5-Minute Homemade Nutella
Craving some creamy, yummy Nutella? No need to run to the store — this recipe shows you how to make the easiest 5-minute homemade Nutella, and it happens to be vegan!
This healthy homemade Nutella is a creamy chocolate-hazelnut spread you make from scratch with just five ingredients: toasted hazelnuts, dark chocolate, full-fat coconut milk, a little maple syrup, and a pinch of salt. It comes together in about five minutes of active work, has no palm oil and no refined additives, and tastes like the jar you grew up with — only richer and cleaner. If you have a sweet tooth (I know you do!) then this recipe would be the one thing I would ask you to make from this entire blog. And guess what? It’s vegan and naturally gluten-free.
I’ve reached for the store-bought jar plenty of times, felt that little pang of guilt, and put it back. Oh, I know, I’ve been there. So I can assure you that this homemade Nutella version has only natural and clean ingredients, unlike the store-bought one which is high in calories, sugar and fat, and full of palm oil and other components I won’t recommend you putting in your body. But truth be told, whenever I make this recipe I just spread it on some crunchy bread and next thing you know, the jar is already empty!
The five ingredients that do all the work
Because there are so few ingredients here, each one earns its place. Hazelnuts are the backbone — roughly 1 ⅔ cups, toasted until lightly colored so their oils release and the flavor deepens. Dark chocolate brings the cocoa depth and helps the spread set to that classic scoopable texture; check the label if you want it strictly vegan, since some bars contain milk solids. Full-fat canned coconut milk is what makes it pourable and glossy, standing in for the dairy and palm oil of the commercial version. Maple syrup sweetens to taste, so you stay in control of how sweet it gets, and a ¼ teaspoon of salt sharpens the chocolate and keeps it from tasting flat.
How to get that smooth, spreadable texture
The two steps that make or break this spread are toasting and blending. Toast the hazelnuts at 150 C for about 10 minutes, until they’re lightly colored and fragrant, then let them cool and rub them in a kitchen towel to slip off the papery skins — those skins are what give homemade versions a bitter, gritty edge, so it’s worth the minute it takes. Grind the nuts in a food processor until they’re finely ground and starting to clump; the longer you go, the more the hazelnut oil releases and the creamier the base. Melt the chocolate with the coconut milk, maple syrup and salt, then blend that warm mixture into the nuts until it’s completely smooth. If it looks thick at first, keep blending — the warmth and the nut oil will loosen it into a pourable spread that firms up beautifully as it cools.
A quick note on sweetness: add the maple syrup gradually and taste as you go. Dark chocolate varies a lot in how sweet it is, so start light — you can always stir in more, but you can’t take it back out.
Ways to use it (spoiler: you’ll finish the jar fast)
The simplest way is exactly how I eat it: spread thick on toast or a piece of freshly baked baguette. But it’s just as good swirled into porridge, dolloped over vegan sweet potato pancakes, or spooned onto vegan French toast for a weekend breakfast that feels like a treat. If you’re a chocolate person through and through, it also sits happily next to a mug of homemade vegan hot chocolate or any of these other vegan chocolate recipes. I know, this will only make your decision harder!
Storing your homemade Nutella
Because there are no preservatives and it’s made with coconut milk, keep this spread in an airtight jar in the fridge, where it will hold for about a week to ten days. It firms up when cold, so let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes before spreading, or warm the jar gently so it turns silky again. If you want to sweeten it differently next time, it’s a good place to experiment with other healthy sugar alternatives, and if you like keeping a stash of homemade treats on hand, these vegan sugar-free desserts are worth a look too. Sounds just like a dream, am I right?
If you make this healthy homemade Nutella, I’d love to know how it turned out — did you keep it dark and barely sweet, or go all in with the maple syrup? Please rate the recipe below and drop a comment with the bread you spread it on and any tweaks you made. Happy spreading!
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5-Minute Homemade Nutella
Ingredients
- 1 ⅔ cups hazelnuts ~225g
- 1 cup dark chocolate
- 1 cup full-fat coconut milk canned
- maple syrup to taste
- ¼ tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 150 C degrees.
- Place the hazelnuts on a baking sheet and toast for 10 minutes, or until lightly colored. Remove from the oven and let cool.
- Use your hands to rub the hazelnuts over a kitchen towel to remove the skins.
- Place the hazelnuts in a food processor and mix until they are finely ground.
- Melt the dark chocolate in a bowl with the coconut milk, maple syrup, and salt.
- Pour the chocolate mixture into the blender with the hazelnuts and blend until smooth and creamy.
- Serve on a toast or freshly baked baguette.
Frequently Asked Questions
This version is made with just toasted hazelnuts, dark chocolate, full-fat coconut milk, maple syrup and a pinch of salt, with no palm oil and no refined additives. You control the sweetness by adding maple syrup to taste, so it tends to be less sugary than the commercial jar. It still has the calories and fat you’d expect from a nut-and-chocolate spread, so enjoy it as a treat.
Yes, every ingredient is plant-based, so the spread itself is vegan and naturally gluten-free. Just double-check your dark chocolate, since some bars contain milk solids — choose a dairy-free bar to keep it fully vegan. Serve it on gluten-free bread if you need the whole snack to be gluten-free.
The papery skins turn bitter and gritty once ground, which is what gives many homemade spreads an off, rough taste. Toasting the hazelnuts loosens the skins so you can rub most of them off in a kitchen towel. It only takes a minute and makes the final spread noticeably smoother and sweeter.
A food processor or high-speed blender really helps here, because the goal is to grind the hazelnuts finely enough that their oils release and turn the mixture creamy. Without one it’s very hard to reach that smooth, spreadable texture. If your machine struggles, keep blending in short bursts and let the warm melted chocolate mixture help loosen everything.
Store it in an airtight jar in the fridge, where it keeps for about a week to ten days. It has no preservatives and is made with coconut milk, so it won’t last as long as the store version. It firms up when cold, so let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes before spreading.
Yes, maple syrup is added to taste, so you can swap in another liquid sweetener you like. A liquid sweetener blends in most smoothly and keeps the texture pourable. Start with a small amount and taste as you go, since dark chocolate already brings some sweetness of its own.
can I replace the dark chocolate with some carob options? I don’t want to use cocoa at all
Sure! 😀 Carob is excellent!
I’m amazed, this is honestly even better than the store-bought Nutella! I’m in love!
Thank you! Happy to hear you liked the recipe!