Homemade Nutella (Chocolate Hazelnut Spread)

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Hi Bold Bakers!

WHY MY FOLLOWERS LOVE THIS RECIPE: Creamy, chocolately, and nutty Homemade Nutella is the perfect addition to any of your favorite desserts — and one of Bigger Bolder Baking readers’ favorite recipes! With a taste just like store-bought, my Homemade Nutella recipe can be made in under an hour with just a few simple ingredients!

I love a good versatile ingredient — not only is Nutella great as a spread, served on a humble slice of toasted Homemade White Bread, but it works so well in so many recipes I’m sure you’ve seen before on Bigger Bolder Baking! With recipes like my Homemade Crepes, Nutella Lava Cookies, and my collection of 3 Ingredient Nutella Recipes in mind, I love being able to make Nutella at home, with simple ingredients I have at home, rather than running out to the store every time I need a jar. 

And I’m so glad my Homemade Nutella recipe, made with real hazelnuts, milk chocolate, cocoa powder, and a few other ingredients likely already in your pantry, has become one of my Bold Bakers favorites as well. In fact, I even learned a few tricks from those of you who experimented with this recipe! 

This creamy homemade chocolate hazelnut spread is about to become a mainstay in your kitchen — if not for baking, then at least for that satisfying spoonful as a midnight snack! You won’t believe how easy it is to make Nutella right at home! 

Table Of Contents

• What Is Nutella? What Does Nutella Taste Like?
• Tools You Need
• Homemade Vs. Store-Bought Nutella Ingredients
• Vegan Nutella, Keto Nutella, And Other Ingredient Substitutes
• Making Nutella Without Hazelnuts
• How To Make Nutella
• How To Roast Hazelnuts
• Is Nutella Healthy?
• FAQs
• Gemma’s Pro Chef Tips
• How To Store Nutella
• Related Recipes

What Is Nutella? What Does Nutella Taste Like?

The most popular brand of hazelnut chocolate spread is arguably Nutella. I’d certainly consider it a “generic trademark,” like how you’d ask for a Kleenex instead of a tissue, Chapstick instead of lip balm, or Coke instead of cola! If you were to ask for a “chocolate hazlenut spread” for your toast, most people would counter, “You mean Nutella?”

Nutella was first introduced in Italy in 1964 by the company Ferrero, the same company that brought you Ferrero Rocher, the popular hazelnut truffles (try my Homemade Ferrero Rocher recipe, too!)

While there are a few other ingredients in store-bought Nutella, which I’ll talk about below, Nutella tastes like chocolate with a touch of toasted nutty hazelnuts. 

Tools You Need To Make Nutella At Home

• Measuring cups and spoons
• Baking sheet
• Cloth towel
• Food processor (alternatively, blender)
• Spatula

What Is Nutella Made Of — Homemade Vs. Store-Bought Nutella Ingredients

According to Ferrero’s website, store-bought Nutella is made with “Sugar, Palm Oil, Hazelnuts (13%), Skimmed Milk Powder (8.7%), Fat-Reduced Cocoa (7.4%), Emulsifier: Lecithins (Soya), Vanillin.”

And, truth be told, I don’t stray too far from that recipe — although I do use ingredients you may be a bit more familiar with and likely have in your house right now! 

My Homemade Nutella is made with the following:

• Hazelnuts: I use raw hazelnuts for this recipe, which I roast myself.
• Milk chocolate: Melted and cooled milk chocolate goes perfectly alongside hazelnut.
• Powdered sugar: To add a bit of sweetness but to avoid any grainy texture, use powdered sugar. If you don’t have any on hand, you can make Homemade Powdered Sugar.
• Unsweetened cocoa powder: This helps up the chocolately flavor.
• Vegetable oil (or any flavorless oil): To keep the Nutella creamy, you need to add oil. I use vegetable oil, but you can use any flavorless oil in its place. Store-bought Nutella uses palm oil, which has higher saturated fats than vegetable oil. And, Vegetable oil has triple the amount of vitamin K than palm oil.
• Vanilla extract: Vanilla helps bring out all the delicious flavors in this recipe. Store-bought Nutella uses Vanillin, which is a single organic compound extracted from the vanilla plant. I use vanilla extract, which has more compounds from the plant and gives the recipe a bit more complex flavor. 

Vegan Nutella, Keto Nutella, And Other Ingredient Substitutes

This Nutella recipe is already vegetarian, but if you’d like to make it vegan, keto, or sub in other ingredients, here are a few tips!

• How to make vegan Nutella: To make Homemade Vegan Nutella, use vegan milk chocolate or opt to use a higher cocoa content chocolate. Check the labels of your chocolate — a lot of good quality chocolate has no dairy. Chocolate with 70% cocoa content will be easy to melt and should have no dairy. Here is a full Homemade Vegan Nutella recipe to follow!
• How to make keto Nutella: While I haven’t tried to make a keto-diet friendly version of Nutella, a few Bold Bakers have experimented with this recipe and recommend using maple syrup or sugar-free sweeteners, like xylitol or erythritol, instead of the powdered sugar.

Instead of powdered sugar, you can also opt to use dates! Dates help sweeten the chocolate hazelnut spread and give it a delightful vanilla-y flavor. 

Can I Make Nutella Without Hazelnuts?

Hazelnuts have particular properties which suit the chocolate in this recipe, but I know hazelnuts may not be readily available in some countries, so you can make my Homemade Nutella using any nut — it’s simply up to your preference of nut flavors. 

Try a small portion with any nut that has a little oil in them, like almonds, peanuts, macadamia, and Brazil nuts. These nuts are great for this recipe because they’re ‘fleshy,’ making them easy to skin. You will need to roast the nuts slightly for the best flavor. I recommend roasting them for about 8 minutes in a 350°F/180°C oven before blending.

If you’re looking for a nut-free Homemade Nutella, try replacing them with your favorite seeds! Sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, and pumpkin seeds would work great in this recipe.

How To Make Homemade Nutella

Making Homemade Nutella is just as easy, if not easier, than driving to the store to pick up a jar! Here’s how you do it:

1. First, roast the hazelnuts. After they become fragrant and well-roasted, rub them in a clean kitchen towel to remove the skins.
2. Blend the nuts in a food processor until a very smooth paste forms. 
3. Once the paste is smooth and shiny, add the remaining ingredients. Continue blending for about 90 seconds, scraping down the sides as you go, until it is smooth and shiny.

How To Roast Hazelnuts

Roasting the hazelnuts before blending them to make Nutella helps bring out all the delicious flavors of the nut. But it doesn’t just improve the taste; roasting the nuts will help draw out the natural oils and will help you achieve a smoother, creamier texture. 

To roast hazelnuts, preheat your oven to 350ºF (180°C). Place your nuts on a baking tray and bake for 10-15 minutes until they become fragrant. Trust your nose! You don’t want to judge them by sight; just wait for that toasty, nutty scent. 

Is Nutella Healthy?

It’s easy to think of Nutella as a healthy treat, as people often treat it the same way they would peanut butter or other nut butter. However, Nutella, including homemade, is made with chocolate and sugar, which isn’t typically considered a nutritious breakfast! 

While this recipe has healthy components, like hazelnuts, keep in mind that Nutella is not a substitute for healthier nut butters. That said, Homemade Nutella may be a bit healthier than store-bought, as you can monitor what ingredients and how much sugar you are adding to the recipe. 

As always, be sure to talk to your doctor or nutritionist about your concerns! 

Homemade Nutella FAQs

What do I do if I don’t have a food processor? Can I use a blender to make Nutella?

If you do not have a food processor, you can use a blender to make Homemade Nutella instead. Just as you would while using a food processor, be sure to scrape down the sides of your blender to ensure all the hazelnuts get blended for a smooth texture.

How do I make my Nutella smooth?

Store-bought Nutella is smooth and silky — naturally, your homemade version should be too! In order to achieve a similar smooth texture for your Homemade Nutella, make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl so that all of the nuts get blended up well. It’s crucial for the nut paste to be very smooth to prevent a grainy texture.

Also, be sure to use powdered sugar instead of granulated sugar! If you only have granulated sugar, you can turn that into powdered sugar using my simple Homemade Powdered Sugar recipe. 

Can I use other nuts to make Nutella? 

Nutella is a chocolate hazelnut spread, but that doesn’t mean you have to stick to just that nut. If you prefer or can’t find hazelnuts, you can use other oil-rich nuts like almonds, peanuts, macadamia, or Brazil nuts. See my note above about making Nutella without hazelnut. 

Is Nutella vegan? 

My Homemade Nutella is vegetarian but not vegan, as I use milk chocolate in my recipe. You can, however, make vegan Nutella, as well as keto Nutella, by reading more about Ingredient Substitutes above. Be sure to check out my Homemade Vegan Nutella recipe, too! 

How long does Homemade Nutella last?

You can keep Homemade Nutella for up to 4 weeks in an airtight jar or for longer in the refrigerator. Be sure to see my notes on how to store Nutella below. 

Gemma’s Pro Chef Tips For Making Homemade Nutella

• Did your Homemade Nutella set up overnight? Simply pop it in the microwave for a few seconds or stand the jar in a bowl of warm water to resolve it!
• Want a vegan substitute? Try my Healthy Nutella (Vegan) recipe! Alternatively, you can use vegan chocolate or a higher cocoa content chocolate.
• For sugar substitutes, check out The Best Sugar Substitutes for Baking & FREE Substitutes Chart!
• Although vanilla extract packs a stronger flavor since it comes directly from the beans, vanilla essence will work in a pinch!
• If you’re using a blender instead of a food processor, blend the nuts in smaller amounts, so they don’t bind the motor.

How To Store Homemade Nutella

You can keep your homemade Nutella in an airtight jar at room temperature for up to 4 weeks! If you’d like it to last longer, feel free to refrigerate it, but please note that it hardens in the fridge, so you will have to microwave it or place it in a warm water bath to use it again. 

Try More Nutella Recipes!

• Fluffy Nutella Buttercream Frosting
• 3 Ingredient Nutella Cookies
• 3 Ingredient Nutella Brownie in a Mug
• Healthy Nutella Recipe (Vegan)
• Crazy Dough Braided Nutella Bread

Try These Recipes!

How to Make Chocolate Pastry

Easy Almond Flour Baking Mix Recipe

How to Make Chocolate Pastry Cream

Homemade Phyllo Dough Recipe (Filo Pastry)