Recipe
🍰 DESSERT
Leche Asada
A rustic baked milk custard with a scorched, caramelised top, Chile's homelier cousin of crème caramel.
Chilean · easy · serves 6
prep 10 min · cook 45 min
~325 cal · 10g protein · 51g carbs · 9g fat · 0g fiber · 51g sugars · 4g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Leche asada, literally roasted milk, is the everyday Chilean custard, the one grandmothers make without a recipe. Where a flan is set gently in a water bath for a silky finish, leche asada is baked straight in the oven until the top scorches and the custard sets with a homelier, slightly firm texture.
It is nothing more than milk, eggs, sugar, and vanilla, poured into a caramel-lined dish and baked until the surface takes on dark, freckled patches. That scorching is the point, not a flaw, giving it a faint bitterness that balances the sweetness.
Humble and thrifty, it turns a few pantry staples into pudding, and it appears on Chilean tables year-round, cut into squares and eaten cold with the caramel pooling underneath.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian and gluten-, nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 6
4 cups whole milk
5 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup sugar for the caramel
1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
1
Melt the caramel sugar in a dry pan until amber, then pour into the base of a baking dish and swirl to coat.
2
Whisk the eggs with the sugar, milk, and vanilla until smooth, then pour into the caramel-lined dish.
3
Bake at 350F (180C), uncovered, until set and scorched in patches on top, about 45 minutes.
✎ Chef’s note
Unlike a flan, this bakes without a water bath, so the top is meant to darken and freckle. Do not cover it or you lose the signature scorch.
4
Cool, then chill until firm and cut into squares to serve.
Chilean home-kitchen tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Central Valley. Summer here means pastel de choclo, a bake of ground fresh sweetcorn spread over beef, a piece of chicken, olives and hard-boiled egg, dusted with sugar so the top caramelises under the heat. Winter means cazuela, a clear broth holding one piece of meat, a wedge of pumpkin and a whole potato.
🗺️
Chile. Chile's long coastline delivers extraordinary seafood, from ceviche to hearty fish stews, while its central valley yields corn, beans, and wine. Pastel de choclo and empanadas anchor a comforting, produce-rich table.
🌍
South America. Migration reworked the plate within living memory. Japanese arrivals in Peru and Brazil produced Nikkei cooking, Italians made pasta and pizza entirely ordinary in Argentina, Uruguay and Sao Paulo, and West African cooking carried into Bahia by the slave trade gave Brazil dende palm oil, okra and a whole ritual repertoire.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Chile
Porotos GranadosSummer stew of fresh beans, corn, squash, and basil, Chile’s pre-Columbian trinity in one pot.
SopaipillasGolden pumpkin-dough fritters, soft and faintly sweet, fried up on cold Chilean mornings and eaten with pebre or chancaca syrup.
CompletoA hot dog buried under diced tomato, mashed avocado, sauerkraut, and mayonnaise, Chile's overloaded snack-lunch.
Browse all Chile recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Oven, Whisk.
Storing it: Keep chilled and covered, and enjoy within 2 to 3 days.
Make it a Chile meal
Pastel de Choclo (Corn and Beef Pie)Dinner
Mote con HuesilloDrink
Similar dishes from around the world
Pudim de Leite (Milk Flan)Cape Verde
Leche FlanPhilippines
Crème BrûléeFrance
RožataMontenegro
QuesilloVenezuela
TrileçeAlbania
Cuisine
Diet
Frequently asked questions
What is Leche Asada?
A rustic baked milk custard with a scorched, caramelised top, Chile's homelier cousin of crème caramel.
Where does Leche Asada come from?
Leche Asada is a Chilean dish from Central Valley, Chile.
Can Leche Asada be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Leche Asada recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Leche Asada safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Leche Asada take to make?
About 55 minutes total (10 minutes prep, 45 minutes cooking), serving 6.
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