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Tuesday, September 11, 2012

How To Make Your Own Homemade {Gluten-Free} Nutella

homemade nutella I have to start out by saying that I had NO idea how easy it was to make your own homemade nutella! I figured it was some super secret recipe that involved lots and lots of steps. HAPPILY, I couldn’t have been more wrong! :-)

I actually had everything to make it on hand, except for the hazelnuts, and that was easily remedied by a trip to my local grocery store. I have to admit I have never looked for hazelnuts before so I wasn’t certain they would have them in the bulk food section. But there they were hiding under the “code name” of Oregon filberts.

Apparently hazelnuts are also known as “filberts.” In 1994 the Nut Growers Society got together and voted to call them hazelnuts (in keeping with the common name in Europe and back east). Learn something new everyday huh?

Anyway…whatever they’re called…they are one of the main ingredients in the yummy concoction known as nutella. Here’s another little bit of trivia:  nutella was created in the 1940s by Mr. Pietro Ferrero, a pastry maker and founder of the Ferrero company. At the time, there was very little chocolate because cocoa was in short supply due to World War II rationing. So Mr. Ferrero used hazelnuts, which are plentiful in the Piedmont region of Italy (northwest), to extend the chocolate supply.

Oh Mr. Ferrero…if you were still alive…I’d have to find you and kiss you!

I actually got the idea to try making my own nutella from a fabulous lady I met at the BlogHer12 Conference in NYC. She was the one who told me she had a great recipe for homemade nutella and gave me her card. But sadly I have searched HIGH and LOW for it (in my defense I got about a zillion business cards at BlogHer12!) and can’t find it. So this post is dedicated to “anonymous blogger lady” from BlogHer12!

I was on my own looking for a recipe…but luckily the first one I happened upon sounded like a winner to me! And it definitely was!

Homemade Nutella Recipe

adapted from Christie Matheson via Leite’s Culinaria

Ingredients

1 cup hazelnuts
12 ounces milk chocolate, chopped
2 tablespoons mild vegetable oil, such as canola
3 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon salt, more or less depending upon your preference

homemade nutella

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F
 
Spread the hazelnuts in a single layer on a baking sheet and toast them in the oven for about 12 minutes, until they’ve browned a little and the skins are blistered. Wrap them in a kitchen towel and rub vigorously to remove as much loose skin as possible. (Some skin will cling to the nuts when you’re done. It’s pretty much impossible to get it all off.) Let cool completely.

UPDATE: PattyPro shared this website in the comments below: How To Peel Hazelnuts. Will definitely be trying this next time! Thanks Patty! :-)

Melt the chocolate in a saucepan over gently simmering water or in the microwave. Stir until smooth. Let cool completely.
 
In a food processor, grind the hazelnuts until they form a paste. Add the oil, sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, and salt and continue processing until the mixture is as smooth as possible.
 
Add the melted chocolate, blend well.

(At this point, the original recipe said to strain the paste, which I didn’t do because I don’t mind the little bits of toasted nuts, but you can.)

homemade nutella
This homemade version will be thinner (at this point) than the commercial stuff in the jar, but it thickens as it cools.  (By the next morning mine was just as thick as the stuff I buy). Scrape your homemade nutella into a jar or other resealable container and let it cool to room temperature, then cover the container. The nutella will keep on the counter for up to 2 weeks!

I have to say I was licking everything that came in contact with this stuff! My fingers, the spatula, the bowl! I had to restrain myself from licking the blades of the food processor. It was THAT GOOD!  The combination of the sweet from the chocolate and the salty from the nuts is nothing short of miraculous! I’m pretty sure I heard angels singing when it was done. ;-)

I can’t wait to make crepes with my homemade nutella and bananas!  Yum Yumm Yummm!

homemade nutella




Comment | 48 Comments

48 thoughts on “How To Make Your Own Homemade {Gluten-Free} Nutella”

  2. Jessica

    Jillee, I have been following you on Pinterest for a while and all I can say is “wow” and “Thank You!!!” I have tried several of your recipes and they always impress! I can’t wait to try this one too!!!

    Reply ↓
  3. Jen

    Have I mentioned how much I LOVE your blog?

    I’m so glad I found it and you. You have such great stuff every day! I can’t wait to try this one. I’m moving and you’ve just reminded me to take my food processor. : )

    Reply ↓
    1. Diana

      no water it will seize up. You can use a microwave if you are careful but the easiest way is to use a double boiler. That is, I grab my stainless steel pan. Find a bowl that fits in but wont touch the bottom. Fill pan with like an inch of water, nothing exact. Simmer (med/low) and melt chocolate slowly. Perfect every time.

      Reply ↓
  5. Melissa

    Now this would be great if we could cut out some sugar, I have just started, or am into week 2 of wheat belly, cutting out all week and really cutting back on sugar, 8 1/2 pounds later and I don’t want to even risk adding extra sugar.

    Reply ↓
  6. Heather

    My foster daughter (soon to be adopted ;O)) LOVES Nutella but I refuse to buy it because it contains partially hydrogenated coconut oil. I think she will be loving me *wink, wink* in the next couple of days! I wonder if we could substitute the oil for EVCO?

    Reply ↓
    1. Jillee Post author

      I wasn’t suggesting nutella you buy in the jar is NOT gluten-free….I just wanted to make sure people knew this was a gluten-free recipe. Wasn’t very clear about that though. :-) Thanks for the info Sandy!

      Reply ↓
    1. Jillee Post author

      Patty!! This is wonderful! Thank you so much for sharing. I’m going to add it to the original post. Can’t wait to try it NEXT time…and there WILL be a next time! :-) This stuff is addicting. I keep dipping my ‘homemade’ roasted almonds in it!!!!! Sooooooo gooooood!

      Reply ↓
  10. Tara

    Oh man! This looks so amazing. I like that you didn’t strain the paste, I bet it has a little extra something with the bits of nuts in there, a little more consistency. I must make this, it looks delicious!! Thanks for posting :)

    Reply ↓
  11. Wendy

    Did the price you paid for the nuts and other ingredients equal less than the price of an actual jar of Nutella?
    I guess what I’m asking is: was it worth the time and $$ spent rather than purchasing a jar at the store?

    Reply ↓
    1. Kitty Vander Wey

      I bought 5# of the hazelnuts from our food coop for $36.00 & it is going to make more batches than I could buy containers of it in the store for that price!

      Reply ↓
  15. Laura C.

    I’m surprised that you’re using canola oil in your spread. All of canola is GMO – all of it. Unfortunately, so is most corn… Since you’re using so little, and because of all of the other strong flavors in the spread, I would suggest using a very light olive oil, instead.

    Reply ↓
  19. Debbra W

    My clever daughter made something like Nutella. We had a large package of honey roasted peanuts. She made something like Nutella from those peanuts. She left the skins on. It turned out yummy and we all ate it up in record time. One can make do and still have a marvelous result.

    Reply ↓
  21. Catherine's not naturally crafty,

    Oh, I’m so happy you posted the recipie! I’ve got problems with salt and sugar so I can make this, control the amount of salt I use and use a sugar free option instead, Jillee you have made my day! I’m going to tinker with the oil amount too and see if I can’t get it lower. And yes, I know artifical sugar free sweeteners are not healthy, but so is a blood sugar of 40, so…I’m going with artificials rather than eat stuff that makes my Blood Sugar drop like a rock and Blood pressure go up like a balloon.

    And, as far as I’m concerned, all modern food is genetically modified. It’s just a matter of *how* the genetics were modified.

    Reply ↓
    1. Britta

      Canola oil is better for this, because it doesn’t have a very strong flavor. Olive oil has more of a flavor, and you would probably be able to taste it in the nutella.

      Reply ↓
  25. marcella-not-hazan

    Hi Jillee, I was wondering how much a cup of hazelnuts weighs, as I have access to some wonderful already-grounded toasted hazelnuts and would love to use them in this recipe.

    May I add that probably the oil is not necessary at all? Hazelnuts have already their fair share of oil and actually in Italy (where I am from) the best hazelnut spreads do not cointain fats other than the hazelnuts’ and cocoa’s. Nutella is not a gourmet food here, it’s quite a common, run-of-the-mill snack for children (although most grown-ups love it too :), but there are lots of more refined, higher quality spreads, mostly made by small manufacturers, and the very best only contain nuts, chocolate and sugar. For those of you who are concerned about using canola oil, I would suggest you try skipping it altogether, maybe upping the nuts a bit – that’s what I am going to do, as soon as I understand the amount of nuts to use here. Will report back! Thanks in advace Jillee… your blog is awesome :)

    Reply ↓
  28. naomi winkel

    Roasted Turkish Hazelnuts / Filberts (1 Pound Bag) (Unsalted”)they have no peelings on them. I just bought these from Amazon and only paid over a little over $3 because I got a $10 gift card through a money making site. I was going to buy Nutella on Amazon they thought, why not buy the nuts and be able to make more than I would get in a normal jar of Nutella.
    I love your site, you tell it like it is. I love all the ideas you have come up with and I will share your page on my facebook page, so everyone will go to it and check it out. Thanks so much, Naomi

    Reply ↓
  29. Jenessa

    I was so excited to make this, but it didn’t turn out like I was expecting. I followed the directionscarefully, but the nutella isn’t spreadable. I tried adding a little extra oil, but that didn’t seem to help either. Do you have any suggestions??

    Reply ↓
    1. Lara

      Jenessa, is it possible your chocolate seized? That can happen if you get even a drop of moisture in the chocolate during the melting stage, and will change its consistency dramatically.

      Reply ↓
  31. Mary Alice

    I made this and the taste is fabulous. It’s much better than the store bought stuff. And hydrogenated fat free!

    However, unless you can get some great deals on the nuts and the chocolate, it is quite a bit more expensive. For me to purchase the nuts at my grocery store, I spent about what a jar of nutella costs. Then I still had to buy the chocolate.

    Reply ↓

  32. Pingback: The Nutella Tax Got You Down? Make This Homemade Nutella Recipe for Cheap | Foodbeast

  35. Ashley

    Hi! I’m so excited to try this! One question though: if I use the “easy peel” method you posted to get the skins off of the hazelnuts, do I still need to roast them?

    Reply ↓
  37. Kitty

    I just made this & lets just say the double batch is not going to last very long!! I did use olive oil instead of canola however, which I would highly recommend since it is so much better for you than the canola oil.

    Reply ↓

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