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.
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)!
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!
5 reasons you'll love this healthy chocolate spread:
- You know exactly what goes into it. You regulate how much sugar goes in so it's perfect for your taste!
- It has way less sugar than regular Nutella which makes this spread much healthier.
- The hazelnut content is much higher than regular Nutella which is mostly sugar.
- 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.
- It makes a great present! Edible gifts are always fun. Pour into smaller jars, add some labels and pretty ribbon and you're done!
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
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.
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.
More homemade nut spread recipes:
📖 Recipe
Homemade Healthy Nutella (vegan)
- 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
Description
Delicious creamy vegan Nutella-like spread made with coconut sugar.
Ingredients
- 3 cups raw hazelnuts
- ¼-½ cup coconut sugar*
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- ⅓ cup raw cacao powder (or sub cocoa powder)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 175C/350F.
- Spread the raw hazelnuts on a large baking sheet.
- Roast for 15-20 minutes or until slightly golden and the skin comes off of the hazelnuts easily. Cool completely.
- 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.
- 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.
- Add the coconut sugar (start with ¼ cup and add more later if needed), sea salt, and cacao powder, and process until smooth.
- Taste and add more cacao or sugar to taste.
- 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.
- 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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Sina says
Wow! This looks so delicious. I'm definitely gonna try your recipe! :-)
thehealthfulideas says
Yay that's great, thank you! :)
Christiana says
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.
Nicole says
Hey this looks great! Just wondering when to add the salt?
thehealthfulideas says
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 :)
Elyse says
How long does this keep in the fridge?
Veronika | thehealthfulideas says
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.
Gloria says
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.
Chef Dennis says
I am soooo loving this! A healthy version of nutella is absolutely awesome. Looks soooo delicious.
Bernice Hill says
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!
Lauren M Vavala says
My kids ae going to be handing me the mom of the year award for making them this recipe - so good!
Tristin says
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.
Jenny says
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!!
Veronika says
I love nutella and eat it a lot ;) never tried a homemade version, but now want to make it! your photos look amazing!
Kathryn says
I've never tried making hazelnut spread from scratch but now I definitely want to try. Love the photos too!
Helen says
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.
Melanie C says
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.
Heather says
You had my attention with healthy nutella! I can't wait to try this.
Cinny says
OH, that is awesome. I"m a huge fan of Nutella but always hesitate to buy because I worry it's too much sugar.
Cristina Petrini says
I think it's a good recipe, but perhaps the lack of certain elements makes it more liquid and less creamy.
Emily Fata says
This recipe looks like it would taste soooo delicious! Thank you so much for sharing it with us. :)
Arūnas says
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!
Emman Damian says
It looks so tempting! I really want to make my own Nutella spread. So yummy!
yudith napitupulu says
This is awesome, I really want to make this. I like do some experience about food. I will try this healthy nuttela for sure.
Anosa Malanga says
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.
Steven Morrissette says
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.
Ntensibe Edgar says
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!