A process for manufacturing dialkyl lactamide including reacting lactide and dialkylamine selected from one or more of dimethylamine, diethylamine, and methylethylamine to form a reaction mixture which includes dialkyl lactamide selected from N,N-dimethyl lactamide, N,N-diethyl lactamide, and N,N-methylethyl lactamide, N,N-dialkyl lactoyl lactamide, and dialkylamine, subjecting the reaction mixture to a separation step to form a product stream including N,N-dialkyl lactamide, a first recycle stream including dialkylamine and a second recycle stream including N,N-dialkyl lactoyl lactamide, feeding the recycle streams to the reaction step, and isolating the product stream. The process allows the manufacture of N,N-dimethyl lactamide, N,N-diethyl lactamide, and N,N-methylethyl lactamide on a commercial scale.