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
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.
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!
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
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.
Kaylin says
Do you add the powdered sugar while it is still on the heat in the sauce pan?
Amy Engberson says
I removed the saucepan from the heat before I added the powdered sugar. I’ll clarify that in the instructions.
Erin says
Has anyone actually made this? How long do you cook it? To what temperature? What’s the best size pan to put this in? How long do you chill it for?
This isn’t a recipe. It’s a list of ingredients and and an idea.
Amy Engberson says
There actually is a recipe on page 2 of the post. At the bottom of page 1 you will notice a grey box that says “click here for recipe”. The recipe gives detailed instrucrtions on what size of pan to use and the rest of the instructions for making it!
Ben says
A few questions about this recipe. How does a pudding mix become fudge by adding butter, milk and sugar? The recipe calls for small boxes of mix, your link is to large boxes. I followed this recipe, if I used a 9×9 pan the recipe filled the pan 1/4″. I ended up with sugary lemon thick almost pudding. Cheese Cake came out nice.
Amy Engberson says
This mixture becomes fudge because the dry pudding mix is mixed with milk and butter making a thick mixture. Then when you add that much powdered sugar it becomes thick and fudge like1 It’s a fun new fudge flavor! I used a 9 x 9 pan and it was thicker than 1/4 inch. Most of my recipes don’t need to be followed precisely, but this one does. Better luck next time!
Sam says
How long do you cook it? These look delicious!
Amy Engberson says
I cook them mixture for one minute after adding milk and pudding mix. They are delicious! Merry Christmas!
Olena farm wife says
Could you use other cook n serve pudding flavors…like butterscotch ?
Amy Engberson says
Yes! I’m planning on creating several different versions of this same fudge! Let me know which varieties you try.
Beth says
This tastes great..I love lemon anything. My problem was that mine turned out a mustard yellow.. Was the butter too hot? Not sure what happened but we had a good laugh! Thank you for the recipe.
Amy Engberson says
That’s so strange! I can’t imagin it has anything to do with the butter. Cooking it too hot or too long might make it turn a little darker yellow. Also if you used a different brand of pudding it might make a difference. Glad it tasted good though! Merry Christmas!
Sally K says
We cannot find the small boxes of Lemon Cook and Serve for Jello Brand. All they have on their website is the large 4.2 oz box of Lemon Cook and Serve, how would we improvise. We bought 2 4.2 boxes.
Amy Engberson says
I bought 2.9 ounce sized boxes. I suppose you could weight the pudding mix from the larger boxes until you get 5.8 ounces (the weight of 2 boxes). It’s a nuisance, but it would work. Last time I went to my grocery store they were out of both sizes of lemon pudding. Good luck!
Christine M Lane says
How much butter and powder sugar do u add to lemon fudge?
Amy Engberson says
At the end of the first page there is a grey box that says “Click here for recipe”. If you click that box it should take you to a printable recipe with a full list of ingredients and instructions. It’s 1/2 cup of butter and 3 3/4 cups powdered sugar. Let me know if you can’t find it. Merry Christmas!
Judith says
Hi! We don’t have the cook/serve stuff in Holland. How can I change the recipy?
Amy Engberson says
I haven’t ever tried using anthing besides cook and serve lemon pudding. I’m not sure how to substitute and make it work correctly. Maybe you can order some from Amazon.
Neryssa says
Is this fudge have the same texture than an usual fudge or its more like ”pudding jelly” texture ? Sounds sooooo good !!
Amy Engberson says
This fudge is very similar to tradtional fudge. It has a firm texture and holds it’s shape nicely!
Jamie says
Can you use instant putting what does it have to be the kind you cook?
Amy Engberson says
I’m not exactly sure what the difference is between instant and cook and serve pudding. I have tried using instant pudding in place of cook a serve in a differnt recipe and it didn’t work out. So I haven’t experimented with this one. Let me know if you try it! Merry Christmas
Darlene says
You’ve left out the word “farm”?
Your opening sentence reads:
About Amy Engberson
I live on a dairy with my husband and three boys.
Amy Engberson says
I suppose the word farm could be added, and it’s probalby even grammatically correct. We call it a dairy all the time without adding farm to the end.
Myra says
I made this last night & followed the direction but it is eat with a spoon fudge. What are possibilities for that to happen?
Amy Engberson says
So sorry to hear that. Exacty measurments as well as exact cooking time is important in recipes like this. Undercooking or undermeasuring could result in a softer texture. It’s also important to do things in the correct order. This fudge is super easy to make, the recipe just has to be followed exactly! Hopefully it works for you next time.
Patti says
You don’t say how much ice of anything, what are the measurements of everything…please. Thank you
Patti says
Sorry not ice, just exact measurements please.
Amy Engberson says
At the bottom of the page there is a little grey box that say’s click here for the recipe. If you click that box the printable recipe will be waiting for you on the next page! Let me know if you can’t find it!
Amy Engberson says
If you click on the grey box (it says something like “click here for recipe”) at the bottom of the first page it will take you to the second page with the full printable recipe ingredient list and instructions. Let me know if you still can’t find it and I’ll get the direct link to you!
Cheryl S. says
I love lemon drops! And this looks like a huge lemon drop or lemon chunk! I can’t wait to make this and share with my family! Thank for the idea! Merry Christmas from Iowa!
Amy Engberson says
Lemon is such a fun and refreshing flavor, especially this time of the year! I hope you love them as much as we do! Merry Christmas!
Michelle says
How should this be stored? Fridge? Out on the counter?
Amy Engberson says
I store Lemon Fudge in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Merry Christmas!
nita Dresner says
I am interested to know how well this stays uniform once taken from the fridge. Will it hold its denseness and be firm so it may be shipped?
Thanks in advance for your reply. nita Dresner
Amy Engberson says
I store this fudge in and airtight container in the fridge and it holds it’s shape very well. I think it would continue to hold it’s shape even if you left it at room temperature. It’s pretty sturdy! Merry Christmas!
Cheryl Fullerton says
Nita,
Did you try shipping it? I was thinking the same thing. I usually only make fudge that does not need refrigeration, so not sure about this one. Really want to make it though! Please let me know what you ended up doing. And thank you Amy for sharing this great idea/receipt!!
Cheryl
Amy Engberson says
I think it would be just fine to ship. I usually store mine in the fridge but don’t think it would hurt it to leave it at room temperature either!
Deb Herin says
What is lemon cook and serve pudding? I live in England and would like to know the British equivalent please. I love anything lemon and have just finished making my Christmas treats but this looks wonderful and would like to make some.
Amy Engberson says
It’s a pudding mix. I used Jell-O brand. Here’s the link so you can see exactly what it is! http://www.kraftrecipes.com/products/jell-o-pudding-cook-serve-lemon-747
Anne Marie says
I’m wondering if lemon meringue pie filling would work the same way.
Amy Engberson says
Hi Anne! I don’t think lemon meringue pie filling would work out very well. You could always try it though!
Maureen says
Did it work for you? I have the can of pie filling and was gonna try it.
Brandy | Nutmeg Nanny says
My father in law is a HUGE lemon fan! Maybe this will find its way into his stocking this year!
Angie | Big Bear's Wife says
I love how bright and pretty this fudge is! ooo yea and 5 minutes, I love it!
Amy Engberson says
So many things to love about this fudge!
Jen @ The Weary Chef says
OMG! This looks really good! I love anything lemon flavored! And this one looks perfect to me! 😀
Amy Engberson says
Lemon flavored candy is such a refreshing flavor this time of the year!
Erin @ The Speckled Palate says
YUM! What a delicious lemon-y dessert for the holidays! I love chocolate, too, but there’s always something nice about a tart lemon treat to break up all that chocolate goodness. 😉
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I love practically anything with lemon so these sound especially terrific!
Amy Engberson says
Me too! They are so yummy and so easy! Love it!
Elaine says
2 questions. How do you get it so bright yellow? Mine was barely a color at all. Also I made a huge rookie mistake. Lol! Which I am not.
I failed to check the total measurements of my ingredients before I started. Found myself with only 2 cups of icing sugar. With no option to go get .ore at that moment. I’ve stuck it the fridge. We will wait and see what it does. Do u have any suggestions of something else i could of added instead??
Amy Engberson says
Hi Elaine! If your fudge doesn’t set up you could eat it with a spoon! Did you use Jell-O brand pudding? I’m wondering if other brands are lighter in color? You could add yellow food coloring, although I’ve never needed to. There’s really not a great substitute for powdered sugar. You can add granulated sugar to a food processor and blend until it’s fine and fluffy to make confectioners sugar too!
Joanie @ ZagLeft says
Oh my gosh, I love this recipe! The fudge is so pretty and would make such a great showing on a dessert table.
Amy Engberson says
I love the splash of bright flavors and color this fudge adds to dessert trays!