Peanut Butter and Jelly Chocolate Protein Fudge

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I’m not really a fan of protein powder.

Unless it’s used to make fudge.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Chocolate Protein Fudge

I find most protein powder is either chalky, fake tasting, or devoid of taste.

This fudge is none of those things. It’s rich, dense, chewy, sweet, and chocolatey.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Chocolate Protein Fudge

Combining chocolate protein powder with honey, peanuts, and peanut butter is the best use ever for protein powder.

Any day that I can make fudge from protein powder and things already in my cupboards is a good day.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Chocolate Protein Fudge

You can make the fudge as thick or thin as your little fudge eatin’ heart desires. I made mine into fairly thin squares but next time I may double up the height and make cubes rather than squares.

Or slice your fudge into strips, bars, triangles, or use a heart shaped cookie cutter. Get creative.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Chocolate Protein Fudge squares

The dark dried fruit is dried bing cherries. They came in my Naturebox and oh, how I love cherries. Fresh, frozen, maraschino, or dried, I’ve never met a cherry in a mixed drink soaked in booze  a cherry that I didn’t love.

They proved to be the “jelly” in these PB&J fudgy bites but raisins, dried blueberries, or even a spoonful of jelly swirled in the batter will work.

Stack of Peanut Butter and Jelly Chocolate Protein Fudge

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Peanut Butter and Jelly Chocolate Protein Fudge (vegan, gluten-free, soy-free, no refined sugar added)

Makes approximately 30 small bites (1-inch-by-1-inch pieces that are about 1/2-inch high; how you pour the batter and slice the fudge, i.e. thin/thick, cubes, bars, etc. will determine the piece count but this is not a “huge” recipe)

3/4 cup honey* (or brown rice syrup, agave nectar, maple syrup)

3/4 cup peanut butter (I used non-natural, i.e. Jif)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup chocolate protein powder* ( I used Sun Warrior Raw Vegan Brown Rice Protein Powder in Chocolate)

1/3 cup diced dried cherries* (or diced raisins, dried blueberries, dried fruit of your liking, or omit)

1/3 cup chopped peanuts* (or other nuts, or omit)

Note: This is a fast moving recipe so have everything ready to go before you begin and work quickly through the steps.

Line an 8-by-8-inch baking dish (or slightly smaller if you have it) or 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with foil and spray it with cooking spray. Dice the dried fruit and chop the peanuts and set aside. Dicing and chopping is preferred because smaller pieces will incorporate better into the batter.

Pour the honey into a medium-sized sauce pan and heat over medium-high heat until it almost begins to boil but do not let it boil; turn off the heat. Add the peanut butter and stir until smooth. Add the vanilla extract and stir, using caution as it could bubble up a bit. Add the protein powder and stir, taking care to work quickly because batter will get increasingly stiff as time elapses. Quickly fold in the diced fruit and peanuts.

Spread the mixture into approximately half the width of the prepared pan, noting the mixture will not cover the entire pan. Keep the mixture about 1/2 inch in thickness, or thicker if you prefer thicker cube-like fudge, but do not spread it paper thin (I called for an 8-by-8-inch pan because most people have that size or something similar and if using a loaf pan, the mixture could likely cover the base of the pan entirely). Place pan into the freezer for at least 90 minutes. Remove from the freezer and slice fudge into desired size, waiting five to ten minutes to slice it if fudge has frozen too solid for slicing.

Store fudge in an airtight container in the freezer for up to three months or in the refrigerator for up to one month. I do not recommend storing this at room temperature as it becomes too soft for my liking. I store mine in the freezer and remove it five minutes before I intend to eat it as I like my fudge well-chilled.

*Notes, suggestions, variations:

The honey can replaced with maple syrup, yacon syrup, brown rice syrup, agave nectar or mix-and-match various sweeteners.

I used Sun Warrior Raw Vegan Rice Brown Protein Powder in Chocolate. The recipe can likely be made with any flavor protein powder you have from vanilla to strawberry to cookies and cream and I’m sure other flavors, brands, and types will work (whey, soy, etc.) but I have not tested them. I called for 1/2 cup of protein powder and the batter was tacky and sticky however if using another type of protein powder or you want to make this more dry and crumbly than dense and chewy fudge-like, increase the protein powder amount based on your preference and brand used.

Dried fruits such as: raisins, apricots, dates, pineapple, mango, blueberries, apples or any type of dried fruit you have and like, or use one at all.

Nuts and seeds such as: diced cashews, almonds, macadamia nuts, hemp seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, chia seeds, or any type of nut or seed you have and like, or use none at all.

You could also add coconut flakes, chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, white chocolate chips, toffee bits, cereal pieces, whole rolled oats.

Ingredients and ratios may need to be altered and tweaked based on type and brand of protein powder used, peanut butter used, add-in’s used, and personal taste preferences.

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The best part of this fudge is that it’s “healthy”. I really don’t like using that word because we all have different definitions of what it means, in both food and in life.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Chocolate Protein Fudge

I think it’s healthy to have some mindless reality tv lined up on your DVR for mental escapes every now and then. We all know that there’s a new season of the Karsdashians and that the Real Housewives of New Jersey are starting back up soon, right?

I think green salads are healthy but so is indulging in fluffy frosting every now and then. Moderation, balance.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Chocolate Protein Fudge Squares

However, this fudge is probably healthier than Crack Pie.

How much healthier? I couldn’t really tell you. I don’t keep track of “stats” on any food I make but there are plenty of online websites that you can plug the values into if you track these types of things. I’d rather waste time spend my time on Pinterest.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Chocolate Protein Fudge stack

What I can tell you is that:

This fudge literally only took 5 minutes to make

It makes a modest batch of about 30 one-inch thinnish squares (bars or thicker cubes will yield a lower piece count)

It’s vegan (use agave, brown rice syrup, or or the other suggestions I gave in the recipe if you don’t consume honey)

It’s gluten-free

It’s soy-free

There’s no added white or brown sugar in this fudge – that’s a first

It’s protein packed from the protein powder, peanut butter, and peanuts

The peanuts and dried fruit added great texture to this chewy, dense, yet soft fudge

The slight saltiness of the peanut butter balances the sweetness of the honey or other sweetener

Peanut butter and chocolate (or chocolate protein powder) is always a winning food combo

The possibility to get creative with how thick to make the fudge, the shapes it’s sliced in, the add-in’s used…oh the sky is the limit.

My wheels are already turning for my next version.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Chocolate Protein Fudge

Related protein powder recipes:

Chocolate Brownie Protein Oats (vegan, GF) – I used to eat this all the time but forgot about it for, oh, a couple years now. Whoops

Microwave Banana Oat Cakes (vegan, GF) – Add a scoop of protein powder to the batter

Microwave Banana Oat Cake

Other fudge recipes:

Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge (no-bake, GF)

Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge

Girl Scout “Thin Mint”-Inspired Fudge (raw/no-bake, vegan, GF)

Girl Scout “Thin Mint”-Inspired Fudge

Vegan Fudge (no-bake, Gluten/Soy/Tree-Nut Free)

Vegan Fudge
 
Vegan Fudge

White Chocolate Cookies & Cream Fudge

White Chocolate Cookies & Cream Fudge

White Chocolate Peanut, Pretzel, & Chocolate Chip Fudge

White Chocolate Peanut, Pretzel, & Chocolate Chip Fudge

Do you use protein powder and if so, how? Any favorite brands, recipes, or thoughts about protein powder?

I used Sun Warrior Raw Vegan Brown Rice Protein Powder in Chocolate in this recipe and as I mentioned, I’m sure other types of protein powder will work from soy to whey, from vanilla flavored to peanut butter flavored. Let me know if you experiment with them.

If you’re in the market for protein powder, consider buying it from iHerb.com because they are so reasonable.

Use coupon code AVE630 to save $10 off your first order until the end of this month. At other times, that code will save you $5 off your order and all orders over $40 ship free. Never pay retail again for your probiotics, nutritional yeast, or stevia. My newest find are these probiotics. Love them.

I don’t “track” my protein consumption. Protein is not something I “concentrate on getting more of” but everyone’s bodies and are so different. I’ve found my body seems to thrive with more carbs and fat than protein, and protein powders can be harsh on my gut. Of all the protein powders I’ve tried, Sun Warrior brown rice in chocolate is my favorite and bothers my stomach the least. Their vanilla is nice, too; the natural is a bit too boring for me.

Do you like fudge?

Safe to assume with my multiple varieties of it, that yes, I do like it.

However, I can go for 6 or 12 months without making any. Most of the fudge recipes I’ve featured have been made in November or December, every year, in advance of the Christmas and New Years holidays. I don’t normally think fudge in the spring but clearly fudge knows no season for me.

Winner of the KitchenAid 7-Quart Stand Mixer Giveaway announced on Wednesday

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Comments

  1. I have never made fudge but this looks really good. i actually have some chocolate sun warrior but think it has a weird taste and not all that chocolately. Is the fudge chocolately or more peanut buttery. Maybe I could add a couple TB of cocoa powder for a deeper chocolate (always a plus in my book!)

    1. It’s equal PB and choclatey taste. That said, if you don’t like Sun Warrior chocolate, you just are probably not a fan of ANY protein powders. Of the dozens and dozens I’ve sampled over the years, it’s by far and away the least chalky, weird, “off-tasting”, etc. Basically, it’s as non-protein powder tasting as protein powder is going to get, IMO.

      LMK if you try the fudge!

  2. you’ve just given me an excuse to by sun warrior protein and more peanut butter. NOt a bad temptation.
    xxoo

  3. I use protein powder in my smoothies because I can’t taste it there, but I don’t use it anywhere else. I use pea protein and I love using it because it just has that one ingredient. Too many protein powders are so full of junk and extra sugars that I prefer to save for ice cream and candy ;)

    1. I think you’d love this fudge…it’s sweet and fits all your food restrictions/allergies!

      1. Oh yes. We both know how hard that can be! I’m always such a whiner when I comment on recipes. lol

  4. I love the idea of using protein powder in fudge – no matter how the powder tastes I can imagine ANYTHING would taste good with that fudge, holy moley!

  5. If the fudge has protein is totally acceptable to have it as many times per day as you want :) Looks delicious, love all the ingredients!

  6. Yum!! Looks like a fantastic (and portable!) post-workout snack option.

    In answer to the question: do you like fudge? hahahaha YES!

  7. Since my blender was stolen (I know, right?), I’ve been having trouble putting my buckets of protein shake to use. I went right ahead and made this recipe, and I love it!

    I did add a bit more PB because I found it was too sweet with equal proportions of PB to sweetener (I used agave nectar, which is just so…sweet), and mixed in some wild blueberry preserves at the end. This is fantastic!

    1. Wow, that’s awesome that you made this SO FAST! Yay!! And that you were able to tweak it to your liking. Depending on everyone’s ingredients, the protein powder used, the type/kind of PB used, etc. you may need to tweak a hair, and you did. GLAD it was a success! Thanks for LMK!!! :)

  8. This looks soooo amazing! just bought some sunwarrior, and it is my favorite protein powder I’ve ever tried!

  9. This looks awesome! I’m a big fan (and new, at that) of using protein powder in baked (or non-baked!) goods. I’ve never tried Sun Warrior protein, but see it all over the blogosphere! If it’s really that good, I’m going to need to shell out the cash for it.

    1. I’ve been using it for about 5-6 years if and when I use protein powder, that’s my go-to.

  10. mmm i LOVE fudge! i think i’m going to make this today! i hope it turns out as i’ll be using some of your suggested substitutions.

  11. these look great! I definitely think that a nice dose of reality TV is healthy. My current reality obsessions are Ice Loves Coco (strangely compelling and adorable), Giuliana & Bill (I love her) and my girl Bethenny.

    1. Coco and Guiliana are two reality shows I don’t watch actually…but Bethenny, definitely yes!

  12. Mmmmm, you can see the moistness in that fudge! I have seen a few protein powder fudge recipes but have yet to try them (too much holiday snacks still around). I feel like I channeled you for a moment Averie- In one of the pictures the peanuts almost looked like white chocolate chips :).

    1. Lol on the white choc chips and yes, the fudge turned out super moist. HATE dry baked goods, even those use protein powder :)

  13. ok, this is SUCH a good idea. i need to make this asap. it would be amazing before/after a workout!

  14. Averie, I’m not a huge fan of protein powder either, but THESE, yeah, I could get into these!!!

    1. I’m with you and use it so rarely but it was worth dusting off my canister for this recipe!

  15. I got into the protein powder thing for a little while there (thanks to the blogosphere hoopla over it), but then I realized it sucks, and I stopped eating it. Chalky, yes. I never found a god flavor, and if I’d been more into it and its purported benefits, I’d have kept looking. As it is, I eat meat and don’t feel like I need more protein.

    Fudge, on the other hand, I do need more!

    1. I remember when you were on the bandwagon. Ahhh, memories. Well, if you have extra laying around, make fudge with it!