Healthy Nutella

The healthier version of your favorite spread

I love Nutella. It's got to be the best spread ever for pure indulgent deliciousness. Unfortunately, when you breakdown the ingredients, it looks like this. There's no wonder it tastes so great – it's more than 50% pure sugar!

So with Christmas coming up, knowing we'll be looking for a little indulgence, we decided to see if we could make our own version... with a slightly better nutritional breakdown.

And you know what? It really works. A delicious chocolate-hazelnut spread that you can make at home with no sugar and no palm oil.

Our healthy Nutella's nutritional stuff

The foundation of Nutella is hazelnuts. These are already a nutritious ingredient and carry the flavor of the spread, so they form the basis of our version as well. Hazelnuts are filled with good fats and are also a source of copper, manganese, and the antioxidant, vitamin E. To get the best flavor out of them, the trick is to roast them, peel and then blend until they form a thick hazelnut butter (in our blender it takes 5-7 minutes). Pretty quick.

The chocolatey taste comes from raw cocoa powder. Raw cocoa contains powerful antioxidants (catechins) and is also a great source of magnesium and more copper.

As always, we always avoid using sugar in any recipe – it's a highly processed food that spikes and crashes your energy levels without providing any nutritional benefits. So instead, we typically use honey as a sweetener due to its antimicrobial benefits. However, if you plan to offer any of this to a child under 1-year-old, you should use another liquid sweetener instead (agave syrup for example).

Helping the consistency of the spread, we also added whole cow's milk, contributing to the protein and calcium content.

Healthy Nutella Preparation tips

Roasting the hazelnuts is a game-changer for this recipe and they should be easy to peel once roasted, simply by rubbing them between your palms.

Any liquid sweetener will do. Solid ones are ok tastewise but affect the overall consistency.

If you prefer a non-dairy alternative, you can use a plant-based milk instead (nut-based milks would be best here) or you can even use plain water (it works but your spread won't be nearly as creamy).

Finally, enjoy your healthy Nutella on toast, or used on any number of desserts. You can even add a little to a smoothie as well.

Let us know how you use yours!