Vegan Nutella (Paleo)

A jar of vegan Nutella with hazelnuts in the background

Vegan Nutella (Paleo)

A vegan taken on the chocolate-hazelnut spread Nutella, made with only a few simple ingredients, quick and easy. Paleo and low carb friendly.

Prep: 10

Cook: 20

Total: 30

Yield:16

Equipment

baking sheet
parchment paper
Oven
Microwave
Wide bowl
high-speed blender

Ingredients

1 cup hazelnuts
12 ounces vegan dark chocolate chips or chopped, see Notes
2 tablespoons refined coconut oil at room temperature or melted
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt
non-dairy milk to taste, see Notes

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
Spread hazelnuts in a single layer on baking sheet and toast in the oven about 12 minutes, until they've browned a little and the skins are popping off in places. Remove baking sheet from oven and let cool slightly.
Remove skins from hazelnuts, either by pinching them between your fingers or by wrapping hazelnuts in kitchen towel completely and rubbing to remove papers.
In wide, medium bowl, microwave chocolate and coconut oil for 60 seconds, then stir. Microwave another 30 seconds, then stir. Continue process with 30-second bursts, stirring well in between, until chocolate is completely melted.
See Notes for help with melting the chocolate. Alternately, you can melt chocolate and coconut oil together over double boiler.
Add peeled hazelnuts to high-speed blender and process until finely ground. Pour in melted chocolate and pulse until combined. Add in maple syrup, vanilla extract, and salt, and process until smooth.
Pour in 2 tablespoons non-dairy milk, and blend well. Continue adding milk in 2-tablespoon increments as needed until desired consistency is reached. I typically use 4-6 tablespoons. Transfer mixture to airtight container with lid and refrigerate until ready to use.

Notes

Chocolate: If you're strictly paleo, use a paleo chocolate like Pascha Dark Chocolate Chips. You may need to add more maple syrup to offset the unsweetened chips.
Melting Chocolate: Be careful when melting the chocolate. Use a bowl that's wide enough so that the chocolate is not more than 1" deep. Only microwave the coconut oil with the chocolate chips. Start with 60 seconds then proceed with 30-second bursts. Stir very well in between each burst.
Milk: You'll need non-dairy milk to thin the mixture. I like unsweetened vanilla macadamia milk or almond milk. Coconut milk would be delicious here.
Make it Low Carb: Use Lily's Stevia Sweetened Chocolate Chips. Swap out the maple syrup for powdered erythritol, too.
Leftovers: Keep in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 week.

Recipe yields approximately 16 servings. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.

Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, with 4 tablespoons almond milk. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.

To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by 16. Result will be the weight of one serving.

Nutrition

Recipe By:Cheryl Malik