I love a good Rocky Road. I love the heftiness and endless versatility. Though, unsurprisingly, I have views on what makes a good one! Ratios matter. So here’s my Rocky Road recipe. It’s easy. And it’s oh-so-good.
Rocky Road opinions
Rocky Road is about as simple as candy recipes get. Melt chocolate. Stir in add-ins of choice. Marshmallows, raspberries and peanuts are classic. Coconut is my must-have extra.
In other countries around the world (I’m in Australia, BTW!), cookies and dried fruit are common. And I’ve seen glacé cherries instead of raspberries.
No judgement. Rocky Road is a recipe to make your own!
The only firm view I have is to make sure there is enough add-ins. Rocky Road has heft to it, it’s not a thin, wimpy piece of candy. It’s a thick slab. Nobody wants to bite into an enormous block of plain chocolate. We want to sink our teeth into a delightful medley of textures – soft marshmallow, chewy raspberry, nutty crunch of peanuts.
So don’t skimp on add-ins!!
What you need for Rocky Road
Here’s what you need to make my Rocky Road.
Chocolate – EASY OPTION
Use chips or melts for an easy option. Upgrade to block chocolate for premium. I use a combination of dark and milk chocolate to get the best of both worlds: chocolate flavour intensity plus creaminess of milk chocolate!
Chocolate melts and chips are the easy option because there’s no chopping involved and they are made for easy melting. Equal amounts of both dark (US: semi-sweet) and milk chocolate is my favourite. You get the best of each type of chocolate: good chocolate flavour from the dark chocolate plus the creaminess of milk chocolate.
But feel free to use the combination you want!
PREMIUM CHOCOLATE
If you want to upgrade, for example, if you’re gifting or making to impress, use block chocolate instead. Lindt is my premium pick before moving into couverture (higher grade chocolate used by fine patisseries, chocolatiers etc), for flavour, quality and also it’s shiny because it’s tempered.
Plaistowe is probably the “best” in the baking aisle followed by Cadbury. And a couple of good US brands: Ghirardelli and Baker’s brand.
As with the chips, I will typically use a combination of dark and milk chocolate though if using Lindt, I usually stick with just one type. For the sake of purity! 70% for grown ups, milk chocolate for all-rounder crowd pleaser.
If using chocolate block, you’ll need to chop it up before melting. The finer you chop, the easier it melts.
Note: Lindt is not cheap and you need 5 blocks. I stock up when they are steeply discounted. It happens every now and then!
⚠️ Eating vs cooking chocolate
Whatever chocolate you choose, it is safest to source the chocolate from the baking aisle which is made for melting and cooking. Some chocolate from the confectionary aisle (ie for eating) is actually made to prevent it melting easily if, say, it’s sitting in a warm pantry, your car or handbag.. So they will not necessarily melt smoothly. They are also more prone to problems like seizing and burning if you use the microwave rather than a bain-marie (bowl over simmering water).
It’s not the end of the world for Rocky Road because we re-set the chocolate anyway, but it’d be highly risky to use in things like Chocolate Mousse. So if you know of eating chocolate brands that melt perfectly / you’ve nailed the art of melting Cadbury Milk Chocolate blocks, feel free to use it! But just be aware that chocolate from the baking aisle is safer for use in cooking!
The only exception is Lindt. This can be sourced from the chocolate confectionary aisle. It melts 100% perfectly. And did you know Lindt is already tempered so it’s natural shiny? Lindt is special! 🙂
rocky road add-ins
And for the add-ins! Here’s what goes in mine. Classic Aussie Rocky Road – marshmallows, chewy raspberries and peanuts. Plus coconut. Reminiscent of retro Golden Rough (chocolate coconut candy here in Australia). Coconut isn’t always present in Rocky Road, but for me it’s a must!
How to make Rocky Road
Hot contender for the world’s easiest candy recipe!
Melt chocolate in 30 second bursts, stirring in between.
Stir until smooth. (Hot tip – use a chopstick during the initial stirring phases. Easier – and less surface area for chocolate to stick to. Switch to rubber spatula towards the end).
Stir through add-ins.
Spread in a 20cm/8″ paper lined square pan.
Refrigerate for 3 hours (or overnight, or days!) until fully firm.
Cut – Remove from the fridge 30 minutes prior to cutting into pieces. I cut into 5 bars, then into smaller pieces if serving to eat, and larger pieces if gifting.
Tell me your Gold Standard Rocky Road!
Thinking back, I’m pretty sure that the vast majority of the time I make Rocky Road is for gifting. Which is not surprising. Rocky Road is a sizeable piece of candy. There’s no such thing as a small nibble. Even breaking off a “small” hunk is a decent mouthful! Unlike, for example, my current favourite small-form candy to have around the house which allows me to take a small guilt-free nibble when the craving hits. (Never mind that I go back to the jar 10 times a day).
What about you? Is Rocky Road a gifting recipe? For parties? Or are you a committed candy monster who will make this for yourself?
But more importantly – SHARE YOUR GOLD STANDARD ROCKY ROAD add-ins!! I bet you make a killer Rocky Road! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Rocky Road
Ingredients
Chocolate (read Note 1!):
- 225 – 250g / 8 oz dark chocolate melts or chips (1 1/2 cups) or block, chopped (US: semi-sweet chips)
- 225 – 250g / 8 oz milk chocolate melts or chips (1 1/2 cups) or block, chopped (or more dark choc)
- 2 tbsp coconut oil or any plain flavoured oil (prevents cracking, adds bit of sheen, Note 2)
Nagi’s Rocky Road Add-ins (Note 3):
- 3 cups marshmallows, pink and white , most cut in half (firmly pack the cups!)
- 3/4 cup raspberry lollies , halved
- 1/3 cup desiccated coconut (or flakes), unsweetened
- 1/2 cup unsalted peanuts , very roughly chopped (ie almost just halved)
Instructions
- Line a 20cm/8" square pan with baking paper (parchment paper).
- Melt chocolate – Place chocolate and oil in a bowl. Microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between, until melted and smooth.
- Add-ins – Stir the Add-ins into the chocolate. Pour into pan, spreading out evenly.
- Refrigerate for 3 hours or until fully cool.
- Cut – Remove from the fridge 30 minutes prior to cutting. I cut into 5 lines, then into chunks for eating or larger pieces for gifting!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
Back to the vet for another check up with ongoing tummy issues. 😢 Clearly he’s gotten into something he shouldn’t have – again! It’s been over a week now, so I’m a little worried so I took him to the vet again. He’s had various blood tests and all have come back clear.
Here he is, wondering if the bandage is edible (the bandage was for the blood test patch).
For now he’s on a strict gastro-intestinal dog food diet. No treats, no taste testing, not even a drizzle of canned fish juices to make the dry food more interesting.
He’s so unimpressed with this new diet! Hopefully it won’t be for too long and he’ll bounce back to his normal self.
Used Whittakers 70% dark and milk chocolate blocks and ground almond’s because they needed using up, cooling in the fridge.
So sorry to read about lovely Dozer, we lost our rescue dog Bob and it’s heartbreaking ❤️
Add Maltesers for that ultimate crunch!
Also the kids love a sprinkle of popping candy on top 🤣
Great recipe, haven’t used dessicated coconut before so that’s going in next time. I don’t use marshmallows but glace ginger is a hit in my house.
Setting in the fridge now (I hope).
I used gluten free scotch finger biscuits instead of nuts and cut up
Snakes instead of raspberries
But I had read to put the mix in silicone patty cake pans or little silicone bar pans as when it sets you just turn them out without cutting. So we will see how they go.
Thank you Nagi, I love your recipes.
Merry Christmas.
I haven’t made rocky road in a very long time. Setting in the frig to take to work tomorrow. I used raspberry licorice instead of raspberry lollies and topped with some freeze dried raspberries and a little sprinkle of edible dried flowers. Hope it goes down well tomorrow
I made ‘adult’ rocky road yesterday with 70% Old Gold. I added in marshmallows, toasted coconut, roasted macadamias and goji berries – it is yummy!
My family loved this recipe. Sometimes we added some gummy bears for more chewy gummy goodness.(Must try)
Made this today for the first time. SO simple and SO GOOD!!! Reading through the comments has given me fabulous ideas for next time because, of course, there WILL be a next time…🤗
OMG this is insanely good! I am about to make my 2nd batch.
Nagi, you are an amazing find, when I think about dinner, I come to your site for inspiration – thank you so much.
Hi Nagi decided to make your Rocky Road my only change was instead of peanuts I added Macadamia nuts. Must say yummy all round.
Love your recipes thank you 🐾🤗
I recommend using a microwave-safe PLASTIC bowl to melt the chocolate in the microwave.
This tip came from Michiel Steur (Michiel’s Kitchen) from is recipe for Pindarotsjes.
Glass/pyrex bowls retain too much heat in the microwave and the chocolate can easily burn or split. Using plastic allows for tighter control of the melting process.
Super easy and very tasty. One problem. How to stop marshmallows disappearing into your stomach before finishing😂😂😳
“Better than a bought one.” I’ve made this many times as it is always a crowd favourite and it is so versatile to add more raspberry liquorice and less peanuts. Thank you for sharing. We love this!
We had a very Nagi Christmas (the table was full of your delicious food) and several copies of your books were under the tree. We are watching the Boxing day cricket and arguing over the last piece of rocky road that was made for us. Extra add in was chopped up green lolly frogs. Thanks for all the recipes and love that you share Nagi and Dozer.
Keeps for weeks and weeks! How would you know this?
Mine lasts about 30 mins – nothing left to prove how long it would keep 🙂
I made two batches of this tonight,Nagi! While I have your true version to make tomorrow (I’m literally making ten batches for Xmas presents!) I did a fun “big kids” version; swapped out the raspberries for Allen’s Snakes Alive ( three of each colour: red, purple, yellow, orange and green), used multi coloured mini marshmallows, upped the nut ratio to 3/4 cup of mixed peanuts and macadamias, and topped with red and green popping candy. Looks super fun and festive! Tastes delish too, so I’m told! Thanks for sharing your recipes, you’re just plain fabulous xxx
Have made this today…did not add the oil to the chocolate, just forgot too!! Used marshmallows – cut in half, raspberry lollies – cut in half, shredded coconut, flaked almonds (do not like or eat peanuts)….turned out perfect and so yummy 😋
This rocky road rocks, it’s the best! I made mine GF for a friend and it was devoured. I did toast the coconut, which added to the nuttiness. So good 🙂
I have used the raspberry lollies, raspberry Twizzlers, even Allens red frogs. But has anyone got a suggestion for soft edible raspberry? Given that’s stored in the fridge (It’s hot here over Aussie Xmas), the lollies go super hard….stick to your teeth, pull out cavities hard. 🙂
Ive used copha instead of oil for years. For special Lactose free gift I get the meltable choc buds (expensive but a real treat) from weigh and pay
or similar stores