How to Make Homemade Nutella
Roasted hazelnuts and rich cocoa melt together into a deliciously creamy homemade nutella. Simple, nutrient-dense, and naturally sweetened with dates!
Flavor Notes
cocoa | earthy | buttery
Pairing Suggestions
crepes | toast | bananas
This site uses affiliate links and I may earn a small commission off of purchases made using these links at no additional cost to you 🙂
How to make homemade nutella
If you’ve never made nut butter from scratch, you’re in for a treat! Homemade nut butters are much easier to pull off than you might think, and trust me, they’re TOTALLY worth the effort. I like to say that all it takes is a blender and some patience 🙂
Homemade nutella starts with dry roasting your hazelnuts – if they haven’t been roasted already. Even if you are working with roasted hazelnuts, I highly recommend giving them a few minutes in the oven, because the heat accelerates the blending process.
Next, you’ll add the warm-from-the-oven hazelnuts directly into the blender. Take advantage of their heat, because warmer nuts “melt” into nut butter faster than they would at room temperature. It’s very important to blend the nuts down by themselves before you start adding the rest of the ingredients. Otherwise, you’ll get more of a crumbly crust texture as opposed to a neat, creamy butter.
It’s very important to blend the nuts down by themselves before you start adding the rest of the ingredients. Otherwise, you’ll get more of a crumbly crust texture as opposed to a neat, creamy butter.
After the nuts have blended into a nice and smooth hazelnut butter, add in the rest of the ingredients. Add the water last, while blending, to achieve the best consistency. This recipe produces a silky, spreadable nutella, but you can always add more or less water to reach your desired spreadability!
Is homemade nutella good for you?
Hazelnuts are the traditional basis for nutella, which is why we’ve chosen them here. I purchase mine from a small business in Oregon called Wilderness Poets. You can purchase their hazelnuts on amazon.
When compared to almonds, cashews, and pecans, hazelnuts are comparatively high in monounsaturated fats, which can be converted to omega-9 fatty acids once digested. They’re also relatively high in vitamin C and manganese when compared to other nuts and seeds.
Instead of using melted chocolate, we’re saving on added fat by swapping in cocoa powder. Instead of adding sugar, we’re throwing in a couple of dates – they have a wonderful, gooey, caramel-like flavor that will complement the nuts and cocoa perfectly!
Ingredients for homemade nutella
Hazelnuts: I use raw unsalted hazelnuts from a small business in oregon. You can purchase their hazelnuts on amazon with this link.
Cocoa powder: I used dutch-processed cocoa powder for this recipe because of the reduced acidity.
Medjool dates: be sure to select medjool dates! The common deglet date variety is really the lesser fruit here.
Sea salt: I truly love using Maldon sea salt in my recipes! The flakes are the perfect size, shape, and texture for “melting” into recipes when you need them to, but they can also stand out enough to be used as a final garnish!
Water: we need a little liquid in order to get the smoothest, most spreadable nutella possible
Ingredient substitutions
Hazelnuts – although hazelnuts are the traditional nuts used in Nutella, any nut will do fine as a replacement! I particularly recommend swapping in peanuts or almonds because their flavor profiles work well with chocolate. For those with tree nut allergies, substitute sunflower seeds – they taste a little bit earthier and they have a short blending time.
Cocoa powder: I used dutch-processed because of its lower acidity level, but you could also use regular cocoa powder. Feel free to substitute cacao nibs, just be sure to add these while the nut butter is warm so they melt while blending. If you’re in a pinch, you could swap in melted chocolate or chocolate chips, but make sure you measure out 2 tbsp of melted chocolate (so 3 tbsp chocolate chips or 2-3 squares of a chocolate bar)
Dates: I love naturally sweetened recipes, but feel free to substitute white, brown, coconut, or date sugar if desired – start with 2 tbsp and add more to taste. If you’re using a liquid sweetener, start with 1 tbsp and add more to taste.
Sea salt: iodized salt or pink himalayan salt work, too. Reduce the amount to ¼ tsp if you choose iodized table salt.
Water: feel free to swap in coffee here – coffee and chocolate make for a great flavor combo, especially if you’re a fan of mochas!
Recipe Card
Homemade Nutella
Equipment
- 1 Baking sheet
- 1 High speed blender or food processor
- 1 Spatula
Ingredients
- 8 oz raw hazelnuts see blog for my favorite brand
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
- 2 large medjool dates
- 1/2 tsp sea salt see blog for my favorite brand
- 4 – 5 tbsp lukewarm water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375℉
- Add the dates to a bowl of warm water.
- Spread the raw hazelnuts over a large baking sheet and roast for 10 minutes or until slightly darkened and aromatic.
- Add the warm hazelnuts to a high speed blender and blend until a smooth butter forms, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed. This process might take 5 – 10 minutes.
- Add the cocoa powder, dates, and sea salt and blend to incorporate.
- While the blender is running, add water one tablespoon at a time until the mixture reaches your desired consistency. I added 5 tbsp to mine.
- Store the homemade nutella in an airtight glass container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Enjoy!
Did you try this recipe? Let us know how it went in the comments below!
