- Anna B. Shannahan, MD
FODMAP-Friendly, Vegan Nutella
It seems like all the friends & family I’ve talked to (on the phone, Zoom, from 6 feet away across the street, etc.) recently have all been craving comfort food, & I’m in the same boat!
Dark chocolate is one of my faaavorite comfort foods (& foods in general, to be honest). & like so many others, I absolutely love the combination of chocolate & hazelnuts, especially in the form of Nutella.
But when I look at a Nutella nutrition label, I’m not a big fan of the fact that the 1st 2 ingredients are sugar & palm oil, which means there’s more sugar & oil in the product than either chocolate or hazelnuts! 😔
I still enjoy Nutella once in a while, but I don’t keep it in the house (I know the limits of my willpower. 😂) & now I’ve made this homemade version that I love even more than the original!

Things I love about this recipe (besides the taste):
You control the sweetener content. If you are OK with it being less sweet, make it even healthier by decreasing the maple syrup amount.
For anyone with IBS or gut issues: maple syrup is FODMAP-diet friendly! Hooray!
Dark chocolate unsweetened cocoa powder can be a great source of antioxidants
Use your non-dairy milk of choice to make it vegan
Doctor-Approved, FODMAP-Friendly, Vegan Homemade Nutella
(Recipe from the amazing Chocolate Covered Katie, with a few slight changes)
2 cups organic raw hazelnuts
2 tbsp pure vanilla extract
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ cup pure maple syrup
½ milk of choice
Roast hazelnuts for 8-10 minutes at 400 F. Rub them together in a paper towel or against the cookie sheet to get the skins off as much as possible (even if half the skins still stay on it will be OK). In a food processor, blend the nuts until they’ve turned to butter, then add all other ingredients and blend a long time until it’s smooth like Nutella!
P.S. If you let it sit in the refrigerator the consistency will thicken.

Healthy serving ideas I’ve tried & loved:
As a dip for strawberries (or your fruit or berry of choice)
A topping for guilt-free banana “nice cream” (freeze peeled bananas & blend till you get a creamy texture)
As a topping on Ezekiel bread to add fiber into your diet – the increased fiber intake helps slow down the absorption of glucose into your system.
A spoonful by itself 😋

Because we all have enough to worry about, you deserve a guilt-free way to eat a favorite treat! Enjoy!