Cashew Chocolate Spread – Vegan Nutella
Forget about Nutella – this is what chocolate spread should taste like! It’s healthy, delicious, 100% plant-based, and made of real ingredients. No refined sugar or forest-destroying palm oil in this recipe.
Before I reveal the ingredients of my cashew chocolate spread, let’s have a look at what Nutella is hiding in their jars. I don’t think you will ever opt for a store bought jar after reading this.
Touted as the healthy hazelnut spread, is Nutella a health food?
The answer is NO! If you are a Nutella lover you might have to rethink your sweet little habit after seeing the graphic below.
If we take a closer look at Nutella’s ingredients, we’ll quickly notice that this chocolate spread is nothing more than sugar and palm oil. Far from the nutritious hazelnut spread they often like to market.
With more than half of the jar being refined white sugar, you may want to cut back on eating it by the spoon. You might as well eat a few sugar cubes to curb your sweet tooth.
Furthermore, palm oil isn’t to best of ingredients either. Over the years, the demand for this cheap oil has grown dramatically. To feed this ever growing need tropical rain forest and peat lands in South-East Asia have to make room for palm oil plantations.
Many animal species are losing their natural habitat. But not only are they losing their habitat… while they burn down the jungle to make way for palm oil trees, thousands of animals are burned alive.
Cashew Chocolate Spread – A Vegan Nutella Alternative
Servings
1½ cup
Ready In:
20-30min
Calories:
88 (per 1 tbsp)
Good For:
Breakfast, Snack
Introduction
About this Recipe
By: Amy Goodrich
While Nutella is definitely not a health food, is it vegan? The answer is no. One of the ingredients is skim milk, making this family-favorite non-vegan.
If, however, you love your morning toast or pancakes smothered with the chocolaty and nutty flavor of Nutella, you can still get your fix while sticking to a healthy, wholefood, vegan diet.
Ingredients
- 2 cups raw cashew nuts
- 3 tbsp raw cacao powder
- 1½-2 tbsp extra virgin coconut oil
- ½-⅓ cup unsweetned nut milk (I used almond milk)
- ½-2 tbsps maple syrup (optional)
- Pinch of Himalayan pink salt
Nutrition
Cashew chocolate spread makes a nutrient-dense, flavorful addition to your banana toast, pancakes, power bliss balls, or ice creams.
Below you find the nutritional values per tablespoon of chocolate spread.
The nutrition information below is based on eating 2,000 calories a day. You may eat fewer or more calories a day depending on your age, gender, activity level, current weight, and whether you’re trying to lose or maintain your weight.
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 200C or 400F.
On a baking sheet, roast cashew nuts until browned. Allow to cool slightly.
Step 2
Add the cashew nuts to a blender and blend until you get the same consistency as peanut butter. Due to the heat of the roasting and the heat of blending the nuts will start to release their oils, slowly going from powder to lumps, to creamy cashew butter.
Depending on your blender this can take anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes. Scrape down sides often and let your blender cool down in between blending steps if necessary.
Step 3
When you have a smooth peanut butter-like consistency, add cacao powder, coconut oil, nut milk, salt, and maple syrup. I like the bitterness of raw cacao and dark chocolate so I didn’t add any maple syrup. If you, however, prefer it sweeter, add maply syrup as needed.
Blend until well incorporated.
Step 4
Add to a clean jar. While blending the chocolate spread will heat up a little. Make sure to let the spread cool down completely before storing your jar in the fridge.
Recipe notes
Originally, Nutella is made from hazelnuts. Where we live, however, hazelnuts are very hard to come by. Plus, if we can find them they come with a hefty price tag.
Cashews, on the other hand, are easy to find and cheap. This is why I use cashew nuts in my chocolate spread.
If hazelnuts are easy to find and affordable where you live, you can swap the cashews for hazelnuts or use a cashew-hazelnut mix. Or whichever other nuts you can get your hands on.
Easy, Printable Recipe Card
Cashew Chocolate Spread
This cashew chocolate spread is a nutritious dairy- and sugar-free alternative to Nutella. No need to feel bad when eating it straight out of the jar by the spoon.
Ingredients
- 2 cups raw cashew nuts
- 3 tbsp raw cacao powder
- 1½-2 tbsp extra virgin coconut oil
- ½-⅓ cup unsweetened nut milk (I used almond milk)
- ½-2 tbsps maple syrup (optional)
- Pinch of Himalayan pink salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200C (400F). Roast cashew nuts until browned. Allow to cool slightly.
- Add the cashew nuts to a blender and blend until you get the same consistency as peanut butter. Depending on your blender this can take anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes. Scrape down sides often and let your blender cool down in between blending steps if needed.
- When you have a smooth peanut butter-like consistency, add cacao powder, coconut oil, nut milk, salt, and maple syrup. I like the bitterness of raw cacao and dark chocolate so I didn't add any sweetener. However, if you don't like the bitterness, add maple syrup as needed.
- Blend until well incorporated. During the blending process, the spread will heat up a little, make sure it has cooled down completely before storing it in the fridge.
