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In under 20 minutes, with just six or seven ingredients, you are gonna be spreading the silkiest, most decadent homemade Vegan Nutella all over crepes, pancakes, and your face, arms and bell! Tell the international dairy consortium to screw off, by making dairy-free chocolate hazelnut spread that you can whip up in less than the amount of time it takes to liberate a dairy cow from captivity with a bolt cutter and balaclava!
Recipe tips tailored to what matters most to you:
Already gluten-free since there's no wheat in this recipe. Use hazelnut extract instead of Frangelico if you're worried about the liqueur's label.
Skip roasting and skinning your own hazelnuts entirely. Smooth almond butter plus enough hazelnut extract stands in fine, and it's already listed as the swap.
Buying raw, whole hazelnuts and roasting them yourself usually costs less than starting from pre-roasted, skinned ones.
You can swap the powdered sugar for maple syrup or agave instead, just cut back a little on the plant milk since they add extra liquid.
Hazelnut extract stands in perfectly for the Frangelico if it's not something you keep stocked, and it's already listed as an option.
It might seem like it's taking forever, but the nuts will go from chopped to clumpy before finally reaching that smooth, buttery stage.
The more thoroughly you skin the hazelnuts, the smoother, creamier finish you will get, as the skins can introduce a slight bitterness and grainy texture.
Don't think about just dumping your chocolate chips and coconut oil into a saucepan and heating them directly.
Oodles more tips, step-by-step recipe photos, info on weird ingredients, and FAQs are all still here. I just tucked 'em out of the way so you can start cooking sooner.
Smear this chocolatey goodness into golden martabak, pipe it into bombolini, heck, dip your vegan zeppole into the darn stuff! Trust me, once you've tried this, there's no going back - and when your neighbors smell those roasted hazelnuts being pureed with melted dark chocolate, EVERY SINGLE person in your neighborhood will be asking for your chocolate-covered hand in marriage. Don't say I didn't warn you. Ready to transform your snack game? Let's do this!
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🥰Why you'll adore this vegan nutella recipe
✊ Vegan AF, GF, and SF: This spread is not just one of my killer vegan desserts; it's also soy-free, and one of my completely gluten-free vegan recipes too! Store-bought Nutella is made with dairy, palm oil, and all kinds of garbage that you can now avoid!
🍫 Smooth Operator: The secret to its irresistibly smooth texture? This recipe calls for roasting, skinning and turning hazelnuts into butter before adding melted coconut oil and chocolate. This process releases the natural oils in the nuts, creating a rich base that blends perfectly with the other ingredients.
Tested and Approved Worldwide: This recipe's not just good on paper. Like all the vegan recipes I share, it's been tweaked to perfection and comes with a stamp of approval from a diverse team of over 300 recipe testers from all around the planet.
I'm on my knees staring weirdly into your eyes, asking you in a soothing voice to be my taste-testing partner in crime. Sign up for the recipe testing crew and get early access to new recipes before they're published.
🌰 Ingredients for vegan nutella
Chocolate Chips
Vegan chocolate chips are crucial for that deep, chocolatey goodness without the dairy. I like to use a semi-sweet chocolate chip so that the end result is rich than it is cloyingly sweet. Using chocolate chips instead of the cocoa powder or the raw cacao powder that some recipes call for makes this Nutella more melty, which is exactly how I like it, since I prefer serving it on hot crepes, grilled bread, and stuff like that.
Coconut Oil
Refined coconut oil is the secret ingredient for a smooth, meltable and spreadable texture. It's also neutral in flavor, unlike unrefined "natural" coconut oil, which is why I call for it in recipes from vegan whipped cream to chana dal and the South Indian gourd dish Olan. If coconut oil isn't your thing, vegan butter can work as a substitute.
Powdered Sugar
Powdered sugar, or icing sugar, gives this spread its sweet, velvety finish without the graininess of regular sugar. It dissolves beautifully, contributing to the spread's perfect texture, which is why it's a great choice for glazes and frostings, like you will see in my apple fritter recipe, my vegan pound cake with elderflower frosting, and my vegan cream cheese frosting. My wife prefers to use sweeteners like coconut sugar and palm sugar which is why you see so many recipes of mine (like bubur sumsum and klepon) calling for them. To use one of those sweeteners in this recipe, I would recommend grinding them as finely as possible first in a high-speed blender or a spice grinder to break down the larger crystals, keeping the Nutella smooth.
A less problem-ridden option for a natural sweetener is to use maple syrup or agave in place of the powdered sugar. You may want to decrease the milk in the recipe so that the final result isn't too liquidy.
Frangelico
I am ALL ABOUT adding Frangelico, an Italian hazelnut liqueur to this recipe (and to my hazelnut truffle recipe) to give it an even more pronounced hazelnut flavor. It's a great addition that provides a deeper, dare I say, more "multidimensional" nutty flavor. If you avoid alcohol, hazelnut extract is a good substitute, or you can skip it entirely for a more straightforward but still delicious spread.
*See the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact quantities, nutritional info, and detailed cooking directions.
📖 How to make vegan Nutella
Make your whole galaxy smell like hazelnut heaven by following these step-by-step photos with helpful tips. Or scroll down to the bottom of this page for the easy-to-print recipe card.
Step One
Roast the Nuts:
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Lay the hazelnuts out on a baking tray in a single layer. Roast them for 10 to 12 minutes, watching closely to avoid burning, until their skins crack and they smell wonderful.
Step Two
Wrap & Rub:
Once out of the oven, move the nuts to a clean dish towel. Enclose them in the towel and give them a vigorous rub to remove as much skin as possible. It's okay if some skins stick around, but you want them mostly bare.
Step Three
Nut Butter Base:
Let the nuts cool to room temperature, then grind them in a food processor or blender with a pinch of salt until they become a creamy butter. This will take about 1 ½ - 2 minutes in a blender, and in a food processor, it can take up to 5 minutes.
Be patient and scrape down the sides as needed. If you're lucky enough to have a wet grinder (a melanger), it's your best bet for the smoothest texture and most unlocked buttery flavor.
Step Four
Melt & Mix
Melt the vegan chocolate chips and coconut oil together in a double boiler or in the microwave with short 20-second bursts, stirring well between each burst, until smooth.
Step Five
Again, Blend my Friend:
Add the melted chocolate mix, plant-based milk, powdered sugar, and a dash of salt to your hazelnut butter. If you're feeling fancy, toss in the Frangelico or hazelnut extract. Blend until everything is smooth and well combined.
Step Six
Jar & Cool
Transfer your freshly made Vegan Nutella to a jar or container and let it come to room temperature. It'll thicken up nicely as it cools. Of course, if you can't wait, there is no reason you have to! Slather up some freshly grilled sourdough bread or vegan msemen with the stuff asap!
💡Serving Ideas
This supremely easy vegan Nutella makes a legendary filling to stuff these vegan linzer cookies with! It's also perfect swirled into morning oatmeal, spread onto vegan flourless chocolate cake (for passover) or dolloped on top of yogurt parfaits or vegan panna cotta for extra-serious hyper-yum from the zeta level.
Swirl some of this rich chocolate hazelnut spread into the dough for baking eggless chocolate chip cookies with, or into Vietnamese coconut ice cream bars before you freeze them, or top my blue corn pancakes with them. Dip hot, freshly made Korean twisted donuts, Indonesian fried bananas, or Malaysia cekodok pisang in the melty hazelnut chocolate spread and prepare for the eyes to roll back into your head.
👉Top tips
- Freshness is Key Here: With so few ingredients, it's really important that they all shine. This may seem obvious, but make sure the nuts you use aren't rancid, and make sure the chocolate chips haven't bloomed (when it has that whitish, old appearance).
- Patience Pays Off: When processing the hazelnuts into butter, give it time. It might seem like it's taking forever, but the nuts will go from chopped to clumpy before finally reaching that smooth, buttery stage. This can take several minutes, depending on the strength of your machine, so don't rush it.
- Smooth Moves: The more thoroughly you skin the hazelnuts, the smoother, creamier finish you will get, as the skins can introduce a slight bitterness and grainy texture.
- Gentle Heat: Don't think about just dumping your chocolate chips and coconut oil into a saucepan and heating them directly. Using a double boiler or microwave bursts ensures gentle heating, preventing the chocolate from seizing or burning, making this nutella taste awful and making a gaggle of ponies cry themselves to sleep!
- Nutella Syrup: Don't want such a thick spread? Triple the amount of plant-based milk in the recipe if you want this to be more of a chocolate hazelnut syrup for pouring on ice cream or using in milkshakes. If you do that, be sure to store it under refrigeration, as the increased protein content will make the Nutella spoil more easily.
🤷♀️ Recipe FAQs
Vegan Nutella can be kept at room temperature for up to one week or in the refrigerator for up to a month. Just ensure it's in an airtight container to maintain freshness.
Yes, you can freeze Vegan Nutella for up to 3 months. Thaw it in the refrigerator overnight before using it to help it return to a spreadable consistency.
Yes, this homemade Nutella recipe is naturally gluten-free, as it does not contain any wheat or gluten-containing ingredients. However, always check the labels of ingredients to ensure they're certified gluten-free if you're sensitive.
The biggest culprits are not removing all the skins after roasting the nuts, or not processing them into a smooth butter before adding the other ingredients. Additionally, using a larger crystal dry sweetener such as coconut sugar or palm sugar can cause that. Using a liquid sweetener will avoid that issue. To address the grainy texture, warm the Nutella in a double boiler and then run it on high speed in a good-quality blender for 2 minutes. It might not be perfect, but it will be a LOT further on it's way to a creamy consistency.
Homemade nut butters can be a little time-consuming to make, and you might be a little lazy about getting all the skins off before grinding right? If you use enough hazelnut extract, you can just swap it out for smooth almond butter, and it will be a bit cheaper and will have the same texture as the real thing.
✌️My faves to serve this vegan nutella all over/in:
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Easy Vegan Nutella Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole raw hazelnuts
- ⅔ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 3 tablespoons refined coconut oil
- ⅓ cup unsweetened plant-based milk or coconut cream
- ⅓ cup powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Optional, but recommended:
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon frangelico or 1 teaspoon hazelnut extract
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Spread the whole raw hazelnuts in a single layer on a baking sheet. Toast them in the oven for about 10 to 12 minutes, or until the skins begin to crack and the nuts are fragrant. Keep a close eye on them to prevent burning.
- After removing the hazelnuts from the oven, transfer them to a clean kitchen towel. Wrap them in the towel and rub vigorously to remove as much of their skins as possible. Some skins may not come off, which is fine.
- Let the hazelnuts cool to room temperature. Then, place them in a food processor or high-speed blender. Process on high until a smooth butter forms, scraping down the sides as necessary. This process can take several minutes, depending on the power of your processor. Traditionally products like Nutella are made with a "melanger" or wet grinder. Some folks in India may have one for making dosa and idli batter with, so if that's you, use it for this! It will yield a smoother, richer butter than anything else.
- Meanwhile, gently melt the vegan chocolate chips with the coconut oil. You can do this using a double boiler over low heat, or in a microwave-safe bowl in 20-second bursts, stirring between each burst. Stir the mixture until it is completely smooth.
- Once the hazelnuts have turned into butter, add the melted chocolate and coconut oil mixture, unsweetened plant-based milk, powdered sugar, and salt to the food processor. If using, also add the vanilla and Frangelico or hazelnut extract. Continue to process for as long as it takes for the Nutella to become almost completely smooth. This will take about 90 seconds in a high-speed blender, or up to 5 minutes in a food processor.
- Transfer the Vegan Nutella to a clean jar or container and let it cool to room temperature. It will thicken as it cools.
- Store your Vegan Nutella in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week or in the refrigerator for up to a month. If refrigerated, let it sit at room temperature for a bit before using it, as it will have firmed up when cold.
Video
Notes
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