Homemade Vegan Nutella
Do you know what the first ingredient in Nutella is? Do you have a guess? Well over the years I have shied away from the chocolatey hazelnut goodness because the first ingredient is [singing] “dah, dah, dah”…sugar! I’m not typically a fan of sugar for sugar’s sake. But don’t get me wrong, I am faithful to dessert nightly:). All that to say, with all the sugar in Nutella, in my head I have thought of it more as a dessert.
Then comes one of those times where my children spend the night at one of our family friend’s house. They have the opportunity to try Nutella, and not surprisingly, they love it! I told the kids if they love it that much they can buy it themselves! Also not surprisingly, when it comes out of their pocket book, they don’t buy it too often. Then I thought about it some more and endeavored to make some homemade vegan Nutella so I would feel better about what the kids are eating, and I could cut out the dairy, AND I could reduce the sugar, and BIG AND so the kids would refer to me as a hero in their books;).
Plus I got the fancy to make some homemade Nutella Granola Bars (recipe coming), so I wanted to make the Nutella homemade to guarantee I would have, in hand, a dairy free chocolate hazelnut spread.
This recipe is adjustable and really easy to put together. If you want to taste it and see if it needs more sweetener, feel free to add it! If you need the blender, or food processor to work and get spinning more for you, add a little bit more oil or coconut milk by teaspoon. If you end up with extra oil on the top at the end, you can just pour it off.
Homemade Vegan Nutella
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Coconut Milk beverage not canned, or almond milk
- 2/3 Cup Maple Syrup can substitute honey
- 1/4 Cup Coconut Oil melted
- 2 Teaspoons Vanilla
- 1/2 Cup Cocoa Powder
- Pinch of Salt
- 3 cups Raw or Roasted Hazelnuts skins can remain on
Instructions
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Optional, roast hazelnuts in a 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes. Let cool, and shake to remove skins if desired. *See note below.
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Place all ingredients in order into a higher powered blender or food processor, and turn machine on to mix.
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Stop the machine and scrape down sides, and mix and then scrape again until the desired texture is achieved. Feel free to add more coconut milk by the tablespoon if your blender won't work. Taste and adjust sweetness and cocoa concentration if needed.
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Place unused chocolate hazelnut spread in a jar, and refrigerate.
Recipe Notes
*I've taken the time to roast the hazelnuts, cool them, and then shake them in a plastic container to the remove the skins. I've also made this recipe using raw hazelnuts leaving the skins on. Having experimented with both ways, I now skip the roasting step and just throw the hazelnuts in the blender raw with the skins on. My blender is strong enough to handle the skins and smooth out the hazelnut spread. The roasting does add a depth of flavor, but I think the spread is still great without this step!
how do i make the coconut milk for this recipe
I buy it. If you have a Costco around, that’s where I get it in a carton.