Homemade Nutella

This chocolate and hazelnut spread needs no introduction.

Step 1 Gather ingredients

To make about 3 small jars, you will need:

• 7 oz of hazelnuts
• 1 can of sweetened condensed milk
• 9 oz of dark chocolate
• 1/2 cup of milk

Other materials:

• food processor
• pan
• mixing bowl
• spatula
• double boiler
• cans

Comments

[Handyjohn]

If you want to make a non-dairy version, use soy creamer (double thick soymilk) in place of the condensed milk. If you can find it, maybe use a vanilla soy creamer - that has some sugar added. Use regular soy milk in place of the regular milk. I would recommend against using rice milk. That is VERY watery and doesn't have much in it aside from a little sugar while soy milk has proteins & fat and is similar to dairy milk.

If you ever get to travel in Asia (I'm thinking Indonesia and Thailand where I've been) there is a product there called Crumpies that is basically non-dairy Nutella.

Thank you for this Instructable - I've often thought of making my own (non-dairy) Nutella and now my excuses for delay are gone.

[prickly vegan]

Thanks, Handyjohn! That was indeed handy, as I was just wondering what to substitute for condensed cow milk... maybe coconut cream... hmm. Might go bad quickly, but could be delicious! In the Philippines and I think Vietnam, they make this taffy and dulce de leche type stuff out of sugar and coconut milk. Freaking divine!

As for the soy doubters out there, I think this recipe would be fine with soy. Here in Europe I have seen several brands of choco/hazelnut cream that do not contain dairy. (I haven't tried them, as they are three times the price).

[Super_Geek]

Sugar is a very strong antimicrobial curing agent. It has been used for curing meat and other things, just like salt, for many thousands of years before refrigeration. The chocolate, and condensed milk have a pretty significant sugar content so I'm not saying it wont go bad if stored at room temp. But chances are you will eat it all before that would happen.

[matt_and_nick]

can't i just stick them in my blender?

[ebrun]

In the end it's pretty much the same :)

[ladygold]

Keep in mind, this will thicken as it gets colder. If you plan to store it in the fridge, make it a little thinner in this step.

[luanne613]

Oh this sounds soooooo good! I'm going to eventually try it and store it in the 'frig to be on the safe side...but waaaayyyy in the back where I can't see it and snitch some everytime I open the door!!!!

[aenman]

YUM!!!!! I made it directly in the blender and now all you have to do is microwave the chocolate wafers. Came out awesome. Doubled the batch so I get a cheance to have some once my kids realize what it is... :-)

[mariejessie]

I vote for storing in the fridge. No need to risk food poisoning! Can be painful, and costly if you have to seek medical treatment. I prefer to avoid those potential consequences.

[mel_mam80]

How large is the tin of Sweetened Condensed Milk? I'm from Australia so we don't have this brand.

[kill-a-watt]

397 grams

[Lindie]

Thanks for the recipe. I will be trying this.

[mwozniak1]

I made it :P
To melt a chocolate you can put one small pot with chocolate to bigger one with water and boil, chocolate will melted. I also put some warm milk to chocolate for better mix. I used three bars of chocolate (90 g), one can of sweetened condensed milk (530 ml), 300 g hazelnuts, some warm milk. I get one big (1 l) jar.

[Shanti Mama]

Other kinds of nuts?
Has anyone tried this with peanuts, cashews, whatever? Living in Kathmandu, hazelnuts are hard to come by and, when I do find them, VERY pricey.
Suggestions?

[gHjM3W5T20YCS4e30]

http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2011/02/homemade-nutella-recipe-chocolate-hazelnut-spread/

[Shanti Mama]

Great blog post. Thanks.

[jeanicrowe]

You can use any nuts to make nut butters as they are rich in ntural oil. I would think cashews would be excellent in this, but any nut should work fine. Keep in mind though that walnuts and almond skin can be acrid. taste the batch of nuts first to make sure there isn't any bitterness. I would think this would be just as good with semi sweet or sweet chocolate, too.

[Shanti Mama]

Yes, I think cashews will be our first try. Then maybe almonds. I'd like to up the nutrition factor so may use very dark chocolate and more nuts. What fun!

[camarcia]

add some chili powder to it and you got something good

[Shanti Mama]

What an absolutely FABULOUS idea. My kids love chocolate with the chili flavoring.
If I double the recipe, but don't double the sweetened condensed milk, I can lower the overall sugar content. Will mess with this.
THANK YOU!

[TendoQueen]

Oh, wow, now you're talkin'! That sounds amazing! :O

[tzsch]

Whoo hoo! Can't wait, have never loved this site more than now.

I grew up on another brand called Merenda.
Thought I would just give it a shout out.

[vgavrich]

Look delicious, I'll definitely try this one! But I gotta say its a bit of a bummer that this doesn't seem to be canning, I would love to make it in a large batch and have it be shelf stable.

[AgeDeGlace]

I'd like to say "Merci" as I am french and really appreciate the stuff. The way they advertise it today on TV is all about nostalgia and (as almost 40 years old) we tend to buy the same for our kids now BUT they have changed to original recipes with all kinds of chemicals and above all, the cheap and dirty palm oil.

Here is my question, why, in hell, is there no real competitors for that ???

regards from Paris

Mike, already in the kitchen !!!

[TracyLou]

Re: competitors for Nutella - Kroger has a store brand that is excellent, in both creamy and chunky varieties. I love it with my (peanuts only) peanut butter, which Kroger finally started carrying, too.

[PlanetaryGear]

acidity is the most important thing for a shelf stable item after opening. Perhaps the chocolate is acidic enough to keep botulism from growing, but how can you possibly tell. For canning and storage of stuff you simply don’t mess with the recipe or you die. This recipe was not designed to be canned and is not cooked in the jar to kill bugs. Just put it in the fridge, it will melt over warm toast or anything and be just as delicious and also safe!

[AbbiesAcres]

Botulism needs an anaerobic environment to grow. It's commonly found in soils. We eat it all the time but it never gives us any harm because there's always oxygen and/or acid to keep it at bay...that is until you put it in a low-acid low-oxygen environment like a jar full of, say carrots or peas.

Most of the bacteria that spoil foods are not harmful to us (although they make the food inedible) because they grow at lower than body temp. The ones that grow at body temp (i.e. E.coli) are the the ones that are bad. However, in the case of botulism, it's not the bacteria that are bad, it's the toxin they release as they die that is, well, toxic.

I'd keep this recipe on the shelf without worry, only because it would only last a few days before it was gone!

[EToft]

I gotta say...I am looking forward to trying this!

If I remember my "food science" correctly (my mother is a Home Ec. teacher), the sugar itself is a fairly effective preservative especially if the water content is kept low. When bacteria encounters a very low moisture, high sugar environment, osmotic pressure essentially sucks the life (moisture) out of the bacteria. I believe that the condensed milk (~40% water) is already at a high enough sugar concentration to stave off bacteria for a short while if stored in a clean tight opaque container...a few days possibly.

This is evident in opened, shelf stored syrup and jelly for example...though in both cases they keep for longer periods in the fridge.

That said, I would not use milk of any kind to "thin" the recipe if I wanted to keep it a room temp. That is probably also why the commercial product uses oil. I would also bet that the commercial recipe uses milk solids (powdered milk) and has a very low moisture content.

You might also consider adding some honey as well...it has natural anti-microbial properties.

But the best advice is...if in doubt refrigerate it. Even the commercial product will last longer in the fridge.

[katmckee]

thanks Etoft, this was a very awesome instructive comment!!

[HollyHarken]

Since this is basically a ganashe I would suggest that you pulse the chocolate with the hazelnuts, boil the sweetened condensed milk and pour it into the food processor and mix it all together. Sterilize your jars and lids in boiling water for 10 minutes and pour the hot "nutella" into the hot jars, seal and refrigerate. You can add Hazelnut oil to help thin it down instead of milk. That will help extend the shelf life. I would also suggest freezing any jars that you don't wish to consume to help keep it stable longer.

I've read somewhere that using chips in place of chocolate bars can cause problems in that the chips are designed to hold their shape in the oven while baking cookies. Yes they will melt in a double boiler or microwave. It has something to do with the hardness of the finished product though I can't remember what it is. Also some of the cheaper chocolate chips have palm oil in them so stick with a good brand of chocolate.

I am lucky in that I can buy my Nutella locally in a Polish food market. I have no idea of the ingredient list as I can't read Polish. I don't know if it has palm oil in it or not.

I am looking forward to making my own Nutella with your recipes and my suggested changes.

[raffordhayden]

Holly ~ Try this for translating:

http://translate.google.com/

You can choose from several languages and make sure you're not eating something you don't want to! :)

[Wheatridge]

Thanks for this recipe. My daughter says she is going broke keeping my grandchildren filled up with Nutella. They are coming for a visit and will be surprised with what I have made. Thanks again......

[matt_and_nick]

i bow to you.

[lexaivlev88]

Thank you!
http://xn--80aawjislm8cyd.com.ua/

[mikeasaurus]

I'll be smearing this over everything, some may even make it into my mouth.

[marymac]

Using a spoon will save you a lot of trouble!

[Electroinnovation]

I second that! :D

[fzxdf5]

mmm Ganache!

[mideon13]

Judging by the materials used, is this shelf stable? The milk used indicates that this requires refrigeration. Is this the case, or can I store it in my pantry?

[ironsmiter]

if you start with soy or almond milk, instead of dairy...
AND you use proper sanitation techniques.
It SHOULD be safe to store in a cool pantry for a short while(months?).
Basically, you can treat a non-dairy version similar to any other home-canned product. Is it recommended? no.

The best plan is to refrigerate the product, and consume in a short period of time, after making it.

The distinct lack of preservatives in the original recipe, and the use of dairy milk,
would make refrigeration a definite MUST.


Thanks for the recipe though! Like homemade organic peanut butter, but better.
Now, all that is left is to figure out if the price of hazelnuts and chocolate + time and effort outweighs the price of a jar of Nutella - preservatives.