This sugar-free Nutella is creamy and smooth, with a rich chocolate hazelnut flavor. It’s a decadent addition to keto breakfast or dessert. And with only 1.6g net carbs per serving, you might just eat it with a spoon!
I have been making sugar-free Nutella for well over a decade now. And in fact, I may have been the first person to develop a recipe for it. It was way back in 2011, when I was craving some chocolatey deliciousness and it’s been a favorite ever since.
I was astonished that it was so easy to make my own homemade keto version. Best of all, I like it even better than the original. Because it is less tooth-achingly sweet, the chocolate hazelnut flavor shines through even more.
My whole family loves this delicious spread. We put it on everything! Keto pancakes, keto cheesecake – you name it, we will drizzle this over it. But I am also not above spooning it right out of the jar and straight into my mouth.
Why you need to try this
Over the years, I have honed my keto nutella recipe and I truly think it’s pitch perfect now. It’s rich and creamy, and has that unparalleled hazelnut flavor. And it takes only a handful of ingredients and about 5 minutes to make.
The first ingredient in a jar of real Nutella® is sugar. The first ingredient in my homemade spread is hazelnuts. That tells you something, doesn’t it? My version has less than 2g net carbs per serving and no added sugars.
I love it as is, of course, but I also love to work it into other keto desserts. I’ve made Keto Nutella Ice Cream and Sugar-Free Keto Frosting. And my Keto Ferrero Rocher are a spectacular holiday treat!
Reader reviews
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I was never a big fan of Nutella, but I love hazelnuts & chocolate so decided to give the sugar free version one a try. I am not disappointed, and think my tastebuds have changed over the years cause this stuff is delicious. – Joyce
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I made this the other day. It was so perfect! I have been low carb/sugar free for a few years now and missed Nutella. Now I can have it anytime. Thank you for satisfying my craving! – Rosemarie
Ingredients you need
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- Hazelnuts: This recipe takes roasted, unsalted hazelnuts. Many brands sell them that way but you can also roast your own at home. I have provided instructions for roasting and husking raw hazelnuts in the recipe notes.
- Hazelnut oil: Toasted hazelnut oil really brings out the best flavor but you can also use another liquid oil, like avocado or olive oil. You can also use melted coconut oil but I recommend the refined version, as it has a more neutral flavor.
- Sweetener: You want to use powdered sweetener, to avoid grittiness. I have had success with both Swerve and BochaSweet, but I find that allulose makes the spread become really gloppy and strange.
- Cocoa powder: I recommend a good Dutch process cocoa powder here for the best chocolate flavor.
- Collagen protein powder: This is a new addition to my sugar-free nutella recipe and while it is optional, I highly recommend it. It adds nutrition but better than that, it helps thicken the spread so it’s not so drippy. You can use plain collagen or chocolate collagen.
- Pantry staples: Vanilla extract and salt.
Step by step directions
1. Grind the hazelnuts: Place the hazelnuts in a good strong blender or food processor and process until finely ground and they begin to clump together. Do not add any other ingredients at this point, as it makes them harder to grind up properly.
2. Blend in the oil: Add 2 tablespoons of oil and process until the mixture becomes nut butter. You may need to scrape down the sides of the blender with a rubber spatula a few times to help things combine.
3. Add the dry ingredients: Add the cocoa powder, sweetener, collagen, and salt and continue to blend. At this point, the mixture will thicken up again.
4. Add more oil as needed: Add the additional tablespoon of oil and continue to process until the mixture is smooth and creamy. You may need additional oil to thin it out again.
Expert Tips and FAQ
You need a high powered blender or food processor to get your chocolate hazelnut spread as smooth as possible. Many blenders are not up to the task of making nut butter. And if you make a larger amount, you may need to process in batches so you don’t overload your blender.
Homemade Sugar Free Nutella is quite goopy and liquid at room temperature. This is normal, but the addition of collagen protein helps tremendously to thicken the mixture and make it less drippy. It also firms up considerably when refrigerated.
Don’t try to use any other kind of protein powder, as it will make the spread overly thick and gritty. It just doesn’t blend in as well as collagen peptides.
Troubleshooting:
- If your mixture is too thin, blend in some more cocoa powder.
- Taste the mixture and add more sweetener if you find it’s not sweet enough.
- Add more oil if you find it won’t blend smoothly.
Frequently Asked Questions
This recipe for Sugar Free Nutella has 3.9g of carbohydrate and 2.3g of dietary fiber. So it has a net carb count of 1.6g per serving. A serving is 2 tablespoons. It’s much lower than most keto versions on the market!
Commercially made Nutella® is full of refined sugar and not recommended for keto or low carb diets. Howeveer, homemade Sugar Free Nutella has no added sugar and less than 2g net carbs per serving, which makes it an ideal keto snack.
I recommend storing this spread in a jar in the refrigerator. As it has no dairy or anything that spoils, it can last for months! It also firms up nicely in the fridge so it’s not as messy.
More delicious hazelnut recipes
Keto Sugar Free Nutella Recipe
Ingredients
- ¾ cup roasted hazelnuts (see notes for toasting)
- 3 tablespoon hazelnut oil can sub avocado oil
- 2 tablespoon cocoa powder
- 2 to 3 tablespoon powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 3 tablespoon collagen protein powder (optional)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch salt
Instructions
- In a food processor or high powered blender, process the hazelnuts until finely ground and beginning to clump together.
- Add 2 tablespoons oil and continue to grind until the nuts smooth out into a butter.
- Add the cocoa powder, sweetener, collagen, vanilla, salt, and remaining oil and process again until smooth. Add additional oil as needed to get it smooth and creamy. Taste and adjust sweetness as desired.
Video
Notes
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
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! 😉
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.
Cynthia says
Why do you need to add the oil when nuts have oil naturally.
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.
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.
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.
Wendy says
So is swerve a safer alternative like stevia?
Carolyn says
Yes.
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
Haleigh says
I would add more oil.
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
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.
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!
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.
Roberta says
I agree that hazelnut oil is the one that best pairs here, but if it’s not on hands I find macadamia or almond oil works better as substitutes because I found avocado oil left a strange aftertaste that was quite unpleasant to my tastebuds…in the end macadamia and almond are more in the nutty space and easiest to combine to hazelnut flavor… just my opinion of course 😉
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.
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
Katrina says
Do you pay for a monthly service. Were you able to get this for free?
Alice Jacoby says
Is that three quarters of a cup of whole hazelnuts or three quarters of a cup of ground up hazelnuts
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?
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.
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.
Christa Thompson says
If I cannot find whole could I just toast hazelnut pieces and use?
Carolyn says
I can’t see why not!
Suzanne says
Soak the organic hazelnuts in pure water (no fluoride or chlorine) for 6-8 hours. Then toast at the lowest temperature of your oven for another 6-8 hours. I do mine overnight. I like my nuts really crunchy. If you do, you can toast them even longer. You decide. You can do this with any nuts, and I do. This is a WestonAPrice.org recipe.
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!
Tammy Coughlin says
Would it change anything to sub out Monkfruit for Swerve?
Carolyn says
As long as it’s powdered. And if you mean Lakanto, then I believe theirs is 2x as sweet so you’d only want half.