This creamy apple fudge is healthier than traditional fudge. It is just 4 ingredients and doesn’t contain any refined sugar or dairy. It takes only 5 minutes to prepare and you don’t need a candy thermometer to make it.
After sharing an easy apple fudge recipe recently, I received many requests to share a healthier version. This apple fudge is smooth, creamy and tastes of fall flavors. It is a great snack or dessert.
Ingredients
- Peanut butter
- Apple butter
- Maple Syrup
- Coconut Oil
Peanut butter: Natural peanut butter is added into this fudge to give it a very creamy texture and to help solidify the fudge. Make sure you use natural peanut butter. This is peanut butter with no added oils and the only ingredients should be peanuts and salt. The fudge will not solidify if you use a peanut butter with added oils.
Apple butter: Apple butter is not butter despite its name. It is a concentrated applesauce made by slowly cooking apples with apple juice until the sugar caramelizes. It has a much more concentrated apple flavor. It is also often cooked with spices like cinnamon and cloves. I chose to use an apple butter with spices to give the fudge more flavor but you can use one that is just apples. You can use homemade apple butter or store bought. Since apple butter is available at most grocery stores near me this time of year, I chose to use store bought. You do want to use apple butter and not applesauce for this recipe. Applesauce has too much moisture and the apple flavor also won’t be as strong in the fudge.
Maple syrup: Pure maple syrup is added to sweeten the fudge and to help it solidify.
Coconut oil: You can use unrefined or refined coconut oil. We recommend refined because refined has less coconut flavor. When the coconut oil is frozen, it will solidify, which helps the fudge set while still staying very creamy.
How to Make Healthier Apple Fudge
The peanut butter, apple butter, maple syrup and coconut oil are all mixed together until smooth and uniform. The mixture is then poured into a parchment lined loaf pan and placed into the freezer to set.
Once set, slice the fudge with a sharp knife and serve while the fudge is chilled. This is a freezer fudge so it needs to be kept in the freezer and will start to melt and lose its form if it sits out too long.
Fudge Texture and Sweetness
This fudge has a very smooth and creamy texture and is lightly sweetened. You can reduce the sugar by adding a little less maple syrup. I don’t recommend eliminating the maple syrup entirely because it is also used to help the fudge set.
More Healthier Fudge Recipes
- 2 Ingredient Healthier Fudge
- 3 Ingredient Healthy Peanut Butter Fudge
- 3 Ingredient Healthy Chocolate Fudge
4 Ingredient Healthier Apple Fudge
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (122 g) unsweetened apple butter with spices
- 1/2 cup (128 g) natural peanut butter no added oils
- 7 tbsp (3.5 fl oz/104 ml) melted refined coconut oil
- 3 tbsp (1.5 fl oz/44 ml) maple syrup
Instructions
- Line an 8 x 4-inch loaf pan with parchment paper, leaving some overhang on the sides for easy removal later.
- Add all of the ingredients to a large mixing bowl. Whisk until smooth and uniform.
- Pour mixture into the prepared pan and spread in an even layer. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze until firm (about 1-2 hours) or overnight.
- Once the fudge is firm, remove the pan from the freezer. Lift the fudge out of the pan using the parchment paper overhang and place it on a cutting board. Cut into 1-inch squares with a large sharp knife. See note regarding cutting the fudge.
- Serve immediately, or store them in an airtight container in the freezer until ready to eat. This is considered a freezer fudge so it does need to be stored in the freezer and should be eaten soon after it is removed from the freezer or else it will start to melt.
Notes
- When cutting the fudge, I cut the fudge straight out of the freezer with a large sharp knife. Sometimes the bottom of the fudge breaks as I'm cutting through. If you want the fudge to have nice smooth edges, after you finish cutting them, you can use your knife to then thinly cut off any uneven edges on the pieces of fudge. This is what I did for the fudge in the photos.
- Make sure you use a natural peanut butter that has no added oils. The only ingredients should be peanuts and salt. There are some brands of peanut butter that are labeled natural but contain added oils. The fudge will not set with a peanut butter with added oils.
- You can use refined or unrefined coconut oil. We prefer refined coconut oil for this recipe because it has less coconut flavor but either one will work.
- The fudge is sweetened with pure maple syrup. We have not tested with sugar-free maple syrup alternatives.
- You can use plain apple butter or apple butter with spices. We prefer apple butter with spices as it adds more flavor to the fudge. The apple flavor will be more subtle in the fudge if you use plain apple butter without any spices.
Nutrition
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.
Do you think almond butter would work in the place of peanut butter?
We have not tested this recipe with almond butter but you could give it a try! I would make sure the almond butter has no extra added oils.