Salted Caramel Fudge Recipe: Easy Homemade Best FudgeABy Ashton · Updated August 27, 20264.97 reviews·Serves 24Jump to Recipe Save Pin Add to Google posted by Ashton on August 27, 2026 This salted caramel fudge recipe is as EASY as it is DELICIOUS! If you love sweet and salty (and easy!), this fudge is for YOU! Ohmygoodness. I cannot believe it’s December already!! I mean… I know we all say that every year, but sheesh! Wasn’t that like the fastest November ever?? Our Thanksgiving was pretty wonderful — we bought a Christmas tree in the morning, ate our feast for three in the afternoon, and watched Disney’s Frozen at night. Stuffed, sleepy, and happy. Just the way it should end! And then Friday arrived with an explosion of Christmas, icicle lights, boxes of ornaments from the attic, and peppermint bark. Christmas is HERE, you guys! 🎄 Why This Salted Caramel Fudge Recipe Is the Ultimate Treat I feel like I’m seeing homemade fudge everywhere this holiday season — all my friends are posting their best fudge recipes and honestly? I kind of want ALL of them. But this delicious salted caramel fudge is the one I keep coming back to. It hits every single one of your taste buds — creamy fudge vibes, deep caramel flavor, and that little kiss of vanilla and coarse sea salt on top. Chef’s kiss moment, truly. It’s part caramel, part fudge, and 100% the kind of sweet treat that makes people become your best friend real fast. 😂 The Right Ingredients Make All the Difference Okay so here’s the good stuff — the right ingredients are everything here. You’ll swap regular sweetened condensed milk for a can of dulce de leche, which is basically homemade caramel in a can. That one little swap is what gives this easy fudge its deep caramel flavor and those incredible caramel flavors all the way through. You’ll also need dark brown sugar for traditional fudge vibes, unsalted butter, a little bit of golden syrup or corn syrup, and milk chocolate or dark chocolate — your call! White chocolate works beautifully too if you’re feeling fancy. Oh, and sea salt flakes on top. Non-negotiable. For more salted caramel fans inspo, check out my salted caramel brownies too! 🧡 How to Make This Simple Recipe Step by Step This simple recipe comes together so fast! Line your square pan with parchment paper or wax paper — don’t skip this or you’ll be crying into the bottom of the bowl trying to get your fudge out. Melt your dulce de leche, unsalted butter, and dark brown sugar together in a heavy-based saucepan (or medium saucepan) over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. The next bit is key: keep going for about 8-10 minutes until the caramel mixture thickens and reaches the soft-ball stage — drop a tiny bit into a glass of cold water to test it. No candy thermometer needed but you can totally use one! Then pull it off the heat, stir in your chopped chocolate until melted, and pour into your prepared pan in an even layer. Tips for Perfect Fudge Consistency Every Time Want to be a total fudge master? A few quick tips! Use a non-stick pan or a double boiler if you’re nervous about scorching. Keep the heat on low heat at first, then bump to medium heat. Stir constantly — I literally cannot even tell you how many batches of crumbly fudge I’ve ruined by walking away for a couple of minutes. 😅 Once you pour it into the pan, use a small spatula to smooth the top, then sprinkle remaining sea salt and sea salt flakes over everything. Let it set at room temperature for a couple of hours, or pop it in the fridge. Once the fudge set is complete, use the parchment paper to lift the whole block of sugar-y goodness out, then slice into small squares or bite-sized squares. SO satisfying! Storing, Gifting, and Serving Your Fudge The best part? This is a killer gift! Package your individual squares in tiny cups, wrap in cling wrap, or tuck into a freezer bag or airtight container — it stays fresh for weeks! It’s literally one of the best food gifts during the holiday season. Workout incoming if you keep it on the counter, just saying. 😂 Bring it to your local holiday market, set it out to surprise guests, or tuck it into lunch box treats for the kids. You can also try different types like our caramel potato chip fudge or pralines and cream fudge — because once you go homemade fudge, you’ll want ALL the fudge recipes. The final product is always a little sticky, totally dreamy, and absolutely worth every single bite. Now go make it! ❤️ Check Out These Other Great Recipes! Reese’s Fudge White Chocolate Cinnamon Fudge Gingerbread Fudge Peppermint Fudge Easy Salted Caramel Fudge Yield: 24 Print Save this recipe for later: Save Pin Add to Google Ingredients 14 ounces Dulce de Leche* 3 cups white chocolate or white candy melts** 1 cup milk or dark chocolate morsels a pinch or two of coarse sea salt Instructions Prepare an 8x8 or 9x9 baking dish by lining it with foil or parchment. Lightly spray the lining with a non stick cooking spray. Over low heat, melt the white chocolate. Once white chocolate is smooth and completely melted, mix in the dulce de leche and a pinch of sea salt until completely incorporated. Mixture will be thick. Pour mixture into prepared baking dish and smooth into an even layer with a rubber spatula. Melt the milk chocolate morsels in the microwave (about 45-60 seconds of heating). Pour the melted chocolate over the fudge and spread evenly. Sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt. Let cool completely at room temperature for 3-4 hours (you can speed set in the fridge for about 30 minutes to an hour, but expect condensation on the fudge if you try to serve it at room temperature. Cut into 1 inch pieces to serve. Notes *This can be found in the Hispanic food aisle. OR you could boil a 14 ounce can of sweetened condensed milk for 3 hours and let cool completely. **I prefer candy melts. You can heat candy melts at a higher temperature than white chocolate, which speeds up the process a bit and ensures a smoother melted product. White chocolate works just as well, but you'll need to melt it MUCH slower to avoid seizing or burning, never increasing the heat from LOW.
Love the idea of using dulce de leche in fudge, genius! My husband could eat that stuff by the can 🙂 Glad to hear you enjoyed Thanksgiving, what were your thoughts on Frozen? Reply
We really, really liked it 🙂 I thought all the characters were adorable, and I really liked the songs! My only complaint is I felt like they didn’t develop the villain’s character enough… but that’s sort of a weirdly detailed complaint for a kid’s movie 🙂 Reply
I saw the words salted caramel and fudge and I knew I was going to be in love with this!!! Girl, I freaking love this fudge…using the dulce de leche is a genius move!!!! Reply
Hi Team I live in New Zealand and want to make this recipe however what is “Dulce de Leche” Thanks Kyla Reply
I live in NZ too I am pretty sure nestle caramelised sweetened condensed milk (as they are made the same way) would work. I will et you know after I try with my neice tomorrow. Reply
This is some killer lookin’ fudge. I took a week break for Thanksgiving, too. It was so hard getting back into the groove of things. Pinning this recipe, for sure! Reply
I’m having a brain fart what do you mean by candy melts? is that what they are called? lol thanks for your help Reply
I made this yesterday and it tastes yummy but it does not look like your pic at all. The caramel part looks very light, almost a cream color. Reply
Made this today! I had cookies on today’s to-do list, but after spending 2 1/2 hours shoveling snow this morning, this easy-to-make fudge recipe won out! Can’t wait to try it! Reply
This looks incredible, I can’t wait to try it. Any chance of giving an estimate based on weight for the white chocolate? I live in Finland and the white chocolate sold for cooking is sold in bars so hard to measure out 3 Cups! Reply
Hello! I tried this recipe a few minutes ago with Market Pantry White Chocolate Chips and Nestle La Lechera Dulce de Leche. I’ve worked with chocolate before, so I am well aware of how finicky it is. I melted the white chocolate slowly, on the lowest temperature my stove allowed until it was beautiful and fully melted. I then scooped about a teaspoon of the dulce de leche and sure enough, my entire pot of gorgeous, creamy white chocolate instantly seized. I made sure not to introduce water on any of my utensils or pots or ingredient containers or hands. I have no idea what happened! Did I get the wrong kind of dulce de leche? Mine was a caramel sauce color and consistency. Are there different types? Any help would be much appreciated. Your recipe looks amazing! Thanks! c: Reply
Dang! I hate to hear that! I didn’t have any seizing occur when I used this: http://www.amazon.com/La-Lechera-Dulce-Leche-Container/dp/B00032B8LA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1407208573&sr=8-2&keywords=dulce+de+leche Is that the same product you used? Reply
UPDATE: I read that white chocolate can also seize when liquids which are cooler than the chocolate are introduced, so I gave it another go with my remaining white chocolate. I heated them both at the same temperature, next to each other on my stove. I figured that the time it took for the white chocolate to melt would be a little under the time I wanted to give to ensuring the dulce de leche was at an adequate temperature (and make sure that it wasn’t TOO hot). After that, I added in a drop of my dulce de leche to my white chocolate and like before, my poor chocolate seized. :c Reply
Hm. I’ll do some investigating. I have some friends and family members who have made this recipe, and I’ll find out if any of them had issues with this. Maybe it’s the type of chocolate being used? I’ll ask around and get back to you when I have any more info 🙂
I too had a problem with the chocolate seizing when adding in the dulce de leche, and also used the same kind as both of you. I’ve also worked with chocolate a lot and know how white chocolate is with heating, so it stayed on low the entire time. Very upsetting to throw out so much money in ingredients. And worse to not be able to try this delicious looking fudge! 🙁 If anyone figured out what is causing the seizing, I would love to know so I can try it again sometime. Reply
I just made these today and they turned out great! I melted the candy melts in a double boiler, and I heated up the dulce de leche in the microwave for a bit before I added it. I will be making these again. By the way, the chocolate kept cracking a little when I cut it (after it cooled down)…not sure if you have any tips on how to avoid this. Thanks for posting! Reply
Yes! I’ve recently started adding about a 1/2 tbsp coconut oil to my chocolate toppings to help keep them from cracking when I cut– it works like a charm! So glad you liked the fudge 🙂 Reply
the white chococlate siezed a little but if you are patient it melts out. just keep stirring.. this was amazingly easy. I have not made anything except a box cake since i was little (I am 53) and so i needed something to help me get my feet wet. Yum and thank you. This will be the perfect gift for my girlfriend who loves salted carmel! Reply
Just whipped some up and can’t wait to try it! My bag of Wilton candy melts wasn’t quite 3 cups so I added some vanilla bark to make up. It was fine when I added my dulce de leche. It just becomes thick pretty quick. Be sure you are buying the dulce le leche carmel and not the sauce. It got kinda confusing at our local mexican market as there were several types. Mine had a nkce deep carmel color. Heck I could eat that whole can of carmel! I’ll let you knkw how mine turns out. Reply
I’ve made your recipe a few times as gifts in years past. I always swear I’m never going to do it again because it’s really gooey. It doesn’t cut into neat little squares. It is so delicious & a requested favorite. I can’t help myself. We must give the people what they want & sage some for oneself. For taste testing, of course. How can I fix this. I’ve tried refrigerating. Then the chocolate separates & breaks off. Should I add some confectioners sugar or something to thicken it up. I appreciate your help. Reply
