Just 5 ingredients and under 20 minutes of prep time for this EASY Fudge Recipe! Super simple with no candy thermometer required, this might be the easiest candy recipe I’ve shared yet.
Easy Fudge Recipe
This easy fudge recipe is my lazy day candy recipe (and you know I love lazy recipes). It’s simple, low maintenance, and not fussy at all. It’s the laid back cousin to my well-loved (but slightly fussier) peanut butter fudge and old-fashioned chocolate fudge.
And yet, despite its effortlessness, it’s still absolutely perfect. Smooth and creamy texture. Rich chocolate-y-ness. Decadent and sweet but still flavorful and addictive. I’ve had other easy fudges in the past that taste like biting into a waxy chocolate chip, this is not that fudge. It has its own distinct (and creamy, did I mention creamy?) fudge texture and flavor.
I think you’re going to love it.
How Do You Make Easy Fudge?
You need just 4 ingredients for making this easy fudge:
- Sweetened Condensed Milk (make sure this is condensed milk and not evaporated milk, this fudge will not work with evaporated milk)
- Chocolate Chips (more on this below)
- Finely ground sea salt (or you can use regular table salt)
- Butter
- Vanilla extract
Combine all of your ingredients except for the vanilla extract in a saucepan over low/ medium/low heat. Stir constantly until the chocolate is melted and the ingredients are well-combined and smooth. Unlike many fudge recipes that require boiling or attaining a certain temperature, this easy fudge recipe only needs all of your ingredients to be melted together. No boiling, no candy thermometer.
Once your ingredients are all smooth and melted, remove from heat and immediately stir in your vanilla extract. Pour the fudge at once into a pan that’s been lined with lightly greased foil and allow the fudge to set for several hours until firm all the way through.
One important thing to note: this easy fudge only requires a few minutes of attention on the stovetop, but don’t walk away or stop stirring or it may burn and the chocolate could seize, which is just about the only way you could ruin this recipe
Let’s Talk Chocolate Chips
We’re only using a handful of ingredients for this easy fudge recipe, so it’s very important that we use quality ingredients. I recommend using flaky sea salt over table salt and if you happen to have it on hand, I highly recommend a splash of Madagascar bourbon vanilla over the regular stuff. However, the most important ingredient is the chocolate chips.
Quality chocolate chips will yield a quality fudge. Personally, I recommend Ghirardelli. I promise I’m not affiliated with them but I’m always happy with the results when I use their chocolate.
I wrote this easy fudge recipe with chocolate fudge specifically in mind and used semisweet chips, but you can use other flavors of chocolate chips instead. I’ve had success making this with milk chocolate and white chocolate chips (I’ve used white chocolate to make my cake batter fudge and my peppermint bark fudge).
Can I Put Fudge in the Refrigerator to Set?
I have a lot of candy recipes that I don’t recommend putting in the refrigerator, but it’s actually perfectly fine to put this easy fudge in the refrigerator to speed up the setting process. It will still take about 1 hour for the fudge to set completely, but it’s much faster than leaving it out at room temperature.
How to Store Fudge
For best results, store in an airtight container. It can be kept at either room temperature or in the refrigerator. This easy fudge will keep for up to two weeks when stored properly.
Enjoy!
Other Candy Recipes You Might Like:
I hope you’ll check out my Easy Fudge Recipe video at the bottom of the post! If you enjoy watching, make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel where I’ve already uploaded over 100 recipe videos that you can watch for free!
Easy Fudge Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups (12 oz) (340 g) semisweet chocolate chips¹
- 1 14 oz (396 g) can condensed milk
- ¼ teaspoon finely ground sea salt (you can substitute regular table salt if needed)
- 1 Tablespoon butter, salted or unsalted will work, use whichever you have on hand plus additional for buttering pan
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract I like using vanilla bourbon extract whenever I have it on hand
Instructions
- Prepare an 8x8 or 9x5 pan by lining with foil and lightly greasing the foil with butter. Set aside.
- Combine chocolate chips, condensed milk, sea salt, and butter in a medium-sized saucepan over low heat. Keep the heat low (or at most, medium low) and stir continuously because if the chocolate gets too hot it will seize and your fudge will not turn out.2 cups (12 oz) (340 g) semisweet chocolate chips¹, 1 14 oz (396 g) can condensed milk, ¼ teaspoon finely ground sea salt, 1 Tablespoon butter, salted or unsalted will work, use whichever you have on hand
- Stir constantly until chocolate chips are completely melted and smooth and all ingredients are well combined.
- Once ingredients are melted, remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract. Immediately pour into prepared pan and use a spatula to smooth out fudge.¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Allow fudge to cool completely and allow several hours to set and firm up completely (this can be expedited by placing your fudge in the refrigerator). Once firm, slice and enjoy!
Notes
Can I add Nuts to my Fudge?
Yes! Stir in 1 cup (105g) of chopped nuts once all of your ingredients are melted together and just before removing from heat. Walnuts are so good in this chocolate fudge!Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Ashlyn
This was the MOST easy and delicious fudge! I doubled the salt, because I only had kosher salt on hand. I prefer a very firm fudge, and when another reader mentioned this is a softer fudge, I upped the chocolate chips to 420 grams. Truly perfect, delicious, and a recipe I will be saving in the family cookbook!
Nancy Peters
So far, so good, I’ve spent several precious hours looking for candy recipes and decided on this one. It was easy and quick and tastes great. Now it is sitting in the fridge and the burning question is “Will it set up hard enough for little squares?” I just tried and failed Divinity earlier and Christmas is drawing near. Anyway thanks for this recipe. I will be tryig some of your others.
Sam
Thank you so much for trying my recipe, Nancy, I really appreciate it!
Judi
Good but too soft. My usual recipe calls for 3 cups of chocolate chips. My fault because I was too lazy to search for my recipe since I haven’t made fudge for a few years so I searched online. After I made your recipe I found mine to compare. Similar recipe but mine had more chocolate chips making it easier to slice and hold it’s shape. It still tastes good but doesn’t plate up as nicely with other Christmas treats as my usual fudge recipe did.
Lisa S.
Can i add crushed cookie or sprinkles? Can’t do nuts because of allergies. Thanks!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
That should work just fine, Lisa 🙂
Deanna Harp
Great!
Gina Jones
I tried this easy recipe with Baileys Original Irish Cream chips and it turned out to be the best fudge ever!
Sam
That sounds delicious! I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Gina! 🙂
Amy Maragos
My fudge cone out perfect add pecans in them & on top! Very delicious!
Windy Goss
This was truly simple and easy. I cooked all the ingredients stirring constantly and I used great value semi sweet chocolate chips. This was awesome to make!!!