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Homemade Nutella / Hazelnut Chocolate Cream Spread

Homemade Nutella a delicious creamy Hazelnut Chocolate Cream Spread, perfect spread on a slice of bread, as an ingredient in a cake or pie or why not dip your favourite fruit in it? Fruit never tasted so good. 

hazelnut cream in a jar and some on a spoon that is resting on the jar

I have been wanting to make Homemade Nutella for such a long time. Actually I did try it a few times with no luck. It never came out as creamy as I wanted, some said to pass it through a sieve to remove the extra bits of hazelnut but with my version there is no need for that, its creamy and delicious.

It is so easy, since your blender or food processor does all the work. I found and tried a few recipes, most of them used cocoa and added water, I didn’t like that idea. I wanted to use a good dark chocolate and I preferred to use milk. I experimented with a few ideas and after some trial and error I believe I got it!

How to make it

In a small pot add the chocolate, butter and milk, heat on low until chocolate has almost melted remove from the heat and stir until smooth. Let cool slightly.

butter, chocolate in a pot blending the nuts and brown sugar in a food processor

In a blender or food processor add the hazelnuts, brown sugar and salt, blend for about 15 minutes then add 1 tablespoon of the chocolate mixture and continue to blend until mixture becomes almost creamy but with still some crunchy crumbs. Be sure to turn the blender/food processor off and on while blending and scrape the sides with a spatula as you blend.

adding the chocolate to the mixture in the food processor

Once the hazelnut mixture has become creamy add a third of the melted chocolate mixture, blend again until creamy, continue until all the chocolate has been added and mixture is very creamy.

adding the remaining chocolate to the nuts in the food processor

Pour into a 1 1/2 – 2 cup sterilized jar, cover  and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, this gives the hazelnut cream time to thicken. 

How to roast nuts

Place the hazelnuts (with or without skin) on a cookie sheet and toast in a pre-heated oven at 350F (180C) for about 10 minutes then move them immediately to a clean bowl. Do not leave them on the cookie sheet or they will continue to bake and you could end up with burnt hazelnuts.

If you are using nuts with skin then you will need to remove it. Place the roasted nuts in a clean tea towel and rub them together to remove it. Be sure the hazelnuts are fresh. Fresh Nuts make all the difference, how to tell if nuts are Rancid.

hazelnut cream in a jar and some on a spoon that is resting on the jar

What is the best chocolate to use

I like to use a dark chocolate, about 50% cocoa, if you prefer you can use half dark and half milk chocolate. I actually learned an interesting fact from David Lebovitz on milk chocolate. I always wondered why milk chocolate in Italy was so much creamier and tastier than back home. European milk chocolate has 30% cocoa and American has 10%, they now make 30% milk chocolate also. So if you can find that, then I would definitely buy it, believe me it makes quite the difference.

homemade hazelnut cream in a jar

How to store it

Properly stored the hazelnut cream can be kept in a cool pantry for up to two weeks, or if you prefer in the fridge for up to a month. If kept in the fridge be sure to bring it to room temperature before consuming.

So if you are looking for a Homemade version of your favourite Hazelnut Cream Spread I hope you give this Homemade Nutella a try and let me know what you think. Here are some delicious recipes to help you get started Make it with Nutella. Enjoy!

hazelnut cream in a jar and some on a spoon that is resting on the jar

homemade hazelnut cream in a jar

Homemade Nutella

Rosemary Molloy
Homemade Nutella a delicious creamy Hazelnut Chocolate Cream Spread, perfect spread on a slice of bread, as an ingredient in a cake or pie or why not dip your favourite fruit in it?
Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Chilling Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine Italian
Servings 1 cups
Calories 1902 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 60 hazelnuts roasted (preferably without skin)
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar (lightly packed) (45 grams)
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 3 1/2 ounces dark chocolate (good quality or half milk and half dark if you prefer) (100 grams)
  • 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons milk (I used 2%) (90 grams)
  • 1/3 cup butter (70 grams)

Instructions
 

  • Place the hazelnuts (with or without skin) on a cookie sheet and toast in a pre-heated oven at 350F (180C) for about 10 minutes then move them immediately to a clean bowl. Do not leave them on the cookie sheet or they will continue to bake and you could end up with burnt hazelnuts.
  • In a small pot add the chocolate (broken into pieces), butter and milk, heat on low until chocolate has almost melted remove from heat and stir until smooth. Let cool slightly.
  • In a blender or food processor add the hazelnuts, brown sugar and salt, blend for about 15 minutes (stoping and starting so the machine doesn't over heat) then add 1 tablespoon of the chocolate mixture and continue to blend until mixture becomes almost creamy but with still some crunchy crumbs, this should take approximately 20-30 minutes (maybe more) turning the blender/food processor off and on and scraping the sides with a spatula as you blend.
  • Once the hazelnut mixture has become creamy add a little of the melted chocolate mixture and blend again until creamy, add half of the remaining chocolate mixture and blend, add the remaining chocolate and again blend until mixture is very creamy. Pour into sterilized jars and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes for the Homemade Nutella to thicken. Enjoy!

Notes

I heated the jar (out of the fridge) in a small pot of boiling water to soften it up for dipping.
Keep in mind that this is homemade so if you do have a few crunchy bits, you may want to strain it to remove them, but for me it wasn't at all necessary it was very creamy.
Makes approximately 1 1/2 cups.

Nutrition

Calories: 1902kcal | Carbohydrates: 116g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 156g | Saturated Fat: 68g | Cholesterol: 170mg | Sodium: 642mg | Potassium: 1436mg | Fiber: 19g | Sugar: 84g | Vitamin A: 1951IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 303mg | Iron: 16mg
Did You Make This Recipe?Please leave a comment below or pin it to your Pinterest account!

Updated from February 21, 2016.

Homemade Nutella, a delicious creamy easy recipe. Made with dark chocolate, roasted hazelnuts, better than the original? You judge!|anitalianinmykitchen.com

26 Comments

  1. Do you really mean 15minutes for a food processor? Surely that will burn the unit out! Can you confirm?

    1. Hi David, I suppose it depends on how strong a machine you have, mine is pretty good and yes 15 minutes is needed. Stop and start it so it doesn’t burn out or over heat. Hope that helps. Take care!

    1. Hi Martha, actually Nutella is made with hazelnuts, if you use another nut, then it isn’t Nutella. I have never made with another type. But you can try it if you want. Take care! 🙂

  2. This is the best recipe for homemade spread.

    I made it yesterday with milk chocolate and it’s a little sweeter for my taste. Next time I’ll use mix of milk and dark chocolate (50:50) or reduce amount of sugar.

    1. Hi Lydia, no, keeping it in the fridge will make it hard, so should be kept in a cool dry area in an airtight jar or container. It will keep for up to three to four weeks.

  3. Thank you for putting measurements with grams and millilitres. That is so handy as the cups measurements I always get it wrong changing to metric system. Thanks!

  4. It looks really yummy and seems to be easy enough to make.
    1st tried Nutella in Libya, fell in love but
    don’t like the preservatives.
    Thanks for sharing the recipe!
    Hugs

    1

  5. Mmm.. Love homemade Nutella! One of my kids favs and so much better then the store bought stuff with all the additives!

  6. oh my goodness my Mother will be over the moon excited about this recipe. Thank you for always sharing such wonderful recipes. xo

  7. 5 stars
    I love the idea of making nutella at home. This way, I can control the sugar and chocolate amounts. Great recipe.

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