Jump to Recipe Jump to Video Print Recipe

Easy chocolate spread with cocoa powder for a healthy homemade chocolate date spread inspired by Nutella, but vegan. Uses dates, hazelnuts & cocoa powder!

A jar of homemade chocolate spread with cocoa powder and dates, with hazelnuts scattered around.

Ingredients

Hazelnuts: The star ingredient that makes your nut butter tastes like Nutella.
Dates: Natural sweetness coming from whole food, creating that luscious chocolate date spread.
Cocoa powder: For that chocolatey goodness.
- By right, cocoa powder should be pure powder from cacao beans but just in case, opt for unsweetened cocoa powder.
Salt: To enhance the flavor.
Water: To help blend your homemade chocolate spread and get that creamy texture.

P.S. Speaking of brown hazelnuts, dates, and cocoa powder, why not check out my Ultimate List of 35 Brown Vegetables Names + Pictures? I’ve included fun facts, photos, and how to use them in cooking! 🤎

How to Make Chocolate Spread with Cocoa Powder

Soak – Roast – Peel – Blend. Four simple steps to make this dairy-free, vegan Nutella chocolate spread at home.

Prefer to watch instead? Jump to video here.

Soak: Soak the dates in hot water, with a lid on top of the bowl to trap in the steam and heat.

Roast: Roast the hazelnuts until the skin starts to crack. This will release some natural oil so it’s easier to blend the hazelnuts into that creamy hazelnut butter. Moreover, roasting also enhances the flavor so you get that rich hazelnut flavor.

Peel: Peel off the hazelnut skin as the skin is bitter and rancid. You will also get a smoother texture of your homemade nutella dates by doing this.

Unpeeled roasted hazelnuts on a light grey kitchen towel. — Unpeeled hazelnuts

Peeled roasted hazelnuts on a light grey kitchen towel. — Unpeeled hazelnuts

Blend: Blend the peeled hazelnuts in a food processor until it reaches the consistency of nut butter. The hazelnut butter should be runny such that it drips down from a spoon when you scoop it. Then add the remaining ingredients and blend again. And that’s it!

Hazelnuts in a food processor taken from above.

Crushed hazelnut in a food processor, taken from above.

And that’s all! This one is also perfect for homemade gifts!

Speaking of DIY gifts, check out my 5-Minute Chocolate Covered Peanuts (using Dark Chocolate) for a quick and easy edible gift that looks and tastes great!😋

Top Tips

Use a high-speed food processor.
- This is the secret to making any nut butter. Mine has 1200 Watt power. If you have a lower-speed one, it would take longer to blend but be patient — you’ll get there!
When soaking the dates with hot water, make sure you cover with a lid on top to trap in the heat. This is crucial to soften the dates so they can mix well with the chocolate spread.
To achieve that rich, creamy texture, make sure you add enough water, but add bit by bit.
- I found that 130 milli liters worked well but it still depends on how much water your dates absorb when being soaked.
- It also depends on the dates that you use.

Easy chocolate date spread with cocoa powder, with a spoon sticking out of the jar, taken from above.

Is chocolate powder the same as cocoa powder?

Cocoa powder is the more pure form of chocolate powder since chocolate powder often contains extra ingredients. So if you’re looking for healthier, sugar-free, or vegan options, definitely opt for cocoa powder in this recipe. Both cocoa powder and chocolate powder make things taste like chocolate. However, the chocolate flavor will be less intense with chocolate powder since it contains other ingredients on top of pure cocoa powder.

Also note that cocoa powder generally doesn’t go bad, but it loses its flavor over time. So this might be another reason why you don’t taste that chocolatey flavor.

What kind of dates should I use?

I used deglet nour dates, which tend to be drier. You can use other varieties (such as mazafati or medjool dates) but just make sure you adjust the water added.

And in case you’re interested in learning about the various types of dates, check out this article by the Khoshbin Group.

Serving Suggestions

First up, of course the classic combination of bread/toast with this chocolate spread with cocoa powder. This chocolate date paste spread is also great as a dip with fruits, making it similar to my Grapes Chocolate.

If you’re looking for ways to use up this jar of chocolate spread with cocoa powder, make my Nutella mousse, try my Nutella Mochi Daifuku Balls recipe for a quick 25-minute recipe to make your own mochi at home, or make this Nutella Banana Smoothie in just 5 minutes.

Or use it as a topping as a chocolate sauce, similar to this Chocolate Acai Bowl with Nutella recipe!

Storage Instructions

Store this homemade Nutella with cocoa powder in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 3 weeks. Longer is possible at your own discretion.

FAQ

The closest substitute would be almonds or sunflower seeds. And one nice thing is that you don’t have to peel off the almond skin so you would save a bit of time there.

Yes, although you might need more time to blend everything together since a blender is made to process liquid instead of solid food. If you have a bigger blender, use a powerful blender like a Vitamix or double up the recipe to ensure the hazelnuts will blend smoothly.

I have not tested this recipe with other sweeteners so I wouldn’t recommend doing so.

Yes. For example, in this easy chocolate spread recipe, I made a homemade hazelnut butter as the base of the recipe. However, you can substitute that with seed butter such as sunflower seed butter or even sesame seed butter (tahini). I’ve also seen other recipes using chickpeas to make a chocolate spread.

No, Nutella is not vegan as it contains milk products such as milk powder.

Two bread slices with homemade chocolate date spread on a plate, with a beige napkin and bread butter.

Looking for more breakfast and snack recipes?

If you like to spread some quark on top of your bread like a German, check out my 1-ingredient Vegan Quark recipe!

Or feeling like meal-prepping for the busy days ahead? Try making these frozen berries overnight oats, or the chia pudding cousin of Flax Seed Pudding (3 Delicious Variations)! Or maybe the more decadent versions such as this Oreo overnight oats or Biscoff overnight oats 😋

Want something more ‘cakey’? Try one of the 5 Variations of Baked Oats without Banana, or this Chocolate Chip Baked Oats recipe!