Last Updated on May 27, 2026 by Deliciously Organic Editor
The homemade variety always trumps processed food found on store shelves for me, like homemade chocolate hazelnut spread. There’s always a way to create the same flavors at home without so many harmful ingredients.
I’ve made dozens of chocolate-hazelnut spreads, but none of them really wowed me – until I met this recipe. I adapted it to use either dairy-free or dairy ingredients – depending on your dietary needs. It’s sweetened with a bit of maple syrup and I chose Enjoy Life chocolate chips because they’re dairy, soy and gluten-free. The spread makes for a nice Christmas gift for neighbors, friends and family.
I like to pour spreads into cute little jars and attach a festive label. Last year I made almond toffee and slice-and-bake cookies for friends. They were a big hit! This year’s collection of homemade treats will surely include this chocolately spread. Come back in a few days when I’ll share a grain-free cookie featuring this versatile treat.
Here are some other homemade sweets for your friends and family:
Banana Bread
Breakfast Cookies from Against All Grain
Marshmallow Pops from White on Rice Couple
(you can use this homemade marshmallow recipe if you’d like to make the homemade variety)
Date-Sweetened Gingerbread Men from Nourished Kitchen
Coconut Almond Fudge
Homemade Vanilla Extract
Coconut Macaroons from Elana’s Pantry
Here are a few of my favorite places for jars, bottles and festive wrapping:
Le Parfait Terrine Canning Jars from Sur La Table
Martha Stewart Cottage Christmas Packaging
Christmas Twine from Shop Sweet Lulu
Reindeer Gifttags from Shop Terrain
Velvet Ribbon from The Ribbon Jar
Copper Cookie Cutters from The Copper Cookie Cutter Store
(I like to buy small cookie cutters and tie them to the outside of the jar or package. This store no longer exists, but you can find some great options here!)
Bormioli Rocco Glass Bottles from Crate and Barrel
Homemade Chocolate Hazelnut Spread “Nutella” (Dairy Free, Paleo, Grain Free)
Hazelnuts contain a high amount of phytic acid so it’s best to soak (to neutralize the phytic acid) and then dehydrate them either in a dehydrator or oven. The low temperature dehydrating crisps the nuts without oxidizing the oils. As with all sweets, remember to consume in moderation.
Adapted from Bon Appetit
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 2 cups hazelnuts (soaked and dehydrated)
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
- 1 pound bittersweet chocolate (I used Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips)
- 8 tablespoons butter or coconut oil
- 1 cup heavy cream or coconut milk, room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon Celtic sea salt
Instructions
- Place hazelnuts and honey in the bowl of a food processor. Process until a fairly smooth, buttery paste forms, about 2-3 minutes.
- Melt chocolate and butter in a double boiler and whisk until smooth. Slowly add the cream or coconut milk and whisk until smooth. Whisk in sea salt. Pour chocolate mixture into the food processor (the bowl of the processor will still have the ground nuts in it). Process until smooth (there will still be very small bits of hazelnuts throughout the mixture. Pour into glass jars and store in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: Makes about 4 cups
//
Yum, I love nutella, but I’m so excited to try a healthier homemade version!
Thank you for the recipe. My concern is heavy cream keeping for a month?
The original recipe from Bon Apetit that called for heavy cream, said it would last for 1 month (http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2012/12/better-than-nutella) I’ve made other homemade nutella spreads before that included cream and they all kept very well for about 4-6 weeks. Of course, if that makes you nervous you can store it for however long you feel comfortable.
Oh gosh, Carrie – I have been looking for a recipe like this! Yum!
I too have been looking for a recipe for this. Now to find hazelnuts.
I make a spread a lot like this with sunflower seeds. I never imagined myself making homemade seedbutters, but I also never knew how easy they were. 😉
Yum that looks delicious! I just saw a Giatta video, she was making gelatto with chocolate hazelnut spread. This should work perfectly!
Question: I have a recipe for carmel corn that I make every year and give to my husbands customers and I also sell it at a bake sale for friends that are missionaries in Africa. I want to make it a little healthier, hahaha. The recipe calls for 1/4 cup light corn syrup. Do you think I could substitute maple syrup? 1:1? or honey? I guess I should just give it a try, but I thought if you have had experience with it you would have already done the hard part. Thanks! :o)
Lisa from 100Days has a glazed popcorn recipe…just thought I’d share it with you. 🙂 http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/12/12/recipe-cinnamon-glazed-popcorn-mix/ 🙂
Thanks for sharing that one Shannon! Lisa’s recipes are great!
I think maple syrup will be a great substitute. Oh, and a gelatto with homemade chocolate hazelnut spread? Now you’re talking my language. 🙂
Could you substitute carob chips in place of the chocolate ?
I haven’t tried it, but I think that would be a great substitute. If they aren’t sweetened carob chips, I would add some additional maple syrup to the spread.
Thank you. I’ll have to check if they are sweetened, I believe they are. My kids prefer the carob powder and carob chips, so I always have them on hand.
I have a slightly different (but basically the same) recipe for homemade hazelnut butter, and I find that buying jarred organic hazelnut butter is actually CHEAPER than buying plain fresh hazelnuts. Saves all the trouble of soaking and roasting and grinding, and just as healthy, and can find it all year round in health food stores.
Also, to Karen above looking for a substitute for corn syrup, I would try rice syrup, it has the same consistency.
Ohhhh Helen, thank you for the information. My first reaction was that I do not have a dehydrator. That would certainly add to the cost. Thank goodness, the stores are catching on to healthier products for us now.
Thanks for sharing my cookies! Love your recipe for the spread. I love those little canning jars too but have been trying to find a non-breakable alternative for packing lunches. Have you run across anything?
You’re welcome! I’m planning on making your breakfast cookies, putting them in cute packaging and giving them to my kid’s teachers on the last day before the Christmas break. I’ve been using the stainless steel “Kids Konserve” for a couple of years now and they work great. No leaking, which is key!
Could this be done using raw peanuts or roasted ones?
How long to soak any nut please & tip in dehydrating. Thanks!
Been looking for a chocolate nut butter!
Yes, peanuts would be a great substitution. For more info on soaking and dehydrating click on the link in the header of the recipe.
I will ABSOLUTELY be making these cute little things for some people at work! Thanks for the clever idea!
Do you remove the hazelnut skins before processing? Or is that not necessary?
You can, but it’s not necessary. I made this spread with the skins on and it turned out great!
Great to know. I always have trouble removing the skins.
Oh my gosh this is awesome. I just did a post about this yesterday! Your is actually surprisingly different compared to mine though. And I completely agree with your opinion on how homemade is always wayyy better than store bought items.
I mean the day before yesterday I did mine :P. Great minds think alike aye?
Wow. You read my mind. Was just going to try making homemade Nutella after some friends were boasting about the Nutella “breakfast bus” tour coming to our city. Awesome.
That looks like a great gift to give on the holidays for that special person that really enjoys organic food and has a sweet tooth!
What a great gift idea!
This looks amazing. I’m new to gluten & grain free and was wondering, if I buy the hazelnuts from TJ’s whole roasted, do I still need to soak and dehydrate, or does the roasting process not remove the bad stuff? Thanks so much! I love your site and your book!
Thank you! If you buy them roasted, then you don’t need to soak and dehydrate. But, keep in mind that roasted nuts (that haven’t been soaked) will contain phytic acid and also the method of roasting at a high heat oxidizes many of the good oils in the nuts. So, if you want to get the benefits of the oils in nuts, it’s best to soak and dehydrate them.
This makes me very very happy, I have a deep love for that chocolate hazelnut combination.
Thanks for posting this, Carrie. I love this flavor combination and hate all the scary stuff in the processed versions of this spread.
In a word – YUM-OH!!
Thanks for this great recipe!
This is great! I cannot wait to make this! I was just looking at a commercial for Nutella the other day and wondering if there were any organic options. Thanks for the recipe!
I’ve never even tried Nutella! I just haven’t had the desire to buy it out of a jar with all of those nasty ingredients. But yours looks great and healthy… and what a cute gift for the holidays!! 🙂
Is this made with hazelnuts or filberts, which most Americans consider to be hazelnuts?
This is made with hazelnuts.
I had some Nutella at a friends house, now this. I can’t wait to try this homemade version of it. Thanks so much!
Barbs
Sooo I’m kinda drooling on my laptop right now, and I just wanna thank you for posting this recipe! I’m definitely making this. Quick question though. My man is very picky with sweets, and nutella is pretty much the only chocolate product he’d eat with glee. Does this recipe taste EXACTLY like nutella? Just so I don’t end up enjoying this by myself and endangering my waistline… 😀
Thank you! I won’t say it tastes “exactly” like Nutella but it comes close. If he likes rich chocolate and hazelnuts, then this spread should be a winner. And if not, it’s not so bad to have a jar of it in the fridge for yourself, right? 😉
I made this and it is w o n d e r f u l ! I made the non dairy version, and was wondering if it needs to be refrigerated? Its so much smoother at room temperature. Do you have any thoughts on that? Thanks!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I refrigerated most of mine and then left some at room temp for a few days so we could have some that spreads easily.
I have a problem! I processed the chocolate into the nuts, as the directions said, and I saw it start to be smooth, and very quickly it became globby and separated. !!! I processed it a bit more to see if it would combine again, but it became thicker and started to bind the food processor. Did I process it too much or am I supposed to keep processing and it’ll smooth out again?? It’s yummy, and I put it into jars anyway, but there’s about 3/4 c. of chocolate “water” that came off from the chocolate/nutty butter that I scooped out. Did I do something wrong?
I honestly don’t know what happened. Somehow your chocolate separated and I don’t know why you had so much liquid on the bottom. What kind of chocolate chips did you use?
I made this over our long weekend and it turned out so yummy! I had just under 2 cups of hazelnuts and used Ghiradelli dark chocolate. It only has a hint of hazelnut flavor b/c the chocolate is so strong. I will use more nuts and a milder chocolate next time probably. The problem I have now is I poured the whole thing in a big glass jar until I could get smaller ones today. Can I reheat it so it will be pourable again or will that ruin it? Thank you for all the incredible recipes!
You can reheat it, but I would reheat either at a very low temp in the oven or place the jar in a small pot of simmering water. If you put it in the microwave, it will probably changed the texture of the chocolate.
I don’t have a double boiler..can I do this in a cast iron pan on low heat?..
If you watch it carefully and put in on a very low heat it should work. Or, if you have a glass bowl, you can set it over a small pot of boiling water.
Made this today for a brunch party we are having this weekend (to serve with crepes!). It is wonderful. I made it with raw honey, coconut milk, and coconut oil. I only made a half batch because I want to try another with cream and butter to see which I like. It made a lot! Half was a pint jar full to the brim. I did it in my vitamix. It worked great…the consistency is beautiful and very smooth, even with all the skins on. The only thing is that I had to process 2 c of hazelnuts to get it to work in the vitamix. Then I just cut that in half and mixed half with the chocolate. Now I have hazelnut butter and nutella. I used 2 bars of Trader Joe’s Organic Dark Chocolate Bar plus about 1 oz of chocolate chips. Because it was 72% cacao, my nutella is not very sweet. But I think it will be great once paired with whatever it is going with (which will likely have some sweetness!). I will try to make the rest with cream and butter and let you know which I liked better!! Thanks for a wonderful recipe!!
I have made homemade nutella before and have tried different recipes but this one is a+. I used the same chocolate chips as the recipe and coconut milk. So creamy and smooth. It filled 4 1/2 mason jars so I can give to my friends who use Nutella from the store. Thank you so much.
I made this and it turned out yummy, but more like a bittersweet fudge. I used butter and next time would try the coconut oil to see if the Nutella is more spreadable. Also, Nutella is milk chocolately and this was very bittersweet so I might also change up the chocolate chips. Any other thoughts on making it more spreadable? 🙂
Hi. This sounds delicious! I have hazelnut meal in the fridge that I would like to use instead of buying more hazelnuts. How many cups of hazelnut meal would be made from 2 cups of nuts??
Thanks!!
I’m not sure. My best guess is 1 1/2 cups of hazelnut meal would equal 2 cups of nuts.
Will this be okay if I freeze it? I can’t imagine us eating all this in month. It looks delicious!
I haven’t tried it, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work!
Carrie, this looks great! I hate buying store jarred options, but this is so fresh and homemade! I love that idea…thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Jodee!
Do you toast the nuts to get the nutty fragrance before making the nut butter? Thanks!
I use soaked and dehydrated hazelnuts, so they are crispy and have a more deep flavor than raw nuts. You can roast them if you prefer.
Can you make this minus hazelnuts? Wheat, lactose and nuts to be avoided! Many thanks
I don’t think this recipe can be made without the nuts as it’s a major component of this recipe.