Growing up, before all this chocolate allergy nonsense, I was pretty obsessed with Godiva Chocolate. Sure, I liked all of the regular old candies: Twix, Milky Way, Three Musketeers, Baby Ruth . . . okay, I’m getting hungry and sad I can’t eat those anymore. Godiva was always my favorite, though.
I’d relish walking into the store, the smell of the artisan chocolates wafting through the air, along with that of a sample of coffee or hot chocolate. I’d look at box after box, comparing them, making sure I chose the one with the pieces I was most craving at the time. Other times, I’d pick a piece from the counter on a whim, munching on it as I walked through the mall.
Look at the hazelnut shaped like a heart! So cute!
Then Godiva introduced chocolate covered strawberries. They only had them sometimes, so when I spotted them it was tough to resist, as the store employees carefully dipped the long-stem ruby, red berries (a treat even when the grocery has them) into the liquid chocolate goodness.
I always had a weakness for their holiday stuffed animals too. Frankly, I still do. The soft toys never fail to comfort me and the chocolate gets sent to work with Dad to give away. I have a sneaking suspicion he eats it, but I suppose ignorance is bliss.
So why am I writing about these fabulous chocolates I can no longer eat? Because I took a bag of roasted hazelnuts and a bunch of carob chips and made some Homemade Nutella. Since I’ve never had real Nutella, I have absolutely no idea if this tastes anywhere close to the real thing. I’d love if you guys would try it and let me know if it’s close. But after one taste, it instantly reminded me of a piece of Godiva with hazelnut filling. It was never my favorite but I enjoyed it almost as much as I enjoyed being transported back to childhood when I tasted this faux-Nutella.
Dangerously easy to make in the food processor, the flavor of the hazelnuts is dominant and blends seamlessly with the carob. Regular dark chocolate would work too. Good cold, warm, or room temperature, it’s addictive and tempting me to grab a spoon and dive in every time I open the refrigerator. After all, a trip back to childhood is always welcome.
Homemade Nutella
- Total Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 cups roasted unsalted hazelnuts (I bought them at Trader Joe’s)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup carob chips, melted
- ½ cup confectioners’ sugar
- 3 tablespoons canola oil
Instructions
- In the bowl of a food processor, place the hazelnuts. Process them until they are the consistency of peanut butter. This will take several minutes and you may need to scrape down the bowl during the process.
- Add the vanilla, melted carob chips, sugar, and canola oil. Process until fully combined and smooth and creamy. The Nutella should be relatively thin and spreadable. It is delicious warm straight from the food processor. Store for up to 1 month in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It is also great cold, but it comes to room temperature in less than 30 minutes or can be warmed in the microwave in 15 second increments until warm.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
I bet this tastes better than the real thing! The real thing has skim milk powder in it which I try and avoid. Your recipe seems much easier than some I’ve seen by using chocolate/carob chips. Love it!
Hi Katy,
You’re definitely right! I encourage Laura to develop this recipe even further and who know she might compete with Nutella as the tastiest chocolate mix in the world. Imagine this recipe being used for Ferror Rocher!!
Kudos to Laura for sharing this. Others might have taught of doing this for their business as well.
Anyway, do you guys think that walnuts and cashews can be a good alternative to hazelnuts?
I can’t seem to find hazelnuts in the nearest groceries in my place so I’m thinking of alternatives.
Thanks a lot! Appreciate your response.
Jessica 🙂
I’m not sure how cashews would be in this, but I definitely think walnuts would work great!
What a good recipe! Nutella is all the rage now so this even sounds so much healthier!
Love your story too.
I’ve always been a fan of Nutella and more recently Justin’s chocolate hazelnut spread. This recipe looks very nice and simple to make. I’m going to look forward to trying this out 🙂 Just going to need to see if I got a air tight can or may need to buy one. Thanks for sharing this recipe !
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I recommend an airtight container because most places do, but honestly, I’ve got mine in the refrigerator in the ramekin from the photos covered tightly with plastic wrap. It’s fine like that. Thanks, Jerry!
Yum, I love nutella and this sounds delicious even with carob chips! Now I’m curious to try them!
You should totally try carob! It’s really cool! But chocolate will totally work just fine.
If hazelnuts were cheaper first I would eat them as much as I can and if any left I would make such home made nutella 😀
Yum, this looks fabulous 🙂 I’ve really wanted to make homemade nutella for ages now!
wowzerzzz Homemade nutella?? OMG Hey Laura you’ll be driving me to extreme fatness your food ideas are amazing………..:-) Do you think you could use this as a filling for cake…… I’ve baked a cake just wondering what filling I should use??
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I think this would make an AWESOME cake filling! I might have to try that myself!
Thnx Laura am gonna def use this Nutella choc spread as cake filling 🙂
Hey I was thinking if you add some icing sugar to the recipe you could coat peanuts,almonds,raisins etc so they become choc coated?? ( It’s a thought….. which i might try… 😉 )
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I don’t think this would ever coat nuts or dried fruit. It’s basically peanut butter with chocolate, so it’s too thin and unstable. You’d have to add something else, and I’m not sure what that would be.
Oh my heavens! I am officially never wearing skinny jeans again. This looks incredible!
Haha! And I have made BFFs with my elliptical 😉
Awww I adore Godiva too (and their hazelnut filled truffle is one of my faves)!
I love that we thought so alike on this one 😉
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Me too! Great minds think alike, ya know 😉
I loved the hazelnut truffles at Godiva. And anything with Nutella in the name has to be good!
I bet it tastes so much better than the store-bought one! Cooking Actress just did a similar post too! You guys are each other’s mind readers. 🙂
I saw that post too and was so surprised. I’m a huge fan of Cooking Actress, so it made me smile.
I find that homemade nutella is amazing, but doesn´t really taste like the store bought version, which I think is good anyway, since chocolate and hazelnuts are beyond good together. If I could only get hold of carob chips! This looks so good Laura!
Try ordering carob chips online. I have been using Sunspire and might try Chatfield’s. Hope this helps!
I’ve never had Nutella either so I can’t compare. I can say that I enjoyed yours very much.
Make my own nutella? How brilliant! Thank you for sharing this with us. I can’t wait to get my processor out and make a batch. Thank you for sharing! I’m glad I found your blog tonight!
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Thank you so much, Monet! I will be making more before long too!
I would have no problem helping you devour this! It looks so good!
Ooh, I’ve been seeing homemade nutella around – really want to try this!
I just bought Nutella for my daughter. No I can get her the ingredients and she can make it, fresh and taste.
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It’s so fun to make it at home and it tastes great too!
very smooth and creamy,great taste.
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The homemade nutella was really yummy. It is slightly different than the store bought Nutella in texture and taste but truly was a really great treat! Thank you Laura – we always love the stuff you send 🙂
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Jessica!
This one worried me the most of all. I grew up loving nutella, considering I hate peanut butter, this is the closest thing I had to a spread on toast or graham crackers. My daughter now really enjoys it too, so its kinda our little snack together. When I brought it home I asked her if she would like some and then set up a blind taste test to see if she could tell the difference. She ate all four animal crackers without a second glance…..success!
I’m so glad you set up a blind taste test and couldn’t detect the difference. That’s totally what I wanted to happen 🙂
When I first saw I asked myself ” why is Rick giving me chocolate when he knows I can’t eat it. ” then Rick stated it was nuts and not chocolate so try it. He stated it was nutella. I took a bite and wondered if the headaches would soon follow. After the first bite which was very good I decided to risk the headaches and I consumed the rest. Great taste , great recipe.
Thanks Eric
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It’s not chocolate, it’s carob. So it’s perfect for you – no headaches 🙂
I guess there’s a first time for everything…I’ve never had Nutella either, so I have nothing to compare it to. I just know I liked the taste and the little cookies that were with it. Great idea, I’ll have to try it soon. I am a Godiva chocolatier too!
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I love Nutella, but this is better. The flavor really stands out, and the texture is so creamy. Thanks for sharing, always look forward to your new recipes and samples.
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Thank you so much, Mike! It totally made my day to hear it’s better than Nutella 😀
Thank you! I’m so glad to have found your blog. We just discovered that our youngest son is allergic to chocolate. I know. Right? Well my older son and I love chocolate and it’s been difficult to keep it out of the house. I do still have Nutella in the house and I do give it to my 8 yr old when my 4 yr old is asleep or not looking. This can be challenging. I have since purchased carob chips and carob powder in bulk as to try all of these great looking carob recipes.
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I’m so glad you found my blog too, Roxie! My mom misses chocolate, but she sacrifices since I can’t eat it 🙂 I really think carob is pretty close flavor wise in many applications, particularly this Nutella. I know you’ll love it! Please let me know what you make and how it turns out 🙂
How do you melt the carob? Whenever I melt just carob chips they turn powdery, so I have to melt peanut butter or coconut oil first and then put the carob in after removing the oil/nut butter from the heat. What brand of carob chips do you use and are they sweetened? Could you get away with unsweetened? And how the heck do you melt them?
Hi Erin! I use Chatfield’s carob chips. They are sweetened, but they are vegan and gluten free. When I melt them alone, I definitely keep a close eye on them. I do it in the microwave in 30 second increments stirring in between. However, I do prefer to melt them with butter, peanut butter, coconut oil, or shortening. Just a bit really helps keep things smooth. I hope this helps.