I bet you’re as busy as I am right now, so let me cut to the chase: FREEZER FUDGE! Just look at those swirls. This fudge is remarkably easy to make (no cooking required!). It only needs one hour in the freezer to set those luscious chocolate peanut butter dips and turns. You can’t tell yet, but this fudge has more peanut butter flavor than chocolate. Delicious.
This fudge is vegan, since it calls for coconut oil instead of butter, and naturally sweetened with maple syrup (or honey, which is not vegan). Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe this fudge qualifies as paleo as well. (Correction: it’s paleo if you use almond butter instead of peanut butter.)
The only downside is that this fudge must be served cold or it will lose its shape. That’s because it’s made with coconut oil instead of butter, which is liquid above 76 degrees. Happy holidays!
Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl Fudge
- Author:
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 32 pieces of fudge 1x
- Category: Dessert
Easy chocolate peanut butter freezer fudge! The beautiful swirled pattern on top makes this healthier, naturally sweetened fudge look amazing. Keep in mind that this fudge needs to stay cold to retain its shape, so serve it right from the freezer. Since the recipe uses coconut oil instead of butter, it’s vegan as well as gluten free and paleo friendly. Recipe yields one 9×5-inch pan of fudge. I sliced mine into 1″ square shapes (yielding about 32 pieces), since a little piece of this fudge goes a long way!
Ingredients
Peanut butter fudge
- 1 ½ cups (packed) peanut butter (or almond butter, for paleo/peanut-free version)
- ⅓ cup melted coconut oil
- ¼ cup maple syrup or honey
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Chocolate swirl
- ½ cup reserved peanut butter fudge
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon melted coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey
- Dash of salt
Instructions
- First, line the base of a 9×5-inch pan with one long piece of parchment paper, cut to fit neatly across the base but long enough to run up the short sides by about 1 inch.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine 1 ½ cups peanut butter, ⅓ cup melted coconut oil, ¼ cup maple syrup or honey and ¼ teaspoon salt. Whisk until thoroughly blended. Reserve about ½ cup of the mixture, then pour the remaining mixture into the prepared pan. Use a spatula to distribute it evenly over the parchment paper.
- Transfer the reserved ½ cup peanut butter mixture back into the mixing bowl. Add ¼ cup cocoa powder, 1 tablespoon coconut oil, 1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey and a dash of salt. Whisk until thoroughly blended.
- Use a spoon to dollop chocolate fudge onto the peanut butter fudge in the pan. Repeat until all of the chocolate mixture is in the pan, then drag the tip of a butter knife through the pan in a curving zig-zig pattern to make pretty swirls. Cover the top of the pan with plastic wrap and place in the freezer to firm up for at least 1 hour.
- Use a sharp knife to slice the fudge into small, 1″ pieces. Serve the fudge chilled or straight from the freezer, as these will melt quickly at room temperature. Store pieces of fudge in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks or the freezer for up to two months.
Notes
Recipe adapted from two lovely ladies’ freezer fudge—Megan Gilmore‘s almond butter freezer fudge in her cookbook, Everyday Detox, and Angela Liddon’s chocolate-drizzled variation of Megan’s fudge at Oh She Glows.
Change it up: You can substitute butter (which is not vegan!) for the coconut oil, or substitute almond butter for the peanut butter. I’m sorry, I’m not sure how to make this recipe entirely nut free.
▸ Nutrition Information
Vegetable enthusiast. Dog lover. I'm probably making a big mess in my Kansas City kitchen right now. 
Stephanie
This sounds great! Do you use natural peanut butter?
Kate
Yep!
Roxana
I can’t believe it’s that easy – so amazing! I love that it has maple syrup and coconut oil in it too! :)
Emilie @ Emilie Eats
These pictures are so gorgeous!! I love how simple the recipe is. Yum!
Trish
Vegan fudge … you just made my day! I’m trying this very soon and reporting back. Thank you for your vegan recipes, Kate. They never fail to wow and impress the taste buds.
Poshnessary
OMG so delicious!!
★★★★★
Katrina
This fudge looks so wonderful! And made with coconut oil too? A dream!
Amy
I love making fudge, and even better giving healthy fudge to my friends instead of the big box stuff.
Deborah @ The Harvest Kitchen
Great recipe!!! Love it that it’s all natural!!! I’ll be making a batch of this!!
Sarah
This looks so delicious!! Could cacao powder be used in place of cocoa powder?
Kate
I don’t see why not! :)
Kelly
Peanut butter isn’t paleo but if you substitute cashew or almond butter it would be!
Kate
That makes sense! Thank you, Kelly!
Danica
That look so easy! Who doesn’t love chocolate with peanut butter?
Gaby Dalkin
my husband would love this! It really isn’t Christmas until someone makes fudge
Angela - Patisserie Makes Perfect
This fudge looks amazing, I just made a batch of fudge that I’ll be including on my blog soon, but my version requires a sugar thermometer etc.
This is a revelation! Have a great Christmas Kate!
Evelyn
My god, those pictures! This looks amazing! I sort of stopped eating sugary things and I _thought_ I didn’t miss it, but these pictures have me drooling. Such a perfect treat to go with the coffee after Christmas dinner!
Also, a very merry Christmas to you, I hope you have some wonderful holiday days ahead of you, and a happy New Year! Here’s to all the lovely recipes, to your cookbook (COOKBOOK!), long walks with Cookie, and just all the best for 2016 in general :)
Kate
Thank you, Evelyn! I really appreciate your support and kind words. If you feel like making an exception for a Christmas treat… I think this one would be a worthy exception. :) Those swirls! Wishing you all the best for 2016!
Amelia Littlejohn
I definitely have to make this! Looks amazing!
Amy
Made it last night! Delish!! My swirl technique needs a little more practice (might’ve gooped the chocolate too much in one area?) but regardless, come Christmas there might be a few pieces missing. Just saying.
Kate
Glad to hear it! Thank you, Amy.
Alissa
This looks beautiful and delicious! I don’t know how it would taste, but maybe using sunflower seed butter would work for those looking for a nut-free version :)
Rachel
Yummy recipe! I made one batch as recommended (which came out great) and then decided I wanted more bang (chocolate) for my buck. I made the Peanut Butter Fudge and then added 3/4 cup of cocoa powder to the whole batch. It is delish, but think I should have still added a little extra coconut oil.
Thanks, I love your site!
Kate
Thanks, Rachel!
Rayan
Seems looking delicious and yummy, i will defiantly try at home in this Christmas holidays.
★★★★★
Emma {Emma's Little Kitchen}
Freezer fudge is the best! Thanks for coming to the rescue with a low-fuss sweet option. This looks so pretty!!
Eric
Wow! This looks amazing! Would I be able to add in a vegan protein powder at all?
Kate
Hi Eric, I’m sorry, I don’t have any experience adding protein powder to recipes so I’m really not sure how that would turn out.
DANA
This looks FANTASTIC, friend! I want like half the pan – but no seriously…Peanut Butter + Chocolate ftw. Happy New Year to you!!
Kate
Thanks, pal! Happy New Year to you and John!
Nikki
This looks so delicious ! Cant wait to try it :)
Sharleen
Wow a fudge recipe that calls for coconut oil.
I am on the search for more recipes that incorporates coconut oil.
thanks for sharing.
Hugs
★★★★★
Rivy
This looks supper yummy and pretty simple plus my favorite combo yum!! I can’t wait to make this!!!❤️
★★★★
Liz Kellner
Do you know the calorie and fat count on this?
Lucinda
Vegan is the way to go. I am!
Honey isn’t vegan though, so use maple syrup or date syrup.
Melissa
I made a dairy-free, nut-free version for my daughter who is anaphylactic to dairy, peanuts and tree nuts – I posted it for you here – adapted from your recipe. It was delicious and she loved it! http://choosinghealth.ca/dairy-free-nut-free-chocolate-peanot-butter-swirl-fudge-recipe/
Lindsay Baysden
Which coconut oil? Refined that doesn’t taste like coconut or the unrefined that does??
Andrea
made this tonight and it totally satisfied my sweet tooth. I used carob powder instead of cocoa powder and it was so good!! thank u!!
★★★★★
Kate
Great! I love to hear that the carob worked so well for you.
Sue M
Simple and absolutely delicious! In my experience everyone asks for seconds and the recipe. Great compliment to you.
Kate
Thank you, Sue!
Meo
I just made this- easy to follow recipe, the chocolate stir in just tasted like peanutbutter. I’ll try making this again but use a different recipe for the chocolate portion. thank you for sharing the recipe.
Kate
Welcome!
Heather H.
Hi Kate! Do you think I could use another neutral oil like avocado instead of coconut? Or could that mess up the recipe?