This homemade fudge recipe is easy to make with evaporated milk, marshmallows, butter, and chocolate chips. It’s a family recipe that’s been passed down through my grandma and then my mom, and it’s truly the BEST chocolate fudge I’ve ever sunk my teeth into.
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“Thank you for trusting us and sharing your DELICIOUS family recipe! I love how thorough your instructions are. I followed them to a T and the fudge turned out perfectly! I’m plating it now with some Christmas cookies for gifts. I had to cut the edges off so I could continue to “sample” my fudge.” -Vasyleah, FoodieCrush reader
The Chocolate Fudge Recipe My Family Has Been Making for Years
I have lots of treats I love to make during the holidays. Recipes like my no-bake Christmas wreath cookies, chocolate dipped almond cookies, and my homemade Baileys Irish Cream are fun traditions that spread holiday cheer.
But my all-time favorite is my mom’s homemade fudge recipe. It’s rich, fudgy, and delivers a solid bite your teeth will easily sink into.
This old-fashioned fudge recipe is a family legend originally from my grandma. But to me, it’s all my mom’s. Instead of sweetened condensed milk, this chocolate fudge is made with evaporated milk, melted marshmallows, and sugar mixed into softened butter, chocolate chips, and nuts.
Our family secret to making great fudge is to vigorously mix the ingredients with a wooden spoon until it’s glossy and put it into a baking dish. Come Christmas, it’s my annual neighbor gift, and just like my mom, I love it most with my morning coffee. Hey, it’s the holidays, so why not?!
Enjoy!
Heidi’s Tips for Recipe Success
Use the best quality ingredients. This recipe is very simple, so you need to use the best quality ingredients you can get your hands on. Real vanilla, high-quality chocolate chips, and real butter are all key ingredients here.
Use an electric fry pan to cook the fudge. The sugar, evaporated milk, and marshmallows are cooked in non-stick electric fry pan. I’ve found it’s the easiest way to keep the temperature accurate and consistent. This is the frying pan I use. I’ve never made this fudge on the stovetop so I don’t know how it would turn out if you do.
The key to avoiding crystallization is to continue to cook the marshmallow mixture until it turns a light, tawny brown, scraping down the sides of the frying pan as it cooks. Mom says to mix the sugar and the evaporated milk, then add the marshmallows before turning on the heat. Keep your heat at 250°F and stir constantly until the marshmallows melt.
Grab These 7 Ingredients
The full recipe, with amounts, can be found in the recipe card below.
- Marshmallows — Make sure your marshmallows are fresh when making this fudge recipe. My mom’s recipe calls for 12-15 jet-puffed marshmallows, not the extra large, just the regular size. She says the more marshmallows you use, the more the fudge will taste of marshmallows. We both usually use 15.
- Evaporated milk — Use the full-fat evaporated milk. This isn’t the time to worry about calorie skimping.
- Sugar — There’s not much to say here than what was said above. Just enjoy it.
- Chocolate chips — Semi-sweet is the way to go for the best chocolate flavor. My mom says Ghirardelli is her favorite so that’s what I use.
- Butter — Your butter should be at room temperature so it melts quicker when the hot ingredients and the chocolate chips are added.
- Vanilla — Use a high-quality vanilla extract, not the cheap stuff. The few dollars make a big difference.
- Pecans — Nuts are optional, but we love the smooth and crunchy of the combo. We use pecans but you could try walnuts instead. Mom says don’t chop the nuts too fine or they’ll disappear in the fudge.
How to Make Fudge with Evaporated Milk
- Prep your fudge dish. Use an 8 X 8-inch glass baking dish or a 7 x 1 1-inch oblong dish. Save the butter wrapper to wipe and grease the baking dish. My mom leaves it at that, but I also line the pan with parchment paper so I can easily pull the chilled chocolate fudge out like a brick.
- Cook the sugar, evaporated milk, and marshmallows. For greater temperature control, we use a non-stick electric fry pan to cook the fudge. Add the sugar and evaporated milk to the cold fry pan and stir until smooth. Add the marshmallows and set the fry pan to 250°F. Cook, stirring constantly, until the marshmallows have melted and turned a lovely golden brown color.
- Add the hot marshmallow mixture to a large bowl filled with the chocolate chips, softened butter, and vanilla. Use a strong wooden spoon to stir the mixture until the butter melts. This is why you must be sure your butter is at room temperature so it melts easily.
- Use your muscles to stir for a glossy finish. Add the nuts, then beat the chocolate mixture with the wooden spoon for 2 minutes or as long as you can, scraping down the sides as you go. Work quickly so the fudge doesn’t set.
- Transfer the fudge mixture to the prepared baking dish. My mom suggests shaking the pan so the fudge evenly distributes. I use a cake spatula to make swirls and swoops, like frosting, or you could give it a smoother finish if you’d like.
- Refrigerate the fudge for at least 3 hours up to overnight, then slice and serve. Store in the refrigerator where it will keep for at least one week.
Mix-Ins and Variations
We love this classic evaporated milk fudge as is, but I don’t see why you couldn’t fold or swirl in one of the following:
- Mini marshmallows
- Chopped Oreos
- Crushed peppermint candy, candy canes, or peppermint extract
- White chocolate chips
- Peanut butter or Nutella
- Other types of nuts, such as pistachios, walnuts, or macadamia nuts
- Dried fruit, such as cranberries, blueberries, or tart cherries
- Top with flaky sea salt
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating on this recipe below and leave a comment, take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #foodiecrusheats.
THE BEST Easy Fudge Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons butter , at room temperature and sliced
- 12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips , (Mom recommends Ghirardelli)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- ⅔ cup evaporated milk
- 15 regular sized marshmallows , (make sure they're fresh)
- ¾ cup pecans , roughly chopped
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, add the room-temperature butter, chocolate chips, and vanilla. Save the butter wrapper to butter a 7 x 11-inch or 8 x 8-inch baking dish. Snugly fit the dish with a piece of parchment paper, allowing enough parchment to fall over the long sides of the pan, like a sling, and set aside.
- In a non-stick electric frying pan, stir together the sugar and the evaporated milk until smooth. Add the marshmallows and set the frying pan to 250°F.
- Cook and constantly stir the marshmallow mix with a rubber spatula, cleaning the sides of the pan as the marshmallows begin to melt. Avoid getting sugar on the sides of the fry pan or the fudge could turn crystally. Once the marshmallows have melted, continue cooking and stirring until the mixture turns a tawny tan color and smells toasty, about 5 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and pour the hot mixture over the butter and chocolate chips in the bowl. Working quickly, use a wooden spoon to stir the butter and chocolate until they melt and combine. Add the nuts, then vigorously stir the mixture until glossy, about 2 minutes.
- Transfer the chocolate mixture to the prepared baking dish and smooth the top with an angled offset spatula. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight.
- To serve, let the fudge sit for 1-2 minutes after removing it from the fridge, and use the parchment paper to lift the fudge from the pan to a cutting board. Cut, and serve. The fudge can be stored in the refrigerator for 7-10 days (if it doesn't get eaten up before! :))
Notes
Nutrition
FAQs
My mom’s traditional homemade fudge recipe, is all about using high-quality chocolate, room-temperature butter, and fresh marshmallows (and allowing proper time for your fudge to set).
At least 3 hours in the refrigerator. It must be stored in the fridge to set up, otherwise it’s too soft to slice properly and won’t last as long.
No, evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk are two totally different milk products. You must make this chocolate fudge recipe with evaporated milk.
Storage Tips
This chocolate fudge will last for 7-10 days in the fridge. Keep it covered with plastic wrap to prevent fridge smells from soaking into it, or transfer it to an airtight container.
And yes! Homemade chocolate fudge can be frozen. Wrap it with several layers of plastic wrap or aluminum foil and then place it in an airtight container or freezer bag in the freezer. It should keep in the freezer for about 3-5 months.
More No-Bake Holiday Treats You’ll Want to Make Too
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Hena backer
its’ seems very tasty. I’ll also try this.
Auntiepatch
I’m sorry that I gave away my electric fry pan now!
Susan
Now that I’m retired, I thought that I would try making fudge. I’m thrilled that I found your mom’s recipe. This fudge is spectacular!! My grown children told me that it was better than the fudge on the boardwalk at the Jersey shore. I’m going to make another batch now. Thank you so much for sharing.
Karen
I’ve been trying to make fudge that’s not grainy for years. This recipe was a breeze to make—I followed the recipe exactly except for the electric skillet. Haven’t owned one in years so I substituted a fairly large non-stick fry pan There was no crystallization at all! Nice and smooth! The only thing I’ll do differently next time is to use half semi-sweet and half milk chocolate. As much as I like dark chocolate, it was a bit too dark for me. Any ideas on how to make it just a little bit creamier? I’m so happy to have finally found a fudge that I’m successful at making. Also, it’s 15 miniature marshmallows per regular size so I dutifully counted out 225 minis!
etta Hadden
Hi , your recipe looks great but I don’t have an electric frying pan. What is the alternative to an electric frying pan?
Etta, you can use a large non-stick skillet. Keep the temp at medium to medium low.
Charleen
I made this fudge last night and it is delious but after being in the fridge overnight it didn’t set being out for a few seconds you would need a spoon to eat it any idea why,
Belinda
I made this fudge…and Oh My.. It is Heavenly. I couldn’t stop sneaking a piece! Thank You and your Mom for this super recipe. I will use it again and again, especially around the Holidays.
Ashley @ Foodie Crush
I am so glad you loved it! Thank you!
So glad you liked it Belinda!
Vasyleah Green
Thank you for trusting us and sharing your DELICIOUS family recipe! I love how thorough your instructions are. I followed them to a T and the fudge turned out perfectly! I’m plating it now with some Christmas cookies for gifts. I had to cut the edges off so I could continue to “sample” my fudge.
Mike
Great recipe! I actually made some fudge this weekend. I’m always afraid that the chocolate will seize, so I use a double boiler. Thanks.
So glad you enjoyed it Mike!
Marianne
Like so many comments above, the flavour was amazing but the texture just too soft. I think you need to be more prescriptive with the cooking method, if we need to cook this longer than five minutes to help the fudge set better (rather than just say plan on five minutes), update the method to reflect this so we can get perfect consistency every time.
Ashley @ Foodie Crush
Thanks Marianne. I will work on being more specific
Make sure you refrigerate the fudge Marianne. That will firm it up.
Misty
This is amazing! I don’t have an electric fry pan, so I used a pot on my stove top. Between the 3 of us, it was eaten in no time. Oh, I also added 2 tbsp instant coffee (just because we LOVE coffee).
Ashley @ Foodie Crush
That is a perfect modification! Yum!!
Rita
Wanda you either didn’t follow the directions or didn’t cook it long enough! Or both!!
Besides even with a spoon it would still taste good…
Rita
Brea, you didn’t cook it long enough. If you put the right amount of ingredients at the right time then cooking time is the problem! I cooked mine 5 minutes after the marshmallows melted and by that time it’s bubbling! So 5 minutes did it for my fudge!
If you’re eating it with a fork it can’t be too soft…
Rita
I made this fudge on a gas stove. Scorched a little on the side of pan but not bad. Did get tired of stirring though, lol! It is the smoothest fudge I have ever made… I think I like Toll House Morsels better. I’ll use them next time.
Wilma Haken
I made your fudge exactly as you said and it’s wonderful. I made it to take to my sons for Xmas day. Then forgot it. Maybe on purpose, not sure. I have a lot left over. Can I freeze it. Just for short while or will it keep in the fridge for short while.
Bryan Martinez
I love this because it looks really easy to make! I have no excuse to mess this recipe up haha thank you!
Ashley @ Foodie Crush
Enjoy!