Nutella Pudding with Salty Pretzels
Nutella pudding with salty pretzels is a baked chocolate-hazelnut dessert made from just five ingredients: Nutella, eggs, sugar, pretzels, and cream. You beat the yolks with Nutella until foamy, fold in whipped egg whites for a light, souffle-like texture, bake the mixture in ramekins, then finish each one with soft whipped cream and shards of caramelized pretzel. It comes together quickly and delivers that rich, spoonable chocolate hit with a salty-crunchy contrast on top.
Nutella is a favorite food of many, and it can be used in so many delicious ways — this Nutella pudding recipe is the one I want to share with you today. Even if the combination of salty pretzels and Nutella seems strange to you at first, I promise it will pleasantly surprise you. The caramelized pretzels add a salty, brittle bite that makes the chocolate taste even more like chocolate. If you love this spread as much as I do, also check out my healthy homemade Nutella and my healthy Nutella brownies.
Why salty pretzels and Nutella belong together
Sweet and salty is one of the most reliable pairings in dessert making, and this recipe leans right into it. Salt sharpens the perception of sweetness and cuts through the richness of the hazelnut-chocolate spread, so each spoonful tastes balanced rather than cloying. Coating the pretzels in caramel adds a second layer: the caramel deepens into a slightly bitter, toasted note as the sugar cooks, while the pretzel keeps its salty crunch. That contrast of soft baked pudding against crisp, salty-sweet shards is what makes this dessert feel special.
What you need for this Nutella pudding
The ingredient list is short, which is part of the appeal. Here is what each one does:
- Nutella (300 g): the base of the pudding. It brings the chocolate-hazelnut flavor and most of the sweetness, so you need very little added sugar.
- Eggs (4 large): separated. The yolks enrich the Nutella base, and the beaten whites are what give the baked pudding its airy, souffle-like lift.
- Sugar (50 g / about ¼ cup): melted into caramel to coat the pretzels.
- Pretzels (100 g): caramelized and broken into pieces for the salty-crunchy topping.
- Liquid cream (100 g): whipped soft and spooned over the warm pudding just before serving.
A quick note for planning: Nutella contains milk and hazelnuts, and the recipe uses eggs and cream, so this is a vegetarian dessert rather than a vegan one. Keep that in mind if you are serving guests with allergies.
How to get the texture right
Two steps decide how good this pudding turns out, so it is worth slowing down for them.
- Caramelize the pretzels carefully. Melt the sugar over medium heat, stirring now and then, until it turns liquid and amber. Caramel goes from perfect to burnt in seconds, so keep an eye on it. Stir in the pretzels to coat them, spread the mixture onto a flat tray, and let it cool and harden before you break it into pieces.
- Fold, do not stir, the egg whites. Beat the whites until they hold their shape, then add them to the Nutella-yolk mixture a little at a time, folding gently so you keep the air in. This is what turns a dense chocolate cream into a light, baked pudding.
- Watch the bake. Divide the batter between four ramekins and bake at 180 C for 20 to 25 minutes. The tops should be set while the centers stay soft and moist. It is a warm dessert, so serve it soon after it comes out of the oven.
Serving, storing, and make-ahead tips
This pudding is at its best warm, straight from the oven, with a cloud of soft whipped cream and a scatter of caramelized pretzel shards on top. Whisk the cream while the ramekins bake so everything is ready at the same time. If you have leftovers, cover and refrigerate them; enjoy them within a couple of days, and keep the caramelized pretzels in a separate airtight container so they stay crunchy, adding them only at serving time. You can also caramelize the pretzels a day ahead to save yourself a step.
If spoonable desserts are your kind of comfort, you might also like my semolina pudding with blueberry jam, or these no-bake raw almond chocolate truffles for another quick chocolate fix.
If you make this Nutella pudding with salty pretzels, I would love to know whether the sweet-and-salty combo won you over — leave a star rating and a comment below to tell me how yours turned out.
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Nutella pudding with salty pretzels
Ingredients
- 50 g ¼ cup sugar
- 100 g 3.5 oz pretzels
- 4 large eggs
- 300 g 10.6 oz nutella
- 100 g 3.5 oz liquid cream
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 180 C.
- Heat a pot on medium heat and add the sugar. Leave the sugar to melt, stirring from time to time, until it melts and becomes liquid caramel. Add the pretzels to the caramel, mix and transfer to a flat tray to cool.
- Separate the whites from the yolks in two separate bowls.
- In the bowl with egg yolks – add Nutella and beat with the mixer until the composition becomes foamy.
- Then beat the egg whites until they become foamy and retain their shape.
- Gradually transfer the egg white foam into the Nutella mixture, one by one and incorporate.
- Then transfer the entire composition into 4 ramekins.
- Bake the pudding in the oven for 20-25 minutes.
- While the pudding is baking, whisk the liquid cream until you get a foamy and soft whipped cream.
- Break the caramel with the pretzel pieces.
- Serve pudding with whipped cream and caramelized pretzel pieces.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is vegetarian, not vegan. The recipe uses four eggs and liquid cream, and Nutella itself contains milk, so it includes animal products. If you need a vegan version you would have to rebuild the recipe with plant-based swaps for the eggs, cream, and spread.
Caramelizing coats the pretzels in a thin, hardened sugar shell that adds a toasted, slightly bitter sweetness on top of their salt. Once cooled and broken into shards, they give the soft baked pudding a crisp, salty-sweet crunch. It is the contrast that makes the dessert feel finished rather than just sweet.
Use a liquid cream that whips, such as heavy or whipping cream with enough fat to hold soft peaks. You whisk about 100 g until it is foamy and soft, then spoon it over the warm pudding. Low-fat cooking creams will not whip properly.
Bake the ramekins at 180 C for 20 to 25 minutes. The tops should look set while the centers stay soft and moist, similar to a souffle. Because the egg whites give it lift, serve it soon after baking before it settles.
The baked pudding is best warm and fresh, but you can prep components early. Caramelize the pretzels a day ahead and store them in an airtight container so they stay crunchy. Any leftover baked pudding keeps in the fridge for a couple of days, with the pretzels added only at serving time.
Yes, separating matters for this recipe. The yolks are beaten with the Nutella for richness, while the whites are whipped to soft peaks and folded in to create the light, airy texture. Skipping the separation would give you a dense chocolate cream instead of a baked pudding.
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