Simply the best low carb chocolate hazelnut spread ever. This keto Nutella recipe is the stuff of legends. At least in my own mind, but a legend nonetheless.
It is very possible that I am among the first people to have ever created a low carb, sugar-free Nutella copycat recipe. I can’t say for sure that I was THE first, but I have been blogging since 2010 and I am certainly earliest low carb food bloggers. I first started blogging because I was trying to create lower sugar recipes after my experience with gestational diabetes. I wasn’t fully low carb or keto because I did not know at that time that my blood sugar issues were going to stick around. But I was experimenting with sweeteners and trying to keep my sugar consumption down. And one of the first things I ever made was a sugar-free chocolate hazelnut spread. I’d spied some paleo bloggers making version with honey and I thought…well, I can do better than that!
How To Make Low Carb Nutella
I didn’t even think to blog about it right away, I was just psyched that I could come up with something that tasted even better than the sugary, high carb original. That must have been in March or April of 2010 because in May, I decided to try making something with the homemade Nutella and I turned it into low carb cookies (which I cutely called “Notella” Cookies). From that point on, I was hooked on making my own keto chocolate hazelnut spread and using it in other recipes. Really, I was putting it into anything I could think of… Keto Nutella Cheesecake Ice Cream! Keto Hazelnut Cream Cake! Keto Nutella Truffles! Keto Nutella Swirl Bread! The list goes on. And on and on and on.
The funny part is that I didn’t think to actually publish the Keto Nutella recipe by itself until 2015. I just kept making it part of each individual recipe. Because sometimes I catch on slowly, and I finally realized that I need to make the Homemade Sugar-Free Nutella recipe a stand alone post so that I could refer to it and not have to type out the ingredients over and over and over again. Because let me be frank, I intend to keep making recipes with my homemade Nutella. Can’t stop, won’t stop.
I really do love this stuff, and so does my family. Love is probably an understatement. I make batches and batches of it and it somehow disappears faster than I can keep up with. We put it on everything…my coconut flour pancakes, my almond flour crepes, ice cream, muffins. And I am not above just spooning it into my mouth straight from the jar. I buy the pre-roasted, unsalted hazelnuts from Trader Joe’s by the dozen and I make a jar or two every week but it never lasts. If I want to make a recipe with it, I have to hide it from my kids. It’s truly that delectable.
I make this so often, I don’t even measure anything anymore. I dump my hazelnuts into the blender and grind them up until the blender can’t get them any finer. Then I add a little oil and blend them until they liquify. Only at that point do I add the cocoa powder and the sweetener…I’ve found that if you add those too early, it won’t grind up properly and become a smooth butter. I have made one change to the recipe recently, and it’s a change for the better. Because my Blendtec blender is so powerful, it makes this sugar-free Nutella pretty goopy. It blends it so smoothly that it’s quite runny at room temperature. I found that by changing the oil to melted coconut oil, it firms up nicely when refrigerated and is a little less goopy at room temperature.
Still the same great taste, but a lot less mess!
- 3/4 cup hazelnuts toasted and husked**
- 2 to 3 tbsp melted coconut oil can sub avocado oil
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- 2 tbsp powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- Pinch salt
- In a food processor or high powered blender, grind hazelnuts until finely ground and beginning to clump together.
- Add 2 tablespoons oil and continue to grind until nuts smooth out into a butter. Add remaining ingredients and blend until well combined. If the mixture is very thick, add an additional tablespoon oil.
** To toast and husk hazelnuts, simply spread on a baking sheet and bake at 350F for 10 minutes. Then rub the hazelnuts with your fingers (after they cool a bit!) to take of most of the husk. Some of it will not come off and that's okay, just grind it all up. If you live near Trader Joe's, consider purchasing their already roasted hazelnuts...makes your life even that much easier!
Great uses for your low carb, sugar-free Nutella:
Angela Curry says
Does it need to be kept refrigerated? Also, does it freeze well if I made a big batch?
Carolyn says
Yes to refrigeration and it lasts for a few weeks so I don’t think you’d have any need to freeze it. I’ve never tried to freeze mine so I can’t say how it would fare.
Natalie says
Is the serving size a tablespoon or 2? Thanks!Btw this recipe turned out amazing tastes like the real thing!
Carolyn says
It’s 2 tbsp. My serving sizes disappeared when I updated my plug-in. Working on addressing that!
Alice Jacoby says
Hi,I LOVE all your recipes ,I was wondering if I can use hazelnut flour instead of whole nuts that I grind ?
Carolyn says
Yes, probably. But it’s not toasted, so I might try toasting it in the oven to bring out the hazelnut flavour. I don’t know how long you would do it but watch it carefully so it doesn’t burn.
Pug says
For toasting hazelnut flour, I’ve done it before by putting it in a frypan on the stove (no oil, just dry) and dry-frying it a bit at a time– that way you don’t run the risk of leaving it a touch too long and burning it all and you can see and smell when it gets to the right level of toasty. It doesn’t take long at all!
nancy says
please advise the qty of hazlenut flour to use in this recipe, not sure how much 3/4 cup og whole hazlenuts give once ground.
many thanks
Carolyn says
You can just do the 3/4 cup. It’s not exact but it doesn’t really need to be. It’s rather forgiving.
Brad says
You could weigh ¾ cup of whole hazelnuts, and use that equivalent weight of hazelnut flour.
Brenda Jean Craig says
Carolyn,
Have you ever tried this with Macadamia Nuts…have some and love them. Thanks Brenda
Carolyn says
I have made mac butter, although not with cocoa powder. You will probably need to cut back on the added oil because macs are so oily as it is.
Malainie says
Looks wonderful! Trader Joe’s now carries Hazelnut Butter. Do the ground hazelnuts end up being the same measurement as the whole ones you put into the food processor?
Alice Jacoby says
Is that three quarters of a cup of whole hazelnuts or three quarters of a cup of ground up hazelnuts
Linda says
love your recipes. my fave way to save them is with mastercook. its a recipe program with a icon on the menu bar on my internet bookmarks bar. i click it saves to my mastercook cookbook of my choice and to the mastercook online trending recipes. mastercook.com if you want to check it out. love this program. does nutrition automatically, menu planning, searches. great stuff.
Linda
Nora Nora says
The link for the “No Bake Nutella Energy Bars” leads to the recipe for the nutella cheesecake. Just thought you’d want to know.
Carolyn says
Thanks for the heads up! Will change that now.
Cat says
Hi Carolyn
i’m so excited to try this with your crepe recipe. I’ve never used or bought nut oils before. Do you have a preferred nut oil for your nutella recipe that you would recommend?
Thanks so much
Carolyn says
Hazelnut oil gives it the best flavour but if I don’t have that, I use avocado oil.
Barbara B says
This came out uber thick and a bit grainy. I did it in my Cusinart mini prep food processor and have made nut butters in it before with good results. Transferred it to my Cusinart Immersion blender with attachment. I did add a bit more oil and additional vanilla. I was wondering if it is the brand of cocoa powder and maybe I shouldn’t have used as much. I used Rademaker Dutch Process unsweetened. Always had good results with it for baking and such. What cocoa powder do you generally use ? I guess I was expecting something creamier. Any ideas ?
Carolyn says
Hmmm, not really sure here. I often use Hershey’s Dark when I make this recipes. I did once have it clump up and no amount of oil could thin it back out again, and that was with a different brand of cocoa (I can’t remember which one). But it only happened the one time and i’ve made this a lot. Not sure if that helps!
Janet says
Maybe she used regular swerve, not powdered? It’s in most stores now, but the powdered swerve isn’t.
Amy Koebel says
Mine was the same. I just added more coconut oil and problem solved. Yummy!
Denise S. says
Hazelnuts toasted and husked is a necessity, I learned the hard way yesterday. Today I did it all over again and this time it turned out exactly like your picture. Nice and smooth and spreadable.
Gillian says
Where can u find hazelnuts and their oil
Carolyn says
Both are available at many grocery stores. I know Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s carry them. If you can’t find the oil, replace it with avocado or olive oil.
Gillian says
Thank you
Gillian says
Ok, mine is just grainy, and dry. Not butter at all… What happened? I have a picture if u want to see it
Wendy says
So is swerve a safer alternative like stevia?
Carolyn says
Yes.
Annie says
How do you husk hazelnuts ?
Carolyn says
It’s easy. Watch this: https://www.facebook.com/AllDayIDreamAboutFood/videos/1218491554844898/
Katharina Glaser says
An easier way to husk the hazelnuts is to put them all in a clean kitchen towel after toasting and rube them against each other in the towel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtEu18xA7g0
Or shake them in a strainer. http://www.daserste.de/unterhaltung/quiz-show/wer-weiss-denn-sowas/videos/wer-weiss-denn-sowas-folge-180-gehaeutete-haselnuesse-video-100.html
The videos are in German but they show the process.
Carolyn says
I’ve never tried the strainer trick but the towel trick has not worked well for me.
Carlene says
Maybe I am an idiot, but I can’t figure out the calories for 2 tablespoons. Is it 158? What does the “k” mean? Love the recipe and your site.
Carolyn says
kcal is just another formal way of writing calories. So yes, it is 158 per serving and a serving is 2 tbsp.
mat says
Can you use almond butter instead of nut oil?
Carolyn says
I think that would make it too thick. You need some sort of thin oil here.
Natalie says
Because there are not enough oils in the nuts to make a psste. And food processors cant grind them fine enough also.
Cynthia says
Why do you need to add the oil when nuts have oil naturally.
Linda Popovich says
Oh, my gosh, mine turned out chalky. I have five pounds of hazelnuts to process for Christmas gifts. What am I gonna do??!! I made my first batch of 2 cups and it is really not satisfactory? Any suggestions?
Carolyn says
What kind of cocoa powder and what kind of sweetener are you using? One of the real tricks here is to grind the hazelnuts on their own for a bit before you add other things. If you try to add them all at once, it clumps up. Are you using a food processor?
Linda Popovich says
I am using a Vitamix and I did grind the nuts quite a bit, first. I actually think I figured out that my oven is a lot hotter than I realized and I toasted the nuts a little too long. They were very dry when they came out of the oven. I don’t know what made me think that the recipe would magically change this. I am going to try, again, and watch the toasting process more carefully. Thanks.
Carolyn says
My other tip would be to grind in small batches. Even my really good Blendtec gets overloaded. Don’t to more than 1 cup of nuts at a time. Make that into Nutella and then work on the next batch. I pour it all into one big bowl and then fill the jars after that.
Bill says
Hi again,
I wanted to try the Braid Tues. because I was intrigued by the dough. I made the spread using a cup of the hazelnuts and 4T of walnut oil so I would have enough for two batches. The spread was very “liquidie” so I refrigerated it overnight. That helped but it was still too loose to actually roll up. When I tried it was just pushed along, so I ended up rolling from both ends which created a sort of pool in the middle that I captured by turning up each end to seal. It baked up ok and is more than edible, but not what I was after obviously. I have never bought real Nutella so I have no idea what the texture should be like, but I imagined it would be like a warm peanut butter. Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated.
Thx
Carolyn says
The homemade Nutella does tend to be liquid-y, especially if you have a really good, strong blender. Mine always is and for this braid, I spread it pretty thinly so I don’t have issued with it pooling. But if you are having that problem, try whisking in another tbsp or so of cocoa powder to the nutella to help thicken it. If you need to add a little more sweetener to offset the bitterness of the cocoa, you can do that too.
Bill says
I will try all of the above and maybe just drizzle the oil to make so to speak. I can’t see any real downside to a lesser amount of oil, can you?
Carolyn says
No, except it can be really hard to get out of the blender if it’s thick.
Bill says
I had one more thought that may have added to my problem. Not having made this dough b4 I was not certain just how mixed together the melted butter and cheese needed to be. I kept in on the heat long enough to be fully combined but also long enough to get some sticking to pan (not a good thing particularly). I never did get the dough to 12X15, so I’m thinking that perhaps my technique yielded a stiffer dough and thereby a smaller surface on which to put the same 1/2 c of spread, and thus pooling. Any thoughts on that possibility?
thx,
Carolyn says
Basically, the cheese should be super melted and mixing with the butter but not really sticking to the pan. That may have played a part, too. Also keep in mind that some stoves are hotter than others. I have a gas stove and I have a heck of a time with electric because the heat is harder to control. With gas, you can reduce the flame and increase it, according to how quickly things are cooking. Once your cheese is melty, maybe turn off your element and keep stirring for a bit.
Bill says
Yes I know the tribulations with electric; short of inducton I wouldn’t have it. I think I just took it a tad too far which would have dried it out some.
Thanks again for your responsiveness.
BILL
Carolyn says
Gas all the way! 😉
Tamera Alexander says
Why did I wait so long to make this!!??? DELICIOUS! So appreciate you, Carolyn, and all the work you do to gift these recipes to us. I’ve already pre-ordered your new cookbook. Cannot wait to dive into those recipes. #grateful
Jennifer Blake says
This post came to me at the perfect time. I was just reading another recipe that included Nutella and I wondered if it could easily be made rather than purchased. And with this healthier version, BONUS!
allison says
We love this! I make a triple batch often. Comes out perfect every time!
Kate says
This video is the first time I’ve seen the whole you – you look and sound great! You definitely should have your own cooking show. With about half of Americans with diabetes and prediabetes, it certainly would be popular. Being prediabetic yourself gives you “street cred” too.
Carolyn says
Thanks, Kate. I actually have two other of these videos posted… Sheet Pan Chicken and Pepper Jack Cauliflower! I plan on doing more too.
Taylor @ Food Faith Fitness says
Going to spread this on EVERYTHING!
Jennifer Farley says
This is my dream come true!
Linda says
I thought I’d share a tip that I prefer when working with hazelnuts. There’s another way to skin hazelnuts. You bring a pot of water to boiling. Add 2 tablespoons baking soda and the hazelnuts. Boil for 3 minutes. Pour into a colander. Run cold water over them to cool them off. The original instructions say that you have to skin each nut individually, but that’s not true. You can rub the nuts together under running water and the skins easily peel off. The advantage of this method is that all of the skin is removed. The disadvantage is that you have to toast them separately, if you want toasted nuts. If you’re not using them right away, be sure to let them air dry before storing them or they’ll get moldy.
And, thanks for the recipe. Sugar-free nutella is a win!
Wendy Bussell says
I am very excited to have this recipe! Thank you for sharing. I was wondering though if stevia would be a good sub for the swerve?
Carolyn says
You can really use whatever sweetener you like here.
Cookin Canuck says
This is brilliant! You can’t beat Nutella…and now to have a low carb version!
Koshie says
Hey, Carolyn — I always check the math, and without starting from scratch and looking up the nutrition values, I can tell immediately that at least some of your nutrition values here aren’t right. For one thing, total calories are less than fat calories! And if you do the math (multiplying fat grams by 9), the fat calories reported in your nutrition data are correct — but then there appears to be no accounting for carb and protein calories.
But I can’t say just that, I have to add “Thank You” for the blogs and joy you spread!
Carolyn says
Hi Koshie, I’ve been having a LOT of trouble with my website lately and it seems to stem from my recipe plug-in. I have people working on it but no one has quite been able to identify the issue. I don’t even know why “calories from fat” is showing up because on the back end, there’s no data entered in there! The other numbers appear to be correct so I think it’s calculating the total calories incorrectly. I am going to have to investigate this further. Thanks!
Angela Roberts says
BrAVO. Just the other day we were talking about making a healthy nutella. Can’t wait to try.
Nicolas Dulion says
There is nothing better than homemade nutella !
Love your recipe, thanks.
Brenda says
Hi
Can be frozen and sent by mail?
Carolyn says
I’ve sent it in the mail but I never bothered to freeze it first.
Diana Lopes says
Sugar-free nutella? Oh man, I can’t wait to try it myself, must be delicious!! Thank you so much for sharing it!
Dawn says
I couldn’t find them at our Trader Joes. I did find roasted hazelnuts on nuts.com. I understand that you don’t have to get all of the husks off, but I am having a hard time getting much of the husks off at all. Any other tips?
Carolyn says
If they are already roasted then there probably isn’t much you can do. Try grinding them up!
Lizbeth says
I seem to have mended a lot more oil. I forgot to dehusk as a result a slightly bitter taste not sure why I needed extra oil though. I’ll try again as this was my first try thanks for all the sweet low carb recipes I use Vitafibre so always on the look out for protein powder and Vitafibre recipes to help me stick to diet and stop me eating high carb versions.
Carolyn says
The husks could easily be why you needed extra oil, since they add a dryness to the whole thing.
Jennifer Blake says
So simple! We love hazelnut spread in our house!
Katie | Healthy Seasonal Recipes says
I never buy Nutella because it is so sugary, now I still don’t have to and I can indulge to my hearts desire! Thanks for the great recipe and cool back-story too. You’re OG girl!
Jennifer Farley says
This is exactly what I need!