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)
My nonni always had Nutella when I’d come to visit when I was little. It was always a treat. However, I’ve abstained from eating it as an adult because of how bad it is. I never thought to make it at home!
I made a batch up last night. Some insights: (1) I roasted the hazelnuts for 12 minutes, but they burned a bit. I believe this was why there was a slight bitterness to the resulting Nutella. (2) I used Splenda as the sweetener, but ended up having to add a couple tbsp of Agave Nectar to cover the bitterness. Next time I’ll probably use one of the suggested sweeteners. (3) Other ingredients I used were: safflower oil, Almond Breeze, and artificial vanilla extract. (4) The Nutella tasted better the day after having been refrigerated overnight.
This morning I put about a tbsp of the Nutella in both a strawberry/oatmeal/Almond Breeze smoothie and a berries/cherries/pomegranate/oatmeal/Almond Breeze smoothie. My fiance said they were the best smoothies I’ve made so far.
Thank you so much for sharing your Nutella recipe! It is sooooooo delicious!
Notes: roasted at 400 for 8 mins. I could hear the hazelnuts crackling as they continued to cook as they cooled. Used fourth cup agave and 3 tbs sugar. Did not use oil. Used 1% milk and subbed 1/8 of milk for heavy cream just because I had some leftover. Stuck the jar in the fridge and out came a thicker creamy consistency!
I also have made your black bean brownies twice. I have some frozen black bean batter for a chocolate emergency! Absolutely delicious! Thank you so much for sharing!
Just did my first batch of it this morning, and it’s amazing, thank you so much 😀
I was surprised at how mouth-watering the blended hazelnuts smelled.
This recipe tastes a lot more of hazelnut and cocoa than the original Nutella and it’s great! A new breakfast must have.
Hey Katie:
Thanks for the recipe. I made two modifications that I wanted to share. I used raw/organic maple syrup as the sweetener and 1 cup almonds / 1 cup hazelnuts instead of the 2 cups of hazelnuts.
It turned out to be most delicious. My kids won’t leave it alone!
Best,
Clint
Wow, YUCK! I can’t believed I followed the ingredients against my better judgement. 1 and 1/2 TABLESPOONS of Vanilla Extract?? I should have known better. That is so much more that I have ever put in anything. All I could taste when it came out was the intense alcohol in the Vanilla Extract. Did you mean to put 1 and 1/2 teaspoons?? Wow.
Nope, 1.5 tbsp, but it must be pure.
Hi Katie,
Thanks for putting this recipe up. I followed your recipe exactly except that I made the mistake of using baking cocoa which in turn made it way too rich. So you might want to put a note up in your recipe to warn people of not using baking cocoa. With your healthy Nutella recipe I went on to make your Nutella Rice Crispy Treats and Nutella Fudge Pops and it made them both way too rich (in a bad way). So next time I try and make these things I will make sure to get good quality cocoa!
Thanks again for putting up the recipes and taking the time to take beautiful photos!
Cheers,
Lara
i really love this! god bless u for making these! but i am wondering what is the serving portion ? and how many calories are there in it ???
just click on the link that says “nutella nutrition info”, under the recipe 🙂 one serving is 15g and there are 57 calories in it (when you use the sugar or agave).
oh. my. god. I needed a recipe for a vegan nutella (I wanted to make vegan chocolate pull-apart bread and couldn’t find a vegan substitute for nutella – urgh germany! -.- and then I remembered your healthy nutella recipe and decided to try it. I’m SO glad I did!
first of all: I never managed to make my own nut butter. I tried several times but all it did was clump together and stay really dry no matter how long or fast I blended them (I have a thermomix). so I was so surprised when I found out I had made hazelnut butter after only 1,5 minutes! 😀 then I added the other ingredients and blended until smooth, opened the lid and smelled: nutella. I never really liked it as a kid because it was so sweet but when I dipped my spoon in this heavenly chocolatey mousse, I couldn’t help but smile! this is so perfect! this is how nutella should taste! thank you SOSOSOSO much for this recipe! :)))))
Vegan chocolate pull apart bread? That sounds even better than the nutella! When you make it, please send me a slice through the computer screen ;).
is there any way that your recipes in a print form without all the commentary? I am not a vegan but I have enjoyed your site.
I’ve printed a bunch of Katie’s recipes. Here’s what I do: hi-light the recipe (and any photos or other comments–just the parts I want), then right-click and hit “save.” I then open a new Word document, position the mouse on that empty doc, and right-click and hit “Paste.” I then re-name the document, save it in my “CCK Recipes” folder, and use it again and again whenever I need it!
I love the idea of making my own Nutella, as I put it on FAR too many things (pancakes, waffles, in cupcakes, brownies, cheesecake, etc). I was just wondering how long it keeps and whether it needs to be stored in the refrigerator or not.
Thanks for the recipe! It’s really great, I love it!!
But in my opinion it doesn’t taste too much like Nutella, more like Rocher (maybe you know it…), a praliné – that I really love, so it’s still really, really great!!
Maybe this is because there is no nougat in there?
I wonder,how many sevings this make?i mean,how many tablespoons?
Katie,i really like your blog and every post in it, it made my day!This nutella is an awesome reciepe i tried and it came out an really tasty sweet for my mouth:)Whish you were my sis and made these reciepes for me everyday<3
Does it need to be stored in the fridge? How long does it last?
What’s the best way to store this? I would think you refrigerate it (because of the milk), but I don’t want to risk messing up the texture. So I figured I’d ask. 🙂
My hazelnuts are roasting as we speak! We LOVE Nutella and can’t wait to try this healthier version!
Fridge.
I made this today in a regular blender and it worked very well!
I used only stevia and also replaced about half of the nuts with shredded coconut. Instead of the hazelnuts I used almonds.
So I pretty much changed the whole recipe, but it turned out AWESOME!