Vegan Peanut Butter Fudge
This vegan peanut butter fudge is sweet, indulgent and creamy, and it literally melts in your mouth! It’s dairy-free, gluten-free and can be made WITHOUT condensed milk of any kind! Top it with chocolate and crushed peanuts for a delicious crunch.
Oh my gosh. This dairy-free peanut butter fudge is one of the best things I’ve made in a long time! It has only a few ingredients and is suuuper easy to make.
If you’ve ever tasted Scottish tablet before, it tastes like something halfway between that and traditional dairy toffee. It’s not super creamy nor too hard/grainy, but somewhere perfectly in between. It melts in your mouth and you won’t be able to stop at just one piece!
It can technically be made with 4 ingredients and the extra toppings are only necessary if you want to make the fudge a little fancier. So if you like simple desserts, give this one a go.
Ingredients and equipment
- Dairy-free margarine. I used Vitalite for this recipe. You can use any type of dairy-free margarine as long as it’s the soft, spreadable type, not the ‘blocky’ kind.
- Smooth peanut butter. Any kind will work for this recipe but I’ve found I get the best results when I use peanut butter with the oil added.
- Vanilla extract. This gives an extra boost of flavour.
- Icing sugar. This adds sweetness and gives the fudge that ‘melt-in-your-mouth’ texture. Delicious!
- Baking paper. This is important so that the fudge doesn’t end up stuck to the tin and breaking.
- Baking tin. If you like your fudge super chunky, use an 8×8-inch tin. Personally, I used an 8×10-inch tin to get a few extra pieces out of the mixture!
- Extra toppings. If you want to add an extra something to your fudge, you can add chopped up vegan chocolate pieces and chopped peanuts. This is not compulsory- the fudge tastes just as good with no toppings!
And that’s it! No condensed milk!
Related: vegan peanut butter desserts
Obviously because this is a vegan blog, I couldn’t use dairy condensed milk, which is what most fudge recipes call for. And I did consider using coconut condensed milk but I’m still kind of holding a grudge towards it because it failed me in a cheesecake I recently tried to make. *cries*
Also, vegan condensed milk can sometimes be made with wheat as a thickener, and you can’t make gluten-free peanut butter fudge with wheat in it!
How To Make Vegan Peanut Butter Fudge
I promise you, this will be one of the easiest and most delicious vegan treats you’ll ever make. Let me show you how.
Step 1:
The first step to making the perfect dairy-free peanut butter fudge is melting your wet ingredients together. This is 120g of dairy-free margarine, 250g of smooth peanut butter and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract.
Place the ingredients into a saucepan over a low heat. Allow everything to melt, gently stirring every so often. Remove it from the heat as soon as everything has melted, to prevent burning.
You can also do this step in the microwave if you’d like to save washing up lots of dishes! 60 to 90 seconds in the microwave should do the trick here, stopping halfway to give it a good stir. If you still have lumps of unmelted margarine, pop it back in the microwave for 10-second increments until completely smooth.
Step 3:
When your peanut butter mixture is nice and smooth, you can now add in your icing sugar. If necessary, sift it first to get rid of any big sugar lumps.
Stir your sugar into the peanut butter mix. I’ve found that using a small metal spoon works best as it can get quite stiff.
When it starts to come together, get your hands in there and start pressing it together, sort of in the same way that you would make cookie dough. You’ll need to work quite quickly here to avoid the wet mixture from hardening before everything’s combined. It will look a little crumbly at this point but don’t worry.
Step 4:
Once you’ve formed a dough that all of the icing sugar has dissolved into, your dairy-free peanut butter fudge is ready! I told you it was easy! You can finish here if you like. Just roll small pieces of dough at a time into balls or other shapes using a cookie cutter, and eat as is.
Alternatively, you can press the dough into a pan lined with baking paper which, when cut, will give you the classic fudge “cube” shape.
Using clean fingers or the back of a spoon, press the dough into the pan until flat and even. Top with crushed peanuts and chopped dark chocolate (if desired) and gently press them into the mixture using your fingers.
Refrigerate it for an hour or so, to help it hold its shape, then cut into squares. This mixture will make around 40 cubes of fudge if pressed and cut from an 8×10-inch pan.
Top tips
- Melt your ingredients in the microwave for speed and less washing up.
- Make sure to use the smooth kind of peanut butter, not the crunchy type.
- Use an 8×10-inch pan for 40 perfect squares of fudge.
- Leave a little parchment paper hanging out of each side of the pan. This makes lifting it out a lot easier.
FAQ:
Because it contains dairy-free spread, which softens in heat the same way as butter does, this fudge is best kept in the fridge. A handy ole’ airtight container will do the trick and you can store it this way for up to 5 days. I mean, that’s if it lasts that long…it’s seriously addictive!
If you don’t fancy adding chopped chocolate and nuts on top, you can add raisins, a swirl of strawberry jam or even some mini vegan marshmallows. If you need your peanut butter fudge to be gluten-free, just make sure any toppings are too!
Another idea is to try drizzling some chocolate over the fudge or coating the pieces completely. White and/or dark chocolate both taste really nice paired with peanut butter. Alternatively, you can swap out 1 tablespoon of icing sugar for 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder to make chocolate peanut butter fudge.
Yes. If you wish to freeze your peanut butter fudge, pop the pieces into a freezer bag or airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. To defrost, just place it back in the fridge and allow it to thaw for a few hours.
I hope you love this vegan peanut butter fudge as much as I do. If you enjoy this recipe, please be sure to leave a rating or comment below to let me know your thoughts. Happy baking!
More peanut butter desserts:
Vegan Peanut Butter Fudge
Easy gluten-free, dairy-free peanut butter fudge that melts in your mouth.
Ingredients
- 120 g Dairy-free margarine (½ cup) use the spreadable type, not the blocky type
- 250 g Smooth peanut butter (1 cup)
- 2 Teaspoons Vanilla extract (optional)
- 450g g Icing sugar (3+¼ cups)
To top (optional):
- 60 g Chopped vegan chocolate (½ cup)
- 2 Tablespoons Chopped Peanuts
Instructions
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Line an 8×10-inch tin with baking paper, leaving a little extra hanging over each side. This will make it easier to lift the fudge out once set.
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Melt the dairy-free margarine, peanut butter and vanilla in a pot over a low heat until it JUST begins to become smooth.
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Remove from the heat and add the icing sugar. Use a spoon to stir it in, then use your hands to form a dough. It will look and feel like cookie dough.
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Press the dough into your baking tray using clean fingers or the back of a spoon.
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Sprinkle over the chopped chocolate and peanuts if using, then gently press them into the fudge.
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Refrigerate the fudge for 1 hour, cut into small squares and enjoy!
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
- Can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Karey Kirk
Tuesday 20th of December 2022
Do you have a favorite brand of nondairy butter or spread?
Chloe
Tuesday 20th of December 2022
I love Vitalite! I used it for this recipe too.