Easy Peanut Butter Fudge

This Easy Peanut Butter Fudge is a simple recipe to make and is the perfect balance of sweet and salty. It’s soft and creamy and great for the holidays and special occasions or just because!

This fudge makes a great addition to treat tins alongside Peanut Butter Balls, Nutella Rocky Road Fudge, and Shortbread Christmas Crack for the holiday season.

One of my greatest indulgences when I was growing up was Peanut Butter Fudge. I worked at a grocery store throughout most of high school, and there was a local company that sold their confections there, and the peanut butter fudge was to die for.

Otherwise, I’ve never really been a huge fudge fan, you’ll almost never see me picking up a piece of chocolate fudge (unless you add walnuts), and I hate when fudge is crumbly.

But a fudge recipe with peanut butter – sign me up! This homemade peanut butter fudge recipe is creamy, peanut buttery perfection. It’s soft and flavorful and just melts in your mouth!

Why I Love This Peanut Butter Fudge Recipe!

This 5 Minute Peanut Butter Fudge is just what it sounds like – it takes just 5 minutes to cook and it’s incredibly easy to make too!

Unlike many fudge recipes, this recipe uses half and half instead of regular milk. This helps add to that rich flavor and creamy texture that I’ve come to love so much about peanut butter fudge!

I also make this Peanut Butter Fudge with Powdered Sugar instead of granulated sugar because you get a smoother fudge.

You don’t need any fancy equipment (other than a hand mixer) to make this delicious fudge recipe, it’s a really easy recipe, and there’s no candy thermometer required!

All of the ingredients in this recipe are likely already in your refrigerator or pantry!

Peanut Butter Fudge Recipe Ingredients & Tools

Creamy Peanut Butter – You’ll want to use creamy for best results; I prefer Jif Creamy.

Vanilla Extract – I’m a firm believer that you shouldn’t use imitation vanilla; pure vanilla extract (affiliate link) can add so much to a recipe!

8×8-inch Baking Pan – I recommend using one with straight sides to keep everything cohesive but any 8×8-inch pan will do.

Medium Saucepan – I personally like and recommend using a heavy non-stick pan for this recipe because it gets the job done and is a lot easier to clean.

Hand Mixer – I love my KitchenAid hand mixer (affiliate link) for quick recipes; my stand mixer is great but not always necessary, and this keeps things easy.

How To Make Peanut Butter Fudge

Melt the butter and brown sugar in a saucepan until it begins to boil. Boil for 1 minute and 45 seconds, then remove from heat.

Stir in the peanut butter and vanilla immediately until mostly smooth.

Pour the peanut butter mixture into a large bowl with the powdered sugar. Then immediately whip them together with a hand mixer until smooth. Work fast because the fudge will want to start crusting.

Quickly transfer the creamy peanut butter fudge mixture to a parchment-lined baking pan and allow it to set fully before slicing.

Tips For Making The Best Peanut Butter Fudge Recipe

1. Do NOT use all-natural peanut butter, as it has a higher amount of oil in it and can cause the fudge to separate. However, you can use crunchy peanut butter if you’d like.

2. Grease your baking pan with cooking spray, not butter. Or line it with parchment paper so you can easily remove the whole pan of fudge.

3. Using powdered sugar over granulated sugar yields a smoother, creamier fudge.

4. If your powdered sugar is lumpy, make sure to sift it or whisk the lumps out of it before adding it to the peanut butter mixture.

5. Make sure that once the mixture comes to a boil, you boil for 1 MINUTE 45 SECONDS ONLY, no more, no less. Like no-bake cookies, this timing is important to the final texture of the fudge as we want to be able to control the water content of the mixture.

6. In follow up to the last tip, it’s possible that if you’re making this on a day when it’s raining or very humid, the water in the air can impact the final results of the fudge. Generally, it will have a harder time setting and may have a grainier texture.

7. You can mix the fudge mixture by hand when called for, but a hand mixer will help keep things quick and have a smoother end result.

8. Wait until the fudge has cooled to room temperature and fully set before slicing.

How Long Will Peanut Butter Fudge Last?

Not long because you’ll likely eat it all 😉 but if you want to make it ahead or do have some leftovers, store them in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks in a cool area.

More Delicious Peanut Butter Recipes:

• Peanut Butter Frosting
• Best Peanut Butter Blossoms
• Peanut Butter Buckeye Balls
• Butterscotch Peanut Butter Cornflake Cookies

👋 Let’s Connect!

If you’ve tried this recipe, please let me know how you liked it in the comments below and leave a review; I love hearing from you! And don’t forget to tag me – @sugarandsoulco – on Instagram and Pinterest with your photos or join our Sugar & Soul Show-offs Community and share them there, where you can join our recipe challenges and win prizes!

This post was originally published in December 2017 and has been updated with clearer instructions and new photos.