Homemade Nutella: How To Make Hazelnut Spread

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You can’t go wrong with this incredibly delicious, healthy, homemade Nutella recipe. If you are a lover of hazelnut spreads, then you will absolutely adore this amazing version.

Awesome Nutella Recipe

Making Nutella at home is so awesome, and many people enjoy doing just that. There is such satisfaction when making this simple Nutella recipe with just a handful of ingredients.

It is rich and creamy and is actually healthier than the real thing. Why is that? Because it doesn’t have any extra additives and uses a healthier oil.

Don’t get me wrong, I still love the classic Ferrero hazelnut spread that is so popular around the world, but this homemade version has fewer calories and doesn’t sacrifice any of that classic Nutella taste!

Homemade Nutella

I bet you won’t be able to resist a spoonful of this healthy vegan Nutella. You will keep coming back for more and more and want to put it on your toast, pancakes, waffles, crepes, and everything else, haha.

Yes, it really is that yummy!

Growing up, I developed a fondness for that famous hazelnut chocolate spread along with millions of other people. And now you can make your very own right in the comfort of your home.

Isn’t that absolutely awesome! Yes, I think so too.

Can you really make this Vegan Nutella and/or dairy-free?

The answer is yes, you sure can! That is the beauty of making your own hazelnut spread; you get to use exactly what ingredients you want and are not stuck with specific less healthy options.

Homemade Nutella Ingredients

Here is a breakdown of the ingredients and swaps to make it Vegan-friendly or Keto-friendly:

Hazelnuts: Hazelnuts can be expensive, so buy them in bulk when possible to help with the costs. You can buy them pre-roasted or not roasted. I usually buy this brand of pre-roasted hazelnuts.

Cocoa Powder: Use your favorite unsweetened cocoa powder that you would use for baking. I usually just use Hershey’s brand.

Milk: The milk powder is entirely optional. Store-bought Nutella does contain milk, and I do like to add milk powder to mine, but you don’t have to at all. You can use any other non-dairy powdered milk. I don’t recommend using any liquid-based milks because those contain water, which can mess up your chocolate hazelnut spread.

Sweetener: While this recipe uses powdered sugar as the main sweetener, you can swap that out for other sweeteners of your choice, like date sugar, coconut sugar, honey, etc. Just keep in mind that different sweeteners will affect the taste and consistency. You can also use something like Xylitol, erythritol, or stevia for a low-carb or keto Nutella.

Salt: I always add a bit of sea salt to help balance out the flavors. But technically you do not need to add it.

Vanilla: I highly recommend using a vanilla powder instead of vanilla extract, because vanilla extract has water in it, which may adversely affect the hazelnut spread. But with such a small amount, you will probably be fine with normal vanilla extract.

Oil: Store-bought Nutella uses palm oil, which isn’t the healthiest of oils, so I always use avocado oil. Oil may or may not be necessary to use; it just depends on how smooth you want the consistency.

How to Make Nutella at Home

If you buy hazelnuts that are not pre-roasted and have the shells on them, then you should roast them first. Roasting the nuts unlocks rich and deep flavor and helps to release the oils, which makes for a smoother texture.

Put the nuts on a sheet pan in a single layer and then in the oven at 375F/190C for 7 to 8 minutes.

Then take them out and let them cool; place them in a kitchen towel and rub them around, which will remove the shells.

If you buy already shelled and roasted hazelnuts, skip this step.

Next, throw all the hazelnuts into your high-speed blender, such as a Vitamix in this case, or a food processor, and blend until you get a nice paste. NOTE: The food processor will take longer.

The more you blend, the smoother it will be; try to get it as smooth as possible.

Add 1 tsp to 1 tbsp of oil depending on how runny you want it; the added oil will also help to smooth it out, but it isn’t necessary and is optional. Start with 1 tsp first! And go from there.

Now add the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth. The Nutella will be done. Depending on how much oil you added, it may be fairly runny.

It will thicken up some in the fridge too. I like my homemade Nutella a little on the runny side, but if you like yours really thick, don’t add too much oil.

Now that your easy homemade Nutella is finished, you can use it however you want!

I love putting it on toast and using it for other things such as these awesome Nutella-based recipes:

Nutella Fudge

Nutella Crepes

Homemade Nutella Bread

3-Ingredient Nutella Cookies

Cookie Cups Stuffed With Nutella

How to store homemade chocolate hazelnut spread?

You can store homemade Nutella in an airtight container in the pantry for 2 to 3 weeks. OR you can store it in the fridge for 4 to 6 weeks. If it will even last that long!