Homemade Nutella

If your holiday spread is anything like mine, you have a bowl of in-shell nuts and a nutcracker that just hangs out all season long. They’re beautiful, but tradition aside, who stands over the mixed nut bowl getting frustrated because the nuts just don’t crack perfectly every time? You’ll move onto the cookies really quickly! Insert homemade Nutella.

As the new year rolls around I start to crack all the leftover nuts and use them in fun, healthy dishes or even just add them to my pantry’s nut stash. However, the leftover hazelnuts? Those are getting cracked and headed right into homemade Nutella. It is ridiculously simple and absolutely delicious! Plus, zero waste. Just toss those nutshells into the compost bin or garden bed!

Homemade Nutella Ingredients

2 Cups Hazelnuts (Shell Removed)
Œ C Date Sugar*
Œ C Cacao Powder
2 Tbsp Grapeseed Oil
œ Tsp Vanilla

*Any type of sugar can work well here! I love the taste of date sugar blended with the hazelnuts and the super-fine consistency, but use whichever type of sugar suits you!

Homemade Nutella Method

The key to a great homemade nutella is roasting the nuts the perfect amount! Not enough roast? The flavor is lacking. Too much? It can get a bit bitter! So, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Then once that preheat is finished, spread the two cups of hazelnuts on an unlined baking sheet with plenty of space in between. This is a dry roast, so no oils either on the nuts or on the sheet.

Then, roast for 5-6 minutes. You’ll see the nuts start to brown- take them out when you do, they’ll continue to cook while they’re hot, so you don’t want to leave them in until they’re golden. Then let them cool enough so they’re able to be handled but still warm and use a kitchen towel to gently rub the skins off. That skin won’t come off perfectly, but getting as much off as possible will result in a tastier, creamier spread.

Then add the nuts into a high-speed blender or food processor (I’m using a Vitamix) and slowly drizzle in the grapeseed oil. Once that mixture has started to smooth out add in the vanilla, date sugar, and cacao. Continue to blend until the mixture is smooth, thick and deep brown.

Let cool completely and then transfer to an airtight container. You can store this on your counter for about two weeks or in your fridge for up to two months (though I promise you’ll go through this quicker than that!)

The uses for this are endless! The first time I had Nutella was on a school trip to Paris and I had it in a crepe underneath the Eiffel Tower (fairly certain this was the exact moment I fell in love with Paris) but it is also amazing on toast, topping or being added into baked goods, livening up a smoothie, popping into chocolate bon bons and SO much more!

Homemade Nutella

A simple, sweet nut-based spread flavored with date sugar and cacao.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine French

Equipment

  • High Speed Blender or Food Processor

Ingredients
  

  • 2 C Hazlenuts Shelled
  • 1/4 C Date Sugar You can swap for a sugar of your choice
  • 1/4 C Cacao
  • 2 Tbsp Grapeseed Oil Can swap for another neutral oil
  • 1/2 Tsp Vanilla Extract

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • Add shelled hazelnuts, dry, to an unlined baking sheet and roast for 5-6 minutes- until hazelnuts are slightly more brown.
  • Let cool until the nuts can be handled and use your fingers or a kitchen towel to remove a large portion of the hazelnut skins.
  • Add hazelnuts and grapeseed oil to the blender and blend until combined.
  • Add date sugar, cacao, and vanilla and continue to blend until completely smooth.
  • Transfer to an airtight container and store on the counter for up to two weeks or in the fridge for up to two months.
Keyword breakfast, dessert, hazelnut, Nutella, vegan, vegetarian

Some links are affiliate links. All opinions are my own. Photos by Becky Duffyhill

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