Last Updated on July 14, 2025 by Deliciously Organic
This almond coconut fudge is the perfect treat for the holiday season!
As the holiday rush starts to creep in, I’m doing my best to fight it and keep everything calm. This week featured a whirlwind of events from parties to last-minute Christmas shopping to getting all those Christmas cards ordered and in the mail. I try to steal a few moments for reflection, thinking about the meaning of what I’m doing. I sit on the couch with the kids for some hugs and enjoy the cooking and baking that goes with the season.
Each year I make dozens of homemade confections, put them in pretty boxes and deliver them to the neighbors. This year I wanted to include some fudge without corn syrup, sweetened condensed milk, or refined sugars. I found a coconut fudge recipe in the new book Make it Paleo; I recently purchased a copy and found many simple grain-free recipes (A great book!).
The recipe requires a sturdy blender (like a VitaMix) or a food processor. Coconut whizzes in the blender for about 10 minutes, until it turns into coconut butter. You then stir the butter with a few more ingredients, pour it all into a dish and chill until firm. The fudge is subtly sweet, has a nice cocoa flavor, and a hint of almond. An uncomplicated fudge for a busy holiday season.
Almond Coconut Fudge Recipe (Paleo, Primal, Dairy Free)
Adapted from Make it Paleo.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
For the fudge:
- 3 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 6 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/2 teaspoon Celtic sea salt
- 16 almonds (optional)
Instructions
- Place coconut in the bowl of a food processor or a Vitamix. Process for 10-15 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl every few minutes, until coconut becomes a smooth butter (it will look like a thick liquid). Pour coconut butter into a mixing bowl and stir in cocoa powder, maple syrup, vanilla, almond extract and sea salt. Pour into an 8 x 8-inch baking dish that has been lined with parchment paper (mixture will be very thick). Chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours until firm. Invert baking dish onto a cutting board, peel parchment off of the fudge and cut into squares. Press an almond into each square if desired.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: Makes about 16 pieces.
This looks yummy!
this looks so rich and decadent and delicious – perfect for the holidays.
coconut- chocolate and almond, done.
This looks so yummy! Hope to try it soon. Thanks for sharing it!
Carrie, these sound fantastic!
This looks delicious! I love using coconut butter for things like this, I love the texture when it solidifies especially when it’s mixed with other things. I’ll have to try this for sure 🙂
This recipe looks amazing! I love chocolate but cannot tolerate dairy. I also love that this is a healthier version and doesn’t include refined sugar. Thanks for posting! Happy holidays 🙂
I’m gonna have to try this one!
This is probably the best and healthiest fudge recipe I have come across. I will try it.
Hi Carrie,
That sounds good. Having been grain free now for 3 months, I’m really loving it. I was wondering what resources you’ve read that you recommend? I noticed in this post you mention Make it Paleo. I did read Wheat Belly which started this whole journey. If you have any others, would you let me know? Thanks!!
Hi Sally, At this point the only books I’ve read are Wheat Belly and then I just picked up “Make it Paleo” the other day. Other great books that aren’t necessarily about giving up grains are, “Eat Fat, Lose Fat” by Sally Fallon, “The GAPS Diet” by Natasha Campbell-McBride, “Nutritional and Physical Degeneration” by Weston Price. I’d start with “Eat Fat, Lose Fat” first, as the others dig a lot deeper and can be overwhelming to some. As I find more books, I’ll be sure to include them in my posts!
Thanks! I will check that out. I am familiar with Sally Fallon (Nourishing Traditions), however with this book you’re recommending does she hit on being grain free? I know Nourishing Traditions is not grain free, just curious. Appreciate your insight.
I made this today, but my mixture didn’t “pour” into the pan like the recipe states. It was pretty thick yet… I wonder what I did wrong?
The mixture is supposed to be thick. t added that detail into the instructions. Thanks for bringing that up!
Thanks! Mine was REALLY thick. I wonder if I didn’t keep it in the food processor long enough? The fudge tastes delicious, but it looks terrible since it was so lumpy and thick! 🙂
If it was lumpy, then you didn’t leave the coconut in the food processor long enough. The coconut should have turned into a thick liquid. Aside from the lumps, I’m glad you enjoyed the flavor! 🙂
Mmm so yummy sounding!
Yum- almond/coconut lover here, so I love everything about this fudge!
I love the protein and healthy foods in here, a power treat!
I must try this!
a winning duo of flavors on this one, YUM!
This recipe looks great. I just can’t get past the first step. The unsweetened shredded coconut has been in my food processor for over 15 minutes and it is still a fine powder. I have been stopping every few minutes to scrape down the sides. Am I doing something wrong?
My only guess is that either your coconut is dried out, or the food processor isn’t running fast enough. You can add a tablespoon of water and see if that helps. Here’s a post from The Kitchn, with some step-by-step photos. http://www.thekitchn.com/one-ingredient-recipe-coconut-butter-166405
how much coconut butter does the shredded coconut yield? i have a jar of delicious coconut butter and wondered if a shortcut would work.
That’s a great question! I’m not sure, but my best guess is it makes 1 1/2 cups. I would mix all of the ingredients, taste it and if it’s not thick enough, you can add more coconut butter.
Is it possible to sub coconut oil and/or cream for the liquefied coconut? In what amount?
I haven’t tried it, but I think it would work well. I have some coconut butter from Wilderness Family Naturals in the pantry so I’m going to give it a try and then I’ll post the adaptation. Right now, my best guess is to use 1 1/2 – 2 cups coconut butter. After you mix everything together, taste it and if you think it needs a bit more, then stir a bit more in.
Hi Deborah –
Coconut oil and coconut cream are very different from coconut butter. It’s like the difference between the texture of crisco, whole milk and peanut butter. I don’t think it will work at all. I am interested in using prepared coconut butter myself, because although it is more cost-effective to make my own, my food processor doesn’t like the job! Burned one out this year making too much!
YUM Carrie! Totally pinning this. 🙂
Thanks Christina!
This looks so yummy! I’m definitely going to make this. My mom loves fudge and I love making healthier desserts. Win win!
Do you think using honey would work instead of maple syrup? My kids are on GAPS and they cant do the syrup 🙁
Honey should work just fine, but I don’t think cocoa powder is Gaps approved so you might want to check on that to be sure.
Yeah its actually ok after digestive issues have gone away. My kids have been handling it fine thankfully because Ive been baking with it before I knew it wasnt allowed!
That’s good to know! My daughter did the gaps diet all year and I just added back a bit of cocoa for her. She feels like she’s totally cheating by having cocoa in her smoothie. So sweet! 🙂
I made this tonight but didn’t have almond extract so I tried it with a little powdered peanut butter. Wow! So delicious. I can’t wait to try it with almond. Thank you!!
I’m glad you enjoyed it! The addition of peanut butter sounds really nice!
I’d like to make these but wonder if coconut oil would work in lieu of shredding coconut?
Thanks!
Coconut oil won’t work, but coconut cream or coconut butter should make for a nice substitute. Here’s a link: http://www.tropicaltraditions.com/coconut_cream_concentrate.htm
I made these yesterday and your picture of them they are really thick. Mine were paper thin!
Interesting. What size pan did you use?
8×8 just like the recipe states. And I used 3 cups of coconut like stated as well.
We made this for New Year’s Eve and it is fabulous!!!!
Yay! Thanks for the feedback. Happy New Year! 🙂