This healthy fudge recipe is made with extra virgin coconut oil, honey, and a few other common pantry ingredients. It’s easy, and this is a tasty way to get the health benefits of extra virgin coconut oil and raw honey, which I’ll tell you more about at the bottom in just a second.
If you’re a Trim Healthy Mama or just want to watch your blood sugar, then you can omit the honey and sub ground Truvia, or NuNaturals Stevia instead, along with a pinch or two of salt for more depth of flavor. This is definitely an S recipe.
*ATTENTION Coconut Haters: if you use the butter, the coconut flavor is very mild and not really noticeable. If you *dread* coconut flavor, then you can still get some of the health benefits and the texture of fudge by using refined coconut oil. Our Wal-Mart carries LouAna refined coconut oil on the top shelf of the oils/cake aisle, which has no flavor.
Though this isn’t a traditional ‘holiday’ fudge recipe, it packs a really amazing chocolate punch, and is more of a ‘fill the craving’ type of recipe, using ingredients that make you feel better about an afternoon chocolate splurge.And there are lots of variations on the fudgy theme in the printable, so you can enjoy lots of varieties of healthy fudge.
And speaking of healthy…”How healthy is it?”, you ask?
Star Ingredients in the Coconut Oil Fudge Recipe
According to a study published in
“The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition” in 2005, MCFAs, increase
energy and promote a ‘full’ feeling faster than long chain fatty acids.
Coconut oil would be a great choice to replace other fats in the diet. It helps slow down the emptying of the stomach, but is easily digested and sent to the liver as fuel, making it far less likely to be stored as fat. Another great benefit of coconut oil is that it has a very high smoking point, so it’s a great oil for cooking and frying. Read more about healthy coconut oil here.
- ½ c. extra virgin coconut oil
- ½ c. butter, softened
- ½ c. natural peanut butter
- ⅓ c. raw honey-to taste...you can add up to ½ cup if you like it sweeter.
OR
8-10 shakes of NuNaturals Stevia Extract, or 3-4 Tbs. of Truvia, ground finely in a coffee grinder, or a combo of the two. - 1-2 pinches of salt.
- ⅓ cup cocoa powder-to taste...up to ½ cup if you like a richer chocolate flavor.
- Put peanut butter, butter, and coconut oil into an 8x8 or 9x9 glass dish.
- Whisk with a fork to blend.
- Add sweetener of your choice, and adjust to your taste, getting it 'sweet' enough. I like to use a milder honey, like orange blossom.
- Add cocoa until it tastes chocolatey enough. We like the Hershey's Dark cocoa.
- Mix it really well with a fork, as the honey can separate out. It will look like watery chocolate syrup.
- If using Truvia or Stevia, definitely taste the mix and this point and adjust the flavor with more salt or sweetner as desired.
- Refrigerate until firm.
- Cut into small squares, and enjoy! I store extras in the fridge.
Warning:
This is a really tasty treat, but it's best to start with just a couple small pieces spaced out over a day, allowing your body to gradually adjust (especially if 'fats' bother your stomach). Overindulging can cause unpleasant side effects (aka, a cocoa 'cleanse').
Variations:
Mint Fudge Recipe- Add a drop or two of peppermint oil to the mix.
Chocolate Orange Fudge- Add a drop or two of orange oil to the mixture. (I like NOW therapeutic grade essential oils.)
'Peanut Butter Cup' Fudge Recipe- Reserve the ½ cup of peanut butter, but mix the remaining ingredients as instructed. Pour half of the chocolate fudge into the pan, and chill to firm. Top with peanut butter layer, and then pour on the remaining fudge mix over the top. Chill to harden and then cut into small squares..
'Almond Joy' Fudge Recipe- Use 1 cup of coconut oil, and omit peanut butter from fudge recipe above. Add all ingredients but cocoa powder. Scoop out about a half cup of sweetened coconut mixture. If desired, stir in shredded coconut to the reserved half cup. Add cocoa powder to original mix, and pour half of the chocolate mix into pan and chill. When first layer is hardened, pour on coconut layer, and stud with almonds (traditionally, whole, roasted almonds...but you can use slivered as well.. Chill to firm, and top with remaining chocolate mixture
'Mounds' Fudge- Follow instructions above for almond joy fudge, but omit almonds.
Crazy-Good Toasted Coconut Fudge- Follow directions above, but stir in ⅓ cup of toasted coconut. Simply add shredded coconut to a skillet and toast over medium heat. Toasted coconut adds a delicious crispy/caramel flavor to your fudge recipe.
Nutty Fudge- follow original recipe, but stir in ⅓ cup chopped nuts of your choice. Walnuts, pecans or even salted and chopped peanuts are good.
Crunchy Double Chocolate Fudge- Follow original recipe, and top with cacao nibs. Cacoa nibs don't taste that impressive on their own, but on top of your fudge, they add a crisp, deep cocoa flavor that's really yummy!
To learn about the health benefits of the ingredients, check out the blog post here: https://gwens-nest.com/family-favorite-recipes/fudge-recipe-with-coconut-oil
Please remember to never give raw honey to babies under one year of age!
This looks so yummy, can’t wait to try it. You mention cocoa nibs (love these!) in the write up, but not in the ingredients list. Are they supposed to get added in?
Cory, I use them as an optional mix in. 🙂 Try adding in 2 Tablespoons after mixing or spread on top and press in after chilling. 🙂
I couldn’t find a link to the cocao nibs.
this looks like a fun easy recipe, thanks!!!
Thanks, Brenda! I’ll fix that.
Can I leave out the PB and use more coconut cream? Plan on making peppermint fudge, didn’t want peanut butter flavor
I’d try butter or coconut cream instead of peanut butter. 🙂 You want the creamy fat.
I’m new to your site. A saw a friend’s posting on this. I just made it. I was short on peanut butter, so I used almond butter to make up the difference. I look forward to trying it tomorrow. 🙂
Hope you enjoy, Meta! Almond butter is a great sub. 🙂