Healthy Nutella

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This healthy Nutella recipe is an easy, delicious homemade treat! It takes just 3 ingredients to make this vegan chocolate hazelnut spread.

Everybody loves Nutella. It’s a creamy, sweet chocolate hazelnut spread. Its base is hazelnuts, so technically you could use it as a nut butter. Have it on a sandwich and it should be a good source of protein with all those hazelnuts, right?

Actually, no. The first ingredient in store-bought Nutella is sugar, followed by palm oil. Hazelnuts are number 3, and some of the other ingredients include soy lecithin and artificial vanilla flavor. A two tablespoon serving of Nutella has only 2 grams of protein. The nuts are really an afterthought, not a base.

This healthy Nutella recipe is a homemade version you can feel better about eating. While it’s not exactly health food, it has a much better ingredient list than the store-bought version. All you need are hazelnuts, oil, and chocolate chips to put together this delicious spread.

Healthy Nutella Tips

This recipe is easy to make as long as you carefully follow the steps. If you use pre-peeled hazelnuts, it takes just five minutes to make this. 

The skins need to be removed from the hazelnuts because they have a bitter taste. If your hazelnuts still have the skins on them, you’ll need to roast them for 10 minutes so the peels come off easily. You can also blanch them to help remove the peels.

Once the peels are removed, the first step to making this healthy Nutella is to make a nut butter out of the hazelnuts and avocado oil (or other neutral oil). Be patient making the nut butter. It may not seem like it’s working at first, but it does come together into a smooth butter after a minute or so.

This healthy Nutella is fairly watery at first, and then it thickens as it cools. After refrigerating, the mixture becomes more solid and fudge-like. To make it spreadable again, you can soften the chocolate hazelnut spread by returning it to the blender for about 30 seconds, or by microwaving a small portion for about 20 seconds.

If you’d prefer not to use chocolate chips, you can substitute ¼ cup cocoa powder and ⅔ to 1 cup pure maple syrup. Add them to the hazelnut butter after it’s smooth, at the same time you would add the chocolate chips in the recipe, and process briefly until smooth. I prefer the texture of the chocolate chip version, but this one is good, too.

And for a special treat, don’t clean out your blender with soap and water after making this healthy Nutella. Instead, add a cup or two of non-dairy milk to the blender after you’ve removed most of the Nutella and mix up a chocolate hazelnut smoothie.

Homemade Nutella Serving Suggestions

There are so many ways to enjoy this healthy Nutella. Here are just a few:

• Dip strawberries or bananas in it
• Dip pretzel sticks in it
• Spread it on toast
• Add it to crepes
• Add it to French toast
• Drizzle it over ice cream
• Blend it with non-dairy milk for a chocolate hazelnut smoothie
• Melt it in non-dairy milk for hot chocolate

Is Nutella Vegan?

Store-bought Nutella is not vegan, as it contains cow’s milk. I use allergy-friendly chocolate chips to make this healthy Nutella vegan and gluten free. This delicious spread is also gluten-free.

This easy Nutella recipe is a great homemade food gift. It’s a treat that everyone loves!

Try my healthy homemade peanut butter cups and coconut protein bars for other delicious snacks you can feel good about eating.

Healthy Nutella

This healthy Nutella is such an easy vegan spread to make yourself.

Print Recipe

Prep Time:15 minutes mins

Cook Time:5 minutes mins

Total Time:20 minutes mins

Recommended Equipment

• roasting pan
• blender

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup avocado oil or other neutral oil
• 12 ounces hazelnuts 3 cups, skins removed
• 2 cups vegan chocolate chips

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Place the hazelnuts in a roasting pan, and roast for 10 minutes. (You can skip this step if your hazelnuts are already peeled.)
• Cool the hazelnuts and remove the skins. You can do this by pressing on them with your hand, using a rolling motion. If the skins are stubborn, submerge the nuts in water and then peel them. (You don't need to get every last bit of the peels off.)
• Add the oil to the blender, then add the hazelnuts. Turn the blender on, and gradually increase the speed to medium. Process for one minute (or more), or until a smooth nut butter is formed. You may need to scrape down the sides or use a tamper to keep the ingredients moving properly.
• Once the mixture is fairly smooth, add the chocolate chips gradually through the opening on top while the blender is running on low. Once all the chocolate chips are added, process for another minute on low to medium speed, scraping down the sides as needed to yield a smooth product.
• Set aside briefly to cool at room temperature or in the refrigerator. The mixture will thicken as it cools.
• Store this homemade Nutella in an airtight container in the refrigerator. This will keep for several weeks. The mixture will solidify to a fudge-like texture in the refrigerator. To use it as a spread, you can microwave a portion for 20 seconds, or return the full batch to the blender and process for 30 seconds.

Approximate Nutrition Info

Calories: 221kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Potassium: 116mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 3IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 43mg | Iron: 2mg

Servings: 20

Calories: 221kcal

Author: Annemarie Rossi

Cost: $.52 per serving

This recipe may contain affiliate links. A purchase or click through one of these links may result in a commission paid to us at no additional cost to you.

Healthy Nutella Price Breakdown

This recipe costs a total of $10.48 to make, or $.52 per serving (2 tablespoons). This homemade healthy Nutella is a delicious recipe that you can feel good about feeding to your family.

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Note: This recipe was originally published in 2014, and it was updated in 2020.