It's so easy and healthy to make a homemade nutella recipe at home! This chocolate hazelnut spread whips together in minutes with a food processor and oven for roasting!
This thick and creamy homemade nutella recipe is healthy, vegan, gluten-free, and has no refined sugars! Spread it on toast, drizzle it on ice cream, use it in Nutella muffins, or eat it straight from the jar. It is also great in chocolate caramel bars, a frozen hot chocolate smoothie and this vegan hot chocolate recipe. And if you love a good vegan spread both sweet or savory, try my cashew ricotta too.
Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 10 minutes
- 🌡️ Cook Time: 14 minutes, roasting the hazelnuts
- ⏳ Total Time: 24 minutes
- 🍽️ Serving: about 16 servings of 1 tablespoon
- ⚡ Calories: 137kcal per tablespoon
- 🥣 Ingredients: 7 (hazelnuts, Dutch process cocoa, maple syrup, avocado oil, vanilla, pink salt, almond milk)
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Thick, creamy roasted hazelnut and dark chocolate, sweetened only with maple syrup
- ✋ Difficulty: Roast, rub off the skins, blend about 5 minutes, then blend in the rest
Quick Answer
Roast 8 ounces of raw hazelnuts at 375 degrees F for about 10 minutes, then rub off the skins with a towel (skinless hazelnuts only need 8 minutes at 350). Blend the hazelnuts in a food processor or high powered blender for about 5 minutes, until the crumbs turn into a soft, creamy hazelnut butter. Add ⅓ cup Dutch process cocoa powder, ½ cup maple syrup, 2 tablespoons avocado oil, 1 teaspoon vanilla, ½ teaspoon pink salt and 6 tablespoons almond milk and blend until smooth, adding up to 2 more tablespoons of milk for a thinner spread. It makes about 16 tablespoons at 137 calories each and keeps up to 1 month in the refrigerator.
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Nutella is one of those foods you just want to lick straight from the jar! It is just the best and so darn good! And now you can make it easily at home with healthy and vegan ingredients.
Why This Homemade Nutella Works
Click to see why it works
- Roasting removes the skins. The skin adds a slight bitter taste and alters the flavor of homemade chocolate hazelnut spread, so roasting first and rubbing the skins off makes it taste right.
- Patience turns crumbs into butter. The hazelnuts first turn into a crumb, then into a butter-like spread after about 5 minutes of blending.
- Dutch process cocoa. It gives this homemade nutella a rich dark color and a slightly richer taste than regular cocoa powder.
- Maple syrup instead of cane sugar. Maple syrup is lower on the glycemic index than table sugar, so it does not spike blood sugar as quickly.
- Avocado oil keeps it spreadable. Melted coconut oil works too, but the nutella will solidify more. Avocado oil works best.
- Milk sets the texture. Start with 6 tablespoons of dairy-free milk and add up to 8, one tablespoon at a time, until it is as spreadable as you like.
Why You'll Love This Nutella Recipe
- Vegan, gluten-free and no refined sugars, so you can forget the guilt of chocolate indulgence.
- 137 calories per tablespoon, ready in 24 minutes.
- Stays spreadable in the fridge, unlike the store-bought jar.
- Goes with everything: a dip for fresh fruit, in a sandwich with peanut butter, on banana slices, or mixed into peanut butter oatmeal.
- Makes desserts extra rich drizzled on dairy-free chocolate ice cream or baked into chocolate zucchini cake and gluten-free chocolate cupcakes.
Key Ingredients
- 8 ounces raw hazelnuts - about 1 cup (see how many ounces in a cup for reference). Raw skinless hazelnuts are best, but if you can't find them, roast them first to remove the skins. Use leftover hazelnuts to make ground hazelnut cookies!
- Dutch processed unsweetened cocoa powder - regular cocoa powder is fine too, but Dutch processed gives a rich dark color.
- Maple syrup - natural sweetness and a boost of vitamins and minerals. You can also use agave, which has an even lower glycemic index. No maple syrup on hand? Try a maple syrup substitute.
- Dairy-free milk - makes the vegan nutella more spreadable and thins it out.
- Avocado oil - or another tasteless oil. Melted coconut oil works, although the nutella will solidify more.
- Vanilla extract - adds lovely vanilla vibes with the chocolate and hazelnut flavors.
- Pink Himalayan salt - I prefer this kind as it is loaded with trace minerals. Regular table salt works too.
See recipe card for quantities.
Hazelnuts and Heart Health
Hazelnuts are really good for your heart, especially in men. A hazelnut enriched diet is associated with reducing the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). Fifteen men in an 8-week study were given a controlled diet for 2 weeks. The next phase of two weeks they supplemented hazelnuts into the diet. The result is that the high-fat diet won over the low-fat diet and after a 4 week period total/HDL cholesterol and LDL/HDL cholesterol ratios decreased.
Store-bought nutella is made with cane sugar or confectioners sugar, which is processed and spikes blood sugar levels. This version swaps in maple syrup, which is considered safe for diabetics. I mean really, what's not to love about nutella now?
How to Make Homemade Nutella
1Roast and skin the hazelnuts. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and roast the raw hazelnuts on a baking pan for about 10 minutes. Using a towel, scrape or rub away the skin. If you start with raw skinless hazelnuts, roast them for 8 minutes at 350.
2Blend into hazelnut butter. Blend the hazelnuts in a food processor or high powered blender for about 5 minutes. It will be crumbles at first, but be patient and keep blending until it turns into a soft, creamy butter.
3Blend in the rest. Add the remaining ingredients to the food processor and blend until smooth. Start with 6 tablespoons of milk and, if you want it thinner, add up to 8 tablespoons, one tablespoon at a time.
As always, be sure to check out the full recipe details in the recipe card below.
Expert Tips
- Use a food processor or high powered blender and blend the nuts into a paste first. It takes about 5 minutes.
- Don't over-roast the hazelnuts. Oven temperatures vary, so check them. Burnt or over-roasted nuts give the nutella a highly roasted taste.
- A few skins are ok. Remove as much skin as possible, but it is fine if a few don't come off.
- Skinless nuts? Roast them at 350 degrees for 8 minutes instead.
- Thinner or thicker. Add 1 tablespoon of milk at a time for a thinner consistency. If it gets too thin, add 1 teaspoon at a time of arrowroot flour.
Storing and Using Homemade Nutella
Store homemade nutella in an airtight jar or container in the refrigerator for up to 1 month. You may need to set it out for a few minutes to soften before using, or melt your vegan hazelnut spread right onto warm baked goods! This makes about 16 tablespoons (see these tbsp to cup conversions for baking).
Try it over these easy gluten-free pancakes, mixed into peanut butter banana oatmeal, in homemade nutella ice cream, or in Nutella stuffed muffins. Then grab a nice glass of carrot ginger juice and dig in.
Homemade Nutella FAQs
Traditional store-bought chocolate hazelnut spread is made of sugar, palm oil, hazelnuts, cocoa, milk powder, lecithin and synthetic vanillin. This healthy homemade nutella is made of maple syrup, avocado or coconut oil, hazelnuts, cocoa, vanilla, pink salt and plant-based milk.
Without the use of milk, homemade nutella keeps in the refrigerator for up to 6 months. Because this recipe uses plant-based milk, consume it within 1 month, if it even lasts that long!
The milk and oils in store-bought nutella solidify in the fridge, and at room temperature the spread flows better. This homemade nutella stays spreadable even in the fridge. To make it softer, leave it out for a few minutes before using.
Yes. Add more milk 1 tablespoon at a time until it is thin enough to drizzle on ice cream, pancakes or fruit. If it gets too thin, blend in 1 teaspoon of arrowroot flour at a time.
Remove as many as you can. The skin adds a slight bitter taste, so roast skin-on hazelnuts at 375 degrees F for about 10 minutes and rub the skins off with a towel. A few left on is fine.
This version is vegan, gluten-free and sweetened only with maple syrup, at 137 calories per tablespoon. Hazelnuts are also linked to better cholesterol ratios in a small study on heart health.
More Chocolate Recipes
Use your homemade nutella in Nutella Muffins, Chocolate Zucchini Cake, Gluten-Free Chocolate Cupcakes or Dairy-Free Chocolate Ice Cream. I hope you enjoy this healthy homemade nutella recipe! Follow along with me on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter for a feature and more recipe inspiration! And don't forget to leave a comment below!
Homemade Nutella Recipe
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Equipment
- high powered blender
Ingredients
- 8 ounces raw skinless hazelnuts see recipe for removing skin if needed
- ⅓ cup Dutch process unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ cup maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil or melted coconut oil, hazelnut oil or a tasteless oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon pink salt
- 6 tablespoons almond milk or a plant-based milk - might need up to 8 tablespoons
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 F. Roast raw hazelnuts on a baking pan for about 10 minutes to remove the skin. Remove from the oven and using a towel, scrape or rub away the skin. If using raw skinless hazelnuts to start - roast for 8 minutes with the oven set at 350.
- Blend the hazelnuts in a food processor or high powered blender for about 5 minutes until it becomes a soft buttery and creamy texture. It will be crumbles at first but be patient and keep blending until it turns to a butter/spread.
- Next add the remaining ingredients to the food processor and blend until smooth. Start with 6 tablespoons of milk and if needed to be thinner, add up to 8 tablespoons, one tablespoon at a time.
Notes
- Use a high powered blender or food processor and blend the nuts first into a paste. It takes a while, about 5 minutes of blending. The hazelnuts first turn into a crumb then a butter-like spread.
- Don't over roast the hazelnuts. If they start to burn or are cooked too long they ruin the flavor of the nutella - giving it a highly "roasted" taste.
- If you are using skinless nuts to start with then roast them at 350 degrees for 8 minutes.
- Add 1 tablespoon at a time more milk if you want a thinner consistency.
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