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A close up image of a jar of homemade hazelnut butter on a blue cloth napkin surrounded by hazelnuts with a knife leaning against the jar and pieces of toast covered with hazelnut butter and fruit in the background
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5 from 1 vote

Homemade Hazelnut Butter

The simple nut-butter spread uses just one ingredient. Perfectly creamy and delicious on it's own, this recipe is ideal and open to customizations!
Prep Time20 minutes
Total Time20 minutes
Course: Breakfast, Dessert, Sauce
Cuisine: American
Servings: 16
Calories: 94kcal
Author: Kitrusy

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 2 cups hazelnuts (raw or pre-roasted)

Optional add-ins to boost the flavor: pinch of Himalayan salt, and/or 1 tbsp honey (or sweetener of choice), and/or ¼ tsp cinnamon, and/or pinch of ground nutmeg.

Instructions

  • If using raw hazelnuts: Preheat your oven to 375°F. Spread your hazelnuts in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake (in the preheated oven) for 10-12 minutes.
    If using pre-roasted hazelnuts: Lightly toast them until they are just browned and you can almost hear them sizzling. Then, proceed to step 4.
  • Once the hazelnuts are roasted and their skins have darkened and are beginning to loosen (or when you can see that the exposed whites of some of the nuts have browned slightly), remove the tray from the oven and allow the nuts to cool for a few minutes.
  • Once they are cooled enough to be handled, place them into the center of a tea towel and bunch up the four corners so that the nuts sit securely in a pouch. With your free hand, grasp the pouch and rub the nuts against each other so that their skins come away from the nuts. Once the majority of the skins are separated, remove the nuts and discard the skins.
  • Place your nuts into a food processor and begin to break them down. They will go from being roughly chopped to finely chopped to powdery. Once they reach the powdery stage you will need to stop the processor and scrape down the edges.
  • Continue to blend and process your nuts, stopping to scrape down the sides every so often. This process can take anywhere from 4-15 minutes. You want to keep blending until your nut-butter develops an oily shine on the surface when it rests for 10 seconds.
  • Pour your hazelnut-butter into a jar or container and cover to create an airtight seal. Store at room temperature for up to 2 weeks or in the refrigerator for up to 4 months.
  • You can use your nut-butter as is or you can add honey or any sweetener of choice, and even spices such as nutmeg and/or cinnamon while blending to amp up the flavor. Or, you can use this recipe to create your own Homemade Nutella!

Notes

  • Do not soak your nuts. If you do they will not blend into a nut-butter!
  • The skins impart a bitter taste to your nut-butter but it is not absolutely essential to remove them if you don't mind the bitterness. 
  • If using raw nuts, you can add a pinch of salt once you place the nuts into the food processor. If you're using pre-roasted nuts and they are pre-salted then that works as well. The salt is not essential but it does help to bring out the flavor of your nut-butter.
  • The processing can vary in the length of time depending on the freshness of the nuts, the power of your processor and even the heat of the nuts (warmer-hot nuts release their oils faster and thus break down and process quicker).
  • While you can use it right away, the flavor really develops when you allow it to rest overnight.
  • This recipe makes approximately 1 cup of nut-butter.

Nutrition

Calories: 94kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Potassium: 102mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 17mg | Iron: 1mg