We are incredibly proud of this recipe, this is really the healthiest Nutella we have ever eaten. We LOVE Nutella, and we are able to eat a whole jar in one day… So we decided to look for healthier versions. We have never been a very big fan of dates and we actually don’t usually eat them whole. But since we discovered what great natural sweetener dates are, we use them for everything we can instead of sugar. We use them in sweet sauces, granolas, energy balls, like our sugar-free cranberry energy balls.
Hazelnuts are loaded with health benefits, they are high in vitamins, minerals, fiber, antioxidants… (1).
Let’s go!
Gluten-free, sugar-free, vegan
Yield: one medium jar
Time: 15
Ingredients
2 cups (250 gr) unsalted hazelnuts
½ cup (125 ml) vegetable milk
10 dates (pitted) *
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 pinch of salt
1 Tbsp coconut oil, melted
1/4 cup (20 gr) cocoa powder
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees prepare your baking tray with baking paper. 2. Place the hazelnuts in the baking tray, and bake for about 10 minutes, until they are golden brown.
3. Take them out of the oven, and when they cool down, rub them between your hands to peel them.
4. Place them in a food processor or high-speed blender until a creamy consistency hazelnut butter is formed (depending on your food processor this can take between 5 and 10 minutes or just a couple of minutes in a high-speed blender. You might need to stop and scrape down the sides a couple of times.
5. Add the rest of the ingredients and continue blending until everything is perfectly combined and you get a creamy delicious texture.
By the way…
It is best to keep this Nutella in an airtight container in the fridge (it will last around a week).
Soak the dates the night before (remove first the pits) to make it easier to blend them.
You can also directly use hazelnuts that are already roasted and skinless, but make sure they do not contain sugars or salt.
If there are some hazelnut skins, don’t worry, there are people who prefer to use them with their skin on because they provide more fiber, but it will be a bit more bitter.