Easy Chocolate Fudge Recipe
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure policy.
This chocolate fudge is pure nostalgia in every bite—and it comes together in just 15 minutes.
My grandmother was known for making the best chocolate fudge, but the process was always quite the production. Traditional fudge is fickle—it has to be heated and cooled to just the right temperatures and stirred “just so” for success. For my grandparents, it was a team effort: my grandmother would stir the ingredients together and cook the fudge on the stovetop, then my grandfather would lift the heavy pot into a cold water bath and beat it by hand with a wooden spoon until it reached the perfect consistency.
As much as I love my grandmother’s homemade chocolate fudge, these days I usually go for something a little easier. This chocolate fudge recipe from Cooks Illustrated is delicious and foolproof—no candy thermometer or helper required. My family goes crazy for it, and honestly, sometimes easy wins.
If you love this one, don’t miss my peanut butter fudge—it’s just as simple and every bit as irresistible.
“This is probably THE BEST recipe for homemade fudge out there! The creaminess and texture rival the most upscale confectionery shops anywhere!! I humbly say this — considering myself a ‘fudge snob.’”
What You’ll Need To Make Chocolate Fudge
- Semisweet & Unsweetened Chocolate: Provides a rich chocolate base. The taste of the fudge is dependent on the quality of the chocolate you start with, so be sure to use a good one. I recommend Ghiradelli.
- Baking Soda: Reacts with the acids in the chocolate to alter the pH, which makes the fudge drier and firmer.
- Sweetened Condensed Milk: Adds sweetness, moisture, and creaminess to the fudge.
- Vanilla Extract: Enhances the overall flavor and complements the chocolate.
- Walnuts: Add a crunchy texture and a rich, nutty flavor. Feel free to substitute pecans, peanuts, or whatever your favorite is.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1: Combine the fudge base. Chop the chocolate and toss it with the baking soda and salt in a medium heatproof bowl. Stir in the sweetened condensed milk and vanilla, then set the bowl over a 4-quart saucepan with 2 cups of simmering water (making a makeshift double boiler).
Step 2: Melt the chocolate. Stir gently with a rubber spatula until the chocolate is almost fully melted and only a few small pieces remain, 2 to 4 minutes. Remove the bowl from the heat before the chocolate is completely melted—if it stays over the simmering water too long, the fudge can seize or turn grainy. The residual heat will finish melting the chocolate as you stir.
Step 3: Finish melting and stir in the nuts. Remove the bowl from the heat and continue to stir until the chocolate is fully melted and the mixture is smooth, about 2 minutes. Stir in the walnuts.
Step 4: Spread the fudge in a pan. Pour the fudge into the a foil-lined and greased 8-inch pan. Use a spatula to spread it evenly, smoothing the top as best you can.
Step 5: Chill and cut. Refrigerate the fudge until firm, about 2 hours. Once set, lift it out of the pan using the foil overhang and place it on a cutting board. Use a sharp knife to cut it into neat squares—wipe the knife clean between cuts for tidy edges. Store the fudge in an airtight container at cool room temperature for up to 2 weeks, or freeze for up to 3 months.
More Sweet Treats You May Like
Easy Chocolate Fudge Recipe
Ingredients
- 16 oz semi-sweet chocolate, best quality such as Ghirardelli, coarsely chopped
- 2 oz unsweetened chocolate, best quality such as Ghirardelli, coarsely chopped
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 (14-oz) can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Line an 8-in (20-cm) square baking dish with aluminum foil, pushing the foil neatly into the corners and up the sides of the pan, using two pieces if necessary to ensure that the foil overlaps all edges (the overhang will help removal from the pan). Spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.
- Toss the chocolates, baking soda, and salt in a medium heatproof bowl until baking soda is evenly distributed. Stir in sweetened condensed milk and vanilla. Set the bowl over a 4 qt (4L) saucepan containing 2 cups (480 ml) of simmering water. Stir with a rubber spatula until the chocolate is almost fully melted and just a few small pieces remain, 2 to 4 minutes. (Make sure to remove the fudge from the double boiler before the chocolate is fully melted. If the chocolate stays in the double boiler too long, there is the possibility of the chocolate separating and producing a greasy fudge.)
- Remove the bowl from the heat and continue to stir until the chocolate is fully melted and the mixture is smooth, about 2 minutes. Stir in the walnuts. Transfer the fudge to the prepared pan and spread into an even layer with the spatula. Refrigerate until set, about 2 hours. Remove the fudge from the pan using the foil overhang and cut into squares. Store the fudge, tightly wrapped in plastic, in a cool place for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
- To Make a Double Batch: Line a 9 x 13-in (23 x 33-cm) pan; double amounts of all the ingredients; and use a large heatproof bowl and Dutch oven containing 4 cups (960 ml) of simmering water for melting the fudge mixture.
- Freezing Instructions: The fudge can be frozen for up to 3 months. If frozen, allow ample time to let it reach room temperature before cutting. The fudge will change texture and become drier the longer it is frozen.
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
See more recipes:
Add a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
I made this fudge last week & oh my sweet baby Jesus it’s fantastic!!!! It was easy & I secretly had to hide some away just for me. This is my go to fudge from now on, thank you for sharing!
Hi Jenn. This looks like fun to make! I saw a few people mention that roasting the nuts added something and was wondering if I could use roasted and salted nuts. Or would it be too much salt? Thanks.
Hi Jan, I think you could, but I’d eliminate the salt from the fudge recipe so it doesn’t get too salty. Enjoy!
Can use semisweet chocolate chips instead of finely chopping bar chocolate?
I wouldn’t recommend it, Kira — sorry!
Hi Jen – I followed the recipe for a double batch, keeping the water in the pan at a simmer and removing the bowl from the heat when there were still small pieces of chocolate; then I stirred the mixture off of the heat, but the chocolate still seized a bit. I’ve spread it in the pan and placed it in the fridge, but I think that I’ve ruined it. All that chocolate! Will I be able to fix the mixture if it isn’t right after refrigeration and, if so, what would the procedure and proportions of added liquid be for this particular recipe?
Hi Marna, Is it possible that some of the water from the double boiler got into chocolate mixture? That’s the only thing that might make it seize (water is the enemy of melted chocolate). Or if you used chocolate chips instead of chocolate bars, that would cause a problem. How did it turn out?
It tastes delicious (I toasted the walnuts & I think that’s key to the wonderful roasted nut taste) and it does seem smooth when cut & tasted, but there are small globs & tiny rivulets of congealed fat on the top (even after letting it sit at room temp all day) that look unappealing. I don’t want to have to redo the entire batch, but I’d like to figure out a way to minimize the appearance of the little bits of congealed fat on the top, as I want to package this for Christmas gifts. By the way, I have a couple of thoughts about why this might have happened: (1) I toasted the nuts to a golden brown & although I let them cool for about 10 minutes before they were stirred into the melted chocolate, maybe they were still too warm and raised the heat of the chocolate mixture just enough to cause it to seize a little bit; or (2) instead of all semi-sweet chocolate bars, I used 1/2 semi-sweet & 1/2 60% dark chocolate bars (+ the unsweetened per the recipe), because I wanted a truly dark chocolate end-product, so maybe there was something about the 60% dark chocolate that caused the mixture to respond differently to the heat; or (3) I live at high-altitude (6,000 feet) and, although I can’t think of why this would make a difference with this particular recipe, all sorts of crazy things can happen with recipes at high altitude. I know this is due to some error that I made – I mean, candy-making is basic science and no one else has had this problem. I have had 100% success with all of the other recipes that I have tried from your site, Jenn, and I’ve used many of them. Any ideas about: (1) what I can do to smooth out the top and get rid of the little specks of fat and/or (2) how I can prevent this from happening again?
Hi Marna, I don’t think the nuts or the bittersweet chocolate would cause the streaks of fat (not sure about high altitude). It is more likely that the chocolate was overheated. Was the bottom of the bowl possibly touching the water? It’s hard to say if it can be fixed without seeing it. Could you send me a photo at jennifer@onceuponachef.com? Thx!
I know I’m not the author, but typically you can fix seized fudge similar to how one would fix seized chocolate. I’ve had success with adding a little water and heating it back up and then proceeding with the recipe once it is smooth again. This method could dull the flavor a bit but should fix the consistency. Also, next time if you notice the fudge is seizing while still hot, I have had success adding a small amount of coconut oil or shortening. Also, adding more chocolate (similar to tempering) might work as well. Hope this helps!
This fudge is a very tasty treat perfect for the holiday season. I doubled the recipe because I wanted some without walnuts (my son is allergic to walnuts but my husband and I love walnuts). So I put peanuts I had roasted in one half and walnuts in the other half of the fudge mixture (two separate pans). After sampling both versions my husband and I were astounded that the peanut fudge tasted much better than the walnut version. In fact we could hardly taste the walnuts whereas the roasted peanut fudge was amazing. We wondered whether it was due to having roasted the peanuts and not the walnuts. So I made another batch – and guess what? The walnut flavor came to life! I know you have recommended toasting nuts in other recipes Jenn and you are definitely correct for this recipe too.
I highly recommend this recipe and well, yes, this fudge is truly 15 minute fudge because it only lasts for 15 minutes (unless you hide it!!).
Thanks Jenn!
Wow Thank you Jennifer! I had a sweet tooth today and gave this a try. I cannot imagine any fudge tasting better than this! And for it to be so easy just amazes me! Im favorite part might be the texture…Love how there is no grit and how smooth this one is! Am so happy with this! You are the best! Luanne
Very Rich , more so than we thought…
We could only eat a few..
Like most of your easy recipes….
Thanks for your sharing what you create…
This was great! I had a surplus of condensed milk in my cabinet and thought I would try this! It’s just as good as the fudge you can buy at Disney world!
This really does take 15 minutes. I did this the other night just for a treat. It keeps great in the refrig afterwards.
I added the walnuts and it was great. Try this for a treat.
Could you use mini marshmallows either instead of or in addition to the nuts?
Hi Alison, Yes definitely – Cook’s Illustrated actually has a similar “Rocky Road” recipe that calls for 1 cup salted peanuts, 1 cup mini marshmallows, and 1/2 cup chocolate chips.
This looks easy and good. Thanks Jen