Make your holidays sweeter with this Crock Pot Fudge recipe. 4 ingredients and 5 minutes of prep is all you need to make delicious chocolate fudge with the gentle heat of your crock pot—time to have fun with kids and make it together.
Ingredients
Sweetened condensed milk
Chocolate chip—semi-sweet, milk, or dark chocolate chips
Vanilla extract
Chopped walnuts or pecans—optional
Optional topping—Sprinkles, M&Ms or Reese's
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Featured Comment from Leslie:
"Made this with 4 year old granddaughter, used butterscotch chips, chocolate, and toasted pecans. It’s delicious!"
This easy chocolate fudge is wonderful for parties, cookie exchanges, gifts, or snacks. It is also the perfect recipe for kids since they can watch it "cook" with the lid of the crock pot off—but supervise carefully at all times, of course.
You can vary the taste by your choice of chips to use. You can add other ingredients and toppings—another fun kid thing.
👨🍳How to Crock Pot Fudge
1️⃣Start with a smaller crock pot. A 3-quart cooker is fine, but a larger crock pot will work. The larger pot will cook small amounts faster. Please give it a heavy coat of PAM cooking spray.
2️⃣Combine one 14-oz can of sweetened condensed milk, two 12-oz bags of semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. You can substitute a bag of butterscotch chips for one bag of chocolate if you want.
3️⃣Prep an 8 by 8 or 9 by 9 pan with crossing sheets of parchment paper. Also, butter corners well to prevent sticking. I suggest putting a little butter under the parchment paper to hold it in place.
4️⃣Cook in the crock pot on low for 1 to 2 hours with the lid OFF. Stir every 20 to 30 minutes. It is done when it is all mixed together. Mix in ¾ to 1 cup of chopped walnuts if you wish.
The variability in cooking time is due to differences in chips and crock pots.
5️⃣Pour the fudge mixture into the prepared pan and smooth. You may add other toppings at this time.
6️⃣Refrigerate until firm—about 2 hours. Remove from pan and cut into serving-size pieces.
For more details, keep reading. See the Recipe Card below for complete instructions and to print.
🍫Ingredient options
You can use either semi-sweet, milk, or dark chocolate chips. I suggest a good name brand. Generic/store brands tend to be lower-quality chocolate with less cocoa butter.
You and the kids can add your choice of nuts. You could top it with candies like candy sprinkles, M&M's, or Reese's Pieces.
Troubleshooting—Time variability
This recipe depends on your crock pot gently melting the chips. But there are two large variables.
First, your chocolate chips—the melting point varies widely. Chocolate with the lowest amount of cocoa melts the fastest; that would be anything labeled as baking chip, which is so low they can not be labeled as real chocolate.
The fastest melting of the better chips is white chocolate, then semi-sweet, chunks, and milk chocolate. The longest is dark chocolate, and butterscotch chips are even longer. Also, the cocoa content may vary by brand and over time.
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Second is your crock pot. Using a large crock pot with a small volume of ingredients may cook much faster. And some older crock pots commonly have thermostat malfunctions.
So, never cook on high, and check the ingredients at least every 30 minutes. Finally, use your judgment. My 2-hour estimate is a full recipe in a 3.5-quart crock pot.
Other easy candy recipes to try
This is a crock pot variation of the stovetop 5-Minute Fudge recipe. Try these other fudge variations, like White Chocolate Almond Clusters and Oreo Fudge. And my most popular candy recipe, Crock Pot Chocolate Peanut Clusters.
This recipe is part of Christmas Candy Recipes. Check out other easy candy recipes.
The Butterscotch Chips Option
This recipe gives the option to use two bags of semi-sweet, milk, or dark chocolate chips or one bag of chocolate chips and one bag of butterscotch chips. The butterscotch will give the fudge more of an old-fashioned taste.
But the butterscotch doesn't melt quite like the chocolate chips. It likes to maintain its shape even when melted.
So the answer is reasonably simple: stir well several times, and at the end of cooking, aggressively stir and mush any remaining chips against the side to make it combine with the chocolate. It's not hard, but be aware of it. Also, I would not even try the generic butterscotch chips.
♨️Recipe and crock pot size
This recipe fits nicely in a 3-quart crock pot. The cooking time will decrease if you cook in a larger crock pot. Cook a double recipe in a 6-quart crock pot. And a half recipe will work in a 2-quart mini crock pot.
- Use the recipe card and adjust the number of servings to half or double.
- Use the amount of ingredients in the ingredient list, not the instructions—those do not adjust.
The pan to use after cooking the fudge for this recipe is an 8-inch square or 6 by 9 pan. A double recipe needs a 9 by 13 cake or casserole pan. A half recipe would use a 6-inch round pan.
How to store fudge?
Fudge can be stored airtight at room temperature for about a week or more. It can be refrigerated airtight for 2-3 weeks.
Fudge can generally be frozen for up to 3 months but may lose a bit of texture. If you are planning on freezing, use genuine, not imitation, vanilla.
❓FAQs
Why low for the fudge? Can I turn it up since I have the top off? No, please don't do that.
On low, most crock pots get to full temperature over 5-6 hours degrees. On high, some may run up to full temperature in under 2 hours. Neither low nor high should go above 211°, but some older or malfunctioning pots will generate higher temperatures that will burn or ruin the texture of your fudge.
No, but you can make your own by heating a can of evaporated milk with 1½ cups of sugar until the sugar is dissolved.
The lid is off to vent any humidity. Chocolate and water do not mix well; moisture can make chocolate "seize," and it will become a thick sludge ruining your candy.
An added plus is if the kids are "helping," they can look at the cooking and see its progress. But please be careful and supervise at all times, and do not allow the kids to handle anything hot or sharp.
This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.
Have you tried this recipe, or have a question? Join the community discussion in the comments.
📖The Recipe Card with Step-by-Step Instructions
Crock Pot Fudge
Video Slideshow
Ingredients
- 14 oz sweetened condensed milk
- 24 oz chocolate chips - good quality
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ to 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
- 12 oz butterscotch chips (optional) - As a substitute for 12 oz. of chocolate if you wish. See discussion
- Optional toppings: Sprinkles, M&Ms or Reese's
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Start with a smaller crock pot. A 3-quart cooker is fine, but a larger crock pot will work. The larger pot will cook small amounts faster. Please give it a heavy coat of PAM cooking spray.
- Combine one 14-oz can of sweetened condensed milk, two 12-oz bags of semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. You can substitute a bag of butterscotch chips for one bag of chocolate if you want.
- Cook in the crock pot on low for 1 to 2 hours with the lid OFF. Stir every 20 to 30 minutes. The variability in cooking time is due to differences in chips and crock pots.
- Prep an 8 by 8 or 9 by 9 pan with crossing sheets of parchment paper. Also, butter corners well to prevent sticking. I like to just a touch of butter under the parchment paper to hold it in place.
- It is done when it is all mixed together. Mix in ¾ to 1 cup of chopped walnuts if you wish.
- Pour the fudge mixture into the prepared pan and smooth. You may add other toppings at this time.
- Refrigerate until firm—about 2 hours. Remove from pan and cut into serving-size pieces.
- Store in an airtight container. It should be good at room temperature for at least a week. Refrigerated for 2-3 weeks or frozen for up to 3 months.
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips
- Use two 12 oz. bags of semi-sweet, milk, or dark chocolate chips. You can substitute a bag of butterscotch chips for one bag of chocolate chips but please read the discussion in the post.
- Melting time varies by your choice of chips. "Baking chips" will have almost no cocoa and may melt and then burn quickly. The longest are dark chocolate and butterscotch.
- You can use a 3 quart or larger crock pot. If you use a full-size pot, it will melt faster.
- DO NOT COOK ON HIGH.
- KEEP THE LID OFF.
- Stir every 20 minutes, and it is done when everything is melted and comes together.
- Use an 8 or 9-inch square pan. You can line it with parchment paper or just coat it with butter. If unlined, you may need to set the pan in warm water for a few minutes after the fudge is set up to get it out of the pan.
- Add pecans, walnuts or other nuts at the end.
- You can add other things if you want or top them with sprinkles, M&M’s, or Reese’s Pieces.
- Fudge can be stored airtight at room temperature for about a week, or it can be refrigerated airtight for 2-3 weeks.
- Fudge can generally be frozen for up to 3 months but may lose a bit of texture. If you are planning on freezing, use real, not imitation, vanilla.
Your Own Private Notes
To adjust the recipe size:
You can adjust the number of servings above; however, only the amount in the ingredient list is adjusted, not the instructions.
Nutrition Estimate (may vary)
Originally Published November 12, 2017. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
Ginger says
How could you go about making peanut butter fudge? I would simply love this!
Thank you, Ginger Hawk
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Ginger,
Welcome to the blog. Real peanut butter fudge is quit different I believe I have seen some simple versions but unrelated to this recipe. The most I can offer is sprinkling some Reese's chips in like the nuts.
Sorry.
Dan
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Joanna,
Sorry you had a problem but I highly recommend checking that crock pot. 30 minutes on low should not be able to burn chocolate.
Dan
Rgof says
Super easy and tasty. I did this in a big crockpot and it only took 50 minutes total. So size of the crockpot plays an important role. Don't let that scare you off though. It is so easy and good. I used wax paper in the pan and it still stuck. I had to fill a 9x13 cake pan with hot water and let the square pan sit in it for about 90 seconds and then it popped right out. Great holiday staple for the candy table.
joe says
hi, could you use a induction range and what temperature would you use?
thanks for all the good advice.
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Joe,
Welcome to the blog.
This is just a crock pot version of https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/5-minute-fudge/. So jump over to that recipe. So low on a stovetop.
Dan
April says
I loved this Recipe however, I cooked my fudge in a large crook pot for 1 hour. I think if I would have cooked it for the 2 hours it would have scorched.
Amber says
Hi DrDan...
Do you have any good recipes for a peanut butter fudge. Or possibly a white chocolate fudge recipe 😊
Thank you...,
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Amber,
Welcome to the blog.
For white chocolate fudge, check out the oreo fudge recipe that can be done without the oreo making white chocolate fudge. It can be done in a crock pot similar to this recipe.
I don't have a peanut butter fudge recipe yet but it may be a good idea for this year. It should work well in a crock pot fairly well as long as the top is open due to the moisture.
Dan
Jan says
Can this recipe be doubled? Using a 9x13 pan?
Thank u
DrDan says
Hi Jan,
Welcome to the blog.
Yep, it will double fine and a 9X13 pan works great.
Dan
Alexa says
What adjustments do you recommend for a 1.5qt crock pot?
DrDan says
I would probably not do it or cut it in half. The crock pot will be almost full which is too full to work well. 60-70% full is usually max. I think you will be at about 80-90% plus.
Or do it stovetop like https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/5-minute-fudge/
Dan
Elaine Gardiner says
Thanks for crockpot ideas
Gail says
You can make this fudge in the microwave in 2 min.
Leslie says
Made this with 4 year old granddaughter, used butterscotch chips, chocolate, and toasted pecans. It’s delicious! Thank you for this great easy holiday recipe. Leslie
DrDan says
Hi Leslie,
I thought it would be a good one to do with kids especially with the lid off so they could see things. I didn't have a convenient 4 yr old to run a trial though.
I do like the butterscotch chips in the fudge but it does take a little work at the end.
Have a great holiday
Dan