You won’t believe how easy it is to make this decadent dairy free fudge. Find out how to make rich, chocolatey fudge step by step. This is a holiday recipe you’re sure to turn to again and again.
Every once in a while, I ask my readers what recipes they really miss now that they are living with food allergies. One time I had a reader share that she really misses fudge, and that she thought it was impossible to make a good fudge without dairy.
Well, I love a good challenge, and after a few tries, I came up with a recipe that’s super easy – it only requires three ingredients! That was a few years ago, and we love this recipe so much, we make it every year. It’s become one of our favorite allergy friendly desserts.
The coconut milk makes this vegan fudge silky smooth and absolutely decadent and delicious.
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Ingredients
- a can of full fat coconut milk
- dairy free chocolate chips
- powdered sugar
Sweetened condensed milk is often an ingredient in easy fudge recipes, so I wanted to come up with a good substitution for that ingredient. I found that using full fat coconut milk and whisking in some powdered sugar works very well.
I’ve tried this recipe with various brands of coconut milk, and it works the best when the coconut milk has guar gum in it, like Native Forest or Taste of Thai brand.
The gum seems to help the fudge solidify and hold its shape better. It will not set up right when you use a coconut milk without gum.
Specific Brands to Use
I prefer a dark chocolate fudge, so I use dark chocolate chips (the 85% bittersweet chips from PASCHA), or Enjoy Life Dairy Chocolate Morsels. Both work well.
Some chocolate chips contain extra oils and more sugar, and I do not know for sure how they would work in this fudge. The darker the chocolate the better.
This fudge recipe will NOT work with the Enjoy Life Mini Chips. Other readers have confirmed that milk chocolate chips do NOT work.
I use Taste of Thai brand coconut milk. This recipe has worked every time I use that brand. Native Forest Brand Coconut Milk also works well.
I prefer Wholesome brand powdered sugar that is made with tapioca starch, not cornstarch. (A reader confirmed that she made it with powdered sugar with corn, and also with tapioca starch, and the pan using cornstarch powdered sugar did NOT firm up).
If you deviate from these specific ingredients, you will probably not have success with this recipe.
You can’t use any other type of plant based milk. You can’t use melted chocolate bars. You can’t use regular sugar. If you try those substitutions, please know that your dairy free fudge will likely stay liquid and will not firm up into fudge that you can slice.
Step By Step Instructions
- Line a square pan with parchment paper.
2. Steam the coconut milk in the pan, then add the powdered sugar and stir. Add the chocolate chips, and stir until they melt.
3. Spread the fudge into the prepared pan. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours.
4. Use the parchment paper to pull the fudge out of the pan. Use a sharp knife to slice the fudge into squares.
Tips
- Line the pan with parchment paper so that it hangs over two sides. This will enable you to be able to pull the slab of fudge out of the pan and slice it into neat squares.
- Allow the fudge to cool in the refrigerator for at least 2-3 hours.
- Please use the ingredient brands that I suggest. I have tested this recipe many times. You need to use the brands suggested for the fudge to firm up and turn out correctly.
Watch the video below to see how easy this recipe is.
Taste
This fudge is decadent but not overpoweringly sugary and sweet. When I’ve eaten normal fudge in the past, it always tasted too sweet. The sugary quality was a bit too much for my taste buds.
This dairy free version is everything I think fudge should be – rich, creamy, melt-in-your-mouth, and very chocolatey.
More Dairy Free Chocolate Desserts
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Recipe
3 Ingredient Dairy Free Fudge.
Ingredients
- 13.5 ounces canned full fat coconut milk Taste of Thai brand or Native Forest brand
- ¾ cup confectioner’s sugar I use corn free confectioner’s sugar
- 3 cups dairy free dark chocolate chips – PASCHA 85% Bittersweet chips or Enjoy Life Dark Chocolate Morsels
Instructions
- Line an 8×8 inch square pan with parchment paper so that there is an overhang on two sides.
- If your can of coconut milk has a lot of excess liquid on the top, pour that out before proceeding.
- Place the coconut milk in a sauce pan and heat over medium low heat, just until it starts to steam a little bit. Sift in the confectioner's sugar and whisk to combine. Do not overheat or boil.
- Add the chocolate chips and stir well until fully melted. This will happen quickly, don’t burn the chocolate.
- Pour into the prepared pan and spread out evenly with a spatula. Let it cool for about 30 minutes on the counter.
- Place in the refrigerator for two to three hours or until the fudge is firm.
- Use the parchment paper to remove the fudge from the pan, then slice into squares.
- Store in an airtight container the refrigerator.
Notes
- Native Forest or Taste of Thai full fat, unsweetened coconut milk
- Powdered sugar that is corn free, like Wholesome brand
- Dairy free, dark chocolate chips – Enjoy Life Dark Morsels or PASCHA brand 85% cocoa work well
Nutrition
Do you have a favorite recipe that you’d like to see an allergy friendly version of? Let me know in the comments!
Follow along:
Sally
I noticed thatyour recipe was originally published at least 10 years ago. You insisted that A Taste of Thai coconut milk should be used. This brand was exposed by PETA for ethical problems. Since then, this brand has completely changed its sourcing and thus may be different.
(https://www.peta.org/about-peta/victories/a-taste-of-thai-drops-coconut-milk-tied-to-monkey-labor-following-peta-asia-investigation/)
Have you made this recently?
Kelly Roenicke
I don’t insist on Taste of Thai, it is one of two brands that I suggested. If that brand doesn’t work for you, my other suggestion is Native Forest. Yes, I make this fudge every year at Christmas. I generally use Native Forest, because that’s easy for me to get in my area.
Christy
Well I made this today and it did not work at all. It didn’t set up. I have it in the freezer now to see if that will help. But it is just a goo. Bummer. So much for my Christmas fudge
Kelly Roenicke
Could you share what brands of ingredients you used? I make it each season with the exact brands I listed, and it sets up every time for me.
mom24boys
Flavor was great but it came out soft and spoonable. I am going to try and make truffles out of it to redeem it.
I feel this should have some additional (2 teaspoons?) cornstarch sifted with the powdered sugar and then simmer and stir the coconut milk/sugar mixture for 10-15 minutes to let it thicken a bit. Then continue with the recipe. That is what I am going to try for the next round.
Teresa
In step 3, you say to cook until it stems a little bit, can you explain what this means, I’m not familiar with that term in cooking. Thanks
Kelly Roenicke
It should say steams. I will correct that!
Robin
What do you mean by “stem”?
Renee Lyles
For the 3 ingredient dairy free fudge: can you freeze the fudge?
Isabella
At this moment I am going away to do my breakfast, after having my
breakfast coming over again to read additional news.
fran
When you use full fat coconut milk in the brownies Do you taste the coconut
Kelly Roenicke
No, I don’t notice it!