Healthy Nutella Recipe (no oil or added sugar)

Name: Healthy Nutella Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 2 cups raw hazelnuts; 18 pitted Deglet Noor dates (or Medjool dates); 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract ((optional)); Salt (to taste); 1 cup nondairy milk (or as needed (optional))

👩🏼‍🌾 Ingredients

Raw hazelnuts, cocoa powder, vanilla extract, and Deglet Noor dates in white bowls.

Raw hazelnuts
Pitted dates
Cocoa powder
Vanilla extract (optional)

See the recipe card for quantities.

🌰 Substitutions

Hazelnuts - Instead of hazelnuts use a different nut of your choice. Purchasing blanched roasted nuts will save time.

Pitted Dates - Deglet Noor dates are less sweet and have a honey flavor but Medjool dates also work in this homemade Nutella.

Cocoa Powder - CocoaVia CardioHealth cocoa powder is my preferred brand because it is third-party tested and high in flavanols. However, any variety will work.

Vanilla extract - omit as desired

Nondairy milk - add your choice of nondairy milk for a more drippy texture

Oil - add neutral-tasting oil as desired for an oilier texture

📖 How to Make Healthy Nutella

If using unblanched hazelnuts, preheat the oven to 400ºF.

Roasted hazelnuts on a white baking sheet on a maroon towel.

Step 1. Transfer the raw hazelnuts to a large rimmed baking sheet in a single layer and roast them for about 10 minutes or until the skins start to brown.

Roasted blanched hazelnuts in a maroon towel with the shelled skins.

Step 2. Transfer them to a clean dishtowel and rub them until the skins fall off. Do not worry if a few stubborn skins remain.

Roasted blanched hazelnuts in a canister of a food processor.

Step 3. Transfer the blanched hazelnuts to the canister of a high-speed blender or food processor.

Homemade hazelnut butter in the canister of a food processor.

Step 4. Blend until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed.

Homemade hazelnut butter, dates, cocoa powder, vanilla, and water in the canister of a food processor.

Step 5. Drain the soaked dates. Add them to the canister with the cocoa powder, vanilla, and ¼ cup water. Blend on high until creamy and smooth like Nutella. This may take some time. Scrape the sides as needed.

Healthy Nutella on sheet pan pancakes on a white plate.

Step 6. Transfer Healthy Nutella to a jar with a tight-fitting lid.

💡 Expert Tips

Purchase blanched hazelnuts to save time. This way, you can skip roasting them and removing the skins.

Both a food processor and blender work well, but a high-speed blender, like a Vitamix, will yield smoother results. However, transferring the Nutella from a food processor bowl is easier.

The hazelnuts take time to go from whole nuts to nut butter. The nuts will go through stages of chunkier pieces, to lumps, and eventually to smooth nut butter.

For a sweeter Nutella, feel free to add a liquid sweetener, such as maple syrup, or agave to taste at the end of blending. Pulse a few times to mix through.

Storage: Refrigerate Healthy Nutella in an airtight container. Without the addition of dairy-free milk, it will last 3 to 4 weeks. With dairy-free milk, it is good for as long as your milk is still good.

🙋🏽‍♀️ Recipe FAQs

What is Nutella?

Nutella is described as a chocolate and hazelnut spread. Since 1964, it has been manufactured by Ferrero, an Italian multinational confectionary company.
It contains sugar, palm oil, hazelnuts, cocoa solids, milk powder, soy lecithin (an emulsifier), and vanillin (an artificial flavor). It is popular to use for desserts and breakfasts. According to the ingredient label, each jar is made of around 13% hazelnuts.

Is there a healthier option for Nutella?

This Healthy Nutella Recipe contains sugar from dates which also adds gut-healthy fiber, natural heart-healthy oils from the hazelnuts, no dairy, and no stabilizers or artificial flavors.

Is Nutella vegan?

The two key ingredients in Nutella, cocoa, and hazelnuts, are vegan. But because, alongside ingredients like palm oil and sugar, these are combined with skimmed milk, the spread itself is not vegan.
However, other brands make Nutella-inspired vegan spreads, with the same taste and texture, but without the cow’s milk.

📖 Recipe