This Homemade Nutella couldn't be easier to make! Just a few ingredients, and lower in sugar than the regular kind and oil and refined sugar free. A smooth, nutty, rich and creamy chocolate hazelnut spread that you will want to put on everything. Just grab a spoon! There is also a dairy free option too, so you can have delicious vegan Nutella.
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Nutella is a popular brand of a chocolate-hazlenut spread and it is super moreish. It is seen as a breakfast choice in many countries across the world, but store-bought Nutella isn't the healthiest breakfast choice and might leave you with a sugar crash a couple of hours later.
We have lightened it up a bit - there's no palm oil, it's refined sugar-free (but it's still nice and sweet), which means you can still enjoy healthy Nutella for breakfast (or any time of the day), but it's a little bit more nutritious. It's sweetened with a few dates and a little maple syrup and just 53 calories per portion.
Looking for some other sweet breakfasts? Why not try our quick Apple Cinnamon Pancakes, easy Banana Porridge and our delicious Healthy French Toast?
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Healthy Nutella Ingredients
A full ingredients list, along with US Customary and Metric measurements, can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Hazelnuts - This is the star of the healthy Nutella and what gives it the incredible nutty flavour. Roasting the raw hazelnuts really does give the best flavour. If you don't want to roast them, then buy skinless hazelnuts.
- Vanilla - This adds a real warmth to the chocolate spread. Make sure to use extract, rather than essence, as you will get a more natural flavour.
- Cocoa powder - We used unsweetened cocoa powder and it gives it a lovely intense chocolate flavour and richness. Use the best quality cocoa powder you can, as you will be able to taste the difference. Use raw cacao powder for a more intense flavour.
- Milk - This helps to loosen the Nutella up. If you wanted to make this dairy free, then use a dairy free alternative. You could leave the milk out and use coconut oil instead, which would make it lovely silky smooth.
- Dates - This adds some natural sweetness to the recipe, and a lovely flavour too. Medjool dates have the best flavour.
- Maple syrup - Along with the dates, this is what we have used to sweeten the recipe. Just a little goes a long way. Try to use pure maple syrup.
- Sea salt - We add a pinch of salt, because it balances out the sweetness and really enhances the chocolate flavor. You could leave this out though.
More ingredient substitutions and variations can be found in the recipe card.
How To Make Homemade Nutella
Prep: Preheat your oven to 180°C/160°C(fan)/350°F/Gas 4. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Boil your kettle.
- Step 1: Spread the hazelnuts over the lined baking tray in a single layer and put into the preheated oven for 10 minutes.
- Step 2: Put the dates into a bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave to soak.
- Step 3: Once roasted, work quickly to remove the skins from the roasted hazelnuts as they are easier to remove whilst still warm. Don't worry if some stubborn ones still have skin on.
- Step 4: Process the nuts in a high powered blender until a smooth nut butter forms.
When blending, trust the process. The hazelnuts will go from whole, to a floury mixture which will seem like nothing is happening. But keep scraping the sides down and blending and it will all start to smooth out. Scraping it down gives the blender breaks too, so it doesn't overheat.
- Step 5: Drain the dates and add to the hazelnut butter along with the cocoa powder, maple syrup, vanilla and milk.
- Step 6: Process again to combine everything into a smooth chocolate spread.
Ways To Use Healthy Nutella
To be honest, we are happy to just eat it out of a jar with a spoon. But that isn't the healthiest choice. Luckily, there are so many different ways to serve this and here are some of our favourites:
- Dip apple slices in it
- Put it on microwave porridge
- Make our Nutella Waffles
- Use it to make hot chocolate
- Spread on our Healthy Banana Bread
- On toast
- As a pancake topping
- On waffles
- To make our Nutella Smoothie
- In a croissant
- Melted and drizzled over ice cream
- Dip strawberries in it
- As a cake frosting
Dannii's Top Tips
- If you are trying to convince your kids that this is the real thing, then after you have finished a jar of Nutella you can wash it out and fill it with this. They will never know!
- You need a high powdered food processor to make this. You can use a blender, but you won't get a really creamy and smooth Nutella.
- Blending time will depend on the blender that you are using. Some will take longer than others.
- To make this healthy Nutella really smooth, you could add a couple of tablespoons of coconut oil to it. This would change the flavour a little though and change the nutritional information.
- The more full your food processor is, the easier it will be to blend the ingredients. So, if you doubled the batch of this, it would blend faster. But then you would have a lot of Nutella - not that that is a bad thing.
- If you want to make it softer when it comes out of the fridge, spoon out your serving and put it in the microwave for 30 seconds.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, if you don't like the taste of hazelnuts, or you don't have any, then you can swap them for almonds or peanuts in this recipe. Have you tried our Honey and Vanilla Almond Butter?
Because our recipe contains milk, it doesn't store as long as it would if you just used oil and it does need to be refrigerated. You will need to keep it in an airtight container in the refrigerator and it will keep fresh for a week to 10 days. If you want to keep it for longer, you will need to swap the milk for oil. If you use oil instead of milk, it will store in a jar in a cupboard for up to 2 weeks.
No, you cannot freeze this. Once it is defrosted, it will not be smooth and creamy. Instead, it will be thick and crumbly and nobody wants that!
If you find that your homemade Nutella is too thick (this really is a preference thing), then you can add a teaspoon of melted coconut oil, until it is your preference consistency.
More Spread Recipes
If you've tried this homemade Nutella recipe, let us know how you got on in the comments below.
Tag us in your creations on Instagram @hungryhealthyhappy - Use the hashtag #hungryhealthyhappy too.
Recipe
Homemade Healthier Nutella
Ingredients
- 200 g (1.66 cups) Hazelnuts
- 8 Medjool dates - stoned removed
- Boiled water
- 60 g (0.5 cups) Cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoon Maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 125 ml (0.5 cups) Whole milk
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180°C/160°C(fan)/350°F/Gas 4. Line a large baking tray with baking paper. Boil your kettle.
- Put 8 Medjool dates into a bowl and cover with Boiled water. Leave to soak.
- Spread 200 g Hazelnuts over the lined baking tray and put into the preheated oven for 10 minutes.
- Once roasted, work quickly to remove the skins from the hazelnuts as they are easier to remove whilst still warm. Don't worry if some stubborn ones still have skin on.
- Process the nuts in a high powered blender until a smooth nut butter forms.When blending, trust the process. The hazelnuts will go from whole, to a floury mixture which will seem like nothing is happening. But keep scraping the sides down and blending and it will all start to smooth out. Scraping it down gives the blender breaks too, so it doesn't overheat.
- Drain the dates and add to the hazelnut butter along with 60 g Cocoa powder, 2 tablespoon Maple syrup, 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract and 125 ml Whole milk.
- Process the mixture on high until it is smooth. Transfer to a jar and store for up to 1 week in the fridge.
Recipe Tips
- If you are trying to convince your kids that this is the real thing, then after you have finished a jar of Nutella you can wash it out and fill it with this. They will never know!
- You need a high powdered food processor to make this. You can use a blender, but you won't get a really creamy and smooth Nutella.
- Blending time will depend on the blender that you are using. Some will take longer than others.
- To make this healthy Nutella really smooth, you could add a couple of tablespoons of coconut oil to it. This would change the flavour a little though.
- The more full your food processor is, the easier it will be to blend the ingredients. So, if you doubled the batch of this, it would blend faster. But then you would have a lot of Nutella - not that that is a bad thing.
- If you really wanted to, you could even make this recipe sugar free. It would taste very bitter though.
- Make sure to sift your cocoa powder if it is clumpy.
- You can add a pinch of salt to balance out the sweetness of the sugar and the nuttiness of the hazelnuts.
- If you want to make it softer when it comes out of the fridge, spoon out your serving and put it in the microwave for 30 seconds.
Nutritional Information
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The nutritional information provided is approximate and is calculated using online tools. Information can vary depending on various factors, but we have endeavoured to be as accurate as possible.
As all appliances vary, cooking times are a guide. Please note that by changing the serving size, the cooking time may also need to be altered.
[email protected] says
Thus sounds very tasty and much healthier than the store bought kind.
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
I actually don't like Nutella! (hides in the corner) It's only because I don't like hazelnuts though, so I love that you said you could use other nuts - this would be brilliant with walnuts or something instead! Looks so lovely and thick.
Lex says
I think I'll make this for my sister who is Nutella obsessed!
David @ Spiced says
Homemade Nutella?? Oh, this is super dangerous, Dannii! I limit the amount of Nutella I buy at the store since I know we'll just eat it all in short order. But now that I can make it at home? Oh yeah!! :-)
Judy says
I have just discovered the mysteries of Nutella so I'm delighted to find a homemade recipe! Thanks.
Kaye says
This looks amazing! I love Nutella. I just wish I had a blender so I could give this a go. Looks like I may have to buy one to try your recipe
Alice Helman says
I can't be trusted around a jar of Nutella either, so I am going to have to try making you version. Your photos are amazing too, they are making me drool.
Emma @ Supper in the Suburbs says
I have failed SO many times to make homemade nutella. Even giving myself blisters once from trying to peel the skins off of hazelnuts! Absolute nightmare! Yours looks AMAZING. Definitely need that in my life.
Elizabeth says
Gosh this looks good! I've tried, unsuccessfully, to make Nutella in the past. I'll have to give this recipe a go!
Luci @ made by luci says
I can't tolerate milk or cheese or anything really more than a few tablespoons. I never realised until I cut it out completely and had some by mistake! It was part of the reason I initially went vegan :)
Do you think this would work with a non-dairy milk?
LaaLaa says
Now this is fantastic, I loved Nutella, I get what you mean about the sugar crash hours later. This looks so good right now!
Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice says
Healthier nutella?! My mind is blow, Dannii! I usually never buy nutella because I end up eating the whole jar with just my spoon. I LOVE this version! Pinned!
Claire @foodiequine says
My daughter is a HUGE Nutella fan. I love the idea of a healthier homemade alternative but I don't think she's go for it unfortunately!
Bintu | Recipes From A Pantry says
Oh my word, homemade nutella would be the best thing ever. Can you please send me some in the post.
Keely says
Hello! I was just thinking that another way to make this homemade Nutella even healthier is maybe to use cacao powder instead of cocoa powder (it doesn't have all the added ingredients such as sugar). This is an awesome recipe by the way :)