I’ve been on a “diet” for 17 very long days now. For the most part, I’ve managed to avoid wine, pasta, cheese, nuts and bread, and I’ve consumed very little sugar. As you can probably imagine, I’ve been fairly grouchy. But I’ve been working out like a mad woman and- 7 pounds down so far- I feel pretty darn great. I figured that after 17 days of discipline, it was high time to whip up a little treat that I could sample and then pass along to someone else. Making Homemade Nutella seemed like as good a choice as any other.
I cheated a little. Classic Nutella is basically Chocolate- Hazelnut Spread. See, I’ve never been super keen on hazelnuts, so I decided to use Marcona almonds instead. Marcona’s are a Spanish almond- they are skinless, lightly fried in olive oil and salted. Since they’re already toasted and skin-free, they make the grinding process that much quicker.
Marcona’s are awesome for snacking, adding to cheese trays and placing in bowls to nibble when guests drop by. They’re a zillion times more delicious than regular almonds. You can pick up a good-sized 17.6-ounce tub of them at Costco for only $7.99 (in the candy/nuts aisle). Or you can find several varieties on Amazon for a little bit more. The brand I used is roasted rather than fried in oil, so we’re going to add some oil to the recipe to compensate for the dryness.
I used a Blendtec blender for this recipe since it has a really cool Twister Jar option for superior nut grinding ability. Those little black arms you see– you simply turn those by using the handle on top, which keeps stuff from sticking to the sides of the blender. Not to worry though…if you don’t own one of these yet then you should go for using a food processor for this recipe. Here’s how you make it:
Place your Marcona almonds in your processor or Blendtec.
Grind away until it turns into a paste. Here’s how it looks when it’s almost done. Keep grinding.
You’re looking for a creamy consistency like peanut/almond butter. At this point, you can call it a day and use this up as Marcona Almond Butter! Or you can continue and make my variety of Nutella (Chocolate- Almond Butter).
Add the remaining ingredients, then turn the machine back on until everything is mixed and smooth. I adapted a recipe that I spotted on David Leite’s site, which originated in the book, “Cake Simple” by Christie Matheson. Instructions in that recipe offer an option to strain the Nutella at this point to bring it to a true creamy, classic Nutella consistency. See that recipe if you’d like to strain (or if you’d prefer to make classic Nutella with hazelnuts). Otherwise, just leave it as is and it will have a slight crunch to it- tiny pieces of almond. I left mine unstrained.
Transfer it into a jar and it will be rather loose and pourable- much unlike the Nutella that you spoon out of a jar. Don’t refrigerate it or it will solidify, but do place a lid on top and keep it at room temperature. It should thicken up just fine- to a nice, spreadable consistency, though it will not be quite as thick and creamy as classic Nutella. And if it does happen to get too thick- just pop it in the microwave for a short burst and a softer consistency will return.
At our house, we enjoy our Nutella on graham crackers for after-school snacks, and we like it swirled into banana bread and in thumbprint cookies too. If you’re feeling wild-and-crazy, you can add a little Marshmallow Fluff on those graham crackers too.
According to Matheson, you’ve got two weeks to eat this jar of yummy stuff. I’d say that’s a feat that won’t be too difficult to accomplish, wouldn’t you?
Homemade Nutella
Recipe Details
Ingredients
- 12 ounces milk chocolate, chopped (I used Hershey's milk chocolate chips)
- 1 cup Marcona almonds (or skinned and toasted hazelnuts)
- 2 to 3 tablespoons canola oil (if your almonds have been fried in oil, use only 2)
- 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon sea salt (taste, and add as much as you'd like)
Instructions
- Place the chocolate chips in the top of a double boiler over simmering water; heat and stir until smooth and melted. Alternately, you can place the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and heat in short bursts until the chocolate is soft and melted. Set the hot melted chocolate aside to cool.
- Place the almonds in your processor. Process until they are well ground. Take a peek, then process again until the mixture is creamy like peanut or almond butter.
- Add melted chocolate, oil, sugar, cocoa, and vanilla. Process again until all is well combined and smooth. Taste and add salt, as desired.
- Pour the Nutella into a jar. Let cool at room temperature. Place a lid on top and store at room temperature. (see *Tips below) Consume it all within 2 weeks!
Notes
- To prepare this recipe with hazelnuts, see Christie Matheson's original recipe for instructions on how to skin and toast hazelnuts.
- Don't store the Nutella in the refrigerator or it will solidify. The mixture will be a thinner consistency until it comes to room temperature. It should stay a soft consistency. If it does happen to harden, just pop it in the microwave for a short burst and it will return to a soft consistency.
- If you are preparing this recipe as gluten free, just be sure to use brands of chocolate and vanilla extract that are known to be GF.
Love this recipe.
Widdi,
I use coconut oil and it works great.
I think I may have answered my own question – hazelnut oil! I think I’ve seen it at Whole Foods 🙂
Hi! I’ve been making my own “Nutella” for awhile, but use a recipe that requires refrigeration (maybe because of the condensed milk?), so I’m thrilled to find this one! Just curious if you think I could substitute coconut oil for the canola? I prefer not to use canola unless I have to, but I do realize that coconut oil is solid at certain room temps so it may not work 😛 Thanks!!
Your recipe is great! I tried one that called for milk and it wasn’t nearly as chocolatey. In fact, I used Lindt Sea Salt Dark Chocolate bar and used only 5oz (150g) for a double recipe! I did cut back on the salt since the chocolate bar was salted. Perfect! Thanks for sharing!
If you take that yummy Nutella and spread it over a roll of Pillsbury croissant dough (not cut) then roll the dough back up and slice into circles, bake at 350 for 15 -20 minutes you will have a super quick, and oh so delicious snack your family and friend will RAVE about. You could of course use homemade bread dough but that would make this way more time consuming that it needs to be.
You lost me at the canola, which can’t be extracted or, separating naturally. Instead, has to be chemically removed, deodorized, and repeatedly altered. Not to mention that the seeds have been modified and just like rapeseed, it contains erucic acid and is treated with large doses of pesticides. Please… there has to be something better that you could be pushing.
This is really a great idea. But because I love dark chocolate so much, I will do my experiments with dark chocolate.
Thank you for the great idea
my kids would love this thanx
It looks delicious. I guess Nutella is going to be a household label, like Kleenex, Band-Aid and Jello. Gianduia is probably just too complicated, even if it is a more accurate label for chocolate-nut spread.
This looks delicious! would it be something I could possibly can like a jam? I suspect that heating it will likely cook the ingredients too much and affect its consistency. This would be an awesome xmas gift idea, however its 2 week shelf life makes it a but hard to make in large quantities. Any ideas?
No, I wouldn’t say this is a good recipe for canning. Maybe in Christmas gift given in small jars? It would get expensive, for sure.
Great idea. My favorite way to use nutella these days are on s’mores.
This looks so amazing! And I love that it has almonds. I’m not a huge fan of the hazelnuts so I might just give this a go!
Love this! I am definitely going to try it soon
Well recipe is great, thanks! Works really well with macadamia nuts, and cane sugar, gives it extra crunch!
Thanks for the reference concerning measurements. Could not find Marcona Almonds anywhere, so will try with Macadamia nuts and will let you know.
I love Nutella and this is delicious too. Thanks for the recipe
Hello,
How much is a cup? What is the equivalent in grams?
Thank you
Use this as a reference: http://allrecipes.com/howto/cup-to-gram-conversions/
I knew I liked you — I’m so NOT a fan of hazelnuts. Deb at Smitten Kitchen made a peanut variety a couple years ago that I keep meaning to make, and now I want to try it with the almonds as well.
no hazelnut?
You can use hazelnuts (as I indicated), but I went with almonds.
can you use agave instead of powdered sugar? just wondering what the protein grams are in this. sounds delicious!!
Probably, but I’m not so familiar with agave so I can’t say for sure!
Hey Lori, it sounds like you eat similar to the Paleo diet – except that you eat cheese, lol. You should definitely consider making Paleo nutella:
http://www.amazingpaleo.com/2012/07/19/how-to-paleo-nutella/
Happy eating! 🙂
Interesting!
Looks Delish! I will have to try this with almonds.
I wanted to make Nutella at home for such a long time, thanks for the incentive!
Mmmm this recipe is making me hungry! – Definately a good choice to make this! 😀 Nutella beats any other spread.. Must give this a go, thanks for sharing
I love Nutella! Now I just need to get my mitts on a Blendtec!!
I LOVE Nutella!
Congrats on the 17+ day diet success!!
How fun is this! Congratulations on sticking with your diet. I need to drop a few pounds myself. You’re an inspiration to get started.
Oh my! Love this. We actually have a big bag of Marcona almonds in our pantry. Homemade nutella, here we come!
Delicious! I love the idea of doing it on my own. I’m going to need to try the nut grinding in the twister jar on the Blendtec.
Sacrilege, Lori, to make nutella with almonds! Kidding…sort of. I like them both, but I happen to be slightly obsessed with the hazelnut chocolate combo. It makes me weak in the knees. Yours is gorgeous, though. 🙂
Diets are awful — I’m glad you’re rewarding yourself!
Lori, my kids would die if I let them make their own nutella! I’ll have to surprise them this weekend. 🙂
Gorgeous! It looks so smooth, and creamy. I love Nutella, and this almond version sounds amazing!
This is the spread for me! Now I can get my DARK chocolate in there…and with almonds instead of hazelnuts, I’ll be a very happy gal! Just awesome!
For Jennifer: Remember, working out creates muscle! And muscle weighs MORE than fat! Sometimes you can’t “go” by the scale and have to go by the way your clothes fit. I know that isn’t the way our minds are geared to “see” progress but it’s a much better way to “feel” progress!!! Stare in the mirror instead of at that stupid scale!!!
7lbs in 17 days! Thats crazy!! How many calories do you eat a day? I am so jealous!! I have been working out like crazy and cutting back on bad food and I think I gained a pound!!! You go girl and I love your Nutella Spread!! The blender looks awesome!! I need a blender that can chop nuts!
Hey Lori, I have been doing the no-grain, no sugar diet for about 8 weeks now and going to WW to get weighed and keep me accountable and in 10 weeks I have managed to get rid of 20 lbs, still have some more to go but it is working for me…call it what you may, Atkins, Paleo, Sugar Busters, South Beach, Hunters diet, its all the same, get rid of the carbs and the weight will come off…but you mentioned that you are restricting cheese, cheese is your friend, and nuts too, you just can’t overdo it…keep going girl…I think I mentioned that I made your cupcakes for a party the other week, (everybody raved, and yes, I do give you kudos) do you know how hard it was not to scoff down one of those babies, but be strong we must!!
must try this recipe and look for those almonds…m
Hey Lori, I have been doing the no-grain, no sugar diet for about 8 weeks now and going to WW to get weighed and keep me accountable and in 10 weeks I have managed to get rid of 20 lbs, still have some more to go but it is working for me…call it what you may, Atkins, Paleo, Sugar Busters, South Beach, Hunters diet, its all the same, get rid of the carbs and the weight will come off…but you mentioned that you are restricting cheese, cheese is your friend, and nuts too, you just can’t overdo it…keep going girl…I think I mentioned that I made your cupcakes for a party the other week, (everybody raved, and yes, I do give you kudos) do you know how hard it was not to scoff down one of those babies, but be strong we must!!
must try this recipe and look for those almonds!!!
I love that your home made Nutella tastes yummy yet is still good for me!
Who knew that homemade nutella was this easy to make?! Thank you for saving me so much money, Lori!
No wine, pasta, cheese, nuts or bread? You are a stronger woman than I!
Heading into the kitchen to make this now! Thanks for sharing.
Congrats on the 7 pounds girl! Your homemade nutella sounds divine!
Congrats on the weight loss and thanks for the recipe! We’ve never tried making any sort of nut butter, but I think the kid would really like this one.
P.S. Congratulations on the 7 lbs!!! I need to tone it down with the wine, bread, and cheese, but those are my favorite things so I’m hesitating…
Your Nutella looks better than the original! And yes, we must have been on the same wavelength this week 🙂 I have got to get one of those blenders!
Congrats on your weight loss! Definitely not easy to avoid all the yummy stuff. This nutella looks amazing…love that you used almonds!
Oh my!! Heath is going to freak out over this recipe! He ate his way through Europe with Nutella. He kept finding these handy little travel packs that he would squirrel away into his pants pocket and then eat at his convenience!
I need that Blender!!
This looks so great and congrats on your 7 pounds..that’s amazing!
Yay for homemade “Nutella”! I finally tried some Marcona almonds from my most recent Foodie Penpals package and they definitely were better than regular almonds.
Chocolate almond spread sounds amazing – and not *too* terribly bad for us, yes? Congrats on the 7 pounds! Losing weight is hard work … bah humbug. 😉
Oh my sweet, sweet goodness! Lori – this is spectacular! I cannot wait to try this, as I’m a fan (like most people here) of ALL things Nutella.
Fun idea! I’ve been wanting a Twister jar.
This looks heavenly! Love the idea of mixing up almonds and hazelnuts too. And bravo on your 7 pounds! Way to go!! 🙂
Congrats on the 7 pounds lost. I’d love to lose a few myself. This recipe looks delicious, especially for those who prefer almonds to hazelnuts.
Congrats on the 7 pound weight loss! It is always a great feeling to see the scale go down ;).
I love that this recipe has almonds, it sounds SO delicious.
Now….That’s a BLENDER!
I love that you used almonds because I don’t really like hazelnuts and they’re so darn expensive to buy!
7 pounds?? You go girl!!!!!!!! Love the homemade nutella!
I love the use of marconas! Good luck on your diet! Just take a spoonful of Nutella and then pass the rest on 🙂
Lori, this looks fantastic. And I love the 17day diet! I can never be so strict as I always taste what I bake, but except for a few nibbles I do fairly well on it. This homemade nutella looks fantastic too!!!
Trader joes has an almond chocolate spread like this that is severely addictive. Which means….I probably shouldn’t make this. But I will anyway. Who really needs skinny thighs?
Gorgeous homemade Nutella and congrats on your 7 lbs!
This sounds delicious! I bought the cocoa & almond spread from Trader Joe’s a while back, and it’s suuuuuper sweet, so being able to make my own version at home according to my taste preference is great =).
This is how I make mine too. It’s great that we can still lose weight, be healthy and have nutella 🙂
Mmm looks so delicious!