How to Make Hazelnut Butter

Making homemade hazelnut butter only requires one simple ingredient, roasted hazelnuts.  This nutty spread is delicious and a great alternative to traditional nut butter.  This rich and creamy spread can be enjoyed on toast, drizzled over oatmeal, or as a dip for fresh fruit. 

The recipe is for plain hazelnut butter, but add a pinch of salt or flavor it with ground cinnamon if you wish.  The hazelnuts will be roasted to enhance their flavor and remove the skins.  If you're a fan of homemade nut butter recipes, you'll love hazelnut butter with its unique flavor and natural sweetness!

Recipe features

• This easy recipe only needs one ingredient!
• Vegan and gluten-free!
• No added oil and no added sugar!

Tips

• Buy whole raw hazelnuts with the skins on.
• Remove loose skins and don’t worry about super stubborn ones that don’t come off.
• Since there is no liquid, only use a high-speed blender if you have a tamper stick to push the nuts back down to the bottom of the container to be pureed.  A standard blender or mini food processor may not be powerful enough.
• Hazelnut butter is runnier than some store-bought peanut or cashew butter.

How to make hazelnut butter

Roast: To make your own nut butter, start by preheating the oven to 350 F and spread out the hazelnuts on a rimmed baking sheet in a single layer.  Then roast the hazelnuts for 10-13 minutes, stirring halfway through.  I didn’t need to line my tray, but keep an eye on them for black spots and burning.  The nuts will become fragrant and the skins will start to pull away. 

Remove the skins: Once done, let them cool briefly (5-10 minutes), then remove the hazelnut skins by placing the nuts on a clean kitchen towel, and pulling up the four corners to make a pouch.  This helps to prevent runaway hazelnuts from getting out of the towel.  Place the pouch on the counter while holding the corners with one hand, then use your other hand to rub the hazelnuts inside the towel against the counter to create friction to remove the skins. 

Or you can take the skins off each individual hazelnut.  If there are any skins that just will not come off, don’t worry about them.  Just try to remove as many of the skins as you can for a smooth hazelnut puree.  Separate the hazelnuts from their loose skins.

Blend: Add the skinned hazelnuts to a food processor (or a high-powered blender only if you have a tamper stick) and blend. 

Stop occasionally to scrape down the sides to keep the nuts near the blades.  It takes me about 5 minutes with my food processor.  If yours takes longer you may need to give your blender or food processor a break every few minutes so the machine doesn’t overheat.  The time required will depend on the strength of your food processor. 

The nuts will go through stages of breaking down. 

It will start with looking crumbly. 

Then to chunky nut butter.  Next, it will turn into a smooth nut butter. 

It will take some time for the nuts to break down, don't be tempted to add any liquid.  Just give them time to break down and release their natural oils.

How to use hazelnut puree

This delicious homemade hazelnut butter recipe can be used in a variety of ways, but here are a few suggestions.

• Use it on pancakes or toast.
• Add it to smoothies or morning oatmeal.
• Spread it on muffins, try it on vegan raspberry muffins.
• Use it as a dip for fresh fruit.  Try it with sliced apples, strawberries, or bananas.
• Add to the top of banana ice cream.
• Use it instead of peanut butter for a nut butter and jam sandwich.
• Try it as a filling for crepes.
• The hazelnut butter came out runnier than some store-bought peanut and cashew butters, so I would be careful if substituting it in baked goods.

Flavors

Homemade hazelnut butter tastes amazing, leave it as is, or add additional flavors to it after the puree is done blending.

• The recipe is salt-free but feel free to puree salt into the butter.
• Sweeten with raw cane sugar, coconut sugar, or dates.  If you use a liquid sweetener like maple syrup then it may thin out the nut butter too much to be spreadable.
• Add cocoa powder and a sweetener for homemade Nutella.  If you use a dry sweetener you may need to add milk to thin out.  If you add milk, then store it in the refrigerator.
• Ground cinnamon, optional
• Vanilla extract

Storage

Store at room temperature in a cool, dry, dark place for about 2-4 weeks.  Store in the refrigerator for about 3 months in an airtight container.  Or store in the freezer in an airtight container for about 6 months.

Related recipes

• Vegan chocolate sauce

If you enjoy almond butter and cashew butter you'll enjoy the recipe for the best hazelnut butter!  If you like it please feel free to rate it and leave a comment.

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