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)
Gah, I must make this recipe; I had Justin’s Hazelnut Spread for lunch today and was disappointed by the texture: not in the least bit creamy!
Oh, and what kind of cocoa powder would work best (or, did you use)?
I’ve never tried nutella before. We have always had it around the house but i’ve never actually cared to so much as look at what it even is. I will definitely try it now, thank you! 🙂
So I tried it today and it wasn’t too bad. I don’t understand why people wouldn’t like a liquidated version of ferrero rocher.
I don’t own a food processor, but once I get one I’m trying this recipe for sure.
I love this recipe. But I wouldn’t roast the hazelnuts, I would keep them raw.
The get rid of the enzymes & nutrients.
I like a agave but I would sweeten them with
coconut sugar, low glycemic (35) Retains high nutritional value.
Best,
Barry G
http://therawketchocolate.blogspot.com
As intrigued as I am, I also can’t help but flinch as I see the food processor filled with hazelnuts. I regularly grind my own nut flour, and for the harder seeds I need to cover my ears as the clacking against the blades really hurts. How do you manage?
Mine actually blended pretty smoothly, without any clacking… maybe the trick is to fill the food processor up more?
If I fill it up too much, the nuts don’t grind evenly, which is why I do it in small batches.
Holly – I tried to reply to your note above but it never appeared, so hoping you’ll find this here. 😉
re: WW points – it all depends your serving size! I went with 10 servings at 1/5 cup each and calculated 62 points for the whole batch using the WW eTools recipe builder. If you get 62 servings out of the batch then each one will be 1 pt+. FYI, the 240 gm of nuts alone are 43 points. Hope this helps!
So I was planning to make this recipe over the weekend but could not wait so had to make a stop at the store to get some hazelnuts after work. Wow – amazing! I followed your recipe exactly and it was easy and turned out delicious. Now I’m curious to try it with other nuts, I’m thinking almonds would be good as well. Thanks for another fantabulous recipe and keep up the great work:)
Aww yay!! I am so so happy you tried it! If you try it with almonds, I’d love to know how that goes too :).
I made this just now and it’s amazing! I’ve never actually had Nutella because I’d never heard of it until recently and long after I went vegan, though I’ve had the Justin’s kind and it’s definitely better than that. I replace 2 T of sugar with more stevia, and omitted the oil. I also discovered that my food processor is powerful enough to make nut butter. I had no idea! .
I finally got the hazelnuts and made this on a snowy day. It is perfect except that my nuts were a little overdone after 10 minutes in the oven. And the skins were a huge pain to get off. Good though. I love Nutella, but the soy in it makes me ill. I’m delighted to have an option!!!!
YUM!!!!!
I’m not sure why anyone wouldn’t want a lower calorie option for nutella…that heaven in a jar has tons of calories for how small the serving is! This came out to 2 points plus per tablespoon for weight watchers if made with agave, making 32 servings total.
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Could you use a vitamix?
I haven’t tried it. If you do try, I would love to know if it works!! I know you can make other nut butters in there, so I would *think* it would work…
I used a vitamix and it turned out lovely 😀
I repeated a question ugh …lol sorry Katie
My vitamix is new as of this week so I’ve not tried to much …I got them in bulk first said gilbert…then hazelnut…I had no idea they were the same thing I had to look it up…lol can’t wait to make this
Omg vitamix made it smooth I was try and show you but didn’t know how lol
i’m gonna try this once i get a food processor! unless it works with the magic bullet..? and i need all the ingredients as well! omg i bet if u used this with coconut butter/oil it would make magnificent cakes/fudge/chocolate 🙂
Just made this. Literally. It was amazing! I did eat a few spoon fulls, but how could you not? It tastes exactly like Nutella. Thank you so much!