There’s something so wonderfully addictive about Nutella. I’m not sure what it is, really, maybe the aroma of the hazelnuts mixed with the soft texture of the chocolate, and the knowledge that you can spread it on your favorite foods and call it breakfast the way the Europeans do. Clearly, the Europeans are very intelligent when it comes to breakfast.
When I saw this recipe for homemade Nutella from Elana’s Pantry, I loved the simplicity of the ingredients that she used. It also, quite honestly, looked good for you!
She uses agave instead of refined sugar, simple unsweetened cocoa powder and protein rich nuts. So I thought I would give it a whirl. Literally.
You begin by laying the hazelnuts out on a sheet tray or roasting pan and roasting them in the oven for 8-10 minutes. The idea is that you want to accentuate their nuttiness but not make them so dark that they become bitter.
When they are ready they will be slightly darker and their skins will crack.
This is good because you now will need to rub the skins off with a paper towel. This isn’t the easiest thing to do, but just do your best. Some skins just want to stay on. If most of the skins are off, that works, since you’re just trying to take away any extra bitterness that the skins add.
Then transfer the nuts to a food processor …
And blend away. You are going to begin to make a nut butter and as it blends it will start to become creamy.
This is what it looks like when it is halfway there.
You’ll want to scrape down the sides several times along the way so that it blends well.
It will look something like this when it is ready. You can see the oil from the nuts have begun to release.
Now you add the cocoa …
The vanilla …
The salt …
The agave …
And the hazelnut oil. Hazelnut oil is a bit tricky to find in some places. I found this at a health food store, but you would be fine without it if it’s not something you have available.
After another good blend you’ll have a nice chocolaty mixture. It will be a bit denser than the store-bought Nutella, but still chocolaty, nutty and delicious.
You can serve it with so many things, for breakfast, dessert, or an afternoon snack. It’s so versatile. And this version is pretty guilt-free, too.
Thank you to Elana for the tasty and healthy recipe! Check out her wonderful blog Elana’s Pantry—she has a new book out as well featuring delectable cupcakes!
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Description
I haven’t had Nutella since I was a student traveling in Europe decades ago with a EuroRail pass, sleeping in youth hostels. Back then, we used to eat the chocolate stuff for breakfast. These days, I find the real thing a little too sweet for my taste. So I was happy to see Amy’s Scattergood’s Homemade Nutella recipe in the Los Angeles Times—what a great idea! And the perfect starting point for a version of my own.
Ingredients
- 1 cup Hazelnuts
- ¼ cups Cocoa Powder
- 5 Tablespoons Agave Nectar
- 1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 Tablespoon Hazelnut Oil
- 1 pinch Celtic Sea Salt
Preparation Instructions
Roast the hazelnuts at 350° for 8-10 minutes until they darken a bit and smell fragrant.
Transfer the hazelnuts to a towel and rub off the skins if you can (I didn’t have a lot of luck with this).
In a food processor, grind the hazelnuts to a smooth butter, about 5 minutes, scraping the sides as needed.
Add the cocoa, agave, vanilla, oil and salt and process until well blended, about a minute.
Store in a glass mason jar in the refrigerator.
Bring to room temperature prior to serving.
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There’s so much to say about Georgia, we don’t know where to start. Leaving Wall Street for the French Culinary Institute, followed by a stint at the Gramercy Tavern and La Chassagnette in France, her passion for food and food traditions are evident and inspiring. Visit her site at Georgia Pellegrini, where you’ll find more recipes, photos, learn all about her wonderful book Food Heroes, and enjoy her latest adventures.
53 Comments
Comments are closed for this recipe.
Beth on 8.2.2011
Thanks for this! I’ll be trying it with Maple Syrup instead of Agave.
As for rubbing the skins off the nuts, I would recommend putting them in a fine meshed sieve/colander after roasting and rubbing them around with your fingers. This works for me with walnuts.
Doris on 6.13.2011
I have made this a few times over the years (one daughter is vegan), and have put the hot roasted hazelnuts onto an old tea towel, folded it in half (or bunch up the edges; the hazelnuts have a tendency to shoot out the sides of the towel) and rub between my hands- most skins come off. I’ve thought of making this recipe with coconut sugar, which is low glycemic index.
Anita @ Cedar Hill on 6.11.2011
Great idea. I just posted this to the Cedar Hill Ranch Facebook page. You can see it on the sidebar of my blog. Have a great day.
Craftwhack on 6.9.2011
Hot damn, I can’t wait to make this stuff. Regular Nutella is so full of nastiness.
Rivki Locker (Ordinary Blogger) on 6.9.2011
This is BRILLIANT. I have been hoping for a dairy free Nutella for years. I never thought of making my own!!!
Kristin @ Pirates of the Supermarket on 6.9.2011
This looks amazing! I can’t wait to make it!!
Kelly@TearingUpHouses on 6.9.2011
brilliant!!!
nutella should be it’s own food group.
kelly
Amy on 6.9.2011
You have officially gotten me interested. I love Nutella but don’t wanna eat all that sugar (although, I have.) I’m going to find hazelnut oil this weekend, somehow. I have also printed the recipe. A thousand thanks!!!
TAMMY on 6.9.2011
I READ ONCE, THAT IF YOU PUT THE WARM HAZELNUTS IN A CLEAN DISH TOWEL AND RUB THEM WHILE STILL WARM, THE SKINS COME OFF EASIER. KIND OF LIKE STEAMING THE SKINS SLIGHTLY (LIKE WHEN ROASTING PEPPERS). THIS IS A GREAT RECIPE AND AM ANXIOUS TO TRY IT.
Colleen P. on 6.9.2011
mmmmm….I have made a cake with nutella filling, have a recipe for nutella crepes and have had croissant with nutella on a ferry from Dover to Calais-I’m not sure I’m really wanting to deal with making it myself (and certainly not ready to peel the skins of hazelnuts) but it’s good to know that should a Nutella crisis ever occur, I can break out the Oster and make it myself!
Janet Rudolph @ DyingforChocolate on 6.9.2011
What a fabulous recipe. Homemade Nutella is always better, and this recipe looks like I’ll be eating it right out of the bowl.. rather than adding it to recipes
Thx
DessertForTwo on 6.9.2011
What a great recipe!
callimakesdo on 6.9.2011
What a great tutorial. We are big Nutella fans at our home. My nine year old girl said if she could, she would marry Nutella. I’m not sure I’ll make this anytime soon, since the warehouse store keeps us happily in Nutella at a bargain price, but sometime it would be fun to make it with my girls just for kicks!
evi on 6.9.2011
I made homemade Nutella (a different recipe, though) last year and rubbing the skin off the nuts was HORRIBLE!!! So when I tried it again, I found already-peeled-nuts at the market. They cost twice as much as hazelnuts that still have their skins on, but it’s SO MUCH WORTH IT! Believe and trust me, you do not want to rub the skins of yourselves! Go for the expensive ones!
Laura--The Sushi Snob on 6.9.2011
Sweet merciful everything covered in butter and holiness! I am going to have to try this, sans the agave. I don’t use it for the reasons people have listed above. But boy oh boy, everyone is going to love me. *drools*
Happy When Not Hungry on 6.8.2011
What a fabulous idea!!! This looks awesome. I def have to try
Amber Howard-McGinnis on 6.8.2011
Yeah!! This is awesome! I love Nutella but their downfall is the fact that they use ARTIFICIAL VANILLA–yuck, yuck, and more yuck! I didn’t think you could make homemade Nutella–Thank You for sharing this recipe!
EatLiveRun on 6.8.2011
Genius!!
Lori on 6.8.2011
OH.MY.WORD. My daughter will be in heaven. She loves this stuff. We even gave her a giant jar for Christmas! She was in heaven. Best gift she got!
Kristan Early on 6.8.2011
Nutella was just one of the many joys my first love brought me. He was 19, Italian, well need I say more. But he taught me that this was their “peanut butter.” That was 30 years ago and Nutella had not found its way here. It was my little secret all this time.
Oregon Sunshine on 6.8.2011
W00t! We’ve been “eating clean” for 2 months now. Over the weekend, I stared longingly at some Nutella at the grocery store. Now I have a “clean” recipe for it! Thank you so very much!
Kristin K on 6.8.2011
Good God does anyone have a spoon? I could eat that till I was sick LOL!
angie on 6.8.2011
nutella = crack! hahahahhaha
Myrna on 6.8.2011
thanks for that info Abbyt. You are so right ! Agave is way higher in fructose than high fructose corn syrup or every day table sugar. Its tough on the liver . At least you aren’t getting any hydrogenated fats in this version. I wonder if regular corn syrup would work – less fructose than the table sugar and good consistency. Then again if you are making homemade nutella, its not like its a healthfood.
Marla on 6.8.2011
Georgia, thanks for sharing this homemade Nutella with us. The only way we enjoy that spread over here is the DIY version. Love hazelnut oil too. Happily we can find it easily here.
Melanie on 6.8.2011
I HAVE DIED AND GONE TO HEAVEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh my goodness, that looks so YUMMY!!!! I’m glad I didn’t read this in public. I’m afraid I may have made a few inappropriate noises while reading
LOL
Athena on 6.8.2011
I made this as Christmas gifts last year. Huge success! Most of the skins stayed on and it still tasted just fine. I used powdered sugar for the sweetener. It came out a little runny but was superb on ice cream, and it thickened up in the fridge.
Coya Williams on 6.8.2011
This sounds yummy, other than the Agave. I wonder if Maple Syrup would work? (I also refuse to use Agave due to it’s high unbound fructose levels.
Urban Wife on 6.8.2011
Le sigh. Delectable to the nth degree.
allie on 6.8.2011
I literally was searching for a healthier homemade nutella recipe a few days ago! This was so timely and looks delicious! Thanks for posting!
Jaime on 6.8.2011
I have also been told that to easily remove the skins from the roasted nut, simply put them in the salad spinner and spin. I don’t own one, but now have one more excuse to go buy one! This recipe looks so yummy!
d.liff @ yelleBELLYboo on 6.8.2011
I would love to make my own but I find hazelnuts to be so hard to shell and peel. I’ve heard if you put them in a mesh bag like that oranges or lemons come in and rub them through that the skins fall right off.
Katrina on 6.8.2011
Mmm this looks amazing!
abbyt on 6.8.2011
actually, agave is even worse than regular sugar, with a 90 percent fructose content. It’s also way worse than high fructose corn syrup.
lauren furtado on 6.8.2011
Looks so good! I’ve made homemade nutella before, and I was not pleased. But I think the addition of the hazelnut oil might make all the difference!
HollyM on 6.8.2011
We’re gonna try this, as my youngest has a dairy allergy and store bought contains dairy….looking forward to this.
Suanna on 6.8.2011
HMMM…this sounds great, but I don’t care for hazelnuts. I wonder how well it would work with almonds or cashews.
Shannon on 6.8.2011
I can’t wait to try this, I love the nutella flavour and I want to add it to a truffle base but the store brand doesn’t blend as well as I would like, this looks perfect to go with my chocolate icing!!!
Thanks so much for sharing this!!!
Uma on 6.8.2011
Love the idea of this. Couple questions:
1. How do you store this after you’re done (assuming you even have leftovers!) since I know Nutella tells you NOT to refrigerate ever
2. How long do we think this stuff is good without going bad (again assuming you don’t scarf it down at once!)
Rachel on 6.8.2011
Oh dear! This looks amazing!
Southern Gal on 6.8.2011
Oh, no, you didn’t! Help me.
EmilyTaylor on 6.8.2011
I LOVE nutella. Someone actually gave me a can of this hazelnut oil and I had no idea what to do with it. Problem solved.
Heather on 6.8.2011
Yes please, I’ll take 8 gallons
David on 6.8.2011
I’m looking forward to trying something similar when I harvest my black walnuts!
Wenderly on 6.8.2011
We swoon over Nutella in our house.
Now I can make it myself?…this could be *dangerous* decadently dangerous indeed.
*mwahahahah*
Julie on 6.8.2011
We are such Nutella lovers at our house… My HS age daughter once texted me from school to tell me we were low on Nutella and could I buy some more if I was out. A girl after my own heart :).
JuliaAndrusWilliams on 6.8.2011
Goodness! I bet it’s fab; hope I can make it sometime soon!
Daniela on 6.8.2011
Going to give this a try! What can I use to substitute the hazelnut oil?
Stacey on 6.8.2011
What can you use in place of the agave? I personally do not use this product. Would a simple syrup made from organic sugar be OK?
Laurie - Simply Scratch on 6.8.2011
Love the idea of making my own Nutella! Genius!