This delicious smooth and creamy healthy homemade Nutella recipe is one of the most popular recipes I’ve ever posted, and for good reason!
The Best Nutella Recipe
Currently with more than ten thousand positive online reviews, this surprisingly easy Nutella recipe is definitely a huge reader favorite.
Super rich and creamy, it effortlessly holds its own against that famous Ferrero chocolate spread in the iconic red and white plastic jars at the grocery store.
And yet the homemade version also has fewer than half the calories per serving.
It’s much healthier than store-bought, without sacrificing any of the kid friendly classic chocolate taste that we all know and love.
Also be sure to try these Black Bean Brownies
Homemade Nutella
Just one spoonful of the thick chocolate vegan Nutella recipe, and you’ll absolutely never want to put the spoon down again.
Yes, it’s that good.
Unless, of course, you don’t like Nutella… is such a thing even possible?
Is there really a single person in this world who can resist that luxuriously rich and velvety hazelnut chocolate spread?
If true, please send me your spoon so I can happily eat your portion.
I’m nice like that.
Healthy Chocolate Hazelnut Spread
I didn’t specifically set out to make a low calorie Nutella.
It just turned out that way.
Unlike store-bought Nutella, which lists palm oil and sugar as the first two ingredients, this option is suitable for vegans or those with dairy allergies and is lower in sugar or can be a sugar free recipe.
It’s also high in Vitamin E, B vitamins, and healthy fats.
My first introduction to Nutella was in preschool, and it was love at first bite.
Back then, the spread wasn’t popular like it is now. All of the other children in my class thought I was so weird for bringing Nutella sandwiches to school, neatly packed into a lunchbox with the crusts cut off.
Day after day, they ate their boring peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, while I blissfully devoured a chocolate sandwich.
Needless to say, in just a few months I’d hooked all of my friends on this miracle hazelnut cocoa spread, and soon everyone was bringing Nutella for lunch, as sandwiches or a dip for fresh apple slices, strawberries, or bananas.
Vegan Nutella Ingredients
I gave up eating Nutella upon going vegan years ago. Vegan Nutella or gianduja brands, including Justin’s or Nutiva, do now exist, but buying them can get expensive.
Making your own hazelnut spread at home saves money, and you get to control exactly what ingredients to use.
For the milk: If you choose a nondairy milk such as almondmilk or coconut milk, the recipe can be naturally dairy free, gluten free, egg free, and soy free.
The sweetener: Use your favorite all purpose sweetener, such as date sugar, regular granulated sugar, or coconut sugar. Liquid sweeteners like pure maple syrup, agave, honey, or date syrup also work but will yield a much less creamy and spreadable result.
For a low carb or keto Nutella recipe: Simply use a sugar free sweetener such as xylitol or erythritol instead of the sugar. The low carb version will have just 0.1 net carbs per serving.
I haven’t tried sweetening the Nutella with stevia or allulose, so feel free to experiment and be sure to report back with results if you do.
The hazelnuts: Look for raw hazelnuts in the bulk aisle of health food stores or online. I’ve also seen them sold in bags at Costco. Feel free to sub unsalted roasted hazelnuts and skip the roasting step in the recipe instructions below.
If you can’t find hazelnuts at all, the spread can be made with almonds instead. The flavor will be different but it’s still tasty.
How To Make Nutella At Home
Gather all of the ingredients, and preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roast the two cups of raw hazelnuts on the oven’s center rack for about 6 to 8 minutes.
Rub the roasted nuts together in a cloth or paper towel to remove the skins. Don’t worry if some of the skins refuse to come off.
In a high speed blender (like a Vitamix) or food processor (like a Cuisinart), blend the hazelnuts until they turn into a smooth butter.
Add all remaining ingredients, and blend on high for a few minutes until the texture resembles real Nutella.
Homemade Nutella Storage Instructions
Is using the oil instead of milk, the homemade Nutella is shelf stable and does not need to be refrigerated. It can be stored in a tightly covered container in your kitchen cabinet for up to two weeks. Or refrigerate for up to two months.
If using the milk, it’s best to store the recipe in the refrigerator, where it should stay good for two to three weeks.
After this time, to prevent the nuts from going rancid, you can freeze leftover Nutella. The texture will not be as smooth, but it still tastes great!
Is Nutella Healthy?
The main ingredient in store-bought Nutella is surprisingly not cocoa powder or hazelnuts. Palm oil and sugar make up more than 50% of the spread, which also includes skim milk, whey, soy lecithin, and vanillin (artificial flavor).
Two tablespoons of the packaged hazelnut spread with cocoa contain 200 calories, 11 grams of fat, 4 grams of saturated fat, and 21 grams of sugar.
Even if you use all regular sugar in the recipe below, it will still only have 70 calories, less than a gram of saturated fat, and under 5 grams of both fat and sugar per two tablespoon serving, making the homemade Nutella a much healthier option.
Recipes With Nutella
Other good uses for homemade Nutella include spreading it over toast or Vegan Pancakes, frosting cupcakes or adding a spoonful to hot chocolate, or eating it straight out of the jar with a spoon!
Above, watch the step by step homemade Nutella recipe video
Homemade Nutella Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups hazelnuts (240g)
- 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1/3 cup sweetener of choice (see above for options that work here)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup milk of choice or 2 tbsp oil, optional
Instructions
- Homemade Nutella Recipe: If hazelnuts are not already roasted, preheat the oven to 400 F and bake for 6-8 minutes or just until they begin to brown. Rub them together in a paper towel to get the skins off. It’s okay if a few stubborn skins won’t come off. In a Vitamix or food processor, blend the nuts until they’ve turned to butter. (This could take up to twenty minutes in a food processor.) Then add all other ingredients except milk or oil and blend a long time until it’s smooth like Nutella! If desired, add in the milk or oil. Storage tips are listed above.View Nutrition Facts
Video
Notes
Easy Chocolate Recipes
Homemade Chocolate Bars (3 Ingredients)
Katie – have you ever had it basically seize up on you? My daughter and I made this, and I think we either blended the toasted hazelnuts too long before adding the other ingredients or blended to long afterward. Oil started to pool and it turned into fudge. Delicious fudge, but fudge nonetheless. Any help you can offer would be appreciated. We have another bag of nuts we want to try again on. Thank you.
I’m not sure what you mean by “seize” :-?. I’ve never had that happen. Maybe it’s the food processor you’re using? I used a Cuisinart. Sorry I can’t be more helpful!
I used a cuisinart, too. I’m notorious for weird things happening in the kitchen, but basically the oil from the nuts started to separate out, and my smooth mixture slowly got harder and harder. I did not use agave but stevia glycerite. Not sure if that made a difference or not. How long did you blend the nuts alone?
I think I figured it out … I used stevia glycerite, which has water in it. Water will make chocolate seize up. So, I have another bag and will try with my new swerve sweetener.
This also happened to me! I did it with chocolate (semi-sweet, 60% cacao), instead of cocoa powder and after it was everything incorporated with a nice texture, I added 2 tbsp maple syrup and the oil from the hazelnuts separated and now I have a hazelnut-chocolate pulp, but I don’t want to waste it! Do you have any suggestions of what can I make with this? I don’t like to throw out any food…
This also happened to me. It was fine until I added coconut milk (“milk of choice’). Hopefully I’ll figure out what to do with this stuff; as I’m not overly happy about having wasted the money. I made it in my Vitamix. Well….ATTEMPTed to make.
I would follow the recipe next time if you want to try it again. Unfortunately I can’t vouch for results if you make any substitutions, because I haven’t tried them.
I came across this today http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/18/nutella-recipes_n_1525440.html they even have a non dairy one!
I just tried to make this but i burned the hazelnuts:( I did 420 for 10 minutes..would you suggest doing it on a lower temp? or a shorter time? also I made your cookie pie yesterday…my non-healthy family LOVED it thanks!
I had the same problem when I cooked the hazelnuts at that that high of a temp. Maybe it’s our ovens? I tried the recipe again at 275 for about 35-45 min and they turned out beautifully!
Which sugar did you use? agave, xyiltol…
Love this! And I made mine in the vitamix… the only thing I did different was use almond butter to mimic Trader Joe’s Cocoa Almond spread … and mine was sweet enough with just the xylitol, no need for stevia. Thanks for an awesome recipe!
depressed:( i have tried to make this twice now and am getting a funny flavor! i followed the instructions exactly the only thing i can think of is that maybe its a taste from the skins that i did not get off of the hazelnuts. if anyone else has had this problem and knows what to do help!
See my above comment! I also got a funny flavor until I tried cooking the hazelnuts at lower temperature for longer. I think it’s when the hazelnuts burn that you get that funny flavor.
Where can I find hazelnuts at the grocery store? I was there today and tried to find them and I couldn’t. 🙁 Can’t wait to try this though!
I get them in the bulk aisle of Whole Foods.
I couldn’t find them either, so I bought ‘Filberts’ in the bulk section. From what I’ve read, Filberts aren’t quite the same as Hazelnuts, but to me they tasted basically the same and worked well with this recipe. One word of caution though – my throat started to kind of itch after tasting the spread, which makes me think I might have a slight allergy to Filberts. I found the same reaction from someone else on another baking website, so I’m not sure if they’re quite as good a choice as Hazelnuts. My spread tasted great in the end though – thanks!
There are two species of hazelnut: cob and filbert. So, all filberts are hazelnuts, but not all hazelnuts are filberts. 🙂
Could Bob’s Hazelnut Flour be used in place of the hazelnuts? Is so, how much do you think? Thans!
Question on making this in my new vitamix….do I grind nuts in the dry container and then do I move it to the wet container to continue? Same as for any nut butters, do I start with the dry container?
Thanks Katie, this sounds so yummy and I want to taste the nuts too and chocolate!
Is there a good online source for the raw hazelnuts? also the xylitol and agave, none of these are available at my local store.
Sorry, I’ve only used my Cuisinart food processor.
And I rarely buy things online, so I can’t help on the second question. 😕
hey katie! how long will this recipe last in the fridge? or on the counter? 🙂
A few days. Yes, do fridge it!
this is fantastic..thankfully I have an awesome ex-boyfriend who at this very moment is bringing over his cuisinart so I can make this…I once said I could never go vegan because I would miss nutella too much…there went that excuse….. 🙂
Hi Katie,
Have you done this with xyiltol before? Should i use powdered xyiltol or just regular? i dont want it to have cruchy peices of xyiltol in it. Thanks!! I soo badly want to make this today!
I just use regular. I guess the cruncky pieces get pulverized when you food process it.
I am trying out Trim Healthy Mama and they recommend Nunaturals Stevia, but I hate Stevia in general! It adds an aftertaste to me… I tried Xylitol the other day when making a chocolate ganache, but I didn’t pulverize it, so it was crunchy and a little… not minty– but I am not sure how to describe it. I know no sweetener will be able to exactly mimic sugar, but do you have another suggestion? Swerve? Erythritol? And thanks so much in advance!!
so would you need to keep this in the fridge because of the “milk” in it???
I made this and all i have to say is YUM!!!!! Just had a sandwich with it and its soo good!
I roasted the hazelnuts in the oven on lower temp and mistakenly forgot about it and left it in a bit too long, not totally burnt, but next time i would do it bit less. Good thing i remember it before it was too late! Also next time i would blend just the nuts longer since once i added everything in, it was still a bit gritty. You cant taste the grittiness when i put it on bread, but by the spoon you can. Either way its still good and if its THIS good now i cant image how good it’ll be when i do those two things right. Thanks Katie for yet another great recipe!!! (hmm i think i’ll make myself another sandwich, so much for being a healthy snack!)
I just made this for my 5 year old sister who is very addicted to Nutella. She likes the flavour although says that ‘real Nutella’ is still creamier. Not complaining, if she won’t eat it that just means more for me! Definitely my new nut butter obsession(after peanut butter, of course). 🙂
Katie,
I tried making these and I burnt the hazelnuts. I think my oven is just really strong, how do I know when they are ready?
Maybe just do them a little shorter!