EASY VEGAN NUTELLA – HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT SPREAD RECIPE

Smooth, creamy, rich chocolate-hazelnut Nutella spread over a piece of toast sounds like a perfect breakfast to me. You will be surprised how easy it is to make this Homemade Dark Chocolate Hazelnut Spread. And let me dare to say – much better than store-bought Nutella.

EASY HOMEMADE VEGAN NUTELLA

If you’re looking for a healthy version of Nutella, you should try to make this recipe! You’ll be obsessed. No palm oil, no milk – you will need only 8 natural ingredients to make this delicious smooth Dark Chocolate Hazelnut Spread at home.

THIS HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT SPREAD IS:

• dairy-free
• gluten-free
• egg-free
• soy-free
• palm oil-free
• rich
• smooth
• creamy
• spreadable
• easy to make
• delicious
• a healthy alternative for Nutella
• perfect on a piece of toast, bagel, or banana bread

WHERE TO ADD CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT SPREAD:

• brownies
• cookies
• ice cream
• milkshakes
• porridge
• pancakes
• french toast
• filled doughnuts
• lava cake
• muffins
• a spoon!

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE EASY HOMEMADE VEGAN NUTELLA:

You need the following ingredients to make this easy Homemade Chocolate Hazelnut Spread:

• Raw hazelnuts – Hazelnuts are, along with chocolate, the main ingredients which will create that characteristic flavor to the spread. The recipe calls for raw hazelnuts with their skin on. They will be roasted, peeled, and then made into hazelnut butter. To make it easier, buy pre-roasted hazelnuts. You can also use premade hazelnut butter; however, I think making your own hazelnut butter is much better. Use high-quality raw hazelnuts for the best flavor.
• Dark Chocolate Bar – Chocolate will affect the taste the most, so be sure to buy high-quality dark chocolate. I used a 70% chocolate bar, which works just great, but 60-85% dark chocolate is fine. I don’t recommend using chocolate chips for this recipe. You may or may not need to add more sweetener to the chocolate hazelnut spread as you will make it (according to the sweetness of the chocolate).
• Flavor-free coconut oil – Coconut oil will help the spread to thicken a little bit once it will cool. I recommend using flavor-free coconut oil, which won’t add any coconut flavor to the homemade Nutella.
• Vanilla extract – Vanilla adds a nice flavor. Make sure to use high-quality pure vanilla extract or paste.
• Coconut sugar – Coconut sugar is used as the sweetener in the recipe, which adds a little bit of caramel flavor to it. I like to use coconut sugar in any nut butter that I want to make sweeter. It always melts into the butter, so you won’t feel any sugar crunch. If you don’t have coconut sugar, you can also use brown cane sugar (muscovado).
• Sea salt – Always use a pinch of salt in sweet recipes, especially when it includes chocolate. It helps to bring up all those flavors.
• Maple syrup – Maple syrup acts both as a sweetener and as a thickener in this recipe.
• Unsweetened cocoa powder – Adds more richness.

Equipment you need:

• Baking sheet – For roasting the hazelnuts.
• Kitchen towel – Rubbing the roasted hazelnuts with the kitchen tower will help you to remove the skin. You can also use your fingers to peel the hazelnut skin off. The skin is usually pretty easy to remove.
• Pot – Which will be used for a double boiler.
• Medium-size glass bowl – To melt chocolate in. Don’t use any plastic bowl.
• High-speed blender or food processor – To make your homemade Nutella smooth and creamy you will need a high-speed blender or food processor (if you are using whole hazelnuts). Otherwise, you can risk burning the machine. If you are using premade hazelnut butter you can use an older/cheaper blender, but I haven’t tried this, so I can´t assure you, you will end up with the same results as me.

HOW TO MAKE EASY HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT SPREAD:

You will find the instructions and ingredients list in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.

Making this Vegan Chocolate Hazelnut Spread is easy and comes with 4 simple steps.

Make sure you accurately measure all of the ingredients.

1. Step: Roast raw hazelnuts

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Place raw hazelnut on the baking sheet. You can add parchment paper to the baking sheet, but it’s not necessary. Roast the hazelnut for 10-12 minutes until the skin is dark, but the hazelnuts are golden brown. Watch every few minutes because they can get easily too brown. You can also mix them on the sheet a few times, so they roast evenly. All ovens vary, therefore the hazelnuts will need more or less time to roast.

Roasting hazelnuts will help to warm up the oils in them and make it easier to remove the skin.

Remove the baking sheet with the hazelnuts from the oven and let cool slightly, so you won’t burn your hand while removing the skin.

2. Step: Remove the skin

After hazelnuts cool slightly, transfer them to a kitchen towel and gently rub them all together until most of the skin comes off. Pick the hazelnuts with your fingers and place them back on the baking sheet. Let cool completely.

3. Step: Melt dark chocolate

Fill a ¾ of the pot with water and bring to boil. The size of the pot should be smaller than the glass bowl you use for melting the chocolate bar. Cut dark chocolate bar into little pieces and put it into a medium-sized glass bowl. Place the bowl on the pot, turn off the heat, and let the chocolate melt completely. Stir a few times. Once melted, set aside.

4. Step: Make the dark chocolate hazelnut spread

Blend Hazelnuts

Place roasted hazelnut into a high-speed blender or food processor and blend – blend on low speed until the hazelnuts are all evenly mixed. Scrape down the sides, to make sure everything blends evenly. Then blend on high speed until it forms into a creamy butter. If you’re using a high-speed blender, use a blender tamper to push down the hazelnuts as mixing to make it easier. It might take from 4-10 minutes depending on your blender/food processor.

Add The Rest Of The Ingredients

Add the melted chocolate bar, melted flavor-free coconut oil, a pinch of sea salt, vanilla extract, and coconut sugar, and blend on a lower speed until combine. Lastly, add maple syrup and unsweetened cocoa powder and blend again until everything combines. If you want to add more sweetener add coconut sugar. More maple syrup would make the spread stiffer.

Transfer Into Jar And Let Cool

Transfer the butter into a jar and let cool completely. The fresh-made chocolate hazelnut butter will be runnier. But once you allow it cool, it will thicken more. The consistency of the spread will depend on the temperature you store it in.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

WHAT CAN I USE INSTEAD OF HAZELNUTS?

You can use any other nuts, such as cashews, almonds, peanuts… However, the spread won’t have that characteristic flavor.

HOW TO STORE HOMEMADE VEGAN NUTELLA SPREAD?

Store your homemade Nutella in a glass jar with the lid on at room temperature. If the temperature is cooler the chocolate hazelnut spread will harden a little bit and won’t be as easily spreadable as store in a warmer place.

You can store it in the fridge to make it last longer and then put, for example, on hot oatmeal, or a toasted piece of toast and it will melt easily.

HOW LONG DOES HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT SPREAD LAST?

Your chocolate hazelnut spread will last up to 3-4 weeks at room temperature, or up to 2 months in a fridge.

MORE SWEET BREAKFAST IDEAS:

• Chocolate Protein Smoothie Bowl
• Carrot Cake Overnight Oats
• The Best Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

If you try this recipe, please let me know by leaving a comment below. Or share your photo on Instagram and tag @plantifulbakery.