Kirbie's Cravings

5 Minute Microwave Peanut Butter Fudge

This easy fudge is just 3 ingredients and takes about five minutes to prepare. Everything is made in one bowl and cooks in the microwave. close-up photo of microwave peanut butter fudge pieces

I had a lot of fun making cookies and cream fudge and Nutella fudge. So I decided to tackle peanut butter fudge.

Before I had a chance to experiment, I came across a super easy recipe by Alton Brown. The recipe was only four ingredients and doesn’t use chocolate unlike most of the other fudges I’ve made.

close-up photo of a stack of microwave peanut butter fudge pieces

I opted to leave out the vanilla, making this recipe just 3 ingredients. This recipe takes only five minutes to put together. Super easy! They store well too making it great for holiday gifting.
close-up photo of microwave peanut butter fudge

More Easy Fudge Recipes

Microwave Peanut Butter Fudge

Servings: 64 pieces
Prep Time: 3 minutes
Cook Time: 2 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
This peanut butter fudge takes only five minutes to put together. Super easy! They store well too making it great for holiday gifting.
4.36 from 14 votes

Ingredients

  • 8 oz unsalted butter
  • 1 cup creamy peanut butter (see note)
  • 1 lb powdered sugar

Instructions

  • Line an 8 x 8 inch pan with parchment paper (I recommend making the parchment paper long enough so that it hangs off the edges of the pan on two sides, which will allow you to grip them later to lift out the parchment paper and contents.) 
  • Combine the butter and peanut butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 1 minute and stir. Microwave for 1 more minute and stir again until mixture is completely melted and smooth. Add the powdered sugar to the peanut butter mixture and stir until batter is smooth. The batter should be quite thick, like a paste.
  • Spread batter into the lined baking pan. Press another parchment paper on the surface and use your palms to apply gentle pressure to evenly spread the fudge across the entire pan. Lift off the top layer of parchment paper and smooth surface of fudge with your hands. Refrigerate for about 2 hours to let set. Lift fudge out of the pan. Cut into one-inch squares with sharp knife. Keep uneaten portions stored in the fridge.

Video

Notes

Avoid using natural peanut butter as the consistency can vary and affect the texture of the fudge.
Recipe very slightly adapted from: Alton Brown

The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.

Did you make this recipe?I'd love to see it! Mention @KirbieCravings and tag #kirbiecravings!

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Recipe Rating




122 comments on “5 Minute Microwave Peanut Butter Fudge”

  1. Well I did this recipe exactly how it says to do it but my butter and peanut butter melted completely in 30 seconds and it says to put it in there for two and that it would be creamy after stirring mine was liquid not creamy so not real sure if I did it right or not 

    • The peanut butter and butter should be melted and smooth – this is explained in step 2 of the recipe card. Once you stir in the powdered sugar, the mixture should be thick. Did you do this step?

  2. Made this at 4:00 AM in the morning; I reduced the recipe because I only had 0.68 pounds of powdered sugar. It’s fricking delicious.

  3. I just made this recipe, I had to keep adding powdered sugar to get the paste consistency. So it does require more powder sugar than what this recipe calls for. It is now sitting in my fridge to harden. Just hope it turns out because I just now saw the video and didn’t make my paste consistency that thick. Stay tuned for an update! 

  4. Make this fudge every year at Christmas.Put some pieces in a box  made from old Christmas cards then give away

  5. I found a recipe for PB fudge you must try. One container of frosting ( I used cheesecake flavor). And one jar of peanut butter. I used extra crunchy because its personally my favorite. Microwave each container separately until completely melted and pour into medium size mixing bowl. Mix completely then pour into a 9X9 pan lined with foil. Put in fridge until set. V Best PB fudge I’ve had since I was a little girl.

  6. Easy recipe, i just put the same amount of butter as I did with the peanut butter. And also, just added enough powdered sugar until it was like a dough! Easy recipe, I wanted to make some for my dad but I ended up eating it all. ?

  7. Well, made this before (years ago) and it came out really good. Main challenge for me now is I didn’t have a kitchen scale and all the powdered sugar bags are 2lbs. So I used AI to find out amount of cups of powdered sugar in 1lb. It said 4, but that ended up being too much for this recipe where it never was able to be smoothed out or paste like. So I’ll probably try closer to 3 1/2 cups or so next time and if still have issues, maybe try about 3 cups. But definitely wasn’t able to get the texture and all you think of with fudge in my attempt last night.

    While looking at reviews, just have to tell people to pay attention to measurements. Many of us are adding too much or too little of various things, which has it not come out as well as it should.

    Kirbie, if you end up seeing this and don’t mind replying, just wanted to ask two questions:

    1. What do you use to stir the batter? (I mean, just a spoon or something else?

    2. When you add the powdered sugar, do you add bits at a time or you just dump it all at once?

    Not sure if true, but heard those things can make a big difference in how things turn out. Kind of curious if you could answer that or give any small tips/tricks to it.

    • Thank you for sharing your experience and input. We add all of the sugar at once and stir with a spatula.

  8. It should be 2 cups of powdered sugar or it will be too runny. 

    • For the powdered sugar, you need one pound – did you misread it as one cup? That was probably why it was runny.

  9. Love this fudge!!!

  10. I made this tonight. it turned out great. if the mixture is too creamy add more powder sugar. if you add chocolate when melting add a tsp of half and half or milk. this was such an easy recipe. Thank you

  11. I would like to add a layer of chocolate top/bottom. Should l melt chocolate chips with oil and spread?

    • Sorry, but we’re not sure – if you add oil to the chocolate the layer may not set and you’ll end up with a messy bottom chocolate layer.

  12. How do you get 64 pieces out of a 8X8 pan??

    • The instructions specifically state that they are cut into 1-inch squares. Fudge is extremely rich and usually served in small candy portions. An 8 inch by 8 inch pan produces 64 one-inch squares.

    • 1 inch pieces. That’s 8 pieces both directions. 8×8 is 64

  13. I’m so physed I finally found this 4 ingredient #1 favorite 5 min. Microwave only recipe I lost 20 years ago!!! I always added the vanilla as I have again. So fast,creamy,and was always a Family favorite!! My Grandchildren will love it…just as my adult Sons always did!!! P.s.

  14. How can u use regul

    ar sugar

    • For the best result, you should use powdered sugar (confectioners’ sugar). It is needed to firm up the fudge. If you only have regular sugar, you can turn it into powdered sugar if you have a high powered blender

  15. Mine turned out watery and I didn’t want to add more sugar.  Sure hope it’s sets well

  16. I used 16tbs of peanut butter and 16 tbsp of butter, but it was very liquid and never hardened up. Are my measurements off?

    • How much powdered sugar did you use? You may not have used enough. The powdered sugar is what turns the fudge solid.

  17. Can you use salted butter ?

  18. Do you think i could use this fudge spread thinly as a filling for sugar cookie or peanut butter sandwich cookies? It seems like it might be something different from just frosting.

  19. Very good and easy and quick to make.

  20. I love this fudge! It is so quick and easy to make and comes out perfect every time. It is a Christmas tradition.

  21. Good taste but even after setting up in fridge for several hours when I cut it one piece in each row crumbled. Not sure if there was a pocket or what but super easy and good!

  22. Yes I made the PNB fudge.sooo good.i used margarine bcuz that’s all I had.it turned out. Perfect.i also added a teaspoon of vanilla.thank you.

  23. I made this last night with my 9 yr old son and, oh.my.freakin.god!!! Is it EVER AMAZING!! Thank you SO very much for this info! I’m always in the kitchen baking and, cooking from scratch and, as anyone knows, that takes much more time and effort than box foods!! So this is an absolute delight to have in my arsenal ? I’m posting pictures as soon as I’m able to figure it out … You’re absolutely a life saver!!

  24. Can I use regular sugar

  25. Do I need to sift the powder sugar

  26. Absolutely AMAZING!!! My sister and I made this fudge, and loved it. Even better than store-bought.

  27. You are totally Evil for posting the recipe? It is way to easy to make Fudge now?
    I wasn’t even looking up Fudge recipes and it came up in the Pinterest feed? Now I can make Fudge all the time ??No I’m not pregnant, that’s just Fudge I’m carrying in my belly?????
    All jokes over! I added Almond Extract just to give it a special Christmas touch and I wanted to eat it all. For the second batch I used 1/2 stick less butter and added 1/3 cup Milk C Chips, Almond Ex and chopped Pecans then named it Chocolate Nutty Fudge. I wanted to eat both batches?????

  28. Has anyone made these ahead of time?
    How do they hold up?

  29. This is so easy and melts in your mouth. I did add the vanilla though.  

  30. Is the mixture supposed to be liquidy before you put it in the fridge??

    • No. it should be like a solid paste. the post is now updated with video so you can see the consistency. I think you may need to add more powdered sugar.

  31. what wattage microwave oven at what amount of time as time and wattage can make a difference in final product.thanksjoan

  32. It calls for 4 ingredients. I only see 3. What is missing? Vanilla?

    • apologies, this is an old post I was trying to update while still very jet-lagged. The original recipe was four ingredients. I dropped the vanilla, so my version is just 3 ingredients.

  33. So easy. Used 1 cup margarine instead of 8oz unsalted butter. One min was all oil, stir, 2nd min it looked overcooked and I thought oh no! Added half the sugar & it wasn’t incorporating so I figured it would suck, dumped the rest of the sugar in and it mixed up beautifully. Tastes great and I see how this can be made millions of ways for bake sales and fairs but it is almost too sweet to be anything but a treat

  34. Is powdered sugar the same as icing sugar?

  35. do i add the whole pound of powdered sugar?

  36. the recipe on foodnetwork.com for Alton Brown also calls for a teaspoon of vanilla

    • that is correct. my version, I left that out. I guess I should have been more clear that I did make some very slight changes to the ingredients and to the actual process of making it as well.

  37. It gives how many squares of fudge?

  38. What if you use salted butter? I bought a pound but wanted to make more. 

    • salted butter just means you’ll have a higher salt content in your fudge. You can try it out and maybe add more sugar to balance out any additional saltiness

  39. So simple and so delicious. I live alone so I half the recipe and I still have plenty to share with neighbors or friends at work. It is rich so two pieces is enough to make one happy 🙂

  40. What would happen if I used less butter in this recipe?

  41. how long is the shelf life of the fudge? 

  42. One batch with dark chocolate chips and one batch with White Chocolate Chips with a touch of almond extract and sugar instead of powder sugar…YUMMM!!

  43. Is there any alternative to powdered sugar? I haven’t looked but I don’t think we have any. At least not any that isn’t stale.

  44. It’s was delicious. I would think country spread would work.

  45. Would country spread butter work its in a brown bowl

  46. Thanks, turned out great!  I also tried with almond butter 🙂

  47. Would crunchy peanut butter work as well?  Or would it be better to add crushed nuts at the end?  

  48. It was sooo good and there was enough to go around for the hole party. WOW!!

  49. Dangerously to sweet to be true…So rieasy to make….thank you for sharing….

  50. Alton says 2minutes stir and two minutes more

  51. Dangerous, dangerous knowledge. It’s a brilliant, foolproof recipe. I actually was out of vanilla and used a little splash of almond extract, and it’s quite lovely. Natural peanut butter works a little differently than your standard JIF, but I think it’s pretty nice.

  52. Great but at the end I added two tablespoons of vanilla

  53. This is the third batch in 2 days! Yum!