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This easy Vegan Nutella Recipe transforms roasted hazelnuts, cocoa powder, oil, and sugar into a decadent chocolate hazelnut spread you’ll want to slather on toast, drizzle on pancakes, or enjoy by the spoonful. Vegan and Gluten-Free, Oil-Free Option.
This decadent Chocolate Hazelnut Butter is a vegan-friendly Nutella dupe that’s easy to make at home. It blends roasted hazelnuts with cocoa powder, sugar, oil, and salt to give you a rich and chocolatey spread for all kinds of goodies. The hardest part is deciding what to slather it on first!
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Enjoy a Spoonful of Chocolate Hazelnut Heaven
Nutella, the beloved hazelnut chocolate spread, first hit the scene in 1964 as a way to make chocolate more affordable during wartime shortages. It quickly became a global favorite, known for its rich, creamy texture and fantastic flavor.
The product on the shelves nowadays contains almost more sugar, milk, and palm oil than chocolate and hazelnuts but is still addictively chocolatey nonetheless. There are dairy-free alternatives out there that’ll curb your Nutella cravings, but why overspend when you can make my Vegan Nutella Recipe in just 10 minutes?
By blending mostly wholesome ingredients, like buttery hazelnuts and cocoa powder, together, you get this vegan chocolate hazelnut spread that will make you forget all about OG Nutella. The flavors are impeccable—perfectly nutty with a decadent chocolate flavor that tastes somewhere in between dark and milk chocolate. It’s so good, that you’ll want to slather it on everything or eat it straight from the jar!
Ingredients for Dairy-Free Nutella
It doesn’t take much to make the best dairy-free hazelnut spread from scratch—just 5 simple ingredients! Here’s what you’ll need:
- Roasted Hazelnuts: roasting brings out the hazelnuts’ naturally sweet and slightly buttery flavor. I buy pre-toasted hazelnuts for convenience but raw hazelnuts are just as good AND easy to roast yourself.
- Cocoa Powder: opt for unsweetened cocoa powder for a chocolate flavor everyone will love or Dutch-processed cocoa powder for a richer and less acidic flavor.
- Powdered Sugar: classic Nutella is very sweet, which is where the powdered sugar comes in. Granulated sugar does not work because it makes the spread gritty; however, you can make your own powdered sugar by blending 1/4 cup of granulated sugar into a powder.
- Avocado Oil: a little bit of this neutral-tasting oil gives the vegan Nutella an irresistibly drippy consistency without affecting the flavor. If you don’t have avocado oil, use light-tasting olive oil, hazelnut oil, melted refined coconut oil, or any neutral oil you have on hand.
How to Make Vegan Nutella
- Process the hazelnuts in a food processor until the nut butter is smooth and glossy.
- Add the cocoa powder, powdered sugar, and salt to the food processor. Process until the “dust” settles, then scrape the sides. Continue to process until smooth.
- For a thick chocolate hazelnut spread, stop here.
- For a drippy chocolate hazelnut spread, add the avocado oil and pulse to combine.
- Transfer the Nutella to a glass jar and wait for it to cool before serving or sealing the lid on top.
Caitlin’s Cooking Tips
- How to roast hazelnuts for Nutella: I recommend roasting raw hazelnuts before making this recipe because the heat will draw out their natural oils and take their nutty flavors to a new (mouthwatering) level. To roast, lay the nuts on a baking sheet and roast in a 350°F oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden. Set them aside to cool before transferring them to a clean kitchen towel and rubbing them vigorously to remove the skins.
- Don’t rush the process: The hazelnuts can take up to 7 minutes to break down, release their oils, and blend into a smooth nut butter. Patience is key! Also, don’t forget to scrape down the sides of the food processor periodically to incorporate all of the nuts and yield a smooth consistency.
- Skip the vanilla extract: Don’t use vanilla extract or vanilla paste in this recipe – their liquid will cause the nut butter to seize and become thick and crumbly. If you have a vanilla bean on hand, you can scrape the seed pods in with the cacao powder in step 3 of the recipe.
Serving Suggestions
Treating yourself to some vegan Nutella for breakfast is the key to having a good day. It’s science! Luckily, there are so many ways to enjoy it, like spreading it on toasted slices of this Chocolate No-Knead Bread, Whole Wheat Bread, this Banana Bread, or this Pumpkin Bread. Or, drizzle it over pancakes, waffles, or a batch of overnight oats! You can even use it as a crepe filling for a gooey, chocolatey surprise.
In baking, use vegan Nutella almost anywhere you would use peanut butter or nut butter. Swirl it into brownie, cookie, cake, or muffin batter, spread it in between cake layers, or use it as a gooey cupcake filling. I even used it to help these Chocolate Hazelnut Thumbprint Cookies taste just like a classic Ferrero Rocher.
After dinner, there’s nothing better than a Nutella-topped vegan ice cream sundae or a bowl of Nutella paired with apple slices, strawberries, or bananas for dipping. So many options!
If you’re looking for more vegan chocolate and hazelnut treats, you’ll also love these Hazelnut Mocha Energy Bites, this Chocolate Hazelnut Pudding Pie, and this Chocolate Hazelnut Granola!
How to Store Homemade Nutella
The freshly blended chocolate hazelnut butter will be a little warm from the food processor, so wait for it to completely cool before transferring it to a glass jar. It will keep for up to 1 week in a dark place at room temperature (like a cupboard or pantry).
It can also be stored for up to 1 month in the refrigerator. Keep in mind that the spread will thicken when it’s chilled, but it helps to let it rest on the counter for about 10 minutes before serving.
For even longer storage, freeze the Nutella for up to 3 months. Let it thaw in the fridge overnight, then bring it to room temperature before serving.
Substitutions and Variations
- Oil-Free Option: You can make vegan Nutella without oil but the consistency will be thicker rather than drippy or easily spreadable.
- Vanilla-Flavored Option: For extra decadence, blend the seeds from one split vanilla bean into the spread. You can buy vanilla beans in the spice section of specialty grocery stores or online. Vanilla extract and vanilla bean paste do NOT work here because the added moisture reacts with the natural hazelnut oils and causes the nut butter to seize and become too thick.
- Less Sweet Variation: Use only 1/3 cup of powdered sugar for a richer, more intense chocolate taste.
- Extra Sweet Variation: Increase the powdered sugar to 2/3 cup for a sweeter, creamier chocolate experience.
- Optional Flavor Boosters: Blend in a pinch of ground cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, or pumpkin pie spice for some warmth, or add 1 teaspoon of espresso powder to intensify the chocolate flavor.
Recipe FAQs
Classic Nutella is not vegan as it contains skim milk powder.
Personally, I prefer to make this in a food processor, but yes, you can make it in a high-powered blender with a tamper instead.
It’s up to you! Removing the skins does yield a smoother spread but the difference isn’t noticeable enough to warrant taking the skins off when you want Nutella in a hurry.
Enjoy! If you make this recipe and decide to share it on Facebook or Instagram, don’t forget to tag me @FromMyBowl + #FromMyBowl! I would also love it if you could leave a comment below with a recipe rating! Thank you for the support 😊
Vegan Nutella
Ingredients
- 2 cups roasted hazelnuts*
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar*
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil divided (optional, if necessary)
- Optional: 1 vanilla bean NOT vanilla extract, see notes
Instructions
- Note: If your hazelnuts have a lot of their darker brown “skin” still on them, you can vigorously rub them between a towel to remove some of it. It won’t make too much of a difference though!
- Make Hazelnut Butter: Add the hazelnuts to a food processor with an S-blade attachment. Process for 5 minutes, scraping the sides of the processor with a spatula occasionally. The nut butter should look smooth and glossy at this point; if it’s not, continue to blend for an additional 1 to 2 minutes.
- Sweeten: Add the cocoa powder, powdered sugar, and salt to the food processor. Seal tightly and process until the “dust” that kicks up from the powders has settled, then stop the food processor and scrape the sides. Process again until smooth.
- Make it Drippy: If you prefer to have a thicker nut butter, stop here. For a thinner nut butter add 1 tablespoon of avocado oil to the food processor and pulse until combined and the nut butter is more drippy. Add additional oil as necessary; keep in mind that the nut butter will thicken slightly as it cools.
- Store: Transfer the nutella to a glass jar. Let it come to room temperature before sealing completely. Store in a dark place (like a pantry) at room temperature for up to 1 week at room temperature, or up to 1 month in the fridge. Note that the nut butter will thicken significantly if stored in the refrigerator.
Recipe Notes
- Hazelnuts: I prefer to buy my hazelnuts pre-toasted. If you have raw hazelnuts, place them on a medium baking sheet and roast in a 350F oven for 10 to 12 minutes until golden. Let the nuts cool to a comfortable temperature before using in this recipe.
- Flavor Adjustments: For a “darker” chocolate flavor use only 1/3 cup of powdered sugar. For more of a “milk” chocolate flavor, increase the sugar to 2/3 cup. This recipe is somewhere in the middle as written 🙂
- Vanilla: This recipe is just as delicious without any vanilla flavor, but you can add 1 vanilla bean if you wish! I do NOT recommend adding vanilla extract or even vanilla bean paste; the moisture in the extract/paste will negatively interact with the oils from the nut butter and cause it to seize and become overly thick
- I prefer to make this recipe in a food processor, but you can also make it in a blender if you have one with a tamper.
Could we use cacao? What about honey, maple syrup or coconut sugar?
Hi Lena! You can use cacao powder instead of cocoa powder. I do not recommend using liquid sweeteners like honey or maple syrup, because they will cause the oils from the hazelnuts to seize and the nut butter will become clumpy. You can, however, use coconut sugar or date sugar! I’d recommend blitzing it in a blender or the food processor first to make it more of a fine powder