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)
i always loved Nutella but never on bread.. Only right out of the jar or my fav taking a big spoon of nutella and put it in the freezer for a while an then licking it of..ohhh is that good.. i will try your version
I took half of al the ingredient, expect the milk (not on purpose!). But it was really creamy and had a rich taste. So either way…great.
I made this for my very picky 13 year old Nutella expert. It was given 2 thumbs up! Yay! Also I made it sugar free using the Xylitol version with Stevia. So good! My kids will be having this for breakfast with Coconut flour waffles. Lucky kids! : ) Thanks!
Katie, this is perfect! I just made and blogged about your healthy Nutella. It tastes like Nutella and Ferrero Rocher chocolates had a lovechild, in my opinion!
blogged here: http://www.ichewthefat.com/2013/01/best-ferrero-rocher-ever.html
I love your blog and have made so many of your recipes with great success. Thanks for all your efforts!
Medha
I loved your post! Couldn’t comment on it because I don’t have a google or open id account, but I loved it :).
Aw, thanks! That means so much 🙂
I have moved away from Nutella, (a bit slimy for me) and on to Jif Chocolate flavored Hazelnut spread. Mmmmm.
Do you store room temperature or fridge?
Nutella is a food that is screaming for a healthy makeover, especially because it seems like a healthy food at first glance. “Made with real hazelnuts, skim milk, and a touch of cocoa”, the advertisers make it seem like a pretty healthy spread. Perfect way of starting off a busy day. But after reading the nutrition label, it has 20 grams of sugar and sugar is first on the ingredient list! Not, hazelnuts, they’re not even second, they come after palm oil (not very unhealthy, but still, more oil than the actual nut, I thought this was a hazelnut spread, not a sugar spread). So, what you’ve done is a great deed. It’s so sinful how a company could put sugar in such good light, oh well, that’s what they’re paid to do.
I just made this Nutella & it tastes awesome. I had to use 110g of peanuts though because I didn’t have enough hazelnuts! I can’t even taste the peanuts & the down side to using them is my daughter can’t eat it at school due to but allergy kids 🙁 That aside, I think my kids will love it!
I made this on Friday (I didn’t use the oil and used maple syrup). It is really tasty although I probably should have ground the nuts for a bit longer. I gave some to my brother and mum yesterday and they thought it was tastier than the usual nutella. Thanks for the recipe!
I just made this using raw cacao powder and agave nectar, and it turned out great! I even have a little of the “real” Nutella on hand and did a taste test. They taste almost exactly the same. Thanks for a great recipe!
Hi,
I was wondering if anyone has used Almonds instead? And if you followed the same steps?
I halved the recipe because I knew that if I had a bunch of nutella laying around I’d eat a spoonful every half hour! I cut way down on the sweetness, I only used 1.5 TB, and I upped the cocoa by 1TB. I also used about half a tsp of coconut oil as the optional oil. Hazelnuts roasted beautifully at 400˚ for 15 minutes, and boy oh boy…..I’m in nutella heaven!!!! I think this is even better than nutella! Not too disgustingly sweet and doesn’t have palm oil and dairy, way too much good is happening here : ))))) Thank you so much for sharing!!!
Thank you for this recipe! I love it and my husband loves it too!!!
Just made this today and gave my husband a taste. He declared it “better than Nutella”, which made me giggle. 🙂 I doubled the amount of cocoa (because I love dark chocolate). Stupidly I started this in my Bullet blender, which didn’t work at all, so I had to transfer it to my food processor. So very yummy! Thank you!
Quick question! How long will this typically stay fresh? Does it need to be refrigerated?
I love this recipe! I’ve made it a couple times and was very happy with the outcome. Unfortunately, I didn’t have hazelnuts tonight but I did have blanched almonds. I toasted those up and used them in this recipe with fantastic results! Very smooth. I used only the Xylitol without the stevia and It was the right amount of sweetness for us. It’s not Nutella but it took care of that chocolate and nut craving I was having.
Thank you for creating this fantastic blog. I tell everyone I know about it.