Easy Fudge Recipe
This really is the easiest fudge recipe ever! Chocolate chips, butter, and sweetened condensed milk create the fudge base, and from there you can add as many mix-ins as you’d like. No candy thermometer required!
*Post and pictures updated November 2022*
Homemade fudge is the easiest no-bake treat to prepare around the holidays. You need just three simple ingredients to make it — butter, sweetened condensed milk, and chocolate chips — and the recipe variations are endless!
Whether you prefer your chocolate fudge plain or with chopped nuts, dried fruit, shredded coconut, or another mix-in, you can customize this base recipe as you see fit.
This fudge recipe makes the perfect hostess gift and is also great for cookie exchanges as it travels well and tastes just as good on day one as it does on day seven!
Recipe Ingredients
The ingredients for this fudge are simple and straightforward. Exact measurements are provided in the recipe card below, but here’s an overview of the ingredients list.
- Chocolate Chips: You’ll be using three cups of chocolate chips for this fudge. I used semi-sweet chocolate chips, but feel free to swap them for white chocolate chips or even dark chocolate.
- Sweetened Condensed Milk: You’ll need one 14-ounce can of sweetened condensed milk. I suggest sticking with the regular version and skipping the fat-free kind. Make sure that you grab a can of sweetened condensed milk and NOT evaporated milk. Sweetened condensed milk is thick and sweet and will give you the proper consistency for this fudge. Evaporated milk is much thinner, and if you use it by accident you will end up with hot fudge sauce, which is not what we’re going for here!
- Butter: You can technically make this fudge with just the first two ingredients, but I’ve found that adding just a couple tablespoons of butter helps create a smoother consistency. Trust me here!
- Chopped Walnuts: This ingredient is completely optional! If you don’t love nuts, feel free to leave them out. You can even swap the chopped walnuts with chopped pecans too.
How to Make Fudge
Don’t bother taking out your candy thermometer, you won’t need it to make this simple recipe. The toughest part about making chocolate fudge is waiting for it to set up in the fridge, otherwise it’s an almost foolproof recipe!
- Prep the baking pan: Line an 8-inch square baking dish with foil or parchment paper. Leave a bit of an overhang to make removing the fudge easier later on.
- Melt the fudge mixture: Add the sweetened condensed milk, butter, and chocolate chips to a saucepan. Stir often over medium heat until the mixture is fully melted and smooth.
- Add mix-ins, if using: Remove the fudge mixture from the stove and stir in any chopped nuts or dried fruit you wish to use.
- Chill the fudge until set: Spread the melted fudge into an even layer in your prepared baking dish. Refrigerate it until fully set; this will take about 3 hours.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Fudge Need to Be Refrigerated?
Yes, this chocolate fudge must be refrigerated. It will soften at room temperature, so keep it in an airtight container in the fridge.
Can the Sweetened Condensed Milk Be Substituted?
Not for this particular recipe. You must use full-fat sweetened condensed milk. Do NOT use evaporated milk, as it’s much thinner and the fudge won’t set properly if you use it.
Can This Recipe Be Doubled?
Yes, simply double the ingredients list and use a 9×13-inch pan instead of an 8-inch pan.
Can Fudge Be Frozen?
Yes, this fudge freezes well for up to three months. Store slices in a freezer bag or freezer container and thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
Recipe Variations
There are several different ways that you can make this fudge, here are a few of my favorite variations:
- Cookies & Cream: Swap the semi-sweet chocolate chips for white chocolate chips and add 1 cup of chopped Oreos.
- Cranberry Pistachio: Use either semi-sweet or white chocolate chips and add 1/2 cup of sweetened dried cranberries and 1/2 cup of chopped pistachios.
- Mint Chocolate: Use either semi-sweet or white chocolate chips and add 1/2 teaspoon of peppermint extract. Taste and add more extract as needed.
- Rocky Road: Add 1/2 cup chopped walnuts to the melted fudge mixture, then very gently stir in 1/2 cup miniature marshmallows.
- Peppermint Chocolate: Swap the nuts with crushed peppermint candies or candy canes.
Baking Tips
- You do not need to bring the chocolate mixture to a boil, you simply need to warm it until melted. If you’re worried about your chocolate chips seizing up, you can melt the chocolate mixture in a double boiler.
- Make sure to stir the chocolate mixture often, otherwise it may stick to the bottom of the pan and burn.
- When lining the pan with foil or parchment paper, leave some overhang so you can easily remove the hardened fudge and slice it.
More Easy Fudge Recipes You’ll Love!
Recipe Video
Easy Fudge Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (525 grams)
- 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk (NOT evaporated milk)
- 2 tablespoons butter (30 grams)
- 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans optional (125 grams)
Instructions
- Line an 8-inch square baking dish with parchment paper or aluminum foil, leaving some overhang for easy removal. Set aside.
- Add the chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk, and butter to a large saucepan and place over medium heat. Stir often until the chocolate chips are fully melted and the mixture is smooth.
- Remove from the heat and scoop the mixture into the prepared baking dish. Spread around into one even layer.
- Refrigerate for at least 3 hours or until fully chilled and the fudge is firm. Remove from the pan using the overhang from the parchment paper or foil, slice the fudge into pieces, and enjoy.
Just made this! I only had 2 cups semi sweet chips so mixed vanilla chips with it. Love how it looks. Can’t wait to try it
It was easy as 123 lol, i’m waiting for
chilling process i will definitely u know the outcome thank u, yours truly chef lionel
I made this with my 7 year old because he’s not quite ready for a more difficult recipe. Did it taste like fudge? Yeah… but it’s not as good as what I normally make… but then again, did I say my 7 year old did it? The consistency is fine.
Tips: use slightly less than 3 cups of chocolate. Don’t dump everything in at once.
Measure your butter. Don’t be generous. Add the butter first. If you think the temp is too low, turn it down a little further and you’re probably good. My burner was at the lowest setting. Add some chocolate, stir, add some condensed sweetened milk, stir, repeat. Again, low heat… add things in slowly. I will make this again.
I made the fudge with sweetened condensed milk, pecans, marshmallows. It was wonderful, so easy and thank you so much for sharing that recipe.
This is “the” best fudge on the planet – bar none. I added 2 additional teaspoons of butter, and a pinch of cayenne pepper and I used Ghiardelli semi sweet for the chocolate. I followed your instructions and used a very low heat so as not to scorch the chocolate. Thanks a million for sharing your recipe. The fudge is wonderful!,
Are you using regular chocolate chips or baking chocolate chips?
I use regular chocolate chips.
While making another recipe I accidentally opened a can of condensed milk instead of evaporated. Not wanting to waste it I did a google search and found this recipe. I had the other 2 ingredients on hand. It was so simple and the finished product turned out so amazingly well that I think I may never buy Boardwalk fudge again.
Easy and delicious! For those who struggled to get it right, be sure to use Low heat. It says medium but some stoves run hot and medium setting is too much. Also, use quality ingredients. I’ve had great luck with Nestlé (semi sweet) and Eagle condensed milk. Used Aldi’s brand condensed milk today, no issues. But I try to stay away from store brands because I bought some that were runny and inconsistent in texture. If you have good ingredients, this recipe is fool-proof. Low heat, stir often, add butter at the end to control the amount of fat. If fudge is too thick, add a little more. Another important difference, milk and semi sweet chips are not the same in terms of texture when melted. I recommend semi-sweet for fudge, especially for this recipe since you can’t control the temperature and amount of sugar. But you can adjust the fat content and it should help.
Just wondering, how long would it normally take to cook?
It should only take about 5 to 8 minutes for everything to be melted and smooth.
Try adding a layer of white chocolate chips to the middle of the fudge.
This is my go to fudge. Can I turn this in to peanutbutter fudge? If so, how much peanutbutter as opposed to chocolate chips?
You could probably just swap out the chocolate chips with an equal amount of peanut butter chips. I have a recipe for peanut butter fudge here too.
yummmy
Can this be used with white chocolate instead of chocolate?
Yes, that’s fine!
It’s alright nothing like legit fudge I’ve had before so I was very disappointed just tasted like regular chocolate that’s sweeter. The texture is close to a fudge texture but not exact. I followed everything step by step. If you are looking for a legit fudge recipe this isn’t it but it’s still tasty.
My 17 yr old grandson loves any fudge I make, especially the one I make on Pinterest.
He raved about this one like no bodies business.
Definitely a 5 star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I made the fudge it was chunky and thick in the pot. It was delicious but not the smooth consistency I was hoping for. What did I do wrong?
The mixture will be thick, but it should be smooth. Did you have it over a higher heat?
This turned out delicious! Nice and creamy and not sickly sweet. Thanks! Kim going to make your sticky toffee pudding next.
2nd time trying to make fudge best recipe I’ve found
Lovely easy receipe. Thank you
I really enjoy this. Its a great thing to make for a little snack when you’re hungry. It also tastes amazing
My fudge stuck to the greaseproof paper and looked too soft. Any idea what I’ve done wrong ? My first time making fudge so a bit disappointed
Did you happen to use evaporated milk instead of sweetened condensed milk?
Sunt absolut minunate!❤️
Mine did this too. I used sweetened condensed milk. I used 1/4 cup butter which is probably too much. My maple walnut and chocolate were both too soft and didn’t set even after staying in the fridge overnight.
Awesome it’s so easy and quick. And everybody loves it.
Perfect and easy! Thank you!
It tasted a little off so I tried adding 1 tspn vanilla and 1 tbs cocoa powder. It was EXACTLY what it needed. Reminded me of the fudge we used to get as kids in the little shop out of the middle of nowhere IL (Grafton lol)
1st time ever making fudge and it worked beautifully. Instead of butter I used coconut oil and it was still good. This will now be my go to recipe. Thank you for sharing
Absolutely delicious!
This was delicious for a quick and easy fudge recipe, I will definitely be using this again! This wasn’t too sweet which was a big selling point for me. I made this for a Christmas treat and was elated with the turnout.
Sadly we did not enjoy this recipe. I have been baking for 4 decades and thought I’d try some new recipes this Christmas. I followed the directions explicitly, but it is not very good. The texture is not as smooth as my own fudge. I thought the pics looked a bit off, dull looking chocolate, but that’s just how it comes out. If you do make this recipe I recommend milk chocolate chips, normally I prefer semi-sweet but when I followed these directions the fudge is somewhat bitter.
I do half semi sweet half milk chocolate!
thank you was a very simple recipe
next time I’ll use white chocolate with cranberries
Can you use peanut butter chips instead of chocolate chips.
Im going to try white chips and do peppermint in the fudge and on top.
That should be fine, I do have a peanut butter fudge recipe here as well.
Hi Danielle, I made a fudge recipe last night that called for evaporated milk and I happened to have a can of that instead of sweetened condensed milk. It tastes fine but won’t set, at all. So after combing through several more recipes I came across yours with so many positive reviews that I’ve decided to try. Fingers crossed, it turns out as good as yours, along with all your positive responses. I’ll let you know how it turns out. Thanks in advance!
Hope you enjoy the recipe, Denise! Just be sure to use sweetened condensed milk in this one and not evaporated milk 🙂
Love this recipe since it’s quick and easy.
I’ve made a maple pecan variation with white chocolate and a peppermint bark one with dark and white.
My favorite, however, is eggnog. To the basic recipe, using white chocolate chips , add 1 and a half tsp vanilla extract, 1 tsp nutmeg, a few dashes of ground cloves, and a dash of cinnamon. It turned out quite delicious!
That sounds delicious!