Chocolate Hazelnut Spread
Nutella rocks.
I LOVED the creamy chocolate-hazelnut spread back when I was eating dairy products. I could polish off an entire tub in a matter of days, one spoonful at a time. But having gone back to being a vegan for several months now, it was time to cook up a new version of nutella. Here you have it: just as dreamy but vegan, and much more natural and straight-forward.
I used this fantastic recipe from Pickles & Honey and then made a couple of changes to make it my own. I even stole their photo idea so thank you Pickles & Honey for the inspiration!
Stay tuned in the coming days because I plan to use this heavenly stuff in a couple of different recipes!
Here’s what you’ll need:
- 2 cups hazelnuts
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1.5 tsp vanilla
- 2/3 cup soy milk
- 1 cup vegan chocolate chips, melted (you can do this in a microwave or double boiler)
Preheat the oven to 375. Spread your hazelnuts on a baking sheet and place them in the oven for 10 minutes. Be sure to check and make sure they don’t burn since oven temps obviously vary.
Allow the nuts to cool. Then peel/scrape off their skins with your fingers or with a textured dish cloth. Please note this can be a fairly tedious process! It took me quite awhile to do it. You don’t have to be perfect about it but you do want to get most of the skins off. Of course, AFTER I spent a good deal of my time on this precious earth peeling these little suckers, I decided to google how to complete this task in a less tedious way. I found this great link on My Baking Addiction that looks pretty amazing. I will definitely try this the next time around. I’m not sure the boiling process would change anything about the hazelnuts to affect this nutella recipe in any way but I can’t be sure, since I took the long, hard route. So give it a try and see what happens!
Once you’ve removed the hazelnut skins, place them in a food processor. Add the cocoa powder, maple syrup, salt, vanilla and milk and continue to pulse until smooth. Melt the chocolate chips and then add that to the mixture and blend again.
You can store the yummy stuff in a covered container in the refrigerator and use it for future recipes or just dive in a with a spoon!
Happy eating!
Thanks for this recipe! What brand of vegan chocolate chips do you use? And what type of soy milk? I used sweetened carob chips, and I used Silk’s “Original” flavor. Mine turned out more water-y than yours looks in the picture (although still delish!)
Hi Helen! Thanks for your comment. Glad your spread was tasty, even if a little more watery. I used Enjoy Life brand of chocolate chips (not carob) and Whole Food’s 365 brand of soy milk, unsweetened.
Just wow! Looks great x
Thank you! : ) : )
I have mase this stunning re-creation & it was superb! Yummy Yum! Great to pour into lovely little jars & give as a special food gift ! 😉
Awesome! Thanks Sophie! Yes, they’d make a great gift. : )
Pingback: Nutella Wontons | One Happy Table
This recipe sounds really good, I’ve made a hazelnut chocolate spread before, but not with chocolate chips! Sounds awesome 🙂
Thanks! : )
I suddenly can’t believe I’ve never tried making this. But I too might have to skip the hazelnut-skinning step. Sometimes I just have to try the lazy way. 🙂
Laziness is underrated. : )
I don’t eat vegan but have friends that do. How awesome they can now have Nutella again!!
Thanks Barbara! Yes! : )
Do you think you’d have to skin the hazelnuts if you used a VitaMix? Z
You know, I’m not sure! I don’t have a VitaMix but I hear they work wonders. The hazelnuts skins are sort of papery so if they are detectable in the final product, it may not be the best texture. Then again, this recipe isn’t smooth-smooth. You can still feel the texture of the ground hazelnuts themselves so perhaps the skins wouldn’t be noticeable after all… give it a try!
I love your take on this recipe! I bet the melted chocolate chips really take it over the top!
Thanks Amanda! And thank you again for the inspiration! : ) Your blog rocks!