Chef Via Melissa’s Guilt-Free Veganish Nutella
Some call it unfortunate, I call it a blessing! I became gluten and dairy intolerant about a decade ago and a year apart respective to each allergy. I was always creatively curious in the kitchen, but the onset of my new allergies forced me to push the culinary creative envelope that much further. As a chocolate lover and Italian-Amercan growing up on Nutella I wanted to be able to enjoy the same deliciousness of this chocolate-hazelnut treat with peace of mind with my allergies. After a few trials at different versions, my Guilt Free / Dairy Free Vegan-ish Nutella was born!
Editor’s Note: We asked Melissa if there was a nut version and she said you can try it with sunflower seeds to make a nut free version OR ripe avocados.
TOOLS
- Mason Jar
- Nutribullet or a high powered blender
- spoon
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- pastry scraper
- bowl or tartlets* for serving
RECIPE
INGREDIENTS
- 1/2 cup hazelnuts
- water
- 1/2 tsp Flavorganics alcohol free hazelnut flavoring
- 1/2 cup pure chocolate powder
- 2 tbl spoons of honey *use maple syrup to make vegan
- 1/2 cup coconut oil
- 1/2 cup vanilla coconut milk
DIRECTIONS
- add hazelnuts to a mason jar
- Fill the jar with water, cover and let sit 4-6 hours or overnight in the fridge
- Drain water from the jar and add the nuts to your blender
- Add all remaining ingredients to the blender
- Blend on high 15-30 seconds until nutella is smoothe
- Eat immediately or chill in the fridge to harden and save for later snacking
*BONUS – the pic is a staged version of my Nutella in mini graham tartlets that you can snag on amazon for a FUN holiday presentation of this snack. I loaded the tartlets with the Nutella, topped them with coconut flakes and a dried cranberry in the center. I let them chill down in the fridge to darden until it is time to serve them to my guests!
PS – please watch this video that matches the recipe
Chef Via Melissa Melissa
Melissa Eboli AKA Chef Via Melissa is a certified Culinary Nutrition Expert (CNE), Nutritional Chef and certified nutrition & wellness counselor (CNWC) based out of the NY-Metro Area. She is the author of “Let’s Dine IN: Healthy Recipes & Tips To Minimize Your Shopping Trips” (2020), and the owner of Via’s Kitchen, a personal chef and catering company that cooks from a global perspective, while also focusing on clean, allergen friendly food. Her services include event catering, dinner parties, cooking classes, live demos and recipe development. When she's not in the kitchen, she has been seen making guest appearances on Dr. Oz, in addition to being published in the likes of The New York Times, Forbes and Readers Digest to name a few. She has executed over 300 events and has been in the media over 100 times for her culinary and nutrition expertise. Her passion as a chef is to create healthy, sustainably conscious dishes with a modern twist using the cleanest of ingredients while focusing on nutrition, flavor and presentation with an emphasis on gluten and dairy free cuisine.
