Homemade Healthier Nutella

Let us be honest. Nutella is somehow magical. With it's creamy consistency, it's chocolaty flavor and it's nutty base it is one of the tastiest things on earth to put on a slice of fresh rye. Sometimes it is quite hard not to loose self-control and scoop out the whole jar. I can barely remember little me sitting at breakfast with a completely messed up nutella face. Happy and satisfied, equipped with a big spoon.
Today I make my own jars of homemade Nutella. A healthified version without palm oil, dairy and refined sugars. Definitely so worth a try!

Hazelnuts do magic. When I discovered that Nutella is nothing more than a flavored nut butter my brain went crazy with ideas. So I started experimenting and came up with this yummy favorite. Even writing about it is so mouthwatering. This recipe is made with only four ingredients and the secret power of your oven.  Did you ever roast hazelnuts? It is amazing how they evolve their nougat-aroma within these few minutes of heat. You will want to eat them right from the baking sheet because they are so tasty. And the roasting process also makes it much easier to remove their skin. Win-win I would say. With a linen-cloth you can rub off the remaining skin afterwards and there you go.

When the nuts are roasted and peeled it is time to blend them. My secret ingredient: patience. According to the power of your food processor or blender it will take some time until the nuts become their creamy and melting consistency by setting free their oil. Don't worry if it seems pointless. Your mixture will end up heavenly smooth. Even when it takes twelve minutes.

Normally I would suggest to use a food processor for this step, since this kitchen tool is made for shredding nuts and grains. But I do not own a food processor. Instead I use a high power blender. It works perfectly and the result is amazing.

Homemade healthier Nutella
fills one jar

200g Hazelnuts
8 Dates (when dried soak them for an hour)
1 Vanilla bean
3 Tbsp Cacao Powder


Preheat your oven to 175° Celsius. Spread the hazelnuts on a lined baking sheet and roast them for about 15 minutes. Let them cool and remove the skin by rubbing it off with a linen-cloth or a dishtowel. Put the nuts into a food processor or high power blender and blend until the mixture becomes very creamy (at this point keep on blending several minutes more). Then add the pitted dates and mix again until smooth. At least just scrape out the pith of the vanilla bean and add it together with the cacao.

You can store the Nutella in an air-tight container up to a month. Oil can settle on the surface.