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 have made this recipe for years, without the butter. I will definitely try adding 2 TB butter next time. I imagine it will be creamier and smoother. Also, I absolutely love walnuts in fudge, but I have friends who detest walnuts, so the variation I came up with is 1 TB (yes that much) almond extract & about 1/2-1 cup coarsely chopped dried cherries. Really tasty.
I am going to make it with the almond extract and dried cherries. That sounds yummy!
Hello! Can I use this fudge for a cake filling?
Hi, Mary! This would be too thick for a cake filling. I have a chocolate ganache recipe here that you can turn into a frosting that may work better.
I looked for this recipe and the first one on the list was for All Recipes, and It called for 1/4 cup of butter and everything else was the same as your recipe, so I tried it and it was very greasy and butter was practically laying on top of the fudge! What a mess! Then I found your recipe and it called for half the amount of butter, so I added more chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk and no more butter and mixed it all up and now it is good. Thank you for the correct information and amount of butter. I now have a double batch to share with people!
I made my first trial batch today, in preparation for making as many batches as I can for an upcoming bake sale! Do you think I could do a double batch if I pour it into a larger pan? Also, what do you think is the best way to package fudge to be given away? I have clear treat baggies but I’m guessing I am going to either need to place them on a plate first, or wrap each piece individually, or put wax paper between pieces. I’m trying to think how to do one of those methods in a cute way and would love any suggestions.
Yes, you can double the recipe and use a 9×13 pan. The fudge will soften some at room temperature, so it may be a good idea to wrap each piece individually and then place them in the treat baggies. Hope that helps!
Thank you! That does help 🙂 I might do a smaller pan than 9×13 to get a thicker pieces of fudge. think I might also keep the fudge in 1/2 lb blocks instead of cutting into small pieces because I think that’ll look better in the bag. What do you think as far as plastic wrap versus wax paper for the wrapping?
I think either one would be fine! Wax paper may look a little prettier though 🙂
How could I make peanut butter fudge like this?
I actually have a peanut butter fudge recipe here.
I want to try this fudge recipe but can I add 1/3 c peanut butter when mixing everything together. I wonder if it will set up in the fridge as well. My family loves choc and peanut butter together. Thank you. Angie
I haven’t tried, but you could possibly swap out the butter for peanut butter. Or you could use some peanut butter chips in place of the semi-sweet chocolate chips.
I use cupcake liners, they’re perfect for individual treats & you can change up the colors
You could also use mini muffin pans w/mini cup liners and they would already be individually wrapped! 😊
So if I use the mini muffin liners do I just pour into the cups? That’s an awesome idea. In these trying times it would be nice to have them individually wrapped.
Hi, Marlene! The mixture is thick, so it won’t be very easy to pour it into the cups. I would recommend using a cookie scoop (maybe 1 to 1.5 tablespoons) and spreading it out into the cups.
I pour it into a regular baking dish to harden, cut it into pretty squares, and then put each square in a mini muffin cup. I prefer without butter. I have used white chocolate chips and Craisins at Christmas time
I am going to make this and top my peanut butter cookies with it
Hi!may i use cioccolate bar instaid choco chips?
Yes, that would be fine! Just make sure to use the same amount of chocolate.
While this was very easy to make I just wasn’t a fan, maybe it’d be better with milk chocolate chips?
You can use milk chocolate chips, but keep in mind that it will be very sweet.
Hi! Can I use baking chocolate instead of chocolate chips? Thanks!
Do you mean chocolate bars like Bakers or Ghirardelli? If so, that will be fine. You will need to use an equal amount of weight of chocolate.
Okay great! I’m limited over here in Europe with what American ingredients I can get my hands on. Thankfully I’ve finally count sweetened condensed milk! Looking forward to trying your recipe 🙂
This recipe was easy, but I was disappointed. It does not taste like traditional fudge. It tastes like melted chocolate chips. I may repurpose the pieces and add them to peanut butter cookies.
Butter salted. Or unsalted
Either one is fine, since it’s such a small amount. I typically use unsalted butter because it’s what I keep on hand.
Hello! Can I add vanilla to this recipe? If so, how much would you recommend?
That would be fine. I would probably use 1/2 to 1 teaspoon.
can you make fudge with these ingredients
milk
sugar
peanut butter
butter
I actually have a peanut butter fudge recipe here.
Help! I didn’t have sweetened condensed milk but I did have evaporated milk and sugar so I attempted to make my own and it didn’t work out. My fudge wasn’t thick when in the pot and I was able to pour it into the 8×8 pan. After being in the fridge all night, it’s still soft and it’s stuck to the parchment paper. What can I do to firm it? Any suggestions?
I’m not sure that there’s much that you can do at this point. If it’s really soft, you can try freezing it and see if that helps.
This fudge is delicious! I think the butter really makes a difference. I added about a tsp of vanilla and a pinch of salt.. I don’t even like fudge and I cannot stop eating this. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
I made this recipe. It was not good. The fudge never got firm, now I have pan of goop. 👎 I followed the instructions exact.
Sorry the fudge didn’t turn out well for you, Jennifer, but it should have set up. Did you happen to use evaporated milk instead of sweetened condensed milk?
I had sweetened condensed milk, followed the recipe to a T I even put i in the freezer overnight hoping it would get hard, nope, still goopy.
I made it and it is AMAZING. I only had 2 cups of chocolate chips, so I used the Reese’s peanut butter baking chips for the other cup and it was SO GOOD. Adding the 2tbs of butter is a GAME CHANGER, THANK YOU. So good.
I made this and it was so good! It set perfectly and looked exactly like the picture. it doesn’t;t have that kind of grainy texture that fudge from the store had but I think that is even better! I highly recommend this recipe for anyone who wants an easy base fudge recipe!
Easy and delicious! We added mini M&M to ours.
What a wonderful recipe. Thanks so much for sharing.
I used half milk chocolate half semi sweet chocolate. I made a shortbread crust, placed fudge on top, added salted caramel sauce and a little extra pecans. Delicious.
Omg! This was a perfect recipe!! So impressed with the simplicity and taste! So much fun making for my family. Thank you. I made the plain chocolate and the peanut butter recipes. 🙂
tasty fudge and SO easy to make! i’m thinking of adding toasted coconut the next time i make a batch.
Hello! I recently tried making this recipe and found that there were too many dry ingredients. I had to add about a quarter to a third cup of milk to the mixture just to get it to the right consistency. Turned out great though after that! Just be aware that the sweetened condensed milk alone is not enough liquid for the amount of chocolate chips.
The recipe is correct as written, the mixture will be very thick, which is normal 🙂
I’ve tired this three times now and it just won’t set. Not sure what I am doing wrong.
Sorry you’re having trouble with the recipe, Janie. Did you make sure to use sweetened condensed milk? Or did you happen to use evaporated milk?
Im curious if there is a way i can use my candy thermometer for this recipe and what Fahrenheit i could cook it up to?
It’s really not necessary and to be honest I never use a thermometer. You only need to heat the mixture until all of the chocolate chips are melted and the mixture is smooth.