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You are here: Home / Recipes and Cooking Tips / Nut-Free “Nutella” Recipe

Nut-Free “Nutella” Recipe

August 27, 2012 by Alea Milham 18 Comments

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allergy-free substitute for Nutella

I had an idea for a fun dessert pizza using fruit for the kids and was thinking of using Nutella for the “sauce”. I went to the store, looked at the price of Nutella and GASPED! Wow, I am not sure how my friend’s afford their addiction! There was another brand that was less expensive so I flipped it over to look at the label and was disappointed to discover dairy, soy, and a chance of gluten. Really? I thought it was supposed to be hazelnuts and chocolate. Even if it was in my budget, my kids couldn’t eat it.

So I decided to make my own Nutella…but I forgot to buy hazelnuts. Instead of going back, I decided that if I was going to make a dairy-free, soy-free, no-chance-of-gluten, version, I might as well make a nut-free version too.

If you make nut-free Nutella, doesn’t that just leave you with chocolate? Not if you use sunflower seeds. My version doesn’t taste authentic. There is a mild sunflower seed taste, but it is a seriously delicious, allergy-free substitute. Oh yeah, I almost forgot: it’s frugal too!

My daughter saw me loading up the plate with fruit and said, “It doesn’t matter how many berries you put on that plate, You aren’t going to make your Nutella look healthy”.  Good thing I wasn’t going for the healthy look. 🙂

Nut-Free “Nutella” Recipe
 
Print
Prep time
10 mins
Cook time
30 mins
Total time
40 mins
 
Use sunflower seeds to create a nut-free "Nutella".
Ingredients
  • 1 cup sunflower seeds, raw, unshelled, unsalted
  • 6 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • ⅔ cup powdered sugar
  • 5 tablespoons safflower oil (or mild-flavored coconut oil)
  • 2 teaspoons gluten-free vanilla
Directions
  1. Spread sunflower seeds in a thin layer on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Let Cool.
  2. Place roasted sunflower seeds in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth (you should have a "butter"). Approximately 3 minutes.
  3. Add cocoa, sugar, oil, and vanilla. Process until all the ingredients are incorporated and the mixture is smooth and creamy.
3.5.3251

Related Posts:

Chai Spiced Frosting

Mocha Fudge Frosting

Dairy-Free “Butter Cream” Frosting

This recipe is shared with Made from Scratch Monday,  Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, and Allergy-Free Wednesday.

232 shares
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About Alea Milham

Alea Milham is the owner of Premeditated Leftovers and the author of Prep-Ahead Meals from Scatch. She shares her tips for saving money and time while reducing waste in her home. Her favorite hobby, gardening, is a frugal source of organic produce for her recipes. She believes it is possible to live fully and eat well while spending less.

Comments

  1. Erin says

    December 22, 2014 at 12:29 pm

    Does it stay spreadable after being refrigerated?

    Reply
  2. Laura says

    November 29, 2012 at 2:01 pm

    I just made this and it is so yum!! Being recently allergic to dairy, all nuts, gluten, (long list) . . . has left me feeling deprived of so many treats. Thank you for this awesome recipe that I can enjoy!!
    Now the question: refrigerate or not?

    Reply
    • Alea says

      November 29, 2012 at 3:00 pm

      I refrigerate it. It has less sugar and no other preservatives like store-bought nutella, so I don’t want to take a risk.

      Reply
  3. Peggy says

    September 11, 2012 at 6:08 pm

    This sounds good. I’ve been trying various concocations of this and have yet to find something that looks this creamy. Can’t wait to try it.

    Reply
  4. Elsa says

    August 31, 2012 at 4:53 pm

    Very good idea! I’ve considered making Nutella with hazelnuts, from scratch, but hazelnuts are so expensive. I like this idea better.

    Reply
  5. Beth says

    August 29, 2012 at 3:45 pm

    Great recipe. I never buy Nutella because of the ingredients although I will sometimes buy an off brand at Big Lots (discount store) that is from Europe with better ingredients. We will be trying your recipe soon!

    Reply
  6. Economies of Kale says

    August 29, 2012 at 5:24 am

    Yum, this looks awesome, I’ll have to give it a try 🙂

    Reply
  7. elisabeth@foodandthrift says

    August 28, 2012 at 1:07 pm

    I just saw JIFFY that they are now offering the chocolate hazelnut spread which is another less expensive alternative…although our supermarket does not have it yet, I will look into that soon!

    Your “nut free” Nutella sounds and must taste yummy, and looks so creamy and smooth, I happen to love sunflower seeds, so I wouldn’t mind trying this out:)

    Reply
  8. -h (@taste-buds) says

    August 28, 2012 at 12:14 pm

    I used to love nutella growing up. Don’t think I’ve had it in over 15 years though. I may have to try this out too (gf allergic to some nuts). Another great post.

    -h

    Reply
  9. Lauren @ Empowered Sustenane says

    August 28, 2012 at 4:58 am

    This is so clever! And it looks like a chocolate pool of heaven in a bowl 🙂

    Reply
  10. Laura @ Stealthy Mom says

    August 27, 2012 at 8:51 pm

    This isn’t frugal, but I’m looking at your recipe and thinking about almonds… Oh, yeah. Your version would work as a send-to-school treat, whoch is getting rarer and rarer these days.

    Reply
    • Alea says

      August 27, 2012 at 9:15 pm

      I think almonds sound awesome! When I find almonds on sale, I stock up. next time I have a supply, I am going to give it a try.

      Reply
  11. Swathi says

    August 27, 2012 at 7:43 pm

    Yes you are right, nutella is really costly. I like your home made version of it.

    Reply
  12. Cynthia says

    August 27, 2012 at 7:30 pm

    Wow this sounds good. We love Nutella but I too cringe at the price. Also wanted to mention I have ordered my coconut oil from Wilderness and was very pleased with it.

    Reply
    • Alea says

      August 28, 2012 at 11:37 am

      Thank you for sharing your opinion on Wilderness Naturals Coconut oil. I will definitely be giving them a try!

      Reply
  13. Mary Hudak-Colllins says

    August 27, 2012 at 4:25 pm

    This is wonderful! What a great alternative! My daughter was never able to eat the store brand due to the dairy, but we did our own trying different nuts, cocoa powder, vanilla extract, and powdered sugar. It was quite tasty. But, I’ll bet she would love this as well. She loves to put it on strawberries ☺ I would love it if you would share it in our recipe linky this week! I’ll spread it around ☺

    Reply
  14. Barb @ Frugal Local Kitchen says

    August 27, 2012 at 1:38 pm

    I’m curious to see if my nutella-loving daughter will love this. One of the kids in her Kindergarten class has a possible tree nut allergy.

    Wilderness Naturals has unflavored coconut oil, though the flavored coconut oil would go great with the cocoa powder.

    Reply
    • Alea says

      August 27, 2012 at 1:50 pm

      Thanks for telling me about Wilderness Naturals! I have found a few coconut oils that have a very mild flavor, but I have never found an unflavored coconut oil before. I am going to look for it because my husband doesn’t like coconut.

      Reply

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Welcome. I'm Alea!

On Premeditated Leftovers I share simple recipes made with whole foods, practical shopping tips, time saving techniques, and meal planning strategies. I also share tips for minimizing food waste, so more of the food that is purchased ends up on the table.

While volunteering as a budget counselor, I realized that food is the element of most people’s budgets where they have the greatest control. I set out to develop low-cost recipes from scratch to prove it’s possible to create delicious meals on a limited budget. Eating well while spending less is about more than just creating recipes using inexpensive ingredients; it’s about creatively combining ingredients so you don’t feel deprived and are inspired to stick to your budget.

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