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A delicious, ONE-ingredient, homemade hazelnut butter recipe with flavoured hazelnut butter options, & hazelnut butter uses!
The first thing that comes to mind when I think of a delicious homemade hazelnut butter recipe is a homemade, vegan Nutella spread. And, if that’s what you want too then – fear not! I already have a recipe for that! However, this recipe is for the slightly unappreciated, yet delicious plain hazelnut butter – which can be an excellent ingredient to add to raw treats, baked goods and more!
Plus, I’ve included a list of flavoured hazelnut butter options, and hazelnut butter uses below! Using just one ingredient- 100% hazelnuts, and around half an hour (half of that is baking time), this hazelnut butter recipe is quick and simple to make.
Just like with most homemade nut butter recipes, this hazelnut butter works out more cost-efficient than buying from the store, especially when purchasing your nuts in bulk. I’ve made this plain hazelnut butter using 100% hazelnuts, however, feel free to add a pinch of salt too, if preferred. As I do with all my homemade nut butter recipes, I’ll include some flavoured hazelnut butter options below as well as hazelnut butter recipes, to inspire!
I’ve also, as usual, kept this recipe 100% oil-free. It is possible to add a bit of oil to this recipe to help get its smooth texture quicker. I personally much prefer the few extra minutes it takes using a blender/food processor to know that this is just pure hazelnut butter.
With nut butter options popping up everywhere and in all kinds of flavour variations, I still feel like hazelnut butter is still unappreciated in comparison to your almond and cashew varieties.
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How to make homemade Hazelnut butter
To begin, roast the raw hazelnuts in the oven at 165ºC (fan assisted) for 15 minutes and then leave till cool-to-touch.
Now, we need to remove the hazelnut skins. While these skins are full of nutritional value, they aren’t brilliant for the texture of our homemade hazelnut butter. They gotta go (Don’t judge me when I say this but – I have been known so lightly salt the leftover skins and eat some anyway. Every step to reducing food waste, I say!). To remove the skins you can use a clean tea towel and rub/scrunch between your hands. The skins will fall off the roasted nuts reasonably easily. The friction of the nuts rubbing together will cause the skins to loosen.
The hazelnuts are now ready to be blended. Place them in a high-speed food processor or blender and blend till smooth. This is best done in intervals, so the nuts (and machine) don’t overheat. The longer they are blended, the runnier consistency the homemade hazelnut butter will be. I like to blend them for around 15 minutes, with breaks every 2-3 minutes.
Once the hazelnut butter is ready, transfer to a glass container and store in the fridge for 2-3 months. It can also be kept at room temperature for around a month.
Some Flavoured Hazelnut Butter combinations
Note – Any additional ingredients to homemade nut butter can affect the shelf life. If I want to flavour any, I will make sure only to flavour a small portion of it, so none goes to waste. For some flavoured hazelnut butter inspiration:
- We all know the first flavoured hazelnut butter option has got to be this homemade Vegan Nutella spread!
- For a simple, delicious twist, pop in some homemade Vanilla extract or Vanilla Powder.
- For a simple, sweet version add your favourite natural syrup of choice. By adding maple syrup and some sea salt, you can make a delicious hazelnut caramel sauce.
- Cinnamon spiced hazelnut butter is sure to delight!
- We know hazelnuts and chocolate are a perfect match, so what about adding coffee for a delicious ‘Mocha’ version
How To Use Hazelnut Butter
Just like with all nut butter recipes, this homemade hazelnut butter works well as a simple spread, in overnight oats recipes. It can also be used to drizzle over porridge, fruits, pancakes and ice-cream. There are even ways to use it for homemade popsicles and ice-cream recipes.
Hazelnut butter can also be used as an alternative for these homemade Vegan peanut butter cups as well as for homemade energy balls, protein bars and other raw treats.
It can also be the base to making delicious hazelnut frostings and creams (think kinder Bueno filling!). It will also work beautifully in various baked goods such as cookies, cakes, brownies etc.
As always, if you give this hazelnut nut butter recipe a go then let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Also, feel free to tag me in your recreations @AlphaFoodie.
Homemade Hazelnut Butter
Ingredients
- 3 cups hazelnuts raw
Instructions
- To begin, roast the hazelnuts in the oven at 165ºC (fan assisted) for 15 minutes. Leave them to cool till warm-to-the-touch.
- Remove the skin from the hazelnuts. To remove the skins you can either simply scrunch them in your hands or bunch them up within a clean towel and rub between your hands. The skins will fall off the roasted nuts fairly easily, this way as the friction of the nuts rubbing together will cause the skins to loosen.
- Blend them in a high-speed processor/blender. It's best to do so at intervals so the nuts (and machine) don't overheat. The longer you blend the runnier the nut butter consistency will be. For a smooth runny hazelnut butter, blend for about 15 minutes with breaks every 2-3 minutes.
- Once the hazelnut butter is ready, simply transfer it to an airtight glass container and keep this in the fridge for 2-3 months or at room temperature for around a month.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
OK, brace yourselves! I use hazelnut butter made this way like I would duck fat or butter for roast potatoes! It gives a wonderful flavour bump, but enables me to have a vegetarian version of this dish (which is very popular in my family!). I also sprinkle some crushed roasted hazelnuts on top.
I was inspired to do this by a small but mighty restaurant called Bianca here in Auckland, New Zealand. They add a whipped feta as a topping, but I skip this step.
I also plan to try hazelnut butter in some other savoury dishes, displacing butter or other animal fats.
Hey Albert! That sounds delicious! I love the idea of using hazelnut butter for a vegetarian twist. It’s great that you’re experimenting with it in other dishes too. Let me know how it goes! ️