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This lemon fudge is anything but your plain old traditional fudge recipe! This creamy fudge is exploding with fresh citrus flavor! It’s makes a perfect food gift or is fantastic at Christmas, Easter, and Mother’s Day!
This is a super quick and easy homemade candy recipe that takes about 5 minutes plus rest time to make! It’s so fun!
I can’t get over how pretty this fudge is! It will add a pop of bright flavor and color to any holiday dessert or candy plates!
This isn’t your average old traditional fudge recipe! It’s made without chocolate sweetened condensed milk. That’s right! There is no white chocolate chips in this recipe!
This is not traditional chocolate fudge, but you’re going to love lemon fudge. It’s amazing and you’re going to love it! The fudge is creamy, and absolutely bursting with tangy flavour! It’s sweet, but not overly sweet.
It reminds me of my lemon dessert sauce, but in homemade fudge form!
Why This Recipe Works
I’ve made this homemade fudge recipe so many times and it always turns out perfect! Everyone raves about it because it’s such a fun switch up.
It’s an easy recipe! All you really need to do is boil the fudge for a bit! You don’t need a candy thermometer or any special equipment to make this homemade candy recipe.
You’ll need simple ingredients! You don’t even need fresh lemons., unless you want to add lemon zest. All the ingredients are normal pantry/fridge items.
It tastes amazing! It’s tart, sweet, and a little bit like a soft and creamy lemon drop!
Ingredients
These really are simple ingredients, but it’s important to use the right ones. Let’s talk about information you need to know about a few of the ingredients you need.
Lemon Pudding: You need 2 small boxes (2.9 ounces each) of lemon cook and serve pudding and pie filling. Do NOT use instant pudding. You’re going to heat this pudding mix up and cook it. Instant pudding doesn’t work the same way. You can find in the baking aisle at the grocery store.
Milk: Whole, 2%, or evaporated will work. Condensed milk isn’t the same thing and won’t work in this recipe.
Butter: Use real butter, not margarine. Butter tastes better and will give the fudge and incredible flavor. You can use salted or unsalted. I always buy salted butter because I’m a salt addict. Use whatever you have on hand.
Scroll to the bottom of the page for the full ingredient list, recipe, and instructions.
Two small boxes of cook and serve pudding aren’t the same size as one large box. Be sure you use two small boxes for this recipe! I always use Jell-O brand and haven’t tested with other brands.
How to make easy fudge without condensed milk
This recipe quickly became on of the most popular recipes on my site. Most readers make it and love it, but there were a few that had trouble getting it to set up. Don’t worry! I’m going to show you exactly how to make it.
I retested and rewrote the recipe to make sure it’s absolutely foolproof! Although it’s an easy recipe, you do need to follow the instructions! Don’t be scared! You can totally make it successfully. Most readers have!
This isn’t a fly by the seat of your pants recipe! You can watch the video below to see how I do it.
Use exact measurements! This isn’t one of those recipes where you can eyeball it.
Step 1: Line a 9×9 baking dish with wax or parchement paper.
Step 2: Add butter to a sauce pan and melt over medium to medium high heat. Watch it carefully so it doesn’t burn. It only needs to be melted.
Step 3: While the saucepan is still on the burner add milk and dry pudding mix (just the powder). Stir and continue cooking for 1 minute. This is an important step! Be sure to cook the pudding for one minute or the fudge will be more like a sauce. The mixture should get stiff, sticky, and form a ball. It should peel away from the edges of the pan. After cooking for one minute remove from the heat.
Step 4: Stir in powdered sugar. It will get stiff and a bit hard to stir. You can muscle up and keep stirring, or use an electric mixer to incorporate the powdered sugar into the pudding mixture.
After adding the powdered sugar the fudge will be thick and stiff. If it’s so stiff that the powdered sugar is really hard to get to mix in, you can add a couple of tablespoons of milk. Start with one and additional tablespoons as needed.
Step 5: Press the fudge mixture into the prepared pan. Dust with powdered sugar if you’d like. Refrigerate for a few hours. Slice into 1 inch pieces.
FAQs
How do I store fudge?
I like storing my lemon fudge at room temperature because it’s soft and creamy at that temperature. It will keep for upt to 2 weeks. You can also store it in the fridge for up to 3 weeks. Refrigerating fudge can make it dry out a little bit. Either way, be sure to store the fudge in an airtight container so it doesn’t dry out.
Can I freeze fudge?
Yes! Fudge can be frozen although it does alter the texture and flavor a little bit. It’s best to store the whole brick. Thaw in the refrigerator. Cut in pieces. Store at room temperature. I honestly don’t ever freeze this fudge because it’s so easy to make that I don’t need to make it ahead of time.
Other Lemon Desserts
We love all lemon desserts! Gimme a lemon cake, lemon meringue pie, lemon tart, or lemon brownies and I’m a happy girl!
Here are a few really easy lemon recipes that you’ll love!
- Watermelon Lemonade
- Lemon Dessert Sauce
- Lemon Cheesecake Bars
- No Bake Lemon Cheesecake
- Lemon Orzo
- Pesto Lemon Pasta Salad
Lemon fudge is the perfect food gift! This homemade fudge is unique enough that nobody else will be giving it! Yet, everyone will ask for the recipe and beg you to bring it again!
This lemon fudge recipe is perfect if you’re looking for a no chocolate fudge recipe. It’s made without white chocolate chips, chocolate, or condensed milk!
I love it when you make my recipes and give me feedback! If you have a minute please comment below and leave a star ranking! Also, be sure to follow me on Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook!
Easy Lemon Fudge Recipe
4.11 from 86 votes
Author Amy
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 64 Servings
Prep Time 5 minutes mins
Cook Time 5 minutes mins
Total Time 2 hours hrs 10 minutes mins
Lemon Fudge is an easy homemade candy recipe. It's a creamy fudge made without chocolate chips or sweetened condensed milk, but is made with lemon pudding! It's loaded with tangy flavor that will remind you of lemon drops or lemon meringue pie!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 2.9 ounce packages lemon cook and serve pudding & pie filling just the dry mix
- 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 Tablespoon milk as needed
Instructions
Line a 9"x9" pan with wax paper or parchment paper.
Add butter to a sauce pan and melt over medium to medium high heat. Watch it carefully and stir as needed so it doesn’t burn. It only needs to be melted.
While the saucepan is still on the burner add milk and dry pudding mix (just the powder). Stir and continue cooking for 1 minute. This is an important step! Be sure to cook the pudding mixture for one minute or the fudge won't set up and will be more like a sauce. The mixture should get stiff, sticky, and form a ball. It should peel away from the edges of the pan. After cooking for one minute remove from the heat.
Stir in powdered sugar. It will get stiff and a bit hard to stir. You can muscle up and keep stirring, or use an electric mixer to incorporate the powdered sugar into the pudding mixture.
After adding the powdered sugar the fudge will be thick and stiff. If it’s so stiff that the powdered sugar is really hard to get to mix in, you can add a couple of tablespoons of milk. Start with one and additional tablespoons as needed.
Press the fudge mixture into the prepared pan. Dust with powdered sugar if you’d like. Refrigerate for a few hours. Slice into 1 inch pieces.
Notes
Be sure to use cook and serve pudding and pie filling NOT instant. I’ve only tested this recipe with Jell-O brand.
Store fudge in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks at room temperature, or 3 weeks in the fridge. Refrigerating fudge dries it out a little.
You can make this fudge ahead of time and freeze it, although the texture and taste will change a little bit.
You can cut the fudge as big or little as you’d like.
To amp up the lemon flavor you can replace part of the milk with lemon juice.
Nutrition
Calories: 40kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 0.1g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 4mg | Sodium: 13mg | Potassium: 4mg | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 48IU | Calcium: 3mg | Iron: 0.004mg
