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The Best Homemade Nutella
I’m someone who can’t resist a chocolate hazelnut spread for sure! Who doesn’t love Nutella? It really is heaven in a jar, and if you had to ask me team Nutella versus team peanut butter, I’d vote Nutella any day! What about you? Let me know in the comments!
I’ll be honest in that the brand name “Nutella” actually isn’t my favourite chocolate hazelnut spread variety. I’ve tasted the one from Kraft, Laura Secord (a Canadian chocolate company), Farm Boy (a Canadian grocery store), and President’s Choice (a Canadian private label brand). I still need to try the Lindt and Cadbury ones, but Lindt is my favourite chocolate so I’m sure that will not disappoint! My favourite has been the Laura Secord one because I find it’s the smoothest and not overly sweet! Let me know in the comments if you’re a diehard true Nutella fan or do you also prefer off-brand varieties?
Unfortunately with all of these store-bought chocolate hazelnut spreads is that they contain soy, vegetable oils, and processed sugars. The off-brand varieties probably have less than what’s in the real Nutella, but nonetheless those ingredients are still there to preserve shelf life and to make them so amazingly sweet and delicious!
I wouldn’t call this vegan Nutella healthy by any means since we’ve still got chocolate and sugar, but hey, it’s healthier than the store-bought versions! Everything in moderation and balance, right? This Homemade Vegan Coconut Nutella recipe only has six ingredients, and you can name them all!
What I love about this Nutella recipe is that it’s not overly sweet. While we will be using powdered sugar in this recipe and chocolate chips, I find that this Nutella recipe actually lets the hazelnuts and cacao flavours shine instead of sugary-ness and butteriness that you tend to taste in actual Nutella, whether from the actual brand or its off-brands.
With regard to the ingredients themselves, we’ll be as natural as possible. The oil we’ll use is extra virgin coconut oil, which is unprocessed compared to vegetable oils, and there won’t be any soy, preservatives, or dairy!
This Nutella is so much fun to make and eat! I’ve been wanting to make my own Nutella for the longest time, and better late than never I’ve finally made it! If making your own Nutella is part of your bucket list, then be sure to follow this recipe as part of your Live to Cook one-month challenge! For convenient’s sake I’d probably still buy Nutella, but I have to admit that you’ll be blown away with how delicious and fresh this homemade version is!
To get all the details on how our smooth and delicious Vegan Coconut Nutella is made, be sure to watch the video! Please subscribe to my YouTube channel, and press the bell button so you’re notified when all of my video recipes go live! I love to share the videos to go hand-in-hand with the written ones so you’ve got a tangible view of what’s going on. Let’s get to the recipe!
Why This Is the Best Nutella Recipe
- Fast: Many recipes roast the hazelnuts in the oven, but I feel that’s such a waste of time! We’ll roast our hazelnuts in a stainless steel pan to speed things up.
- Simple ingredients: No high-fructose corn syrup here! We really focus on the hazelnuts here to get a rich and natural taste
- Vegan-friendly: If you follow the recipe with vegan chocolate, then you’re good to go with this dairy-free goodness!
- Minimal tools: You just need a pan to roast the hazelnuts and your blender!
Tips for an Amazing Chocolate Hazelnut Spread!
- If you don’t have a nutcracker to open the hazelnuts, you can wrap each hazelnut in a kitchen towel and strike with a heavy object to crack the shell.
- Be careful not to burn the hazelnuts while roasting.
- Process the hazelnuts until you get a smooth, buttery texture.
- You can experiment with milk chocolate, semi sweet chocolate or dark chocolate, along with your choice of sweetener to make variations of Nutella.
Ingredients for Nutella From Scratch
SIX ingredients are used to make this vegan Nutella! Let’s review what we’ll need to make the best chocolate hazelnut spread at home. These ingredients are all pantry staples, so I’m sure you already have most if not all of the ingredients already! Remember, the FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD with all ingredients and their quantities is at the bottom of this post! If you want to make more or less, you can easily scale the measurements!
- Hazelnuts: We’ll toast our hazelnuts and peel them if you’ve purchased them whole. Hazelnuts are the star of this recipe of course!
- Coconut oil: This will bind all our ingredients together to make it smooth and creamy! Coconut oil makes your Nutella taste a little different from a packaged Nutella, but I quite enjoy this aroma! You can use butter or a non-dairy butter if you want.
- Cacao powder: Cacao powder is quite similar to cocoa powder. They both come from the same cacao plant, being separated from the cocoa butter, the fatty part. However, cacao powder is minimally processed and vegan. Cacao powder is produced from fermented cacao beans that are not roasted, processed at low temperatures and milled into a powder. Therefore, cacao powder is bitter and more nutritious. On the other hand, cocoa powder is made from cacao beans, but it is fermented and roasted, processed at a much higher temperature. While cocoa powder is less bitter, it loses the nutritional value that comes from cacao powder. Additionally, cocoa powder may contain dairy, making it not a guarantee that your Nutella from scratch will be vegan. I like the cacao powder I’m using here which was sent to me by Vorst Supplements because it is organic and contains ashwagandha, a medicinal herb that can improve sleep quality, reduce stress, and increase concentration.
- Chocolate chips: I’m using semi-sweet chocolate chips here. If you’re using dark or unsweetened chocolate, then I’d recommend you add some sweetener to balance out the bitter chocolate. Because I’m using semi-sweet chocolate, I don’t need to add any additional sugar, since these chocolate chips are sweet enough as they are.
- Vanilla extract: Just a splash will make this Nutella perfectly rich and satisfying!
- Powdered sugar: This is our main sweetener for our chocolate hazelnut spread. Use powdered sugar so that it blends easily. Granulated sugar will make your Nutella grainy, which we certainly don’t want!
How to Make the Perfect Nutella at Home
How to Roast the Hazelnuts
De-shell all of the hazelnuts and collect them in a bowl. You can either use a nutcracker to shell or wrap 1 hazelnut at a time in a kitchen towel and strike firmly with a heavy object such as a rolling pin.
Add the hazelnuts to a pan on medium heat. Saute for 5-10 minutes while shaking occasionally to lightly roast.
Remove the hazelnuts and let them cool slightly. Remove the skin of the hazelnuts by rubbing them vigorously between a kitchen towel. Roasting them would help removing the skin much easier.
How to Get a Creamy and Smooth Nutella
Add all hazelnuts to a food processor and puree for as long as it takes to get a super fine texture. It may take longer if you are making a small portion.
Add coconut oil and continue blending until the hazelnuts resemble a smooth nut butter.
In the meanwhile, melt the chocolate chips in the microwave.
Add molten chocolate chips, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and cacao powder.
Continue blending until you get smooth Nutella!
Taste and enjoy!
How to Use Homemade Chocolate Hazelnut Spread
You’ll have a blast with this Nutella! If you were already a Nutella lover, I think you’ll appreciate your fresh homemade chocolate delight so much more! As I mention in my Make Cooking Fun!! motivational guide to get you inspired in the kitchen, having an awareness of what’s in your kitchen and thinking of a plan to make recipes using those ingredients can inspire you to create plenty of new recipes! This Nutella is so versatile, so check out some ideas for how to enjoy your delicious homemade chocolate hazelnut spread! Be sure to let me know which recipes you’ve tried!
- In your coffee: I like to add some in my Cafe Mocha, but you could also add it in any regular coffee or a latte!
- In smoothies: Throw it in a banana and peanut butter smoothie for a hint of chocolate hazelnut delight!
- In cookies & brownies: Nutella cookies anyone? You could put them in stuffed cookies, or make triple chocolate cookies or brownies with Nutella!
- On top of pancakes: A luscious chocolate drizzle to complete your stack! I add Nutella to these Banana Bread Chocolate Chip Pancakes!
- On toast: For a simple breakfast or dessert, and I recommend adding some sliced bananas! Nothing beats banana and Nutella right!
- As a dip: Dip your favourite fruits in this luscious vegan Nutella, such as bananas (as I mentioned above!), apples, strawberries or pears. In fact, try putting in some marshmallows!
- In a crepe: Check out my Banana Strawberry Nutella Crepe recipe to see how to make this wonderful sweet treat!
- In oatmeal: This would be such an excellent chocolate drizzle to garnish a nice cozy bowl of hot oats or even with chilled overnight oats! I add Nutella in my Double Chocolate Hazelnut Oatmeal. Reserve some hazelnuts to top this lovely bowl of oatmeal off in addition to your Nutella!
- On its own: You don’t know how many spoonfuls I’ve licked when making this and just when I see it waiting for me in the fridge! Yum, if you would eat Nutella right out of the jar, then it will totally take some willpower not to eat this Nutella right out of yours!
Storing Homemade Chocolate Hazelnut Spread
To store your chocolate hazelnut spread, transfer the contents into an airtight container or a mason jar. You could leave it out on the counter so that it stays warm and smooth, but it would probably only last a week or so at room temperature. You could refrigerate it for about 2-3 weeks and it will be just fine! I wouldn’t recommend freezing it because it will lose the thick and smooth consistency when you defrost it! In fact, it may separate!
Frequently Asked Questions
Why Do you Roast the Hazelnuts before Blending?▼
We roast the hazelnuts prior to blending because this helps release their natural oils, which will give your final Nutella a smooth and luscious consistency! Additionally, the hazelnuts releasing their natural oils will help the blending process, so it won’t take as long and you won’t need as much coconut oil to break everything down.
What kind of chocolate chips should I use?▼
I used semi-sweet chocolate chips here, which are about 60% cocoa. This would be the best type of chocolate to get a pretty “authentic” Nutella taste. However, if you like a more bitter chocolate, then feel free to go a bit darker, but I don’t think you should go past 80%! If you want to use milk chocolate chips for a sweeter chocolate hazelnut spread, then by all means do that too!
Can I Use Chocolate Bars Instead of Chocolate Chips?▼
Sure thing! If you don’t have chocolate chips or don’t want to use your chocolate chips for this recipe, then feel free to use Baker’s Chocolate that’s semi-sweet or at the cocoa level you’d like!
Will The Nutella Thicken Up in the Fridge?▼
Yes, I’ll be honest that the Nutella does become solid in the fridge. However, if you’re going to use this on a hot piece of toast or hot pancakes, the Nutella will soften up instantly! You could leave it out at room temperature for 30 minutes to an hour if you want it to become softer, or pour some into a bowl and microwave for 10 second intervals if you need your Nutella hot and molten.
Why is My Nutella Not Smooth & Creamy?▼
You really need to blend the hazelnuts until it turns into, or resembles hazelnut butter - it should be smooth and creamy. A Vitamix can achieve this the best but as long as the hazelnuts clump and stick together if lifted with a spoon/knife you can proceed with the remaining steps
Can I Use Another Sweetener?▼
Any sweetener you use will create a uniquely flavoured version of this Nutella. However, if you’re going to use another sweetener, I recommend you go ahead and keep it powdered and not liquid. For example, honey or maple syrup will thicken the Nutella and you won’t get a spreadable outcome. Other options that would be great in this homemade chocolate hazelnut spread recipe include brown sugar, coconut sugar, or cane sugar. You could even use zero-calorie sweeteners such as Stevia or Splenda.
Why are You Using Coconut Oil? Can I Use Another Fat Source?▼
I enjoy the flavour combination of coconut with chocolate so I wanted to add that into my Nutella.
You can choose to use a neutral oil like canola oil or vegetable oil, or use avocado oil as well.
Can I blend the ingredients in a food processor?▼
You most exclusively would want to use a food processor or blender to make Homemade Vegan Coconut Nutella. I love my Vitamix, which is what I used in this recipe. Either option is fine, but the larger the vessel, the more Nutella you can make. You would need some serious strength and patience to hand-grind the hazelnuts to make hazelnut butter.
Is this homemade Chocolate Hazelnut Spread recipe vegan?▼
Yes, this Nutella recipe is in fact vegan! While researching the ingredients in this recipe, turns out the chocolate chips I used are dairy-free! If you want to ensure that your Nutella is vegan, just be sure that you’re using vegan chocolate chips! I used these President’s Choice chocolate chips, but I also recommend the chocolate chips by Enjoy Life!
More Delicious Chocolate Recipes!
I’m a self-proclaimed chocoholic for sure! I’m sure that homemade Nutella is any chocolate lover’s dream come true, but here are some recipes that are just waiting for you to try to satisfy your sweet tooth!
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