Easy Peanut Butter Fudge Without Sweetened Condensed Milk

posted: 11/01/19

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This Easy Peanut Butter Fudge is only four ingredients and comes together in about five minutes! You need this peanut butter fudge recipe in your life.

a pile of easy peanut butter fudge in a small blue dish

Ooooo! It is November 1st, which means I am in FULL ON HOLIDAY mode. I love making recipes for you this time of year because holiday food is the best for sharing with people you love and creating so much merriment and joy.

I must be on a peanut butter kick since I gave you Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies on Monday (perfect for gifting!) and today we have this great Peanut Butter Fudge.

Fudge is so easy to make, but there are a few tips that make it turn out perfect. So let's get started!

Your peanut butter fudge recipe is delicious! We added Fall colored peanut butter M & M's along with with halved mini Reese's cups on the top! Thank you for sharing…this recipe is a "keeper"!

Ingredients for Easy Fudge

I have so many easy fudge recipes. They are my bread and butter at the holidays. You don't need a thermometer to make them, and they come together so fast!

All you need is sweetened condensed milk, baking chips, and then whatever you are flavoring it with. The amounts of each vary, but that is the basic recipe.

This Jack Daniels Whiskey Fudge is my most popular easy fudge recipe.

a close up of a square of microwave peanut butter fudge

How to Make Peanut Butter Fudge

In the Microwave

This fudge can absolutely be made just using the microwave. This is what you want to do for microwave peanut butter fudge:

In a large microwave safe bowl, combine the sweetened condensed milk and peanut butter chips.
Microwave for one minute at half power. Stir the mixture a lot. More than you think you need to.
Continue microwaving for 15 second intervals stirring very well after each one. It will probably only need to go back in the microwave once or twice after the first interval. Do not over cook.
Stir in the peanut butter and vanilla and pour into the prepared pan.

On the Stove Top

I made this easy peanut butter fudge recipe on the stove top:

In a medium sauce pan over medium low heat, combine the sweetened condensed milk and peanut butter chips.
Stir consistently until the mixture is smooth.
Remove from the heat and stir in the peanut butter and vanilla.
Pour into the prepared pan.

Either method is fine but you want to make sure that you remove it from the heat source before adding the peanut butter. It is too easy to overheat the peanut butter and then your fudge will be oily and unappealing.

Sweetened Condensed Milk vs. Evaporated Milk

I use sweetened condensed milk in a lot of really fun recipes. Everything from my Bailey's Fudge to my Easter Egg Cookie Dough Truffles.

Inevitably I will always get at least one person who tells me the recipe never set and was way too liquidy. At the same time I have lots and lots of other people raving about it.

I have come up with the hypothesis that people are inadvertently buying evaporated milk for some of my recipes that call for sweetened condensed milk.

It is an easy mistake to make. The cans are next to each other in the grocery store and look almost identical. Please be sure to buy sweetened condensed milk. Evaporated milk will cause this recipe to fail.

a pyramid of peanut butter fudge piled into a small blue dish with handles on a white napkin and a wood block

Lining Your Baking Dish for Easy Peanut Butter FudgeI

It is very important to line your baking dish with something, otherwise you won't be able to get your fudge out.

Cut two pieces of parchment paper, each three six inches wide. I love buying parchment paper that has the lines on it for easy measurement. Lay the parchment paper one on top of the other, going in opposite directions. After your fudge is set you can easily lift it out and pull off the paper.

I find parchment paper easier to pull off than aluminum foil and it makes less wrinkles in your fudge than aluminum foil. But both work!

Cutting your Peanut Butter Fudge

I was able to get 36 pieces of fudge out of this recipe. It is a rich fudge, so while the pieces you see here are on the smaller side, they are perfect.

Here's how to get 36 pieces:

When ready to cut, remove the fudge from the parchment paper.
Trim off just enough of the edges to make straight smooth edges.
Cut the remaining block in half one way and then the other way so you have four large squares.
Each square can be cut in thirds one way and then thirds the other way so that each of the squares yields 9 pieces.

Other Great Fudge Recipes

As I mentioned, I love easy fudge and have many recipes for you! You can see a whole round up of them with my 25 Easy Fudge Recipes, but I've highlighted a few below:

This Fireball Fudge Recipe is a viral recipe that is amazing. That cinnamon whisky flavor is a favorite!
I am a huge fan of this Nutella Fudge recipe.
And I love this Candy Cane Fudge for giving out at the holidays.

If you make this Easy Peanut Butter Fudge or any of my other recipes please let me know what you think by leaving a comment. I love hearing when you make my recipes.

a pyramid of peanut butter fudge piled into a small blue dish with handles on a white napkin and a wood block. The top block has a small bite out of it

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Prep: 5 minutes

Cook: 5 minutes

Total: 10 minutes

This Easy Peanut Butter Fudge is only four ingredients and comes together in about ten minutes! You need this peanut butter fudge recipe in your life.

10 ounces peanut butter chips (see note 1)
14 ounces sweetneed condensed milk (see note 2)
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Line an 8 by 8 inch baking dish with parchment paper or aluminum foil. (I do find that parchment paper works a little better – see notes in the pos for more details.) Set aside.
In a medium saucepan over medium low heat, melt the peanut butter chips with the sweetened condensed milk, stirring consistenly. Make sure the heat is not too high and you continue to scrape the bottom of the pan to prevent burning.
Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the peanut butter and the vanilla extract.
Pour into the prepared baking dish. Cover with aluminum foil and let set for four hours. This can be done in the refrigerator for easy cutting later or on the coutnertop.
When ready to cut, remove the fudge from the parchment paper. Trim off just enough of the edges to make straight smooth edges. (Or don't! This is only for looks.) Cut the remaining block in half one way and then the other way so you have four large squares. Each square can be cut in thirds one way and then thirds the other way so that each of the squares yields 9 pieces.
Store the fudge in an airtight container for up to two weeks. Or eat immediately.

The type of peanut butter chip you use will affect the color, but should not greatly impact the taste. Bags range in size from 10 to 12 ounces. Because of the simplicity of this recipe, you should be fine using any of the sizes in that range.
You want to double check that you bought sweetened condensed milk. It is sold right next to evaporated milk and the packaging often looks identical. If you use evaporated milk, this recipe will absolutely not work.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1 piece Calories: 120 kcal (6%) Carbohydrates: 12 g (4%) Protein: 4 g (8%) Fat: 7 g (11%) Saturated Fat: 3 g (19%) Sodium: 58 mg (3%) Fiber: 1 g (4%) Sugar: 10 g (11%) Iron: 2 mg (11%)

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

a pyramid of peanut butter fudge piled into a small blue dish with handles on a white napkin and a wood block

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