Protein Peanut Butter Fudge Recipe: A Low-Sugar Treat
Fudge is a classic childhood favorite. It brings back warm memories of after-dinner treats with family, but like so many of the recipes we enjoyed years ago, when I look at the ingredients in traditional peanut butter fudge recipes, I cringe. Conventional fudge is often filled with refined sugar, corn syrup and other ingredients I avoid.
This protein peanut butter fudge recipe is going to knock your socks off. Not only is it super simple to make (we’re talking five minutes prep, 30 minutes setting time), but it’s also good for you.
That’s right, this easy peanut butter fudge is healthy and tastes delicious. Once you try this fudge, you’ll never go back to the other stuff.
Key Ingredients
If you look at an old-fashioned fudge recipe, there aren’t too many ingredients. The problem is that the ones on the list are pretty bad for you.
A batch of fudge usually takes several cups of white sugar. The sweet substance is inflammatory and can cause heart problems and increase your risk of diabetes, obesity, cancer and fatty liver disease.
If you’re trying to maintain normal blood sugar, white sugar is one of the worst things you can have. It spikes your blood sugar levels quickly, which then drops dramatically soon after, causing irritability, headaches and a lack of energy.
Compare that to the mere ¼ cup of maple syrup we use in this recipe. Now, while maple syrup is still a sweetener, it’s a natural kind, so it comes with benefits like antioxidants and trace minerals, which table sugar doesn’t have.
It’s also lower on the glycemic index, so when you do have maple syrup, it doesn’t affect your blood sugar quite as drastically as white sugar.
What I like best about this peanut butter fudge recipe is all the other good stuff it contains. Instead of making a chocolate-based fudge, I opted for a peanut butter version.
Now, there’s often a lot of debate about whether peanut butter is bad for you or not. Many of the big brands are — they’re full of hydrogenated oils and moldy peanuts — but if you choose an organic peanut butter, made from Valencia peanuts, with just peanuts and maybe salt in the ingredients list, the spread can be a really healthy option.
Coconut butter helps make this easy peanut butter fudge flavorful and chewy, too. It’s made from ground coconut meat and has a variety of benefits. The healthy fats in this and the coconut oil make this peanut butter fudge a great snack option if you’re on a ketogenic diet (just substitute the maple syrup for stevia).
While the peanut butter in this fudge recipe gives it some protein, you can easily add even more and make this fudge a great post-workout snack by adding in peanut butter-flavored protein powder made from bone broth.
Bone broth is full of ingredients like collagen and gelatin, which promote healthy bones and help you feel good from the inside out. It’s also a fun way to tailor this peanut butter fudge recipe to your tastes. While I love the double-dose of peanut butter and PB-flavored protein made from bone broth in my fudge, you could opt for a dark chocolate protein to get more of a classic chocolate taste.
How to Make Peanut Butter Fudge
Since this peanut butter fudge recipe takes so little time to prepare, let’s get it going!
First, add all of the ingredients to the food processor. I start with the coconut butter and coconut oil. Next, I add in the peanut butter.
Then, I add in the maple syrup. You can do this in any order you like, though. Don’t forget the protein powder if you choose to use it!
Blend the ingredients together until the fudge mixture is smooth. You can add more coconut oil here if necessary.
Then, line an 8×8 baking dish with parchment paper, and pour the peanut butter fudge mixture into it. Use a rubber spatula to evenly distribute the mix around the pan. Stick the pan in the freezer for 30 minutes or until the peanut butter fudge has hardened.
Serve and enjoy! To keep extras, store the fudge in the refrigerator.
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Protein Peanut Butter Fudge Recipe
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 20 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
This peanut butter fudge recipe is going to knock your socks off. Not only is it super simple to make (we’re talking five minutes prep, 30 minutes setting time), it’s also good for you.
Ingredients
- 1 cup coconut butter
- 1 cup creamy organic peanut butter (with Valencia peanuts)
- 1 tablespoon peanut butter (or pure) flavored protein powder made from bone broth (optional)
- ½ cup melted coconut oil
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients to a food processor and blend until mixture is smooth, adding more melted coconut oil if needed.
- Pour the mixture into a 8×8 baking dish lined with parchment paper.
- Freeze for 30 minutes or until ready to serve.
Notes
To keep extras, store the fudge in the refrigerator.
- Prep Time: 5 min
- Cook Time: 30 min
- Category: Snacks, Desserts
- Method: Freezing
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 square
- Calories: 221
- Sugar: 3g
- Sodium: 140mg
- Fat: 21g
- Carbohydrates: 5.5g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 4g
- Cholesterol: 4mg
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11 Comments
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They’re all a grocery outlet in the organic section:-)! So yes, you can find all the ingredients at good cost. If you can’t find cacao nibs, I’d just use bittersweet chocolate chips:-)
Amanda: I think sunflower butter would be a good alternative to peanut butter. In fact, I may try it myself.
Dr Axe: I am having a very difficult time finding peanut butter made from Valencia peanuts. Can you offer a good source???
Karon
Lots of health professionals say to avoid peanut butter, because it is so high in omega 6 oils and most of us already have an imbalance between omega 6 and omega 3 oils. Also, lots of people have a peanut allergy. Can you recommend a substitute for the peanut butter that will give it the same caramel taste?
I like everything you’ve posted there. All of them are very helpful! Thank you and thank you!
This sounds like a good alternative for my sweet tooth. I am presently in chemo (on my 4th set of treatments for Ovarian Cancer). 3-1/2 years ago I had major surgery & a colostomy which was reversed after my first set of chemo. Went 1=1/2 years with no sign of cancer and then had a small spot in pelvis. More treatment and eventually the cancer attached to my spleen where it continues to grow. My last chemo didn’t work & now I am on Atavin to help keep my cancer from spreading. In the mean time, I have been on doTerra LLV for 3 years, DDR Prime & Deep Blue complex which is a big help in keeping the arthritis in my lower back from pain. If you looked at me, you wouldn’t know I had cancer. I am 79 years old with no pain or fluid and stay active and positive (my loving husband died from cancer (still don’t know what kind he had) 9 months before my cancer showed up) but, God is good and I have the best of 2 worlds.
I know sugar is a no no and so is milk but, I love my milk and do use one from cows with no antibotics or hormones. I make my own kefir every evening too. It’s less expensive for me to make it since my only income is a low social security monthly. I have a wonderful support system with my family and church friends and prayers going up across the country and England and maybe other places too.
I will try this fudge and if you have any other recipes that are easy to make with store bought items, as I can’t afford to spend a lot of money on internet purchases all the time, they would be appreciated.
I also have an intolerance to coconut,
I could try cocoa butter but would melted butter work as a substitute for the melted coconut oil?
Thanks for the recipe. I have a strong food sensitivity to coconut (after taking it daily for a long time). Any suggestions as to what I could substitute for the coconut butter?
How about cocoa butter?
Do you have a vegan alternative to bone broth please
I use vanilla vegan protein powder from Sprouts and the fudge tastes awesome:-)!
I think you could maybe use maple extract instead. I subscribe to the collagen bone broth, its great!