Prepare to be blown away by this Rich & Creamy Homemade Nutella Recipe!
Homemade Nutella is a creamy chocolate hazelnut spread that you can have on toast, use when making baked goods (think cookies!) or for eating straight from the jar!
The best part is, that this Nutella recipe uses just a handful of ingredients and takes just 10 to 15 minutes to throw together!
This Homemade Nutella goes perfectly in these Nutella Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies, enjoy!
Why You Should Make Homemade Nutella
- Takes a scant 10 to 15 minutes to throw together
- This chocolate hazelnut spread is DELICIOUS, with just seven simple ingredients
- You control what’s in your Nutella…no artificial flavor and wayyyyy less sugar
- Make your Nutella as smooth or chunky as you like
- Perfect straight from the jar, in buttercreams, on ice cream or stuffed in cookies (check out my favorite Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookies)
- This homemade version is 1000x better than anything you’ll buy at the store!
Let’s make your own homemade Nutella!
Homemade Nutella Ingredients
Nutella is an Italian sweet treat called gianduja. It’s basically a chocolate hazelnut spread that’s delicious on its own, used to make frostings, stuffed in cookies and just eaten straight from the jar (which is how I often eat it).
The two most important ingredients in Nutella are, surprise, chocolate and hazelnut. Here are some quick notes:
Chocolate
Many recipes have you melted chocolate, but I don’t find that step necessary. In regards to what chocolate to use, that’s up to you. You can use any kind of chocolate from semi-sweet to bittersweet.
If you want something sweeter, go for the semi-sweet chocolate and conversely go for the bittersweet chocolate if you want a less sweet, more intense chocolate flavor spread.
I prefer something in the 65-70% cocoa range. The most important thing to choosing a chocolate for this is to taste it and look beyond the numbers.
What tastes delicious to you will be delicious in this. Do not use unsweetened chocolate in this recipe.
Hazelnuts
Buy chopped or whole hazelnuts. If they’re already chopped, they save you the extra step of chopping and they don’t have any salt added.
There will be some skin on these, but I don’t find it’s a problem in the final taste of the chocolate hazelnut spread. I never notice any bitter taste.
If you want all of the skins removed from the hazelnuts, put the nuts in a clean kitchen towel, close it at the top and rub the outside. This should get rid of any residual skins.
Equipment for Gianduja Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies
Food Processor
I use my food processor to make the homemade Nutella, but in a pinch, you could use a high-speed blender. If you can make nut butter in your blender, you can make creamy, chocolate-hazelnut spread in your blender. So there’s that.
How smooth you want the consistency is up to you. I like to leave a little texture and crunch from the nuts.
If you prefer something smoother, just let the machine run longer. Be sure to periodically scrape down the sides and bottom of whichever machine you use to make sure everything is well blended.
My Favorite Chocolate Hazelnut Spread Tips
for Perfect Nutella Every Time
Below are step-by-step photos (with captions) to make The Best Homemade Nutella perfect every time! My biggest tips are:
- Use a high-speed blender or food processor. Using a high-speed blender or food processor fitted with the blade attachment will give you the most control over the texture of your chocolate hazelnut spread.
- Use the high-quality ingredients you can afford. With so few ingredients, you want to use the best you can get your hands on. I love chocolate in the 60 to 70% range. If you’d like your Nutella less sweet, then go for a bittersweet chocolate; if you like it a little sweeter, go for semi-sweet chocolate chips.
- Blend until desired consistency. I like my Nutella with a bit of texture. However, if you’d like your Nutella to be super creamy and smooth, then run the machine longer until you get the creamiest texture. The final result is heaven!
Enjoy the best homemade Nutella recipe!
My Favorite Equipment for Homemade Nutella
Check out all of my shopping here!
More Chocolate Dessert Recipes
I loveeee a chocolate dessert! Here are some of my favorites: Nutella Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies, Chocolate Brownie Meringue Cake, Double Chocolate Chip Cookies and Double Chocolate Banana Bread.
For more How-To Recipes, check out: How to Make Lemon Curd, How to Make Perfect Whipped Cream and Perfect Soft Sugar Cookies!
Enjoy your Rich & Creamy Homemade Nutella!
Rich & Creamy Homemade Nutella (Chocolate Hazelnut Spread)
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups (178 g) raw hazelnuts toasted and coarsely chopped
- 1 cup (170 g) dark chocolate coarsely chopped (or chips)
- 3 tablespoons (42 g) dark brown sugar packed; you can also use light brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons (42 g) unsalted butter room temperature
- 2 teaspoons real vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 cup (120 g) heavy whipping cream room temperature
Instructions
- Place the toasted hazelnuts in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment (or a blender) and mix on medium until it resembles cornmeal or coarse breadcrumbs. This will take 3 to 5 minutes. Be sure to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl periodically so that everything is evenly blended.
- Add in the chocolate, brown sugar, butter, vanilla and salt and blend on medium until a coarse hazelnut mixture has formed. If it's resisting blending (as can happen in a blender), jump to the next step and add the cream.
- With the machine running, slowly drizzle in the heavy cream and continue mixing until a smooth, glossy mixture has formed. Sometimes I like the Nutella a wee on the coarser side for texture, but go as smooth or as coarse as desired. Scoop the mixture into a clean airtight container and store in the fridge until ready to use. Bring back to room temperature before using (it will firm up when chilled).
Notes
How to Toast Your Hazelnuts
No need to peel your hazelnuts. If you’d like them peeled, see the note above the recipe in the Homemade Nutella Ingredients section. Place the whole hazelnuts in a single layer on an un-greased baking sheet and roast hazelnuts in a 350℉ (177℃) oven for 10 to 15 minutes. You want them to get a nice golden brown, but not too dark. We want to draw out the rich flavor of the nuts, but not make them burnt. For best results, let the roasted hazelnuts cool completely before chopping and continuing with the recipe.Storing Homemade Nutella
Store your made-from-scratch rendition of Nutella in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 month. The chocolate hazelnut spread will firm up in the fridge. If you’d like a softer consistency, let sit out, stirring frequently, until it reaches the desired consistency (if it’s chilly in your home, this could take several hours). Take note that store-bought Nutella can stay at room temperature. This homemade fresh version needs to be refrigerated, and does not have the extended shelf life of store-bought Nutella. This is so much better than the store-bought version, enjoy! xoThe post Rich & Creamy Homemade Nutella (Chocolate Hazelnut Spread) appeared first on DisplacedHousewife.
