It's simple to make homemade sugar free nutella! All you need are 4 basic ingredients and a blender. This keto chocolate hazelnut spread is nutritious and seriously delicious. We love it on bread for breakfast and use it in desserts - it's a decadent topping for ice cream or cupcakes.
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Did you know that "real" Nutella contains over 56 % of sugar per jar? If you eat two tablespoons, you are consuming 34 grams of sugar, which equates to eight-and-a-half sugar cubes.
If you look at it like this, Nutella is not a hazelnut spread, but simply spreadable sugar. In fact, it only contains a measly 13% hazelnuts. Its main two ingredients are sugar and palm oil.
Enter this keto nutella recipe! You'll find that this homemade version is not only very easy to make, but it also trumps the original in terms of taste BY MILES.
Plus, it's packed with healthy fats and fibre. And it will keep your insulin levels stable!
I love eating this "nut-ella" on my English Muffins or these Keto Buns. You can use it as a decadent sauce on Sugar Free Ice Cream or make No Bake Keto Nutella Bars.
And today I simply mixed a spoonful into plain yoghurt. Delicious!
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients for sugar-free nutella:
- Hazelnuts - Either buy them with the skins on or buy blanched hazelnuts, which have the skins removed. I have included instructions on how to roast whole hazelnuts in the oven to remove the skins. You can skip this step if you find blanched roasted hazelnuts.
- Coconut oil - Adding a little coconut oil helps to make the hazelnut spread smoother. It is especially important if you don't have a super-powerful high-speed blender. Must be melted.
- Powdered sweetener - I used to make this recipe with powdered erythritol. These days, I prefer to use allulose because the Nutella turns out smoother. Erythritol blends such as monk fruit sweeteners re-crystallise as they cool. That's why the sweetener must be powdered. Stevia drops are another alternative.
- Cocoa powder - Unsweetened cocoa powder is the way to go.
- Vanilla extract - This is not an essential ingredient, but it does add flavor.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Instructions
Let's make keto nutella at home! Here are the basic steps. For ingredient amounts and a detailed method, scroll down to the recipe card.
1.) Roast the hazelnuts in the oven until the skins start to peel off and the nuts are golden.
2.) Let them cool, then put them in a mason jar and shake. Alternatively, rub in a tea towel or between your hands until all skins are removed.
3.) Place all ingredients into a high-speed blender or food processor (a stick blender with attachment will also work) and start blending!
4.) After about 2 minutes your spread will look like this - still quite firm. Scrape down the sides and continue to blend. You may have to do this a couple of times.
5.) Continue to blend for another 3 minutes until the spread is smooth and looks like a thick chocolate sauce.
6.) Taste and adjust the sweetener if necessary. Fill into an airtight jar and enjoy!
Katrin's Tips
#1 Bought a pack of nuts without skins? No need to turn on the oven. Dry-roast the hazelnuts in a frying pan on the stovetop over low heat until golden. This brings out their nutty flavor.
#2 To lift the flavor even more, add a pinch of sea salt.
Recipe FAQs
I have made this recipe in both a regular food processor and my Vitamix. The Vitamix, which is a high-speed blender, gives a better result.
I use my regular food processor all the time for mixing dough because it's easier to clean. But it does not have the same power as the Vitamix or another high-speed blender. The same counts for a stick blender with an attachment.
This does not mean that this nutella recipe won't work with a regular blender. It just takes more time. You may also need to add additional liquid.
In a high-speed blender, it takes 5 minutes for a nutella that still has a few hazelnutty bits in it. When I use my regular food processor, I blend an additional 2 minutes.
In fact, if you want your sugar free nutella to be COMPLETELY smooth, simply continue blending for 12 minutes
Depending on the power of your blender, you may find that you need to add more liquid to the recipe.
If the mixture does not become smooth, add one additional tablespoon of coconut oil or up to 2 tablespoons of nut milk. I normally use almond milk because it is low in carbs. You can even use water.
This recipe for sugar free nutella absolutely does not taste exactly taste like real nutella. It tastes so much better! It is a proper hazelnut chocolate spread, with wholesome ingredients. It tastes incredibly nutty and it has a deep chocolate flavor. It is also a lot less sweet (of course, you can adjust the recipe is you prefer more sweetness!)
Serving Suggestion
Keto nutella has lots of wonderful uses.
First up, you'll want to spread it on buttered low carb bread.
Or, it can be a decadent topping or filling for sugar free cake.
Another idea is to add a dollop of this hazelnut spread into the centre of my almond flour muffins before baking! It's also a delicious filling for keto thumbprint cookies.
Storage
Let's talk about how best to store sugar free nutella.
Any glass jar with an airtight lid will work well here. And then you'll want to store the spread in the refrigerator. This way, it stays fresh for several weeks.
In the image above you can see how firm homemade nutella is straight from the fridge. Since it doesn't contain emulsifiers, it takes on the texture of fudge.
If you let it sit at room temperature for around 10 minutes it's PERFECT and spreads easily.
And last but not least, it's also possible to freeze keto nutella! I once froze a batch in an ice cube tray and ended up with delicious hazelnut fat bombs.
More Nutty Sugar Free Recipes
- Homemade Ferrero Rocher Recipe25 Minutes
- Sugar Free Nutella Cookies13 Minutes
- Keto Walnut Cookies15 Minutes
- Sugar Free Peanut Brittle (Keto)22 Minutes
Tried this recipe? Give it a star rating below!
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Recipe
Simple Sugar Free Nutella
from Sugar Free LondonerNote: The servings slider only changes the first amount in each line and not any subsequent amounts. Please make your own calculations where necessary.
Equipment
- high speed blender, food processor or stick blender with attachment
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup / 200g hazelnuts blanched or with skins on
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 3-4 tbsp cocoa powder unsweetened
- 3 tbsp / 22g allulose
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract optional
Instructions
- If you're using nuts with the skins on: Roast the hazelnuts in a preheated oven at 180 Celsius / 350 F for 10 minutes or until the skins start to come off and the nuts are golden brown.
- Once the nuts are cooled, rub them in a towel or between your palms to remove the skins.
- Blend all ingredients in a high speed blender/food processor until smooth. This takes around 5 minutes, depending on the power of your appliance. In between, scrape down the sides of the blender. ***see notes
Video
Notes
Nutrition
This post was first published in May 2016. Updated with more tips and tricks in January 2024.
Hazel
Can I use Stevia instead of Allulose please?
Katrin Nürnberger
of course!
Karen Conway
Hi Katrin
Do you know if this works well with erythritol too? Either granulated or powdered?
Thanks
Karen x
Katrin Nürnberger
Hi Karen, when I started out eating low carb, allulose was not available in the UK so I did use erythritol. Use powdered erythritol, the same amount.
Isabelle
Would this recipe work with a different oil, like canola oil (which has less saturated fat), or would that make it too runny?
Thanks!
Katrin Nürnberger
I have never tried that, so I am not sure. I would use less if I swapped the coconut oil with one that stays liquid at room temperature.
Cam W
I toasted hazelnut meal for 10 min @ 180°C, stirring a couple of times, and it worked well. For folks who want low-sugar (or just less sweet) rather than no-sugar, I used 1.5 tbsp of sugar instead of allulose, and it worked fine - a great deal more tasty and healthier than the over 50% sugar in Nutella.
Lisa
Hazelnut meal contains the skin of the hazelnut so I’m wondering if you were able to get it smooth. Very interested in trying this to decrease time to blend (a Vitamix is soooooo loud). Thanks for the idea!
JanD
A bit of a weird question but I don’t have a high-speed blender. Could you imagine this could be possible with hazelnut meal, toasted in a pan, just stirred with the other ingredients? Also having one family member with nut allergies, I prefer to be very careful to avoid cross-contamination. Thanks!
Katrin Nürnberger
Hi Jan, this would make a dry batter rather than a smooth spread. The blending is necessary to get the hazelnuts to release their natural oil. I do have a great recipe for sugar free nutella cookies that yu may like though - no need for a blender for that.
Helliem
Oh wow !!!!
This recipe is fabulous
Just like all the others I have tried so far
Thank you so much
Anne Atkins
Dear Katrina
Thank you for all these wonderful recipes! I often marvel at how you've come up with them, and I'm sure we're all very grateful to you.
Please can you advise? I've often been told that artificial sweeteners are even worse for us than sugar. Can you comment on this, please?
For years I've used honey (from my own bees when possible) and very little of that (fortunately we don't eat sweet things much); or dried fruit (for instance, I wouldn't dream of putting sugar in fruit cake, Christmas pudding or mince pies – or indeed scones – as none needs it) but I realise of course these alternatives are not low carb: just healthier, I hope!
But I always feel a bit uncomfortable when I read about using other, particularly artificial, sugar substitutes as I don't know how good they are for us.
I would be very glad to hear your opinion please.
Anne
Katrin Nürnberger
Hi Anne, the sweeteners I use are not classified as artificial (like aspartame) but as natural sugar substitutes. But of course, I am not a scientist, but an end user just like you. Products such as allulose, monk fruit etc do occur naturally, but are then turned into a sugar alternative by means of a chemical process. I decided that for myself and my family, using these substitutes is a better and healthier option than using sugar. Other people may prefer to cut down their sweets intake to a minimum and use honey or maple syrup. If you eat a generally healthy diet, that can be absolutely fine as well. In the end, there is no right or wrong, like with so many things in life. Recently, there was a scare about erythritol after a study about it was published. I have written on my take on it in this facebook post. Hope this helps!