Step by step, all the tricks and secrets to get the best healthy Nutella at home. You can also adjust the recipe of this spreadable hazelnut cream in the version that best suits your preference. This healthy Nutella contains no added sugars or oils of low nutritional quality, and also provides healthy fats, protein, fiber and vitamins. It is guaranteed: after trying it, you will never go back to commercial brands.
Ingredients:
1 sweet potato of approx. 350 grams
100 grams hazelnuts (or hazelnut butter)
5-6 teaspoons of cocoa
A pinch of salt
Optionally:
50g medjool dates or date paste
2 tablespoons of hazelnut oil
A few drops of vanilla essence
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees, wrap the sweet potato in aluminum foil, and roast it for 30-40 minutes until tender, turning it once or twice during cooking.
Meanwhile, toast the hazelnuts in a pan over low heat for a few minutes, taking care not to burn them. This step is optional but recommended, as it further enhances its flavor.
Reserve both ingredients until cool.
The next step will be to prepare the hazelnut butter: process in a mixer the hazelnuts, making some pauses in order to give the machine a rest. At first we will obtain a fine flour, but after some minutes we will see that it will slowly turn into a paste. When there are no longer any lumps, it will be time to add the peeled sweet potato, the cocoa and a pinch of salt. Continue mixing until it looks smooth. At this point, you can try and decide your own adjustments.
Adjust the cream according to your taste:
Add more cocoa according to the flavor but also to the intensity of the dark color that you want.
If the sweet potato doesn’t provide the expected sweetness, add 50 grams of date paste and continue processing until integrated.
I don’t use vanilla essence, but a few drops can be appealing.
It is not essential, but the last gourmet detail is provided by 2 tablespoons of hazelnut oil, which enhances the flavor and adds texture to the final result. Alternatively, a little coconut oil can be used, which is neutral in taste.
The final step:
After all these possible corrections, transfer the paste with a spoon to a previously washed jar and store in the fridge. With this preservation method it’s not possible to keep our cream for months in our shelf, but that is not a problem: once you try it, I assure you that it will end very soon!
Tips and tricks:
- It’s possible to buy hazelnut butter if we do not have a suitable processor. In this case, take care of finding one made with 100% hazelnuts, without any added oils, sugars, etc.
- If you want a keto version, then substitute dates for xylitol.