Easy Homemade Chocolate Fudge
Easy Homemade Chocolate Fudge recipe, made with chocolate chips & marshmallows. Rich, smooth, creamy every time. No thermometer needed, perfect for gifting!
Servings: 48 small squares
Calories: 155kcal
Equipment
- sturdy 3-quart pot
- 2 silicone spatulas
- 9x13 inch pan
- parchment paper
- bench scraper (optional, but recommended)
Ingredients
- 3 cups sugar (600 grams)
- 1 can evaporated milk (12 ounces/354 grams)
- 4 tablespoons butter (56 grams)
- 16 ounces milk chocolate (2 ⅔ cups, chopped) (454 grams)
- 12 ounces semisweet chocolate (2 cups, chopped) (340 grams)
- 64 miniature marshmallows (or 16 regular marshmallows; 45 grams)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla (5 grams)
- 1 cup nuts (optional)
Instructions
- Butter or line a 9x13-inch pan with parchment paper. Set pan aside.
- Combine sugar, evaporated milk, and butter in a heavy 3-quart pot. Heat over medium-high heat. Stir to help the butter melt and the sugar dissolve, and scrape the bottom so that the milk doesn't scorch.
- Prepare your other ingredients if you haven't already. Chop chocolate into small pieces. Cut regular-sized marshmallows into quarters. Gather nuts and vanilla.
- Bring sugar-milk mixture to a full rolling boil. The entire surface will be bubbles. Set aside your stirring spoon and start a timer for 5 minutes.
- Boil for 5 minutes, with no stirring. The liquid will double in volume and may come close to the top of the pan. If the mixture looks like it will boil over, edge down the heat slightly, just enough to keep it from making a mess.
- After 5 minutes are up, remove the pot from the heat. Immediately add the chocolate, marshmallows, vanilla, and nuts (if using).
- Using a clean silicone spatula, mix until the chocolate and marshmallows are completely melted. Without nuts, the mixture will be relatively smooth; if you have lumps of chocolate, smooth them out between the spatula and the side of the pot. Fudge on the spoon will start to crackle if you take a break from stirring. This whole process takes me about 4-5 minutes.
- Pour into your prepared pan, trying to get it into all the corners in one go. Smooth it slightly.
- Let cool for at least 2 hours before removing the fudge from the pan. However, the fudge is cut more neatly if it sets for 4.
- Store fudge in an airtight container at room temperature. Avoid heat and humidity. If packing to ship, cut fudge into slices and wrap in a layer of parchment paper, followed by a layer of plastic wrap.
- Eat cut fudge within 1-2 weeks. Wrapped fudge will keep about a month.
Notes
Use a separate spatula to stir the chocolate and marshmallows into the syrup. Using the spatula you stirred the sugar and milk with before it boiled can adversely affect the texture.
Be sure you use evaporated milk and not sweetened condensed milk, which contains sugar.
Use a mix of chocolate. Do not try only milk or only semisweet chocolate; it will not be as good.
Chocolate: Use something you enjoy eating. I typically use one 12oz bag of milk chocolate chips; one 12oz bag semisweet chocolate; ⅔ cup or 4oz other chocolate, including chopped up Halloween chocolate and milk and semisweet chocolate chips. I prefer using dark chocolate chips with a high percentage of cocoa for the semisweet chocolate, as it makes the fudge a little richer.
Calorie count is an estimate only, calculated via MyNetDiary using 16 ounces milk chocolate, 12 ounces semisweet chocolate, and no nuts. 48 pieces of fudge would be the 9x13 pan cut into a 6x8 grid.
Recipe revised slightly 12/2/2025.
Nutrition
Calories: 155kcal
