Easy recipe for homemade Nutella. Learn how to make the best hazelnut spread at home. Vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free, healthy Nutella with dates (no sugar, no palm oil required).
First, preheat the oven to 300°F /150°C and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. At the same time, put dates in a small bowl with water to soften slightly (about 10-15 minutes).Spread hazelnuts in one layer and roast them for 12-15 minutes. Let them cool completely and remove most of the skins. The easiest way is to wrap them in a clean kitchen towel and rub them vigorously against each other. It's difficult to remove all the skins, so it's ok if some of them remain. This will not affect the flavor.
Next, put roasted hazelnuts into a powerful blender or food processor. Process until you get a smooth, almost runny mixture. DON'T add other ingredients until hazelnuts are finely blended.
Then add drained & pitted dates, cacao powder, maple syrup, almond milk, vanilla extract, melted coconut oil, and salt. Blend until everything is combined and creamy.
Enjoy your Nutella right away or store it in a glass airtight container with a lid at room temperature, in a cool, dark place for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
Don't worry if you cannot remove all of the skins, just try your best to remove all you can. The skins won't affect the taste and will add texture to our nut butter.
Make sure to drain well the dates before blending. If your dates are soft enough to be easily blended you can skip this step.
Instead of maple syrup, you can use agave syrup.
If your spread is not creamy enough, add more milk, a spoon at a time. Optionally you can add more coconut oil but that will make your butter more oily.
Note that this nut spread is sweet but not overly. Add more maple syrup to adjust sweetness to your taste.