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    Home > Recipes

    Homemade Healthy Nutella (vegan)

    Published: Feb 4, 2021 · by Veronika Sykorova · This post may contain affiliate links · 27 Comments

    2.1K shares
    Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe·5 from 13 reviews

    Meet the best Homemade Hazelnut Spread aka Vegan Nutella. This healthy Nutella-like spread is refined sugar-free and oil-free. Ready in just 30 minutes! Sweetened with coconut sugar.

    Healthy Vegan Nutella spread on toasted bread. On a white plate and beige background. A butterknife spreading more nutella on the bread from the right.

    I'm so excited to be updating this recipe from a few years ago! It's one of the easiest recipes ever and my absolute favorite!

    Why? Because this healthy Nutella is truly the best nut butter ever (at least in my book)!

    A pouring shot of healthy nutella being poured from the blender into a glass jar. On a beige background.

    If you've never made your own nut butter at home, let this chocolatey goodness be the first one, I promise you'll love it!

    Homemade Nutella in a glass jar with a butterknife resting on the top.

    5 reasons you'll love this healthy chocolate spread:

    1. You know exactly what goes into it. You regulate how much sugar goes in so it's perfect for your taste!
    2. It has way less sugar than regular Nutella which makes this spread much healthier.
    3. The hazelnut content is much higher than regular Nutella which is mostly sugar.
    4. There are so many ways to enjoy homemade nutella: spread on toast, as a dip, in oatmeal, smoothies, milkshakes, ice cream, hot chocolate, baked goods, cakes, etc.
    5. It makes a great present! Edible gifts are always fun. Pour into smaller jars, add some labels and pretty ribbon and you're done!
    A close up of roasted hazelnuts with their skins removed.

    Ingredients you need:

    You only need 4 ingredients for this healthy hazelnut spread.

    • raw hazelnuts - the star of the show
    • coconut sugar - or any other dry sweetener of choice
    • raw cacao powder - I choose raw cacao for its nutrients and because I like the taste better but you can you cocoa powder if you'd like
    • sea salt - to balance out the sweetness
    • vanilla extract - optional, for extra flavor
    A close up of roasted hazelnuts with their skins removed.
    Roasted hazelnuts in a white bowl on a beige background with the baking sheet in the top right corner.

    How to make vegan Nutella from scratch?

    It's super easy. All you need is a baking sheet and a food processor or an upright high-speed blender. (Learn how to make it with no tools at the end of the post!)

    First, you roast the hazelnuts and remove the skins. This is necessary to make the spread smoother and less bitter.

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    Then you process or blend the hazelnuts until they liquefy (see photos). This should only take a few minutes but it does depend on the strength of your blender or food processor. You might need to scrape the sides a couple of times.

    Lastly, add the coconut sugar, cacao powder, sea salt, and vanilla. Blend again and you're done!

    At this point you can taste it and add more cacao or sugar if needed.

    Pour into a jar, let the Nutella cool (with the lid off) at room temperature, then store in the fridge for 2-3 weeks.

    Four process shots of homemade hazelnut butter with cacao in a blender. Overhead shot.

    Nutella Q&A:

    Why is store-bought Nutella so bad for you?

    It contains way more sugar than anyone should consume and too much palm oil. If you google what Nutella is made of, you'll discover it's mostly white sugar and oil with a few hazelnuts and cacao. No, thank you!

    What's a healthy Nutella alternative?

    This recipe! Blend roasted nuts with cacao and sugar, and some salt and you've made yourself a homemade vegan version of the famous hazelnut spread.

    Is homemade Nutella healthy?

    It is definitely healthier than the original store-bought version but that doesn't mean you should be eating spoonfuls of it every day. It has less sugar than Nutella but still contains coconut sugar which is still sugar. Hazelnuts are a high calory food but nuts contain lots of healthy fats so if it wasn't for the sugar, homemade Nutella would be healthy.

    How to make Nutella without a blender/food processor?

    You can skip the hazelnut roasting and blending, and buy hazelnut butter instead. Make sure to get 100% hazelnut butter with no additives. When you're ready to make it, just add the hazelnut butter, coconut sugar, and sea salt to a big bowl and stir until it's all well combined.
    Tip: add 1-2 tablespoon melted coconut oil to help it all to come together. Make sure your hazelnut butter isn't cold or the oil will solidify. You can sift the cacao powder to avoid clumps too.

    Homemade Nutella in a glass jar with a butterknife resting on the top.

    More homemade nut spread recipes:

    • Wild Peanut Butter
    • Salted Caramel Nut Butter
    • Almond Butter
    Healthy Vegan Nutella spread on toasted bread. On a white plate and beige background.
    Print

    📖 Recipe

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    Healthy Vegan Nutella spread on toasted bread. On a white plate and beige background. A butterknife spreading more nutella on the bread from the right.

    Homemade Healthy Nutella (vegan)

    5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 13 reviews
    • Author: The Healthful Ideas
    • Prep Time: 15 mins
    • Cook Time: 15 mins
    • Total Time: 30 mins
    • Yield: 1 ½ cup 1x
    • Category: Spread
    • Method: Roasting
    • Cuisine: American
    • Diet: Vegan
    Print Recipe
    Save Recipe Recipe Saved

    Description

    Delicious creamy vegan Nutella-like spread made with coconut sugar.


    Ingredients

    Units Scale
    • 3 cups raw hazelnuts
    • ¼-½ cup coconut sugar*
    • ¼ tsp sea salt
    • ⅓ cup raw cacao powder (or sub cocoa powder)

    Instructions

    1. Preheat your oven to 175C/350F.
    2. Spread the raw hazelnuts on a large baking sheet.
    3. Roast for 15-20 minutes or until slightly golden and the skin comes off of the hazelnuts easily. Cool completely.
    4. Rub the hazelnuts with your hands or using a paper towel to remove most of the skins off the hazelnuts. It's fine if you can't get all of them.
    5. Add the hazelnuts into the food processor or a high-speed blender** and blend for a few minutes until you get a smooth creamy spread. You might have to scrape the sides of your food processor or use the stick to push the nuts down to the blades of your blender to help it blend.
    6. Add the coconut sugar (start with ¼ cup and add more later if needed), sea salt, and cacao powder, and process until smooth.
    7. Taste and add more cacao or sugar to taste.
    8. Pour into a glass jar and store in the fridge. Wait for the spread to cool down before closing the jar and placing it in the fridge.
    9. It will last for 2-3 weeks in the refrigerator.

    Notes

    * If you don't have coconut sugar, you can use date sugar, maple sugar, or regular cane sugar. Any dry sweetener works but do not add liquid sweeteners. They will make the spread too thick and sticky.

    ** Do not use a Nutribullet or any other upside down blender, it won't work. You need to be able to push it down to the blades or scrape the sides.

    The spread will heat up as you blend it and that's ok, just wait for it to cool down before storing it in the fridge.

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    We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!

    Did you make this recipe?

    Comment and rate the recipe below and tag @thehealthfulideas on Instagram with the hashtag #thehealthfulideas, I'd love to see what you made!

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    2.1K shares

    Comments

    1. Sina says

      June 28, 2015 at 7:58 pm

      Wow! This looks so delicious. I'm definitely gonna try your recipe! :-)

      Reply
      • thehealthfulideas says

        June 29, 2015 at 11:45 am

        Yay that's great, thank you! :)

        Reply
        • Christiana says

          February 22, 2021 at 7:22 am

          Thank you so much for this!! Nothing beats homemade food, like you said you'll know what exactly goes into it. I'll try this out.

          Reply
    2. Nicole says

      October 27, 2016 at 3:49 am

      Hey this looks great! Just wondering when to add the salt?

      Reply
      • thehealthfulideas says

        October 27, 2016 at 9:07 am

        Add it along with the sugar or the cacao or even in the beginning when you're starting to process the hazelnuts. It doesn't really matter in this recipe. Thanks for pointing it out, I'll edit the recipe :)

        Reply
    3. Elyse says

      January 20, 2017 at 5:25 pm

      How long does this keep in the fridge?

      Reply
      • Veronika | thehealthfulideas says

        January 20, 2017 at 7:51 pm

        To be honest, it hardly ever last more than a week in out house but it should definitely keep for two weeks, if not three.

        Reply
    4. Gloria says

      February 08, 2021 at 4:02 pm

      Now, this looks like a fun kitchen experiment. I have the perfect blender for this job. I bet it tastes way better than store-bought too.

      Reply
    5. Chef Dennis says

      February 09, 2021 at 4:47 am

      I am soooo loving this! A healthy version of nutella is absolutely awesome. Looks soooo delicious.

      Reply
    6. Bernice Hill says

      February 09, 2021 at 11:42 am

      This is awesome! I know so many people (myself included) that won't buy Nutella because of all of the additives. We love the flavour though! Sharing this recipe with my friends!

      Reply
    7. Lauren M Vavala says

      February 09, 2021 at 2:04 pm

      My kids ae going to be handing me the mom of the year award for making them this recipe - so good!

      Reply
    8. Tristin says

      February 10, 2021 at 10:46 pm

      This is my new favorite recipe! Made this with my kiddos today and it came out perfectly. I love that it's made with all natural ingredients, so it's so much better than store-bought.

      Reply
    9. Jenny says

      February 11, 2021 at 7:19 pm

      Love your recipe! We love Nutella, but it is so naughty, so we don't have it often. Your fabulous recipe came to the rescue! Perfect for Valentine's Day too. Thanks so much for sharing it!!

      Reply
    10. Veronika says

      February 13, 2021 at 4:46 pm

      I love nutella and eat it a lot ;) never tried a homemade version, but now want to make it! your photos look amazing!

      Reply
    11. Kathryn says

      February 14, 2021 at 1:07 pm

      I've never tried making hazelnut spread from scratch but now I definitely want to try. Love the photos too!

      Reply
    12. Helen says

      February 14, 2021 at 4:31 pm

      I am super excited to try this. I love Nutella and this homemade one is much healthier and without any of the nasties you get in the shop-bought one.

      Reply
    13. Melanie C says

      February 14, 2021 at 8:07 pm

      Can anyone really say they don't like nutella? OMG, it's so addictive. I love the fact that your recipe is a healthier version of it - I'm going to try it this weekend and see if the kids notice when I swap it out.

      Reply
    14. Heather says

      February 18, 2021 at 8:06 pm

      You had my attention with healthy nutella! I can't wait to try this.

      Reply
    15. Cinny says

      February 19, 2021 at 12:01 am

      OH, that is awesome. I"m a huge fan of Nutella but always hesitate to buy because I worry it's too much sugar.

      Reply
    16. Cristina Petrini says

      February 19, 2021 at 3:45 am

      I think it's a good recipe, but perhaps the lack of certain elements makes it more liquid and less creamy.

      Reply
    17. Emily Fata says

      February 19, 2021 at 6:51 pm

      This recipe looks like it would taste soooo delicious! Thank you so much for sharing it with us. :)

      Reply
    18. Arūnas says

      February 20, 2021 at 7:29 am

      I like this nut and cocoa cream. It is not easy to find Nutella without palm oil in stores, so I am glad I can make this delicious dessert easily enough at home!

      Reply
    19. Emman Damian says

      February 20, 2021 at 7:29 am

      It looks so tempting! I really want to make my own Nutella spread. So yummy!

      Reply
    20. yudith napitupulu says

      February 20, 2021 at 1:06 pm

      This is awesome, I really want to make this. I like do some experience about food. I will try this healthy nuttela for sure.

      Reply
    21. Anosa Malanga says

      February 21, 2021 at 9:16 pm

      Wow! I need to share this to my sister! We would definitely love to try to make this! Reading this makes me so excited to taste and have my own healthy nutella.

      Reply
    22. Steven Morrissette says

      February 22, 2021 at 7:47 am

      Wow, does that ever look yummy! I just want to dip fruit in it or eat it with a spoon. I'll be sure to try this recipe this weekend.

      Reply
    23. Ntensibe Edgar says

      February 22, 2021 at 7:55 am

      Oh yeah, I so much agree with you on the part of knowing exactly how much sugar is in your nutella! Many times, the contents written on the packaging, are way different from what the tongue senses!

      Reply

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    A photo of a young woman in a white and red striped shirt with a white backround.

    Welcome!

    I'm Veronika and The Healthful Ideas where I share original plant-based recipes for every day cooking and popular classics with a healthy twist.

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