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Kitchen & Cooking

You can make your own Nutella at home—here’s how

Go nuts with this delicious homemade hazelnut spread.

Homemade nutella tastes better than the store-bought ones. Here's how you can make nutella at home. Credit: Reviewed / Betsey Goldwasser

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Whether I'm eating simple toast, delicate crêpes or thick waffles, I can always find a reason to spread some Nutella on top—especially during special times of year like Valentine’s Day when the season calls for extra indulgence.

I used to laugh at my friend, a Nutella fanatic, who always packs a jar of the chocolate hazelnut spread when she travels outside Germany, but she's right when she claims that not all jars are created equal. Like Coca-Cola and other brands, Nutella’s manufacturer adjusts its recipe for different markets—for both economic reasons and consumer preferences.

But if you want a taste of authentic Nutella, you don't need to board an eight-hour flight to Italy (or even buy an imported jar of the stuff) every time. Thanks to my dear friend Serena from northern Italy (not far from the birthplace of Nutella), I learned how to make it with three main ingredients: milk chocolate, raw hazelnuts, and whole milk.

What is Nutella?

Born in Piedmont, Italy, this chocolate-hazelnut spread was created as a solution for a lack of cocoa after World War II, blending the little amount of cocoa that was available with hazelnuts and sugar to make the flavor last. Now, it’s become a global favorite for toast-topping, cookie-baking, and spoon-licking.

Although it was previously marketed as a “healthy” breakfast option (a controversial ad campaign that has since been pulled), Nutella is not known for its health benefits—the first ingredient is sugar, after all.

But making your own Nutella means you can feel better about indulging in an extra scoop or two—with less sugar and no palm oil (which has been tied to health and environmental concerns), this recipe is less of a guilty pleasure. Plus, you can tweak it to your liking. (Nutella is already gluten-free, but you can make your own dairy-free and vegan version by omitting the dairy-based ingredients.)

Serena suggests keeping the ratio of raw hazelnuts to milk chocolate as is, and adjusting the amount of melted dark chocolate as you go, since the dark chocolate is mainly for added flavor. She then blends the ingredients, moving the mixture to a bain marie where it cooks slowly on low heat. But if you’re in a hurry and don’t have the patience to watch the bain marie as it cooks, here's how to make Nutella quickly at home:

How to make Nutella

With the help of some kitchen tools, we can make Nutella in under 30 mintues.
Credit: Reviewed / Betsey Goldwasser

With the help of some kitchen tools, you can make Nutella in under 30 mintues.

What You Need:

  • 90 g (1 cup) raw hazelnuts
  • 250 g (1 cup) milk chocolate, chopped
  • 50 g (1/4 cup) dark chocolate, chopped
  • 10 ml (2/3 tbsp) hazelnut oil (or canola oil, if unavailable)
  • 80 g (1/3 cup) brown sugar
  • 150 ml (1/2 cup) whole milk
  • A toaster oven or a skillet—we’re using the Breville Smart Oven
  • A rimmed baking sheet
  • A blender (we’re using a Vitamix)
  • Two microwave-safe bowls for melting the chocolate (we love these glass bowls from Pyrex)
  • Some jars for storage

Time Needed

25 minutes

Difficulty

Easy

Step-by-Step:

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350°F and roast the hazelnuts

We used our favorite toaster oven from Breville, which made the process easy.
Credit: Reviewed / Betsey Goldwasser

We used our favorite toaster oven from Breville, which made the process easy.

To bring out the nutty flavors of the raw hazelnuts, you can roast them in a toaster oven or a skillet on the stove. Here we used the best toaster oven we’ve tested, the Breville Smart Oven, because it heats up quickly and roasts the nuts evenly.

On a rimmed baking sheet, spread the hazelnuts and make sure the nuts are not touching each other. Then, roast them until they’re lightly browned, about 20 minutes. If your raw hazelnuts have skins on them, wrap the roasted nuts in a piece of kitchen towel and rub vigorously until the skins are removed. If you like the nutty flavor from roasted hazelnuts, you can also leave the skins on.

Step 2: Melt the chocolate

Melt the dark chocolate and milk chocolate separately to make Nutella.
Credit: Reviewed / Betsey Goldwasser

Melt the dark chocolate and milk chocolate separately.

As the hazelnuts are roasting in the toaster oven, you can start preparing the chocolate. In a microwave-safe bowl, add the chopped milk chocolate and start microwaving at 30-second intervals. Stir until all chocolate is melted. In a separate bowl, melt dark chocolate using the same method, or over a water bath on the stovetop.

Step 3: Grind the hazelnuts

Grind the roasted hazelnuts and vegetable oil together in a Vitamix until they form a paste.
Credit: Reviewed / Betsey Goldwasser

Grind the roasted hazelnuts and vegetable oil together until they form a paste.

In a blender or a food processor, add the hazelnuts and hazelnut oil (or vegetable oil) and grind until it forms a paste.

Pour the melted chocolate over the ground hazelnuts to make Nutella
Credit: Reviewed / Betsey Goldwasser

Pour the melted chocolate over the ground hazelnuts.

Add in the two bowls of melted chocolate, brown sugar, and milk, then keep mixing. Add more chocolate, sugar, or any other flavorings to taste. Continue blending until smooth and spreadable.

What can I do with Nutella?

You can spread Nutella on anything!
Credit: Reviewed / Betsey Goldwasser

You can spread Nutella on lots of things—or bake with it.

Everything! If a big scoop of Nutella on a piece of toasted bread doesn’t satisfy, you may also want to check out these no-bake Nutella cookies, or these two-ingredient Nutella brownies.

How to store the homemade Nutella

This is the ideal consistency of a homemade Nutella.
Credit: Reviewed / Betsey Goldwasser

As hazelnuts contain lots of fat, the spread will harden if stored in the fridge.

Typically, a jar of store-bought Nutella doesn’t require refrigeration because its ingredients can survive room temperature. Plus, the sugar content in the spread acts as a preservative to keep microorganisms from growing. Homemade Nutella has a shorter shelf life because this recipe doesn’t call for palm oil and uses less sugar, but because hazelnuts are high in fat, storing Nutella in the fridge may cause the spread to harden. For homemade Nutella, we recommend storing the spread in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two weeks.

Making Nutella from scratch is easy—just follow the three steps, adjust to taste, and you’ll have creamy, delicious spread for snacks, toast, and baked goods!

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