This simple Fudge Recipe is made with just three ingredients and only takes a few minutes to make too. Super easy and there’s no candy thermometer required!
When it comes to fudge, most people tend to think of it only around Christmas time. But fudge is actually perfect to make during the summer too because it’s a simple no-bake treat!
Since it’s been extremely hot lately and the last thing most of us want to do right now is turn our ovens on, I wanted to share my easy homemade fudge recipe with you. And when I say easy, I really mean it! This fudge only requires three simple ingredients, takes just a few minutes to throw together, and you don’t even need a candy thermometer.
I love to make this fudge with semi-sweet chocolate chips, but white chocolate chips work great with this recipe too. I’ve also included a few different recipe variations that you can try with this fudge to show you just how versatile it can be!
Ingredients For This Fudge Recipe
As I mentioned, you only need three ingredients to make this fudge: chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk, and butter. Let’s break down each one of them!
- 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.
- 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 This Chocolate Fudge Recipe
To make this fudge, you’ll start out by combining everything in a large saucepan. Then, place the saucepan over medium heat and stir the mixture continuously until it’s nice and smooth. I suggest using a rubber spatula to scrape the bottom and sides of the saucepan so that none of the chocolate burns.
Once the mixture is completely smooth, remove it from the heat and scoop it into an 8-inch square baking dish. I like to line my dish with parchment paper or foil and leave some overhang before adding the fudge. This will make it much easier to lift it out of the pan and slice the fudge!
You’ll spread the fudge into one even layer, then cover it, and place it in the refrigerator. It will take about 3 hours to fully firm up, so you can even prep this the night before too.
Recipe Variations
There are several different ways that you can make this fudge too, here are a few of my favorites!
- 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.
Baking Tips For This Fudge Recipe
- Before getting started, line a dish with parchment paper or foil and leave some overhang. This will make it much easier to lift the fudge out and easier to clean up too!
- While the fudge is cooking, make sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the pan and stir continuously.
- This fudge will soften some at room temperature, so it’s best to keep it refrigerated until you’re ready to enjoy it. You can also freeze this fudge for up to 3 months, just thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
More No-Bake Treats To Try!
Easy Fudge Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups (525 grams) semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
- 2 tablespoons (30 grams) butter
- 1 cup (125 grams) chopped walnuts or pecans optional
Instructions
- Line an 8-inch 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 continuously 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.
I love fudge, This is the best recipe. 🌸🌼💜
Thank you, Kelli!
Do you have a recipe for maple fudge?
I don’t, but I’ll add it to my list of recipes to work on!
I love all of your recipes. They are so easy and taste great. Thanks so much!!
I give this five stars because it looks like it’s going to be a perfect recipe for the upcoming holiday season. Have you seen the Nestlé chocolate chips that are just natural no weird stuff just chocolate and cocoa butter and one other ingredient I can’t think of what it is but I bought them and they are wonderful they are what chocolate chips are supposed to be so I can’t wait to use them in this recipe. Thanks for posting
I have seen them, but haven’t tried them! Hope you enjoy the fudge, Claudia!
Is there a right way to cut them? I imagine cutting them and either breaking them or they’d melt before I even get to finish cutting.
You can cut them however you like. Once they’re fully chilled, the fudge is firm and easy to slice. It will soften some at room temperature, but it won’t melt.
How much of the raspberry extract did you use?
I use a pizza cutter dipped in warm water…
So easy to make, delicious and no huge mess to clean up!
LOVE this recipe and how simple yet divine the fudge tastes. My secret ingredient is real raspberry extract…it takes the fudge to a whole new level. When people eat it their eyes light up!
This is the easiest fudge recipe I’ve ever made. Comes together in minutes and sinfully delicious 😋 Thank you!
So glad you liked the recipe, Denise!
Hi,
Can I use silicon chocolate mould for this recipe? Thanks.
That should be fine!
Was wondering how to make this peanut butter chocolate fudge.
I haven’t tried adding regular peanut butter to this recipe. You could make the fudge them stir in some peanut butter chips (about 1 cup) or melt the peanut butter chips with a little peanut butter (1-2 tablespoons) and spread it on top of the fudge!
Yay…I found a recipe for my 10 year old daughter to make for Christmas gifts. She will be making candy boxes and some of the boxes will be mailed. Do you think this fudge will hold up enough out of the refrigerator if wrapped in wax paper before mailing?
It does soften out of the refrigerator, so I would recommend trying to keep it chilled.
I enjoyed making this simple recipe! I added 1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla. It turned out amazing and my husband LOVED it. Also made great gifts for Christmas. Thanks so much for this recipe!
I just made this fudge today, followed the recipe exactly. But my fudge is soft, not hardened as it should’ve. Now I’m concerned because I bought all the ingredients to make this for Christmas gifts, and it didn’t turn out. Is there any way to fix this batch, and any suggestions on what went wrong?
Sorry you had some trouble with the recipe, Jami. Did you make sure to refrigerate the fudge? It will soften some at room temperature, so it’s best to keep refrigerated. If you did refrigerate it and it’s still soft, did you double-check the ingredients and measurements? And did you make sure to use sweetened condensed milk?
I will be trying your recipe in a few days.
Wondering- when heating the chips with condensed milk, should it come to a boil?
Thank you
The mixture is really thick, so it won’t come to a boil. You’ll know it’s ready when the chocolate chips are melted and the mixture is completely smooth.
Great! I’ll be making this recipe tonight.
Thank you so much for your quick response.
Happy Holidays to you and yours <3 Bonnie
I made the fudge last night. It turned out really stiff & chewy, like the consistency of a Tootsie Roll.
I think I know why..I used 3 cups of MINI semi sweet morsels instead of the regular size morsels. The mini’s packed the measuring cup, thusly taking up more volume in the cup, as opposed the reg. size chips. So in reality, I used too many chips. Something to keep in mind for others trying this recipe…
To remedy the chewiness, I melted it all back down and added another 1/2 can of sweetened condensed milk., Warmed & beat it until well combined & poured it back in the pan. Now after chilling it’s firm, yet creamy & delicious. Live and learn. LOL
This is truly the easiest fudge to make! I had actually given up on making fudge because I could never get it right! This one is now my favorite! Thank you so much!!
Cecilia
So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Cecilia!
Mine came out dry. Did I over cook? This wasn’t so easy so easy for me.
If it turned out dry, it’s likely that the mixture was just cooked too long. You only want to leave it over the heat until the mixture is smooth, then scoop it into your pan.
I just made your fudge recipe a few times today, both for us and some friends. It was so easy to make, and it’s delicious! This will be the fudge I make from now on!
So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Tammy!
I’ve used this recipe for years and everyone loves it. I’ve done chocolate/peanut butter, chocolate/butterscotch, chocolate/white chocolate swirl, chocolate/chocolate mint.
I’ve made this recipe twice now and it’s turned out great both times! I found it too sweet the first time (although my kids loved it) so I used unsweetened chocolate the second time around and it was much better! I highly recommend this variation for anyone who can’t handle excessive sweetness.
I wonder about using some unsweetened cocoa if it is too sweet or will the powder make it too dry?🤷♀️
I haven’t tried it, but the cocoa powder would likely dry it out.
I made my second batch last night! So good! Thank you for this easy recipe!
It’s a good treat for my son who is allergic to eggs and a lot of nuts!
I tried this out today, and I followed the recipe exactly, however I’m not sure what went wrong. I combined all the ingredients except for nuts in a large saucepan, and then placed it over medium heat and began stirring (scraping the bottom and the sides of the pan) continuously. It got smooth at one point but it looked way too chunky to be fudge (maybe I should have stopped there?) so I continued and after 30 minutes of stirring and cooking the butter began to separate and boil. It just didn’t look right to have a chunky mixture so that’s why I continued. Should I have started on a lower heat? Should I have stopped when it got smooth-ish? Any help?
Hi, Jasmine! You only need to cook the mixture on the stove top until it’s smooth, which only takes a few minutes. The mixture will be pretty thick when you take it off the heat.
Don’t dare make this fudge unless you have more willpower than my husband or I do! Its day 30 and I’ve been searching for recipes that will help me use up my staples in the pantry. Well, that backfired. I’ve used up the Sweetened Condensed Milk AND the chocolate chips weeks ago, but somehow, now I’m ordering several cans/bags in my Grocery Delivery order every two weeks. We just finished batch #3 and I’m getting another batch ready. I’m going to need to order clothing in at least one size bigger! Seriously, though. This fudge is so easy to make and absolutely delish! I will say that after letting it set up in the refrigerator for about 3 hours, I do take it out and let it rest at room temperature. I was once told by a fudge maker (copper kettle type) that fudge will crystallize and become grainy in the frig. Mine does get a little softer, but its still quite firm. No need to worry about it going bad at my house! The longest we’ve managed to keep it is a week! Thanks for the recipe! A definitely a keeper!
So glad you loved the recipe, Rose!
These fudge recipes are the best! Have you thought of creating a licorice fudge-recipe? We Finns love our licorice candy 🙂
Does this have to be placed in the fridge or can it just sit out covered to cool?
It helps it set up better, it can cool at room temperature but it will stay a bit soft.
How hard does this get in the freezer? Thinking about swirling some into ice cream.
It will get pretty hard in the freezer, so I wouldn’t recommend swirling it with ice cream.
Once it’s melted and smooth can it be used in a recipe right away or does it has to be firm and melt it back downed.
Hi, Ivette! Is there a specific recipe you’re wanting to use it in?
In a chocolate buttercream recipe.
This wouldn’t blend well in buttercream to make a chocolate frosting, but I do have a chocolate buttercream frosting recipe here if that helps 🙂
This recipe is amazing! My fudge came out tasty and perfect. It was very easy as well and nice to only have to purchase a few ingredients. I will always use this recipe in the future.
Mine set up just fine. I skipped the parchment paper and just heavily buttered my pan. I added sliced almonds and coconut – it was amazing!
Could I do half semi sweet half milk chocolate chips?
That should be fine.
Do you think I could freeze the fudge when it sets for about an hour to firm up quicker? Thanks! It’s looks good so far!
I think that would be fine!
I used half milk chocolate and chilled it overnight, perfect chewy and decadent fudge. Definitely a keeper! My whole family loved it, thank you for all the amazing recipes! Stay strong! 💕💕💕🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
Great recipe!! Always a hit !!
This the best and simple fudge. Can I use peanuts?
Yes, you can replace the walnuts with an equal amount of chopped peanuts.
My fudge went kind of grainy? Did I cook it too long?
It’s possible, you want to remove the mixture from the stove as soon as it’s smooth.