Healthy Homemade Nutella is easy to make and filled with hazelnuts and cocoa powder for a short, vegan ingredient list. Enjoy it on all of your favorite snacks and desserts! Once you try a batch of homemade vegan Nutella, you'll never go back to the store-bought stuff.
Ooh, nutella. We love it so much! Unfortunately, the store-bought stuff is filled with ingredients I can't pronounce in addition to loads of refined sugar. This prompted me to make my own Homemade Healthy Nutella that we could enjoy more frequently! This healthy version is vegan and filled with hazelnuts, unsweetened cocoa powder, and pure maple sugar.
All About Hazelnuts
Hazelnuts are rich in monounsaturated fat and an excellent source of vitamin E, copper, and magnesium in addition to fiber. Store your hazelnuts in a closed container in a cool, dry place for up to three months or refrigerate them up to six months. You can even freeze them for up to a year! This makes it super easy to always have hazelnuts on hand and make this Healthy Homemade Nutella whenever you want.
Refined Sugar-Free Nutella
I used maple sugar in this recipe, which is a healthier alternative to refined sugars. It is still a sweetener, but is made from pure maple that's been cooked a bit longer, then stirred until it forms a granular sugar. For the best, smoothest results, I recommend turning the maple sugar into powdered sugar by processing it dry in a blender until a fine powder forms.
How to Enjoy Vegan Nutella
Besides eating it with a spoon? There are so many yummy ways to enjoy nutella!
- Spread on toast
- As a dip for bananas or strawberries
- Spread on an almond flour tortilla
- As a glaze on Homemade Donuts
- Drizzled over a Healthy Chocolate Smoothie or a Nutella Smoothie Bowl or Vegan Nutella Fudge Pops (OMG! so good)
How to Make Healthy Homemade Nutella
This is a super short and easy process. If you enjoy nutella, you'll be shocked by how simple it is to make it at home! Add hazelnuts to your next grocery list and let's make some healthy homemade nutella.
- Start by roasting the hazelnuts. Bake them at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes, until they become fragrant and the skins begin to loosen. Once you pull them out of the oven roll them around and remove the remaining skins. This helps give you the smoothest nutella possible, and it also makes the finished product sweeter since the skins have a slightly bitter taste!
- While the hazelnuts are still warm, move them into the food processor and process for 5 minutes. A smooth, creamy hazelnut butter will form! Now it's time to add in cocoa powder, vanilla, and salt. Give it a taste and adjust the ingredients as needed.
The Secret to Creamy Homemade Nutella
My unexpected secret ingredient to make your homemade nutella ultra-smooth is...crushed ice! If you blend your nutella and it's not super smooth, add a quarter cup of crushed ice to the food processor. This may sound odd but the crushed ice acts as mini blades within in the food processor and helps to break the nutella mixture down to a finer texture. It produces a super creamy spread!
This recipe is vegan, paleo, gluten-free, and soy-free! I love creating foods that everyone can enjoy, even with allergy or dietary restrictions. If you make this healthy homemade Nutella, I hope you'll tag me on Instagram so I can see your creations! You can also comment and rate this recipe below.
More Dessert Spreads
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Easy Instant Pot Homemade Applesauce
Creamy Vegan Cinnamon Vanilla Fruit Dip
Easy Vanilla Blender Icing
How to Make Coconut Whipped Cream
Easy Cranberry Sauce
Instant Pot Refined Sugar-Free Apple Butter
Easy Vegan Vanilla Frosting
4-Ingredient Healthy Homemade Nutella (vegan, paleo)
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 1 cup 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Healthy Homemade Nutella is easy to make and filled with hazelnuts and cocoa powder for a short, vegan ingredient list. Enjoy it on all of your favorite snacks and desserts! Once you try a batch of homemade vegan Nutella, you'll never go back to the store-bought stuff.
Ingredients
- 2 cups unsalted hazelnuts (raw or roasted)
- 3 tablespoon maple sugar (or coconut sugar)*
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract (optional for added flavor)
- ⅛ teaspoon fine salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Place hazelnuts on a bare baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes until fragrant and the skin starts to pop off a bit.
- Place a kitchen towel over top the hazelnuts and apply pressure as you move them around to allow more of the skins to fall off the hazelnuts. You can also add the hazelnuts to a large fine mesh strainer and place the strainer over a large bowl. Then, use a kitchen towel or even just your hands to rub the hazelnuts against the strainer. The strainer will help to tear the skin off the hazelnuts.
- Once the hazelnuts have cooled you can also use your hands to pinch each hazelnut slightly to remove any remaining skin. This is a bit tedious but worth it if you want a super smooth nutella texture and naturally sweeter flavor (the skins are a bit bitter).
- Transfer the skinned hazelnuts to a 7-cup food processor fitted with an S-blade. Leave any skin that has fallen off behind and discard (the hazelnuts don't all have to be peeled but the less skin that goes into the food processor the smoother and sweeter the nutella will be).
- Process the (mostly) skinned hazelnuts while still warm for five minutes until a smooth and creamy hazelnut butter forms. While the processor is running add cocoa powder, maple sugar, vanilla (if using) and salt. Process until all ingredients are smooth and well-combined (about five additional minutes). Taste and adjust flavors if needed.
- If your nutella is not super smooth you can add ¼-1/2 cup crushed ice cubes to the food processor and process until the ice is fully incorporated and no chunks remain. This may sound odd but the crushed ice acts as mini blades within in the food processor and helps to break the nutella mixture down to a finer texture and makes it super creamy.
- Use the nutella immediately or store in an airtight container in your refrigerator for up to two weeks. I love to spread it on toast, almond flour tortillas, sweet potato toast, bananas, strawberries or even use in smoothies!
Notes
*For a less gritty texture, I recommend turning your maple sugar into powdered maple sugar before using. To do this, place maple sugar in a completely dry blender and process on the highest speed for about 30 seconds until a fine powder forms.
For added richness and smoothness I sometimes add one tablespoon of melted coconut oil while blending.
For best results, use a good quality cocoa powder that is dark brown in color. The darker it is the more rich it tastes. I love Whole Foods 365 brand unsweetened organic cocoa powder the best. It is fair trade and tastes incredible. It makes a huge difference in this recipe.
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 10
- Method: Food Processor
Keywords: healthy nutella
Nicole Winnie says
I made this and at first the blended hazelnuts were runny, but still with little pieces. As soon as I added the ice it turned really thick. Then when I added the powdered coconut sugar and cocoa powder it turned into like a dough texture ?? What did I do wrong? It is not creamy at all anymore and looks like cookie dough.
Elaine Gordon says
Hi, Nicole. I'm so sorry to hear this! I think the issue may have been the order you added the ingredients. It is important to follow the order in the directions listed because if you add the ice too early this can happen. You want everything incorporated first and really warm from blending before adding a little ice... Also, did you bake the hazelnuts first? That is key as well. This is a recipe where it is important to follow the ingredients, measurements and process exactly as written for best results. I hope you can give it another try. I'm also wondering if you could salvage what you have by just blending for a long time and adding melted coconut oil to help thin it out. That might work from the warmth of the creamy coconut oil. LMK! Thanks, Elaine