Chocolate Hazelnut Spread (From-scratch Nutella )

This chocolate hazelnut spread is simple to make and tastes even better than the store-bought version! Homemade Nutella is a great dairy-free sauce, dip, and drizzle over desserts.

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Most people who know me know that We have never been a fan of store-bought Nutella. No matter how hard We tried to like it, it tasted… off. It contains a weird grainy (read: highly processed) texture that never tasted right to me.

However, We LOVE the chocolate and hazelnut flavor combination. Chocolate Hazelnut Pie? ALL OVER IT!

And We absolutely adore making this copycat Nutella recipe from scratch at home.

Why make your own chocolate hazelnut spread?

The best part about a homemade chocolate hazelnut spread? You know exactly what's going into it – mainly hazelnuts and chocolate.

Homemade Nutella has less sugar. Sugar is the main ingredient found in store-bought Nutella; it's listed right there as the #1 ingredient. The jarred stuff is also reported to have 21 grams of sugar per serving. Yikes! Whereas, homemade Nutella has between 7 and 10 grams per serving.
You can adjust the taste to your preferred level of sweetness.
You can also adjust how thick the spread is. For me, the jarred stuff is simply too thick and hard to spread (thanks to some of the ingredients they use to help it stay shelf-stable).
It's dairy-free. If you use pure cocoa powder and not a hot cocoa mix, this is a yummy dairy-free recipe!
It's easier to make at home than you think.

Convinced it's time to make your own chocolate hazelnut spread? Let's get started!

Kitchen tools and ingredients

To make Nutella from scratch, you simply need a few kitchen tools

Baking sheet– You'll need a rimmed baking sheet to roast the hazelnuts.
Dish towel– To remove the skins from the hazelnuts, you'll need a clean, dry dish cloth. Try to use a weave-style towel that has grooves, to help create friction and remove the skins better.
Blender – because we're blending up hazelnuts, you'll want to use a high-powered blender. Most home blenders will work. This is the Vitamix blender We use and love.

Ingredients to make your own Nutella spread

It all starts, of course, with hazelnuts.

We are lucky enough to live near an abundance of hazelnut farms. If you ever visit Oregon, you'll notice hazelnuts as one of the many popular homegrown ingredients in local restaurants, used in so many different ways for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert.

You can also usually find a bag of hazelnuts in your local grocery store. If not, you can purchase hazelnuts online (that's the affiliate link to truly tasty Oregon hazelnuts!).

In addition to hazelnuts, you will need:

Coconut sugar – You can substitute granulated sugar if you wish.
Cocoa powder – Use the best tasting cocoa powder
Coconut oil– The recipe calls for one tablespoon of coconut oil measured, then melted. This helps create a smooth spread and also helps the spread stay fresher longer.
Water – To adjust the thickness of the spread, start by using the suggested amount of water in the recipe card. Then if you want the spread to be thinner, add more water in small 1/2 teaspoon increments, as desired, to thin out the spread.
Syrup – Maple syrup adds a little sweetness to the spread. You can also use agave nectar instead.

How to Roast Hazelnuts

Roasting hazelnuts is fairly simple. Taking the skins off hazelnuts sometimes can be tricky. But that's usually the only potentially challenging part of this recipe.

First, preheat your oven to 300°F.

While the oven is preheating, spread the hazelnuts out onto a rimmed, ungreased baking sheet.

Bake at 300°F for 20 minutes.

Allow the roasted hazelnuts to cool on the baking sheet for 2 to 3 minutes.

How to de-skin hazelnuts

After the hazelnuts are cool enough, work to take the skins off. To do this, gently roll the hazelnuts in a clean, dry, thick dish cloth and gently rub the skins off. This usually takes off most of the skins.

Sometimes, the hazelnuts seem to cling to their skins. So you have to work a little harder to rub the skins off.

And it's ok if you have some hazelnut skin left! Simply as long as the majority do not have their skins.

Make the spread

Place de-skinned hazelnuts into a food processor and process until smooth. This takes about 3-4 minutes.

Once the hazelnuts are a smooth texture, add the coconut sugar, cocoa powder, melted coconut oil, and water.

Process until the cocoa powder combines fully and the mixture is now a beautiful chocolate color.

Use a silicone spatula to transfer the homemade Nutella into a glass jar and store until you are ready to use!

Recipe FAQs

How can We make the homemade Nutella sweeter?

This recipe already makes a fairly sweet chocolate hazelnut spread. However, you can add more sweetness by adding a half tablespoon of maple syrup to the food processor, pulse, then stop the food processor and taste the spread. If you prefer the spread to be sweeter, repeat with another half tablespoon of maple syrup and pulse, until the chocolate hazelnut spread reaches the level of sweetness you prefer.

How do We store Nutella?

Store your homemade chocolate hazelnut spread in an airtight glass jar. You can store it at room temperature for up to one week, or in the refrigerator for up to three weeks.

Is homemade Nutella a breakfast spread?

While the company that makes the store-bought stuff markets their spread as a breakfast spread, this is truly a dessert item. Our recipe is made mostly of hazelnuts and cocoa powder, but it's still a sweet dish that doesn't truly offer you a ton of vitamins and minerals to qualify as a breakfast food, in the opinion. You can, of course, use this chocolate hazelnut spread over breakfast dishes like pancakes and waffles. It's a tasty way to make breakfast a sweet treat!

Ways to use homemade Nutella

This homemade Nutella is an AMAZING chocolate hazelnut spread with so many uses.

Place in mason jars and give as holiday gifts.
Spread onto waffles, pancakes, and french toast for a fun, sweet breakfast.
Make s'mores by spreading onto graham crackers and top with marshmallows.
Add to a Valentine's Day Dessert Board as a dip for cookies.
Use as a drizzle over ice cream, cakes, and pies.

Most recently, We drizzled it over a crazy tasty S'mores Skillet Cookie. SO GOOD!

The homemade Nutella drizzle took this already tasty dessert to the next level!

More Tasty Dessert Recipes

Homemade Nutella recipe (Chocolate Hazelnut Spread)

By Marlynn Schotland Prep Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 20 mins Servings: 12 servings This homemade chocolate hazelnut spread is better than Nutella! Great as gifts, as a dip, or drizzle for desserts.

Equipment

high-powered blender

Ingredients

1 ½ cups hazelnuts
½ cup coconut sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted
¼ cup water
1 ½ tablespoons maple syrup

Instructions

Preheat oven to 300° F.
Spread hazelnuts onto an ungreased, rimmed baking sheet.
Bake at 300 degrees in the middle rack for 20 minutes.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool at room temperature for 2-3 minutes.
Place hazelnuts onto a clean thick dish towel, then rub hazelnuts against the towel to remove the skins. We'm not going to lie: this is the least favorite part, and it can take a while. However, don't be too picky: hazelnuts can have a bit of skin on them and it's going to be fine!
Place de-skinned hazelnuts into a food processor and process until smooth. This takes about 3-4 minutes.
Once the hazelnuts are a smooth texture, add the coconut sugar, cocoa powder, melted coconut oil, and water. Process until the cocoa powder combines fully and the mixture is now a beautiful chocolate color.
To add sweetness, start by adding a half tablespoon of maple syrup, pulse, then stop the food processor and taste the spread. If you prefer the spread to be sweeter, repeat with another half tablespoon of maple syrup and pulse, until the chocolate hazelnut spread reaches the level of sweetness you prefer. For us, we found one and a half tablespoons to be perfect.

Notes

MAKES about 1 to 1.5 cups, enough to use as a dip or drizzle of about 12 to 15 servings. The nutrition value is based on 12 servings. STORAGE: store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week, or in the refrigerator for up to three weeks.

Nutrition

Calories: 135 kcal, Carbohydrates: 10 g, Protein: 2 g, Fat: 10 g, Saturated Fat: 2 g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1 g, Monounsaturated Fat: 7 g, Sodium: 14 mg, Potassium: 120 mg, Fiber: 2 g, Sugar: 7 g, Vitamin A: 3 IU, Vitamin C: 1 mg, Calcium: 21 mg, Iron: 1 mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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This post was originally published on December 20, 2017. It was updated February 5, 2020 with new content .