This easy keto fudge with cocoa powder is chewy, chocolatey and perfectly sweet, even though it is made without any sugar. Even better, each piece has 0 net carbs.
I made a batch of my Keto Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge last week. It is delicious and I have been eating a square every day.
But every time I wondered: Why have I never tried making a chocolate fudge without peanut butter?
After all, I have a dedicated keto peanut butter fudge recipe, but no classic fudge!
Without further ado, I went into recipe creation mode. And here is the result: the creamiest, richest and most decadent keto chocolate fudge you can imagine.
I made the recipe four times until I arrived at the perfect ratio of ingredients. I know exactly what works - and what does not work. I learned the hard way!
In this post, I will show you how to make smooth and fail-safe sugar-free fudge with cocoa powder and sugar-free condensed milk.
It tastes just like authentic chocolate fudge. You won't believe how chewy and yummy it is.
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🌟 Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Creamy, chewy fudge texture
- Deep chocolate flavor
- Naturally gluten-free
- Sugar-free and keto friendly
- Only 5 ingredients and 0.8g net carbs per square
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you'll need:
- Heavy Cream - This is also called heavy whipping cream or double cream.
- Butter - I used salted butter for additional flavour. Unsalted butter is also an option.
- Allulose - This is the best sweeter for this fudge recipe because it does not recrystallise like other zero-carb sugar substitutes. Allulose melts just like sugar.
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- Vanilla Extract - Optional, but it does improve the flavour.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Instructions
It's surprisingly easy to make this keto chocolate fudge recipe. Here are the basic steps.
For detailed instructions, scroll down to the recipe card.
Step 1: First, make the keto condensed milk. Put the heavy cream, butter, allulose and vanilla extract into a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat.
Step 2: Simmer the mixture over medium to low heat for 20 minutes until golden and thickened. Stir regularly. Towards the end, stir continuously.
Step 3: Turn off the heat and stir in the unsweetened cocoa powder.
Step 4: Pour the fudge mixture into a dish that you have lined with parchment paper.
Put the fudge in the freezer until it has fully set. Then, cut it into 16 squares with a sharp knife.
Expert Tips
Stir the condensed milk regularly while it is cooking on the stovetop. Towards the end of cooking, stir it continuously. This way, it can thicken as much as possible and does not burn.
Allulose really is the best sweetener for this recipe, because it sets so smooth. I first used it in my chewy keto toffee.
Warm the knife blade before cutting and clean the knife between cuts.
Recipe Variations
Dairy-free option: It is easy to make a dairy-free sugar free fudge. Simply replace the cream with coconut cream and use coconut oil instead of the butter.
Another idea is to omit the cocoa powder and make a classic butter fudge. For this, add an additional tablespoon of butter. Also, cook the condensed milk for a further 5 minutes until it turns into a darker caramel.
Or how about peppermint chocolate fudge? Add ½ teaspoon mint extract to the mixture.
Last but not least, you could add a keto caramel swirl to the fudge.
Toppings
I topped my keto fudge with coarse sea salt flakes. Here are other ideas for toppings:
- Chopped nuts. Chopped pecans are my favourite option. Walnuts, almonds or hazelnuts also work. Toasting the nuts first increases their flavour.
- Unsweetened desiccated coconut or toasted coconut flakes.
- Freeze-dried raspberries or sugar free dried cranberries
- Grated orange zest
Recipe FAQs
Sugar-free fudge is very low in carbs. One square of this chocolate fudge contains only 0.8g net carbs.
I recommend allulose. It is the only zero-carb sugar substitute that sets smooth and does not re-crystallise as it cools.
Yes. You can use erythritol or erythritol monk fruit sweetener blends such as Lakanto. Bocha Sweet, Swerve or xylitol will also work. It is very important to use a powdered sweetener. Granulated sweeteners will give the fudge a gritty texture. Also, if you are not using allulose, reduce the sweetener amount by 1 tablespoon.
I don't recommend it because sugar free chocolate seizes easily when heated. This causes the fudge to separate. After two failed attempts, I made one successful fudge version using sugar-free chocolate chips instead of cocoa powder. I found that once the melted chocolate is added, the mixture firms up very quickly. It was not as smooth as the version with cocoa powder.
No, the recipe is not suitable for the microwave.
Store keto chocolate fudge in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week. Or, store it in the freezer for up to 3 months. I think it tastes best straight from the freezer.
Serving Suggestion
We like to eat a square of fudge in the afternoon with a cup of keto iced coffee or almond milk matcha latte.
Keto chocolate fudge is also a delicious mini dessert.
Related Recipes
- Keto Candied Pecans10 Minutes
- Coconut Haystacks40 Minutes
- Keto Peanut Butter Cups (like Reese's)30 Minutes
- Keto Peanut Butter Bars2 Hours 15 Minutes
Tried this recipe? Give it a star rating below!
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Recipe
Keto Fudge With Cocoa Powder
Equipment
- 5x5 inch container
Ingredients
- 1 cup heavy cream 240ml
- ⅓ cup allulose 70g (use ¼ cup for powdered erythritol blends or any other 1:1 powdered sweetener))
- 2 tablespoon butter 28g
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean powder
- ⅓ cup cocoa powder unsweetened, 30g
Instructions
- Put the heavy cream, butter, allulose and vanilla extract into a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat.
- Simmer the cream mixture over medium to low heat for 20 minutes until golden and thickened. Stir regularly. Towards the end, stir continuously.
- Take the cream mixture off the heat and let it cool to lukewarm.
- Stir in the unsweetened cocoa powder. Taste and adjust sweetener, if necessary.
- Pour the fudge mixture into a 5x5 inch dish that you have lined with parchment paper. Option to top with coarse sea salt flakes once it has cooled a little.
- Put the fudge in the freezer for around 1 hour or until it has fully set. Then, cut it into 16 squares with a sharp knife.
Nikki
Delicious. I made 1/2 plain (no chocolate) and 1/2 coffee (added 1 teaspoon of coffee) and poured into ice mould. Only made 10. Didn’t set hard even though I simmered it for 30 minutes and have left them in the freezer but they come out of the mould with a teaspoon and a gooey and yummy.
Katrin Nürnberger
Hi Nikki, glad you liked the fudge! Next time, turn up the heat a little higher so the mixture can reduce more. That way, it should set firmer.
Annmarie
Hi Katrin,
At step five, could I pour this into an ice-cube tray to have that size squares as a treat instead of chocolate with my coffee. my ice-cube trays are the mediium to larger squares and not the tiny ice-cubes, but they wlll be smaller than if I cut them.?
Katrin Nürnberger
Yes, that is a great idea - it should work well.
Collette
This is lovely!! Made it with chopped nuts, made it with mint extract and original - all are lovely. My go to sweet treat. Thanks for sharing x
T S
When I went to make this today I didn’t have any cocoa powder left so just made a plain version, which was delicious!
Laurie
Very easy to make and OH SO GOOD!! Hubs approved!!
kenneth.j.burd
My condensed milk never got golden. I stirred it while boiling and simmering 22 minutes. It looked like canned condensed milk but didnt darken.
Katrin Nürnberger
Hi Kenneth, you must have changed the ingredients then. Butter browns, and so does allulose. What ingredients did you use?
Vicky Hamilton
Mine never got very thick. I added some more powdered sweetener and put it in small muffin tin individual portions. Popped it in the freezer. If it still doesn’t firm up, will use in hot chocolate or a frosting maybe. The flavor is excellent.
Katrin Nürnberger
It should firm up further in the freezer. However, the key is to cook down the mixture sufficiently on the stove. Once enough liquid has evaporated, it becomes fudgy.
Scott
How much to cook down? Can you give a rough estimate of the volume reduction?
Katrin Nürnberger
The total weight of my fudge was 250 g. This is about one cup. Hope that helps!
Brenda
I followed your suggestion for the vegan option using coconut cream & coconut oil but it didn’t set even in the freezer. It turned out more like ice cream than fudge. Tasted delicious though. What did I do wrong?
Katrin Nürnberger
If it did not set, it means that the mixture contained too much liquid. And to reduce the liquid, the mixture would need to be cooked for longer. Hope that will sort out the issue next time!