4-ingredient Vegan Nutella | v + gf
Nutella, peanut butter or any sugary, fatty spreads were all banned from our house when I grew up. We would only get it maybe once every six months, and those times my brother & I devoured PB/Nutella sandwiches until our stomachs were ready to burst. This nut butter restriction I obviously make up for by far as an adult ;-) There's always always at least one kind of nut butter in my fridge, and it's my constant go-to for sandwich spreads, dipping sauces, porridge toppings, dessert fillings, caramel sauces, ice cream and even granola flavoring. Or eaten by the spoonful when I'm hangry. Though of course nowadays I opt for the homemade, natural kinds as I find processed foods not so sexy.Another thing that you will always find in my pantry is chocolate. If I don't have at least one kind of dark chocolate at home, I get seriously stressed. So whenever I'm at the supermarket I make sure to get two or three kinds to bulk up. My go-to flavors are mint, sea salt, chili and natural. I usually have a square with my coffee and one or two (or three) squares after dinner. It's my daily treat, like some people smoke cigarettes or drink a daily glass of wine I imagine. Except way tastier. Or, the one-glass-of-wine-while-cooking habit I could prooobably also get used to ;-)Point is, the combination of nut butter and chocolate cannot go wrong in my world. When you combine one awesome thing with another awesome thing, you can only get more awesomeness, right?!Vegan nutella is actually surprisingly easy to make yourself, given that you own a powerful blender (if not, you can always buy a jar of hazelnut butter in replacement for the raw nuts). You give the nuts a light toasting and pulse it with melted chocolate and sea salt in a blender until smooth. Done! I love to eat it on crackers with cucumber, with my oatmeal, in my chocolate nice cream smoothie (yes chocolate and nice cream for breakfast is always a good idea) and with strawberries <3
What is your relationship to chocolate and/or nut butter? Are you as big of a lover as I am? :-)
Recipe for the 4-ingredient vegan nutella below!
Notes: 1) Most high quality dark chocolates are actually vegan, so you don't have to look for a special vegan brand or anything. I usually opt for Lindt 70% or any of the common organic brands we have here in Sweden, like Änglamark or Ica <3 eco. 2) I used both hazelnuts & almonds for a more balanced nutty flavor, but you can simplify this recipe even more by using only hazelnuts if you like. 3) I find that the sweetness from the chocolate itself is enough, but for a sweeter nutella, add a tablespoon or two of maple syrup. 4) If you don't have a powerful blender, you can always buy a jar of hazelnut butter in replacement for the raw nuts.
4-ingredient vegan nutella
makes one medium-sized jar1 cup (2,5 dl) toasted hazelnuts, hulled1 cup (2,5 dl) toasted almonds100 g 70% vegan dark chocolatea good pinch or two of flakey sea salt
Directions
Heat oven to 180'C/350'F. Spread out the nuts on a baking tray covered in parchment paper (hazelnuts on one side and almonds on the other), and toast for about 10-15 minutes or until very lightly browned and fragrant. Set aside to cool.Place the hazelnuts inside a kitchen towel and rub the skins off. Discard the skins and place the hazelnuts into a high-speed blender along with the almonds. Pulse on high-speed for a couple of minutes until you have a nut butter. It should be runny and look slightly oily on the surface. Then you know the nuts have released their natural oils.Gently melt the chocolate over a water bath. Pour into the blender along with flakey sea salt. Mix until completely combined. Taste and adjust with more salt or extra sweetener if necessary.Store in a clean glass jar in the fridge. The nutella will firm up as it cools, to a good spreadable consistency. If you like it runnier (like in the picture below) you can always heat it a bit before serving.Until next time,AgnesPs. Remember to hit the heart button or leave a comment if you like this post, so I know what content you love and wanna se more of :-)
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