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The first time I made chocolate spread from scratch, I burned the hazelnuts, over-processed the mixture until it seized into a solid block, and ended up with a grainy mess that tasted more like burnt toast than chocolate. It was a failure. But that failure taught me more about chocolate chemistry than any recipe blog ever did. This guide shares everything I learned through those mistakes — the exact method, the ingredient ratios that work, and the tricks that turn a kitchen experiment into a genuinely excellent chocolate spread. No palm oil, no preservatives, and no compromise on taste.

Before we start, a quick reality check: homemade chocolate spread will taste different from Nutella. It will be less sweet, more intensely chocolatey, and the texture will be firmer at room temperature. That’s not a bug — it’s the entire point. You’re trading the engineered perfection of industrial food for something that tastes like actual ingredients.

Why Skip Palm Oil?

Palm oil is the standard fat in commercial chocolate spreads because it’s cheap, stable at room temperature, and provides a smooth texture. The downside is twofold. Nutritionally, palm oil is about 50% saturated fat — similar to butter — and studies have shown its impact on LDL cholesterol is more significant than unsaturated plant oils. Environmentally, palm oil production is the leading driver of deforestation in Indonesia and Malaysia, where 85% of the world’s supply comes from.

You don’t need palm oil to make excellent chocolate spread. Coconut oil replaces it beautifully: it’s solid at room temperature, rich in medium-chain triglycerides (which metabolise differently from long-chain fatty acids), and adds a subtle sweetness that complements chocolate. If coconut isn’t your thing, cocoa butter works even better — it’s what gives premium chocolate its melt-in-your-mouth quality — though it’s more expensive and harder to work with.

The Complete Recipe

This recipe makes roughly 300g of spread — about the size of a standard Nutella jar. Total time is 25 minutes, most of which is the food processor doing the work.

Ingredients

150g raw hazelnuts (skins on or off — I prefer skinned for a smoother result)
30g cocoa powder (use Dutch-processed for a milder flavour or natural for a more intense chocolate hit)
40g coconut oil (refined for no coconut taste, virgin if you want the coconut flavour)
3 tablespoons maple syrup or honey (adjust to taste)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of sea salt (a quarter teaspoon — don’t skip this, salt transforms chocolate flavour)

Equipment

A food processor (high-speed works best — a Vitamix or Blendtec also works with more scraping)
A baking sheet
A fine-mesh sieve (optional, for skinning hazelnuts)
A clean glass jar with a tight-fitting lid

Step 1: Roast the Hazelnuts

Preheat your oven to 175°C (350°F). Spread the hazelnuts on a baking sheet in a single layer. Roast for 10–12 minutes, shaking the pan halfway through. You’ll know they’re ready when the skins crack and the nuts smell fragrant — that toasty aroma is the signal. Don’t walk away. Hazelnuts burn fast after the 12-minute mark, and burnt nuts make bitter spread that no amount of sugar can fix.

Step 2: Remove the Skins

This step is optional but recommended. Wrap the hot hazelnuts in a clean kitchen towel and rub vigorously for 30 seconds. Most of the skins will flake off. Pour the nuts into a fine-mesh sieve and shake to separate the skins. You’ll lose some nut material in the process, but the resulting spread will be noticeably smoother. If you’re short on time or patience, leave the skins on — the spread will be darker and slightly more bitter, which some people prefer.

Step 3: Process into Butter

Put the hazelnuts in your food processor and blitz. This is where patience matters. For the first 2–3 minutes, the nuts will turn into a dry crumb. Keep going. At 4–5 minutes, the crumb will start clumping together. At 6–7 minutes, the natural oils will release and the mixture will transform into a smooth, liquid hazelnut butter. Stop here — you want hazelnut butter, not hazelnut oil, and over-processing can cause separation.

Step 4: Add the Remaining Ingredients

Add the cocoa powder, coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and salt to the hazelnut butter. Process for another 2 minutes until everything is fully incorporated. Taste it. Too bitter for you? Add another tablespoon of maple syrup. Too sweet? Add a pinch more salt. The spread should taste slightly more intense than you want — it will mellow after a few hours in the fridge.

Step 5: Jar It

Spoon the spread into your clean jar. It will be quite liquid at this point because the food processor generates heat. Don’t worry — it will firm up as it cools. Leave the jar on the counter for 30 minutes, then transfer to the refrigerator. It’s ready to eat immediately, but the flavour improves after 24 hours as the ingredients meld together.

Variations to Try

The base recipe is a template, not a rulebook. I’ve experimented with dozens of variations, and these three are the ones I keep returning to.

Almond Chocolate Spread

Replace the hazelnuts with roasted almonds. Almonds take slightly longer to process into butter (8–9 minutes instead of 6–7) but produce a spread with a cleaner, less assertive nut flavour. This version pairs exceptionally well with dark chocolate — use 70% cocoa powder for the best results.

Vegan White Chocolate Spread

Replace the cocoa powder with 60g of melted cacao butter (not cocoa butter — there’s a difference) and use white chocolate flavouring or vanilla bean paste. The result is a creamy, sweet spread that tastes like white chocolate ganache. Add 20g of powdered coconut milk for extra creaminess. This one is dangerous — I’ve eaten half a jar in one sitting.

Spiced Chocolate Spread

Add half a teaspoon of cinnamon, a quarter teaspoon of cayenne pepper, and a quarter teaspoon of smoked paprika to the base recipe. The warmth of the spices complements the dark chocolate without overwhelming it. This version is fantastic spread on warm banana bread. Find more ideas in our vegan chocolate spread guide.

Troubleshooting Common Problems

The spread seized into a solid block. This happens when the cocoa powder absorbs too much moisture. Add a tablespoon of warm coconut oil and process again. If it’s still too thick, add more oil one teaspoon at a time.

The spread is oily and separated. You over-processed the hazelnuts. Stir the spread vigorously before each use — the oil will reincorporate. For future batches, stop processing as soon as the hazelnut butter is smooth.

The spread is too bitter. Natural cocoa powder is more bitter than Dutch-processed. Next time, use Dutch-processed or increase the sweetener. You can also add a tablespoon of almond butter to mellow the bitterness.

The spread tastes grainy. Your food processor isn’t powerful enough to break the nut particles down completely. A high-speed blender works better than a standard food processor for achieving a silky texture. Alternatively, skip the hazelnuts entirely and use a nut-free seed butter base — see our nut-free chocolate spread guide for alternatives.

Storage and Shelf Life

Store homemade chocolate spread in a sealed jar in the refrigerator. It will keep for 2–3 weeks — though in my experience, it never lasts that long. Before using, let it sit at room temperature for 10–15 minutes to soften. Don’t microwave it; the heat will separate the oils and ruin the texture.

Can you freeze it? Yes. Portion the spread into an ice cube tray, freeze until solid, then transfer the cubes to a freezer bag. Each cube is roughly one tablespoon, perfect for adding to oatmeal or smoothies. Frozen cubes last up to six months.

One more thing about equipment: a cheap food processor will work but it will take longer and produce a grainier result. I started with a $40 processor and the spread was always slightly gritty. Upgrading to a 700-watt machine made a noticeable difference. If you plan to make nut butters or spreads regularly, invest in a decent machine — it pays for itself compared to buying premium spreads at $10–15 per jar. You can scale the recipe up to double or triple batch sizes, just increase the processing time by a minute or two per additional batch.

The one thing I’d tell anyone making chocolate spread for the first time is this: it won’t look or taste like Nutella, and that’s the whole point. The first batch I made was lumpy, oily, and darker than I expected. I ate it on toast anyway, and somewhere between the bitterness of the cocoa and the warmth of the bread, I realised that real food doesn’t need to be engineered to taste good. It just needs to be made with care. Our complete guide to chocolate spread has more recipes and brand comparisons if you want to take things further. Visit the buy chocolate homepage for the full range of guides and reviews.

Chocolate Hazelnut Spread Guide