White Chocolate Pistachio Cranberry Fudge
White Chocolate Pistachio Cranberry Fudge is made with just three ingredients, plus pistachios and dried cranberries. It’s one of my favorite fudge recipes and the perfect holiday sweet treat!
Sweetened condensed milk, white chocolate, and vanilla extract create an easy fudge recipe that comes together in minutes and sets in the fridge. This lovely holiday treat features festive colors and makes a fantastic homemade gift. It’s a great recipe you can package in cellophane bags for a delightful, personal touch!
This recipe has been a popular recipe of mine since 2015. I recently updated some of the text and information.
How to Make White Chocolate Fudge in 2 Easy Steps
- Heat the sweetened condensed milk in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat until it reaches a very low simmer
- Add the white chocolate and stir until the chocolate melts.
- Mix in the vanilla, pistachios, and cranberries until well combined.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle additional chopped pistachios and chopped dried cranberries on top of the fudge for garnish, if desired.
- Refrigerate until set. Let it come to room temperature before cutting into pieces.
No Tempering Needed
Sweetened condensed milk gives the fudge its soft consistency, eliminating the need for tempering or a candy thermometer. Plus, this recipe is made without butter! Regular chocolate fudge, which includes milk and butter, requires tempering.
How does this work? It’s thanks to the white chocolate—technically not “chocolate” since it contains no cocoa solids, though it can legally be labeled as such. In this recipe, baking white chocolate chips or white chocolate bars are used, as they contain oil that prevents the fudge from hardening completely.
Best Pan for Fudge
I prefer using a classic 8×8-inch (20 x 20 cm) glass square pan lined with parchment paper. The parchment makes it easy to lift the fudge out of the pan for clean and effortless slicing.
White Chocolate Cranberry Pistachio Fudge is best served at room temperature. After it has set in the refrigerator, let it come to room temperature before cutting it into small squares with a sharp knife for the best texture and flavor.
Christmas Fudge – The Perfect Christmas Gift
This festive fudge makes a wonderful gift and the perfect holiday treat. Simply place the fudge pieces in party favor bags, stack them neatly, and tie them up with festive gift tags—how easy is that?!
Festive White Chocolate Treats
In keeping with this festive theme, I made a White Chocolate Cranberry & Pistachio Bark, which is also super simple. And why not enjoy a delicious cup of White Hot Chocolate alongside these treats? That would be the ultimate holiday indulgence!
Storing Homemade Fudge
To keep your homemade fudge fresh and delicious:
- Room Temperature: Store fudge in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1-2 weeks. Keep it in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight.
- Refrigeration: For longer storage, refrigerate the fudge in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks. Let it come to room temperature before serving for the best texture.
- Freezing: To extend its shelf life, freeze the fudge. Wrap individual pieces in parchment paper or plastic wrap, place them in an airtight container or freezer bag, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before enjoying.
Keep it properly sealed to maintain its flavor and texture
If you’ve tried this White Chocolate Pistachio Cranberry Fudge or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below. I love to hear from my readers!
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White Chocolate Pistachio Cranberry Fudge
A creamy white chocolate fudge studded with pistachio nuts and dried cranberries.
Ingredients
- 3 cups/28 ounces (800 grams) sweetened condensed milk
- 5 cups/32 ounces (907grams) standard size baking white chocolate chips
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup/4 ounces (113 grams) dried cranberries
- ½ cup/4 ounces shelled (113 grams) pistachios, unsalted
Instructions
- Cut 2 pieces of parchment paper measuring 15 x 8-inches (38 x 20 cm).
- Place into an 8 x 8-inch (20 x 20 cm) square baking dish, one in each direction with some overlapping. This is to help remove the fudge easily from the pan. If you increased the ingredients for more servings, you will need to use a larger pan.
- To a saucepan add the condensed milk over medium low heat and bring to a very low simmer, cook for 5 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and allow to cool a little. Add the white chocolate in small batches while stirring to slowly incorporate. Continue to stir until the chocolate has melted. Add the vanilla extract, cranberries and pistachios, stir to mix well. Pour the mix into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
- Refrigerate for at least 2 hours until set.
- Once set, remove and bring to room temperature. Cut into 2 x 2-inch (5 x 5 cm) squares.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Yield
16Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 495Total Fat 24gSaturated Fat 14gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 8gCholesterol 22mgSodium 120mgCarbohydrates 68gFiber 1gProtein 8g
This nutrition calculation is provided by Nutronix that is only a guideline and not intended for any particular diet.
Janette is a professionally trained chef based in California who channels her passion for cooking into thoughtfully crafted recipes. Her culinary creations are inspired by her English heritage as well as her favorite global cuisines, including Indian and Italian. Connect with her on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram for more delicious inspiration. More About Janette…
30 Comments on “White Chocolate Pistachio Cranberry Fudge”
Where I live, I could only find white cooking chocolate in bars, not chips. Not keen to stand grating the thick things. Any hints for using/melting chocolate bars?
You can use the bars. You can simply chop with a knife or break up using your hands.
Are there other nuts that would work?
Any of your favorite nuts will work. I just used pistachios because they are green and look festive. Enjoy!
I am not a fudge person myself but, I thought this would make a pretty add-on for teachers’ gifts at Christmas. Well, I had my family fighting over the leftovers. I suspect it will be requested every year from now on. Thank you for a great recipe
This has made my day, thank you so much.
I made a double batch today and turned out great. I’m giving them as holiday gifts, thank you for an easy recipe
Wonderful. I hope everyone enjoys them.
I made fudge for the very first time using this recipe. It came out perfect so I will be using it forever!! My husband & daughter love the creaminess of it. I prefer a chunkier fudge so I’m going to add 1 cup each of pistachios & cranberries. This is going to be a family tradition from now on. Thank you very much for posting this!!!!!!!
I meant to say, I’m going to try 1 cup in place of the 4oz measurement for each of the nuts & crans.
The more the merrier 🙂
Great, I’m so happy you enjoyed it, thank you for the feedback
I made this today and am very impressed. It tastes yummy and the recipe is so easy to follow.
Thank you so much for the feedback and happy you enjoyed it.
What is the measurements for about 22 people of each ingredient.
The recipe has a great feature where you can type in the number of servings and it will change the recipe to the exact measurements for each ingredient, then you can print it out if you need to. Let me know if you need more help.
I have started to gather the ingredients but questioned my choice of the white chocolate chips. Did you yse real white chocolate chips or the white baking chips? Most of the major brands have white baking chips on their package not white chocolate.
Hi Deb, I used Nestle toll house white chips found in the baking aisle. I would choose to use baking chips for this recipe because regular chocolate chips will be a little sweeter. Thank you for pointing that out, I have made a note in the recipe.
Thanks for stopping by and I hope you love the fudge.
I’m sure it tastes delicious for sure as the picture. So My inspiring 🙂
I owe you a huge thank you. I used toasted, salted pistachios because I wasn’t paying attention. Other than that I followed the directions exactly (except for 2×2 squares-1×1 was plenty big enough). I got rave reviews -“best fudge ever”, “wow, that’s good!” etc. I think the saltiness cut the sweetness a bit. Texture was amazing. I used Ghiradelli White Chocolate chips. Had one mildly disappointed guest who thought it was pepper jack cheese-what a face!
Wow Tim, you have made my day. Thank you for the great feedback. I think using good quality chocolate is the key and the pepper jack cheese comment is hilarious! Happy Holidays!
Hello Pam, I’m sorry the taste was not right for you. I’m not quite sure why. Did you use the right amount of white chocolate? As for the cranberries and pistachios, it sounds like you needed to mix them in more so they are evenly distributed. I hope this helps.
Is it 2 x 28 ounce tins or is the total required by the recipe 28 ounces? Thank you
Hi Anna, 2-14 ounce cans for a total of 28 ounces.
How long does it keep? I want to make it for a hamper so will be making it ahead of time
Hello Harriet. It will stay fresh if covered in a cool, dry place for 1 week and refrigerated up to 2 weeks. Thank you for stopping by.
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Made this tonight it is great next time I’m going to make a double patch
I love to hear this Maggie and I’m glad you like it. Thank you.
Wow, does this look fantabulous. I hope someone brings me some. Just a gorgeous photo too. I love the combo of cranberries and healthful pistachios…so Christmasy!