Our easy Chocolate Fudge recipe transforms 7 simple ingredients into rich, creamy homemade fudge that melts in your mouth. It's foolproof and make a great holiday gift or treat any time of year.
Fudge, Yeah!
Fudge, Yeah!There’s just something magical about a piece of rich, homemade chocolate fudge, and it's the treat that just keeps giving since it keeps to well in the fridge for freezer for weeks! The only tricky thing with fudge is making sure it's cooked to the correct temperature, which can vary according to your altitute, humidity, etc. Typical fudge should be cooked to the soft ball stage–about 234 degrees F. But if you live at a higher altitude, be sure to reduce that temperature by 2 degrees, for every 1,000ft of elevation. (For example, if you live at 5,000ft elevation, cook the fudge until it reaches about 224 degrees, instead). I've made this recipe in different US states, and even different countries ,and usually it ends up boiling for about 10 minutes, and it's ready! But grab a good thermometer to take the guess work out.
Check out my other candy recipes, like Homemade Caramels, Chocolate Turtles, Pretzel Bark, Rocky Road, Oreo Balls, or Buckeyes!
How to make Fudge:
Heat Ingredients: Dump evaporated milk, sugar, and marshmallows in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook for about 10 minutes, or until it reaches 234 degrees F* on a candy thermometer.
Combine: In a separate bowl, add chocolate chips, butter, and vanilla. Pour hot mixture on top of the bowl with chocolate chips, vanilla, and butter. Use an electric mixer to combine until smooth.
Chill and Enjoy: Pour mixture into a parchment lined pan and chill in the refrigerator then cut into squares and enjoy! These make the best homemade food gifts!
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Recipe
Chocolate Fudge
Equipment
- saucepan
- 9×13 metal or glass baking dish
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter (2 sticks)
- 1 1/4 cups milk chocolate chips*
- 1 1/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips*
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 12-ounce can evaporated milk
- 4 cups granulated sugar
- 2 1/4 cups mini marshmallows
Instructions
- Add the butter, both types of chocolate chips, and vanilla to an extra large mixing bowl. Set aside.1 cup butter, 1 ¼ cups milk chocolate chips*, 1 ¼ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips*, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Line a 9×13'' pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a very large heavy-bottom saucepan combine the evaporated milk, sugar, and marshmallows. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently until the mixture comes to a boil. Keep the heat on medium and stir constantly, being cautious to constantly scrape down the sides of the pan and along the bottom of the pan as you stir (this will help the sugar dissolve and not be grainy, and keep anything from burning to the bottom or sides of the pan.)1 12-ounce can evaporated milk, 4 cups granulated sugar, 2 ¼ cups mini marshmallows
- Boil for about 10 minutes and about 234 degrees F* on a candy thermometer. The fudge should be light golden brown in color. Temperature will vary depending on altitude, humidity etc., but watch the clock and make sure it boils for about 10 minutes.
- Pour the hot mixture into the bowl with the chocolate chips and use an electric mixer to gently combine everything until melted and smooth. Pour fudge into prepared pan.
- Chill completely in the refrigerator. Once cooled you can pull up on the edges of the parchment to lift the entire slab of fudge out of the pan.
- Cut into small squares, or I like to cut it into a few "bricks", wrap in plastic warp and then aluminum foil. Store fudge wrapped tightly in the fridge so it doesn't dry out.
Notes
- Peppermint Fudge: Replace the vanilla with a teaspoon of peppermint extract.
- Rocky Road Fudge: stir in 1 cup mini-marshmallows and a handful of your favorite nuts, at the end, just before adding to the pan.
- Marbled Fudge: Use half white chocolate chips and divide the butter and vanilla evenly between two separate bowls (one with white chocolate and one with regular chocolate chips. Divide the hot mixture from the sauce between the two bowls, mixing bowl until the chips are melted and smooth. Add the regular chocolate to prepared pan, and pour the white chocolate mixture over the top. Use a bitter knife to swirl them together.
- Add Nuts: stir in 1 cup walnuts, pecans, or your favorite kind of nuts, at the end, just before adding to the pan.
Nutrition
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I originally shared this recipe November 2016. Updated December 2019, December 2021, December 2023 and November 2025.
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I see a lot of complaints on here. Cooking it to 235-240 degrees and for ten minutes is very important for it to set.. This recipe never fails and I do it every year! Lauren, thank you so much for sharing your recipes with us and all the hard work you do!
I specifically found a recipe that didn’t require a candy thermometer (as I hate working with them; I feel like a dumba** not being able to read themXD) Boiling the mixture was a good work around, thank you for the easy and delicious recipe!
I was also worried that chilling it would make it grainy as some recipes call for room temp chilling to prevent that. Not the case!
Lastly, I substituted a third of the chocolate for Reese’s baking chips and hooooooly cow, what a turnout!<3
(Hope I didn’t sound like a bot, Sebastian! ;D)
I wish I would had read through the comments. I made this fudge, followed the recipe step by step, I boiled this with a thermometer exact as said in the recipe. And its as soft as frosting at best. Interesting thing is a lot of comments are worded the same and I believe are bots. This recipe is just terrible. What a waste of time and money.
Hi Sebastian, I’m sorry the recipe didn’t work for you. Candy making can be tricky. Did you boil it for a full 10 minutes (at a full boil?) and did you let it set up in the fridge?
The easiest and best tasting fudge that I have made. The fudge was creamy with a great taste. I did use high quality ingredients.
My question is can I substitute peanut butter chips for the chocolate chips to make plain peanut butter fudge?
Yup! I used Reese’s flavored baking chips.
Can I use marshmallow cream? If so how much?
I haven’t tested this recipe with marshmallow cream/fluff, but I do think substituting one 7oz container of marshmallow cream would work.
I’ve made this fudge many times and learned a few things along the way. I’ve had many of the same problems I see listed here so I will tell you what I found since the ingredients today are not cheap. Tip #1 Don’t try to save money on ingredients. It’s expensive either way so use a good quality chocolate like Ghirardelli. It does make a difference. Next do the same with the mini marshmallows. Look at the ingredients in a bag of Jet Puff vs some other brands. Stick with the JetPuff of one with similar ingredients. Tip #2 Heat. This needs to be boiled for 10 min on medium heat. Not a little above medium and not medium on a super burner if your stove has different size burners creating different BTUs. Too much heat will create sugar crystals. You need enough heat to allow it to boil not more, the the length of time (10 min) will get it to the correct temp. Tip #3 Be ready to mix it. A stand mixer is best, but if you dont have you can use a hand. Just make sure that when you pour the boiling mixture over your chips, butter and vanilla you are ready to immediately start mixing. Don’t delay trying to clean etc. Get it mixed and poured in pan immediately
I see lots of cooking blogs when I search for recipes. like, a LOT a lot. they mostly all suck. I gave this one a shot, and truly will not be making chocolate fudge any other way. tried a lot of different methods, with and without evap milk, and by far this one came out the best. thank you Lauren!!!!
I do believe this is going to be a big hit w/my family! I will let you know tomorrow.
I will say that I am tempted to cut the sugar to 3 cups. I hope/pray I don’t ruin it.
I followed the recipe exactly, so why did the fudge come out so squishy and soft? It was more like frosting than a candy. Maybe two sticks of butter was too much, or a whole entire can of evaporated milk was overkill (?). I wish I would have seen all these one star reviews before I made this fudge as Christmas gifts! Expensive and embarrassing mistake. I’ll learn to read reviews before trusting a recipe on Pinterest from now on.
Hi Sarah, you need to cook your fudge longer. (Also, Pinterest just hosts recipes people pin–recipes don’t “come from” Pinterest, if that makes sense? But I’m glad you found my website through there!)