My daughter wanted to make fudge the other day. Scott suggested peanut butter fudge, his favorite. We checked Go Dairy Free and discovered that there were no dairy-free peanut butter fudge recipes! So Katherine decided to slightly alter Alton Brown’s Microwave Peanut Butter Fudge recipe to make it dairy free and vegan.
She did so with great success. The first pan disappeared so quickly, I had to ask her to make a second pan for me to photograph.
Now there is a Dairy-Free Peanut Butter Fudge recipe on Go Dairy Free.
It’s an easy microwaveable treat that’s a perfect first fudge for children and new cooks. In fact, it might be too easy …
Alton Brown’s Foolproof Peanut Butter Fudge Made Dairy Free
We had no trouble making this dairy-free peanut butter fudge with inexpensive ingredients that I can purchase in our small town. Here is what we used.
Buttery Spread – The original recipe calls for unsalted butter, but we used Smart Balance Original, which is salted. We found the salt level to be just fine. You could probably use dairy-free buttery sticks if you want a slightly firmer fudge. And you can use a soy-free buttery spread, if needed.
Peanut Butter – We used Aldi Peanut Delight Natural Creamy Peanut Butter Spread, which is stabilized and doesn’t require stirring. We did not test the fudge with natural peanut butter that requires stirring (due to separation), such as Smucker’s Natural Peanut Butter. But I have read that the recipe does not work as well with peanut butter that isn’t stabilized.
Special Diet Notes: Dairy-Free Peanut Butter Fudge
By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, gluten-free, grain-free, tree nut-free, optionally soy-free, vegan, and vegetarian.
- 8 ounces dairy-free buttery spread (see type in post above)
- 1 cup smooth peanut butter (see type in post above)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 pound powdered sugar
- Grease an 8 x 8-inch pan and line it with parchment paper so a little hangs over the sides of the pan.
- Put the dairy-free buttery spread and peanut butter in a 4-quart microwave-safe bowl, and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Microwave on high for 2 minutes.
- Stir the mixture. Cover and microwave on high for 2 more minutes.
- Carefully remove the bowl from the microwave (the mixture will be very hot). If children are cooking the fudge, this is a step that requires adult assistance.
- Add the vanilla to the peanut butter mixture, and sift in the powdered sugar. Stir until combined. The mixture will become stiff and lose its shine.
- Spread the fudge mixture evenly into your prepared pan.
- Fold the excess parchment paper over the top of the fudge, and refrigerate until it is cool and set, about 2 hours.
- Cut the fudge into 1-inch pieces, or larger pieces as pictured here, to serve.
- Store the fudge in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
6 Comments
Quick and easy. It’s so good too.
So glad you enjoyed it Kimberly!
Could I use ghee instead of butter?
I’ve never used ghee in any recipes or eaten it, so I couldn’t tell you how it would perform. I would assume so.
This fudge looks delicious and so easy to make! I have all the ingredients already. I think I’ll go whip up a batch with my son right now!
It is delicious–and way too easy! I hope you both enjoy it. 🙂