Nutella is a proprietary name for the commercial version of Gianduja. Gianduja is a traditional Hazelnut Cocoa Spread. It is easy to make your own version of Nutella at home with this simple recipe.

Use these DIY Nutella instructions to make your own Gianduja, a delicious chocolate hazelnut spread.

Taste Test: Comparing Nutella & Gianduja

Why should you try this dyi nutella recipe? We find the hazelnut taste and aroma more distinctive in Gianduja than in store-bought hazelnut spreads, and with a less oily, waxy texture. Gianduja contains about twice the hazelnuts as Nutella. You can always decrease the hazelnuts or alter the cocoa ratio if it is too nutty for your taste.

While still sweet, the traditional spread does not contain as much sugar. It also incorporates better into other recipes, such as using as a topping on brownies or a creamy inner layer on cakes.

ABOUT GIANDUJA

Gianduja is a sweet chocolate spread containing about 30% hazelnut paste, invented in Turin, Italy, where Hazelnuts are common. Nutella was in fact, originally known as Pasta Gianduja. The commercial version of Nutella contains about 13% hazelnuts.^[1]

Each country has a slightly different version of this hazelnut treat. The traditional Piedmont Italy recipe was about 71.5% hazelnut paste and 19.5% chocolate. This ratio was because of the lack of cocoa beans due to post-war rationing.^[2]

Homemade Gianduja tastes fresher, is healthier, and both the hazelnut and cocoa flavors are more distinct. And for the purpose of this recipe, it melts especially nicely melding together the flavor of the topping into a cake or brownie but still leaving a nice generous topping that gets the slightest thin crisp atop the gooey smoothness, not crunchy or chewy.

If you are reading this, you likely already have discovered many creative ways to eat Nutella. 🙂 But here are some ways we enjoy Gianduja:

• Pair homemade Nutella with shortbread or other desserts.
• Swirled into the peanut butter on a peanut butter sandwich
• It also works wonderfully as a creamy rich layer inside a chocolate hazelnut torte. It amps up the nutty flavor while lending a melted creamy layer with a surprising small hint of flakey crunch.
• We love this Gianjuja paired with our Espresso Brownie Recipe found here. (see photo below)

Homemade Nutella Recipe

Now to the good stuff: the actual Homemade Nutella Recipe!

Gianduja Hazelnut Spread | Easy Homemade Nutella Recipe

March 20, 2021

Difficulty: easy

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By: Quite A Kitchen

Ingredients

• 1 generous cup of skinned hazelnuts (about 5 ounces)
• 1/8 cup sugar
• 1/2 pound semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1″ pieces, room temperature
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 3/8 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions

• Step 1 Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Step 2 Spread out nuts on a rimmed baking sheet.
• Step 3 Roast, shaking sheet once for even toasting, until deep brown, 13-15 minutes.
• Step 4 Let cool completely.
• Step 5 Grind hazelnuts and sugar in a food processor for one minute.
• Step 6 Place the chocolate into a medium metal bowl. Set bowl over a large saucepan of simmering water
• Step 7 stir often until chocolate is melted and smooth.
• Step 8 Remove bowl from heat, add butter, and whisk until completely incorporated.
• Step 9 Whisk in cream and salt, then hazelnut paste.
• Step 10 If using immediately, let cool at room temperature to soften before spreading onto brownies.
• Step 11 If storing for future use, pour gianduja into jars and let cool before lidding. Lasts four weeks, chilled.

Yield

Makes 2 cups, enough for the brownie recipe cited above. 

Enjoy the creamy, chocolatey, nutty goodness of homemade nutella!

References

1. “Nutella – Breakfast for Champions?”. http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/features/nutella-football-ferrero-280508, May 28, 2008.
2. Carridice, Adriel. “The History of Nutella”. NutellaUSA.com.