipe like pumpkin pie and need an evaporated milk substitute, I have seven great ideas for you.

The Best Substitutes for Evaporated Milk

Heavy Cream

This is the perfect evaporated milk substitute for pumpkin pies. It makes for a richer pumpkin pie, but heavy cream works well in the recipe. If you don’t mind your pie being more indulgent, then go ahead and use equal parts heavy cream to make your pie. Just be aware that it will make the pie a little more indulgent.

For 1 can (12 oz) of evaporated milk, use 1 cup of heavy cream.

Or, you can also make a DIY substitute by using 3/4 cup heavy cream + 1/4 cup water. This thins out the heavy cream a bit and makes it a bit less indulgent.

This substitute also works for mac and cheese, sweet potato pie and many other recipes that call for evaporated milk.

Half and Half

Other than heavy cream, half and half is another great way to replace evaporated milk in a recipe. It works especially well in pumpkin pie recipes!

For a recipe that calls for 1 can (12 oz) of evaporated milk, replace that with 1 cup of half-and-half.

Half and half mixture of equal parts whole milk and heavy cream so it is richer than evaporated milk. Therefore, you recipe will undoubtedly be richer if it’s made with heavy half and half than if it is made with evaporated milk.

Reduced Regular Milk (or Homemade Evaporated Milk)

If you don’t want extra richness, the closest substitute to evaporated milk is reduced regular milk! This homemade alternative is perfect for making pumpkin pies and for any other recipe that calls for evaporated milk.

If you have a recipe that calls for 12 oz of evaporated milk (about 1 and 1/2 cups), then this is what you need to do:

Grab a heavy bottom saucepan and bring 3 ½ cups of regular milk (whole milk or 2% works best) to a simmer over medium heat.

Once it simmers, you’ll need to turn down the heat to medium-low simmer for 30 minutes. You need to keep stirring the milk every now and then to make sure

Once it simmers, you’ll need to turn down the heat to medium-low simmer for 30 minutes. You need to keep stirring the milk every now and then to make sure the milk isn’t burning or sticking to the bottom of the pan.

stirring the milk occasionally to make sure it’s not getting scorched on the bottom of the pan. 

The milk will reduce by about 60%, which will leave you with about 1 ½ cups of homemade evaporated milk.

Strain the milk (which should have a creamy colour) to remove any skin, then let it cool to room temperature before using it in your recipe.

You can also store this homemade evaporated milk for up to 5 days in an air tight container and in the fridge.

This substitute is not only perfect for making pumpkin pie, but it works for every single recipe that calls for evaporated milk.

Full-fat coconut milk

One of the best substitutes for evaporated milk is full-fat coconut milk. It works because it is naturally thick and requires no simmering like the other non-dairy milk options. A 1:1 substitute ratio is ideal here.

Almond milk

Almond milk can be used to make a great substitute for evaporated milk that can be used in vegan recipes or for people who follow a vegan lifestyle.

To make a comparable substitute for evaporated milk with almond milk, place 3 cups of unsweetened almond milk into a sauce pan and simmer on medium heat to reduce the water by 50% for about 40 minutes.

Once done, remove from the heat and cool. Then strain and use this vegan version of evaporated milk in any recipe that calls for canned evaporated milk.

Oat milk

Oat milk can also be used to make evaporated oat milk, which can then be used as a non-dairy alternative to evaporated milk. 

To make about 1 cup of evaporated oat milk, pour 3 cups of oat milk into a saucepan and simmer on medium heat for 40 minutes while stirring constantly. Once the oat milk has reduced by about half, pour it into a bowl and let it cool. Then strain to remove any film that may have formed at the top, and use this homemade evaporated milk in your recipes.

Substitution: 1 cup evaporated milk = 1 cup evaporated oat milk 

Rice milk

Rice milk is another plant-based milk that can be used to make vegan evaporated milk to replace regular evaporated milk. 

To make evaporated rice milk, pour about 3 cups of rice milk into a pot and place on medium heat for 40 minutes. Let it simmer until the rice milk is reduced by half, then pour into a bowl or cup to cool. Strain and use.

Substitution: 1 cup evaporated milk = 1 cup evaporated rice milk

Soy milk

Soy milk is another dairy-free milk that can be used to make homemade evaporated milk. To make evaporated soy milk, pour about 3 cups of soy milk into a pot and simmer for 40 minutes, stirring every so often, until it reduces by half.

Once the soy milk has been reduced, let it cool, then strain and use it just like you would use canned evaporated milk at a 1:1 ratio.

Peanut milk

Like the other plant based milk options above, peanut milk is another ideal alternative for evaporated milk. It makes the best substitute when it is reduced over medium heat for 30 – 40 minutes until it becomes a thickened version of peanut milk.

Use this homemade evaporated peanut milk similar to how you would use evaporated milk.

Substitution: 1 cup of evaporated milk = 1 cup evaporated peanut milk

Sesame milk

Unsweetened sesame milk is a great way to replace evaporated milk if you’re looking for another quick substitute. Sesame milk is a type of milk that is extracted from sesame seeds.

Pour 3 cups of sesame milk into a saucepan, and simmer on medium heat for 40 minutes, making sure to stir constantly. Then remove form the heat cool for a few minutes then strain, and use it to replace evaporated milk at a 1:1 ratio.

These are over 9 easy ways to find good substitutes for canned evaporated milk. If you can’t find evaporated milk or want other alternatives at least one of the ideas on this list will work for you.

Also, if you’re looking for evaporated milk substitutes simply because you cannot find any, you can grab some on amazon.