Brigadeiro Recipe
by Sommer Collier — last updated on Mar 22, 2025 
Chocolate Brigadeiro Recipe – Brazilian Truffles are easy to make with cocoa powder, sweetened condensed milk, and butter. They’re a decadent no-bake dessert bursting with chocolate and caramel flavor, and coated in colorful sprinkles!
Why We Love This Brazilian Truffles Recipe
If you are looking for a rich, chocolatey, incredibly indulgent and delicious treat, buddy, you came to the right place. Bonus: these truffle delights don’t even need to be baked.
Brazilian truffles, otherwise known as Brigadeiros, are a fun and easy no-bake dessert to make any time you’ve got a sweet tooth craving. While the roots of this dessert are actually Portuguese Negrinho Truffles, Brigadeiros are a staple candy in Brazil. Some even consider them the unofficial national dessert! They are often served at weddings, birthday parties and dinner parties, with sprinkle colors coordinating to match special events or sports teams.
The base of this easy brigadeiro recipe includes just a handful of ingredients like sweetened condensed milk, chocolate powder, and butter, all cooked into a thick, rich fudge. Because the sweetened condensed milk caramelizes as it cooks down, the fudge has a delightful chocolate-caramel flavor.
The fudge is cooled and formed into neat little balls. Lastly, the Brazilian truffles are rolled in your choice of colorful sprinkles. This final touch makes them as lovely to look at as they are delicious to eat!
Ingredients You Need
- Condensed milk — use sweetened condensed milk
- Cocoa Powder — use the unsweetened version
- Unsalted Butter – or salted if you prefer
- Salt – not necessary if using salted butter
- Jimmies sprinkles – your choice of color (I used chocolate sprinkles and rainbow sprinkles.)
Brazilian Brigadeiros are fabulous as-is, but just as the colorful sprinkles can be customized, this chocolate bite recipe can be adjusted to include all sorts of flavors. Here we added coffee and cayenne pepper to give them a little extra something. However, feel free to get creative and make the truffles with your favorite goodies!
How To Make Brazilian Truffles
- Grab a large pot and set it over medium-low heat. Toss in the sweetened condensed milk, cocoa powder, butter, and salt. Give it all a good stir with your spatula to combine.
- Keep stirring as the mixture cooks — you don’t want that sweet milk to burn! Stir constantly for about 12-18 minutes. You’ll notice it transform from a thin, brownie batter texture into a thick, fudgy dough. Once it’s nice and thick, take it off the heat.
- Let the fudge cool down to room temperature. Keep it mind that it will continue to thicken as it cools!
- While the fudge cools cools, set mini cupcake liners on a rimmed baking sheet and pour your sprinkles into a shallow dish.
- Butter up your hands with about a tablespoon of butter so the fudge doesn’t stick. Scoop out about 2 teaspoons of fudge, roll it into a tight little ball and then dunk the fudge ball into the sprinkles. Make sure it gets coated on all sides. Scrape out every single last drop of that yummy fudge from all sides of the pan!
- Pop each sprinkle-covered ball into a cupcake liner. Keep rolling and coating until you’ve used up all the fudge. Once done, place the baking sheet in the fridge to let the truffles firm up. Enjoy immediately or serve cold!
Get the Complete (Printable) Brigadeiro Recipe Below!
Serving Suggestions
These rich and fudgy Brazilian truffles are perfect for just about any occasion!
Serve them as a bite-sized treat at parties, holiday gatherings, or special celebrations. They also make a lovely gift—simply box them up or arrange them in a decorative tin.
Enjoy them with a glass of iced coffee or an espresso for an afternoon pick-me-up, or add them to a dessert platter alongside some fresh fruit, cookies, and chocolates. No matter how you serve them, these sweet little bites are sure to be a crowd-pleaser and the star of the show!
When it comes to storing these, place the Brazilian truffles into an airtight container and refrigerate them for up to 2 weeks. Avoid stacking the balls so they stay pretty.
You can also flash-freeze these truffles by setting them on a baking sheet (either lined with parchment or with the truffles in individual paper wrappers) and placing them in the freezer for one hour until hard. Then carefully place the balls in an airtight plastic bag, and keep them in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Recipe Variations
- Shredded coconut – Roll the chocolate truffles in shredded coconut for a tropical twist.
- Nutella – Add some Nutella into the truffle mixture for an added note of hazelnut.
- Dulce de Leche – Blend dulce de leche into the base for a caramel flavor.
- Coffee – Add a teaspoon of instant coffee granules to the mixture to infuse a subtle hint of coffee.
- Nuts – Toss in some crushed almonds or pistachios for a nutty crunch.
- Crushed Oreos – Roll the brigadeiros in some crushed Oreos for a cookies and cream experience.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! Brazilian truffles are perfect for making in advance. Store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week. For the best consistency, let them sit at room temperature for a few minutes before serving.
Shredded coconut, crushed nuts, powdered sugar, or cocoa powder make great alternatives to classic sprinkles!
Butter gives the truffles their signature rich flavor, but if needed, you can substitute with margarine or a plant-based butter alternative.
You can substitute the butter with plant-based butter and use a dairy-free sweetened condensed milk. The texture might be slightly different, but they’ll still be delicious!
Totally! To make the cooking process a bit faster and easier, use a melon baller to scoop out the fudge into equal bites!
Looking for More Decadent No-Bake Sweets? Be Sure To Also Try:
- No-Bake Peanut Butter Balls Recipe (Best Ever Buckeye Candy)
- Magic Chocolate Eclair Cake
- Peaches and Cream
- No-Bake Oatmeal Energy Balls
- American Flag Jello Cake (Icebox Cake)
- Crispy No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars
- Fluffy No-Bake Banoffee Pie
- No-Bake Strawberry Cream Pie
Check the printable recipe card below for the nutrition information including calories, carbohydrates, fat, and sugar percentages.
Chocolate Brigadeiro Recipe (Brazilian Truffles)
Video
Ingredients
- 28 ounces 2 cans sweetened condensed milk
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¼ cup butter
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 5 ounces jimmies sprinkles
- Optional Add-Ins: ½ teaspoon vanilla coffee, rum, coconut, or peppermint extract, ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper or cinnamon
Instructions
- Set a large wide pot over medium heat. Add the sweetened condensed milk, cocoa powder, butter and salt. Mix well.
- Cook the fudge, stirring consistently, so the condensed milk doesn’t burn, for 12-18 minutes. The fudge will thicken from a thin brownie-like batter to a thick fudgy dough texture. Once it’s very thick, remove from heat.
- Allow the fudge to cool and thicken to room temperature.
- Set out 45 mini cupcake liners on a rimmed baking sheet. Pour the sprinkles into a shallow dish.
- Butter your hands so the fudge doesn’t stick. Portion out 2 teaspoon balls of fudge and roll tightly in your hands. Then dunk the fudge ball in the sprinkles and shake the pan to coat the ball on all sides.
- Place the coated fudge ball in a paper liner. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Once all the fudge balls are formed and coated in sprinkles, place the baking sheet in the refrigerator to help the balls set.
Can I incorporate Captain Morgan liquor into these?
Hi There!
Yes, you can use it in place of an extract. However, if you add more the 1 teaspoon the dough will be too loose to create firm balls. Hope this helps!
can I use captain Morgan rum in these