Healthy Dark Chocolate Orange Fudge (sugar-free)

This healthy homemade dark chocolate orange fudge is healthy, super quick and easy to make and tasty! This naturally sweetened fudge is made with just four ingredients including fresh oranges and dates!

For more naturally sweetened and chocolate themed recipes, you will love our chocolate granola clusters, healthy homemade chocolates and chocolate and peanut butter fudge!

Way back when I visited a favorite fudge shop to see how they made their amazing fudge, I discovered it’s mainly sugar, sugar syrup, and plenty of butter!

If you’ve ever made fudge, you'll also know how much sugar and butter goes into a typical fudge recipe!

As a huge fan of fudge, I wanted to create a healthier version that still tastes delicious.

After experimenting with different ingredients, I found a way to make fudge with healthier ingredients.

One of my favorite combinations is orange and chocolate, which is what inspired this recipe (as well as our orange chocolate hearts recipe)!

Jump to:

• Why You'll Love this Recipe
• Ingredients You'll Need
• How to Make Dark Chocolate Orange Fudge
• Tips to make the Best Chocolate orange Fudge
• How to store
• How to serve
• Sweet snacks
• Fresh juice
• Healthy dark chocolate orange fudge (sugar-free)

Why You'll Love this Recipe

• Healthier than store-bought – this recipe has no refined sugar! Plus you only need four ingredients including fresh oranges, dates, cacao powder and coconut oil! 
• Tasty fudge made using fresh oranges – the refreshing orange flavour comes from the zest and juice of fresh oranges
• Naturally sweetened with dates – I like using dates to sweeten the fudge! Dates are high nutrients including fibre and antioxidants plus they bring a unique subtle caramel-like flavour which is great for this fudge! 
• Easy and quick to make – you don’t need to prepare the fudge over the stove... all you have to do is blend the ingredients in a food processor and allow the fudge to set in the freezer! That's all!

Bonus: you do not need any condensed milk (which has added sugar) or butter to make this fudge!

Ingredients You'll Need

• Dates: you can use soft dates including Medjool dates. Make sure the dates are pitted (the pit/seeds are removed) before measuring them and adding to the food processor. 
• Fresh oranges: you will need the zest and juice from fresh oranges for this fudge. Use unwaxed oranges.
• Raw Cacao Powder:  I recommend using raw cacao powder (which is much less processed than cocoa powder) and brings a richer chocolate taste. If you do not have raw cacao powder you can substitute for cocoa powder.  
• Coconut oil: use unrefined, organic, virgin coconut oil which is cold-pressed. This helps the texture of the fudge and adds a hint of coconut taste too. 

How to Make Dark Chocolate Orange Fudge

1. Soak the dates in boiling water. Soak the pitted dates in boiling water (approx. ½ cup to cover dates) for 10-15 minutes. 
2. Make a date paste. Drain the dates using a colander and add them to a food processor, blitz for 1-2 minutes, until a sticky paste is formed. 
3. Add remaining ingredients to food processor. Pour in the orange juice and add half of the orange zest. Sift in the cacao powder and add melted coconut oil and blitz until a smooth chocolate mixture is formed. Use a silicone spatula to scrape down chocolate mixture from sides of food processor.
4. Transfer into freezer. Line the base of a small/medium (freezer-friendly and airtight) container with baking/parchment paper. Use a spatula to transfer the chocolate mixture in the container. Sprinkle the remaining orange zest and freeze for 2 hours, until it sets. Cut into squares, serve and enjoy! 

Tips to make the Best Chocolate orange Fudge

• Remove pits (seeds) in the dates before adding them: As dates have pits (seeds), it is important to make sure the dates are pitted (which means the pit/seed are removed) before using them, you can either buy pitted dates or pit the dates yourself. To pit the dates – use your thumbs and index fingers to gently pinch the sides of the date (lengthwise) – once you see the pit (seed), remove and set aside. Continue with remaining dates. 
• Preparing the orange zest and juice: I recommend grating the orange whole (before slicing in half to squeeze the juice) as it makes it easier to grate the orange for zest. You can use a manual squeezer or fruit press to squeeze out the fresh orange juice. Make sure you remove any seeds after squeezing the orange (if any) before pouring into to the food processor. 
• Melt coconut oil: if your coconut oil is solid at room temperature (like it is here in the UK), I recommend melting the coconut oil before measuring it for accuracy. To melt, add the coconut oil into a microwave safe bowl and heat for 20-30 seconds at a time until the coconut oil has melted. Alternatively, you may wish to heat over the stove for a minute – either way is fine. If you have any remaining melted coconut oil, this can be transferred back into the original coconut oil container once cooled down slightly. 
• Sift the cacao powder: use a sieve to sift the cacao powder before adding to the food processor to remove any lumps in the powder.

How to store

You can store this fudge in the freezer for up to 3 months.

To pack and freeze:

1. Place the fudge in an airtight freezer-friendly container (with the base of the container lined with baking/parchment paper). 
2. Place each piece of fudge side by side. You can also stack them in between a sheet of baking paper/parchment paper. This helps each piece of fudge keep its shape and prevents them sticking to each other!

How to serve

• Place your desired amount of fudge onto a plate and allow it to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving for the best texture!
• This fudge goes well with milk (including almond milk), a cup of Americano, iced coffee and masala chai!

Sweet snacks

Looking for other refined sugar-free sweet snacks? Try these delicious recipes:

Fresh juice

Try our delicious fresh juices and smoothies: