We get it, no one can resist a good smear of Nutella. We’ve even gone so as far as to recommend that you use Nutella to give your grilled cheese a dessert twist. However, it turns out that there’s more to your favorite spread than just chocolate and hazelnuts: Sadly, Nutella contains more sugar than protein. If you’re looking for a more nutritious alternative, nut butters of all kinds — peanut, almond, cashew, and beyond — may be a better option. Moreover, if you learn how to pair nut butter properly, you can create a breakfast spread that will not only satisfy your sweet tooth just as well as Nutella, but one that will actually give you some real nutrition at the same time, too.
The issue with Nutella is that the average two tablespoon-serving contains a whopping 21 grams of sugar, which is the equivalent of five teaspoons. Ouch. And it only contains two grams of protein. Natural almond butter, by comparison, contains seven grams of protein per serving and no sugar. These numbers speak for themselves.
Granted, you may not be that bothered about the protein content because you get your daily intake from other sources. However, nut butters, especially 100% natural nut butters made with just nuts and no added sugar or oils, also contain other essential nutrients your body requires — nutrients that Nutella doesn’t have. Take peanut butter, for example, which contains high amounts of vitamin E and B3 as well as manganese and copper. And almond butter contains calcium and iron, while cashew butter is a good source of magnesium. Moreover, all of them are chock full of heart-healthy fats, too.
How to swap nut butter for Nutella in your favorite treats
The flavor of Nutella can be hard to resist, but nut butters can replace it in nearly everything you enjoy the chocolate spread with — and it’s surprisingly easy to make homemade nut butter yourself, too. Or if you’d rather buy it in store, just make sure you’re getting a jar that contains 100% of the nut you like, nothing else.
Swapping nut butters with Nutella is even easier. If you’re a Nutella-in-the-morning kind of person, swap in almond butter on your toast, and top it with fruit like sliced banana or berries plus a little drizzle of maple syrup for a boost of natural sweetness that mimics the saccharine notes of Nutella. Or, swap the chocolate spread for peanut butter (extra points for sprinkling some cinnamon and a dollop of Greek yoghurt on top). However, not all swaps will work perfectly. While Nutella melts really easily, you may need to warm up nut butter or thin it out with a bit of melted coconut oil to drizzle over your basic buttermilk pancakes.
If you have children who are resisting the switch, try a slow approach where you mix half Nutella with half nut butter, slowly reducing the Nutella over days or weeks until their tastebuds have adjusted to a less sugary substitution. Or, if you’re missing the chocolate flavor of Nutella, mix some cocoa powder and vanilla extract into a jar of natural peanut or hazelnut butter with a little honey or maple syrup instead. The nut butter benefits will quickly add up, spoonful by delicious spoonful.
