Dr. Axe > Recipes > Desserts > Gluten-Free

Protein Peanut Butter Fudge Recipe: A Low-Sugar Treat

Name: Protein Peanut Butter Fudge Recipe
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 20
Cuisine: American
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

January 5, 2021 by Dr. Josh Axe, DC, DNM, CN

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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 fudge recipes, I cringe. Conventional fudge is often filled with refined sugar, corn syrup and other ingredients I avoid.

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. 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.

Peanut butter fudge recipe ingredients - Dr. Axe

But 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 to 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 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.

Peanut butter fudge recipe step 3 - Dr. Axe

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.

Peanut butter fudge recipe step 5 - Dr. Axe

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.