Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge, a straightforward version

This easy house-made Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge recipe is the perfect no-bake treat for any chocolate-peanut butter lover in your life! It's creamy and flavorful, requires only six ingredients, and can be made in less than 15 minutes!

I am always a fan of an easy no bake dessert, like my Easy Blender Chocolate Mousse, House-made Chocolate Truffles, and my Easy Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge recipe is no exception! It's a nostalgic treat I grew up loving that's super straightforward to mix! When you want to please a small crowd, you can't go wrong with this method!

And if you enjoy my Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge recipe, you'll clearly want to check out my No Bake Chocolate Cream Pie, Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Hearts, House-made Peppermint Patties, or my Chocolate Marshmallow Tart!

What goes in

The list is short here—only the following six ingredients are needed to make this straightforward chocolate peanut butter fudge recipe.

• Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips. Or you can use a good quality 60% or 70% dark chocolate. I used Ghirardelli's semi-sweet chocolate chips.
• Peanut Butter. It's best to use a creamy, no-stir type of peanut butter. A reliable choice is either Wegman's creamy peanut butter or Jif's natural peanut butter.
• Sweetened Condensed Milk. You'll need a full 14-ounce can of this sweet stuff. Do not confuse this with evaporated milk. It is not the same thing!
• Mini Peanut Butter Cups. They'll get chopped up and used as the topping! Reese's is always a good bet, but ALDI makes them as well, and they are Memorable.
• Vanilla Extract and Salt. You'll also need vanilla extract and salt to balance the sweetness and round out the flavors.

I did not try this method using any other ingredients or methods. If you'd like to see a different method for making fudge using heavy cream, check out my Cookies and Cream Fudge recipe!

How it comes together

Step 1. Chop up the mini peanut butter cups. I chopped up almost a full bag of mini peanut butter cups. Hold to the side—you'll use these as the topping in a few minutes!

Step 2. Melt the chocolate chips with the sweetened condensed milk. Use a large glass mixing bowl to heat the two ingredients together. Try heating them up for 1 minute at full power, stirring them together until most chocolate chips have melted into the sweetened condensed milk. Then heat again for 30 seconds at 60% power.

Step 3. Add in the peanut butter. I went with 1 3/4 cups of creamy peanut butter. If you want more chocolate flavor than peanut butter, you can reduce this amount to 1 1/2 or even 1 cup. Add in the vanilla extract and salt, then stir it all together—leaving some swirls of the peanut butter, too, is okay.

Step 4. Transfer to the pan. Once transferred, level and smooth it out with a spatula. Top with the mini peanut butter cups you chopped up a few minutes prior. Gently push them into the top of the fudge, which will already start to set.

Step 5. Chill the fudge. The minimum time needed is 1 hour, but leaving it in the refrigerator overnight is fine. You can also freeze it too (for up to 3 months).

Quick Tip: For clean slices of chocolate peanut butter fudge, run the knife under hot water, dry off the knife with a clean kitchen towel, and then make the cut.

Helpful Baking Tools

The list of what tools you'll need to make this easy chocolate peanut butter fudge is almost as short as the list of ingredients!

• 9-inch Square Baking Pan. I used my Wilton 9-inch pan for this method, but you can also use an 8-inch square baking pan for a slightly thicker fudge. For a thinner fudge, you can use a small jelly roll pan or baking sheet (with a 1-2 inch edge).
• Aluminum Foil or Parchment Paper. Try using either a non-stick aluminum foil for this fudge recipe or parchment paper. You'll need this to cover the bottom and sides of the pan. You can skip it if you want, but it's easier to cut the fudge when it is outside the pan.
• Large Glass Mixing Bowl. Only one is needed to mix up all of the ingredients (minus the mini peanut butter cups).
• Whisk and Spatula. The only brand I truly love is GIR—or Get it Right. They're so well made and come in the best colors!
• Microwave. No stove top needed for heating the chocolate and sweetened condensed milk together. We're going for easy here!
• Cutting Board and Knife. This will come in handy for when you cut up the mini peanut butter cups and again for when you cut the fudge into squares.

Questions on this bake

What size baking pan did you use?

I used my Wilton 9-inch baking pan for this method. Enjoy my Nordic Ware pans, but they have rippled sides and bottoms and, for this method, I did not want to have that marking left on the fudge.

You can also use an 8-inch baking pan for a slightly thicker layer of fudge.

For a thinner fudge, you can use a small jelly roll pan or baking sheet (with a 1-2 inch edge).

Can Use natural, no-stir peanut butter?

Unless you stir the peanut butter truly well—I'm talking no visible oil left—I do not recommend it. It's best to stick to the creamy, no-stir kind.

What is the best way to store fudge?

The best way to store fudge is to keep it in the refrigerator in an air-tight container with wax paper placed in between so the fudge does not stick together.

Can I freeze fudge?

Yes, genuinely! Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and (optionally) aluminum foil, then place it in an air-tight container where it will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let it come to room temperature before cutting it into squares (if you left it as one 9-inch square).

Enjoy These Other Chocolate Peanut Butter Treats!

Classic Peanut Butter Blossoms

Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Eggs

Chocolate Peanut Butter Whoopie Pies

Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Cookies