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
- 3/4 cup (90 g) roasted hazelnuts, (see notes for toasting)
- 3 tbsp hazelnut oil, can sub avocado oil
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- 2 to 3 tbsp (2 tbsp) powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 3 tbsp collagen protein powder, (optional)
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) 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
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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Hi
Can be frozen and sent by mail?
I’ve sent it in the mail but I never bothered to freeze it first.
There is nothing better than homemade nutella !
Love your recipe, thanks.
BrAVO. Just the other day we were talking about making a healthy nutella. Can’t wait to try.
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!
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!
This is brilliant! You can’t beat Nutella…and now to have a low carb version!
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?
You can really use whatever sweetener you like here.
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!
This is my dream come true!
Going to spread this on EVERYTHING!
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.
Thanks, Kate. I actually have two other of these videos posted… Sheet Pan Chicken and Pepper Jack Cauliflower! I plan on doing more too.
We love this! I make a triple batch often. Comes out perfect every time!
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!
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
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
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.
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?
No, except it can be really hard to get out of the blender if it’s thick.
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,
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.
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
Gas all the way! 😉
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?
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?
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.
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.
Why do you need to add the oil when nuts have oil naturally.