3 Ingredients Keto Nut.ella Hazelnut Chocolate Spread is a super simple copycat of Ferrero’s Nutella. And only 0.8g carbs per serving.
It’s so similar, in fact, that a blind taste amongst 3 Nutella lovers revealed they could not discern which was the original and which was my super healthy, low carb + LCHF + sugar free + grain free + gluten free + vegan version.
THAT, my dear low carb friends, is the ultimate accolade in the keto experimental kitchen. Making something that no-one can tell is keto is undoubtedly satisfying. But making something that cannot be discerned from the real, mass produced, ultra refined and uber famous article, is, well, orgasmic.
The Birth of THE BEST Hazelnut Chocolate Spread EVER
The love affair between me and Nutella during my previous, high carb, sugar loaded life, was ridiculous. It’s true, I often had a TV dinner of a full length French baguette filled with an entire jar of Nutella. Shameful, shocking, but true.
So with keto came the longing to replicate my old favourites, including the world’s best known, most delicious, yet most unhealthy hazelnut chocolate spread. Last year, when I created my first healthy Nutella recipe after many frustrating trials and errors, I was so excited and eager to publish it, that my tasters were probably reluctant to offend me with a less than glorious verdict.
At the time, I was happy to have created a good, healthy, hazelnut flavoured chocolate spread that reminded me of my beloved Nutella. And it remained my go-to recipe until recently. It still is a good recipe. However, the slight graininess, the intense chocolate flavour and the hardening over time during storage meant I knew I needed to improve that recipe. At some point. Still, with so many other things that a blogger has to do on a daily basis, revisiting a chocolate spread was not on my list of priorities.
Until now. Because something extraordinary happened by chance and I simply couldn’t ignore it.
Having received a can of Chocolate Brownie Mix for review, I wanted to add layers so as to create a more interesting brownie recipe and decided to use hazelnut paste. But my hazelnut paste was too liquid even with icing ‘sugar’ added. So I thought I’d add a bit of cocoa powder to thicken it. Not too much, mind you, because I was aiming for a strong hazelnut flavour. Then I tasted it. And it was a revelation. How did that happen? I had just savoured the best Nutella copycat ever. My 3 Ingredients Keto Nut.ella Hazelnut Chocolate Spread was born. Just like that. Un-be-lievable.
How to Make 3 Ingredients Keto NUT.ELLA Hazelnut Chocolate Spread
So simple it’s embarrassing to call this a recipe. Here is what you need:
1 HAZELNUT PASTE (BUTTER)
2 SUGAR FREE ICING ‘SUGAR’ (you can Make your Own)
3 UNSWEETENED DARK COCOA POWDER
You must use really good quality, smooth hazelnut paste that contains no added ingredients. The hazelnut paste I prefer is made by Porello, who use Piedmont nocciole. The most succulent, sweet, oil-rich hazelnuts come from the Piedmont region in Northern Italy. They are called Nocciole del Piemonte and they have the prestigious Europen I.G.P. (Protected Geographical Indication) certification as a guarantee of their origin.
The Porello hazelnut paste is extremely smooth and pale, and presents a lot of natural oil deposit on top, so you must stir it well before scooping out what you need. Expensive, but oh, so worth the price! It creates the most luscious, intensely flavoured and creamy 3 Ingredient Keto Nut.ella Hazelnut Chocolate Spread. When it isn’t available, I cry. Literally. And then I (reluctantly) buy an alternative – see recipe for links. Sadly, none of the pastes I have tried have been anywhere near as good as the Porello brand.
The cocoa powder you use is less important. The one I prefer is very low in carbs (8.7g per 100g), so if you opt for a different brand you may have to recalculate your macros.
I also prefer to use my own icing ‘sugar’. Click HERE if you want to try and do it yourself. I promise it’s super easy and much cheaper than buying Sukrin or Swerve.
The method couldn’t be easier, or quicker. All you need to do is combine the 3 ingredients (the icing ‘sugar’ should be sifted to avoid clumps) and mix them really, really well. Transfer to a mason jar and store. That’s it. Your 3 Ingredients Keto Nut.ella Hazelnut Chocolate Spread is ready.
Enjoy!
- Yield: 185g
- Serving: 15g
- Calories: 85
- Fat: 8g
- Net Carbs: 0.8g
- Protein: 2g
- 150g hazelnut paste (butter); if unobtainable, this paste is a decent compromise; for U.S. option, click HERE.
- 30g icing sugar; or make your own
- 10g unsweetened dark cocoa; for U.S. alternative click HERE
- pour all ingredients into a mixing bowl, stir really well and transfer to a Mason jar for storage.
I keep my Nut.ella refrigerated for a slightly denser consistency and for lasting freshness, but it's not necessary.
Metric kitchen scales are an inexpensive yet invaluable gadget to enable accurate measurement of ingredients. Store them upright in a cupboard or over your worktop and they'll only take up a tiny bit of space. Click HERE for the ones I use (UK Link). For U.S. option click HERE.
Enjoyed this post? I really value your feedback! Please leave me a comment. If you make this recipe, make my day and post a photo on social media with the hashtag #queenketo. Thank you! 🙂
If you compare the amount of carb per tablespoon of regular Nutella and this recipe there is not that much of a difference. The problem is the hazelnuts and the cocoa powder. Both have high levels of oxalates and should be avoided just as much as the carbs. Actually if the carbs are from regular butter or dairy they are not as damaging as plant based carbs mixed with oxalates. I am surprised how very few peeps in the keto community are aware of the negative effect of oxalates, just as bad as carbs. If you wish to lose some lbs and be healthy you need to stay away from oxalates and carbs, it’s just that simple.
Oxalates are indeed anti-nutrients found in most foods. But unless you’re sensitive to them, or you’re trying to combat a specific health issue, they’re not a big deal, especially when eaten in tiny quantities such as in a serving of my quasi-nutella spread.
Staying completely away from oxalates and all other anti-nutrients, as well as carbs, would be an almost impossible task – on any dietary regime except the carnivore/lion diet.
I have no idea how you’ve come to the conclusion that there isn’t much difference in carbs between this recipe (0.8g carbs) and real Nutella (9g carbs and mostly from sugar). That’s a huge difference by all accounts.
I’ve had a mad chocolate hazelnut craving that I haven’t been able to satisfy – I’ve tried making keto nutella before, with hazelnut butter, but obviously it’s very gritty and just not quite the same. So glad I came across your recipe with the suggestions for hazelnut paste – I ordered the smaller jar of Nut Kitchen paste. I ended up only using 10 grams of faux icing sugar and it was perfect for me. This could be very addictive!
It sure is. Glad you found something that works for you. Thanks for the feeback, Jo.
This is amazing!! I lugged hazelnut paste back from my vacation in Italy just to be able to make this! It tastes soooo good! My only thing is it is a little gritty from the sweetener even though I used confectioners- do you think it’s because I store it in the fridge and it crystallized a little? Thanks so much for this great recipe!
Hi Milena, isn’t it just divine?
Yes it is a little bit gritty – more so if kept in the fridge (which it doesn’t need to). It’s because erythritol crystallises.
I keep meaning to try warming up the hazelnut paste, letting the icing ‘sugar’ dissolve and then seeing how it behaves once cooled. I just haven’t got around to doing it. If you give it a go, don’t heat the paste too much – just enough for the powdered sweetener (the more finely powdered the better) to melt. Another possible alternative is to use allulose. Again, I haven’t tried yet, as I’ve only just got hold of some (not available in the UK, but fairly easy to find in the U.S.). The allulose I’m testing at the moment is producing wonderful results, with no grittiness. It is called Keto Sweetener and you can grab it HERE.
So very delicious and simple! I think I can do keto/low carb for life now I’ve discovered this! 😍😍😍
Jasmin, thank you! Be careful, though! This stuff is so good it makes you want to plunge your face in it and lick it all up.
Beyond simple…Love it.