Vegan & Gluten-Free

Ask any of my active friends what makes them weak in the knees and apart from Tom Brady movies (back in 2015), Nutella will definitely be one of the subjects of discussion! Except now we know better after it has been revealed that the demand for palm oil in products like Nutella is endangering Inodnesia’s indigenous species 🥲. That’s why it’s sooo friggen great to make our own, wholesome hazelnut spread.

Now, I’m the first girl who stands for balance and has a little treat a few times a week, but my biggest problem is that I can’t stop until the jar is sparkling clean and you can bet that soap and water didn’t clean it!

In Afrikaans we have a saying that goes “’n Boer maak ‘n plan”, which translates to; a farmer makes a plan! I want to steal that little phrase and modify it to; “An active girl (with sweet cravings) makes a plan!”

And sure we do! Try this alternative to store-bought Nutella and not only will you feel just a little more virtuous, but you’ll only need a little portion of this rich nourishing version to satisfy that Nutella craving!

This recipe makes 250ml of Hazelnut Spread 

You’ll need:

Hazelnuts – 1 cup

Coconut oil – ¼ cup

Cacao – 3 tablespoons natural, unsweetened

Natural Sweetener – 4 tablespoons (I use Agave syrup)

Natural Sea Salt – ¼- ½ teaspoon

Method:

1. In a dry skillet/pan, toast your hazelnuts for 5 minutes over medium heat until the nuts are nice and fragrant. To avoid the nuts burning, shake the skillet every now and again.

2. Place on a plate or kitchen towel and allow to cool.

3. Once cool rub a towel over them to loosen and remove as much of the skin as possible.

4. Place in a food processor or blender and process until fine.

5. Add remaining ingredients and mix until smooth.

6. Taste and adjust sweetener as needed

**Note: 

• You can use any natural sweetener to taste.

• For a darker or lighter version, you can adjust the amount of raw cacao that you use.

• There are recipes that use coconut cream for a creamier version which I will also explore in the future.

• I used a Nutribullet as a processor and it worked fine, although I had to shake, rattle and roll the mixture a few times to get a smooth result.