Food Allergy Awareness Week has been such a blast this year. During the live event with Sarah from Food Allergies on the Go, I commented that her kids (due to their combined allergies) probably hadn’t had a Nutella type of spread. Even the nut free versions of Nutella contain sunflower seeds 99% of the time, and one of her kids is allergic.
I decided right then that we were making a hazelnut, tree nut, and sunflower seed free version of Nutella. Spoiler alert: it turned out AMAZING!
You don’t need too many ingredients to make this delicious chocolate spread. If you’ve never heard of tiger nuts, know that they are NOT tree nuts. They’re poorly named tubers (root vegetables). This recipe will call for them.
A Little More About Tiger Nuts
Whilst the name is misleading, the flavour is very interesting. Tiger nuts offer a deep, earthy, almost nutty flavour. Don’t let this scare you away if you’re allergic to tree nuts. Tiger nuts, again, root vegetable, can be used in a lot of different ways.
You can use whole tiger nuts for various projects, but soak them first to soften. Whole tiger nuts can be purchased sliced as well, like a faux sliced almond. They can be processed into a flour, which I like to purchase. Sometimes, I make a coarse flour in the NutraMilk when I want to make this cookie crust recipe.
There’s also tiger nut butter (spread), and tiger nut oil. The oil is amazing for baking and even your skin. So, now that you know more about these wonderful tubers, let’s take a look at the recipe.
Allergy Status
Free From: Wheat/Gluten, Dairy, Egg, Soy, Tree Nut (including Coconut), Peanut, Fish, Shellfish, Sesame, Top 9 Allergens, Alliums, Apple, Avocado, Banana, Beans & Lentils, Berries, Buckwheat, Carrot, Celery, Cinnamon, Citrus, Cruciferous, Garlic, Latex Cross Reactive Foods (H/M), Legume, Lupin, Mushroom, Mustard, Nightshade, Oat, Onion, Pea & Pea Protein, Potato (Nightshade Variety), Poultry, Red Meat, Rice, Seeds, Squash & Gourd, Strawberry, Sweet Potato & Yam, Tapioca/Cassava/Yuca/Manioc, Tomato, Yeast
Friendly To: EOE, FPIES, Vegan
Compatible With: Corn Free, Stone Fruit Free
For Corn Free: Source truly safe ingredients. If you can’t purchase truly corn free caster sugar, blend regular sugar to make it more fine. Refer to the Corn Free Safe Product List for a starting point on ingredients.
For Stone Fruit Free: Swap the olive oil for a different oil that’s mellow in flavour.
Ingredients
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Pin Recipe Add to Your Recipe Lists/CollectionIngredients
- 150 g Organic Tiger Nut Flour (tuber, NOT a nut)
- 40 g Organic Cacao Powder
- 140 g Caster Sugar
- 85 mL Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil or Other Mild Oil of Choice
- 85 mL Milk of Choice
- 1 tsp Organic Vanilla Extract
Optional
- 1/4 tsp Organic Ground Vanilla
- Sea Salt or Finishing Salt
Ingredient Notes
Caster Sugar: This is a superfine version of cane sugar. I opted for caster sugar since it’s being put through a food processor and not baked. A large granulated sugar might make the spread feel a bit gritty.
Cacao Powder: This isn’t the same as coca. Cacao doesn’t have additives and hasn’t been highly processed.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil: You can replace this with a different mellow oil. Tiger nut oil would be my personal preference.
Milk of Choice: I used an unsweetened, plain dairy free milk. If your milk has “extras” in it, that could alter the final taste just a bit.
Optional Ground Vanilla: This will add more oomph to your spread. However, it’s a pricey ingredient that most people don’t have at home. You can totally skip it and still be happy.
Sea Salt or Finishing Salt: You’ll notice there’s no salt in the spread. You can add a generous pinch to your spread, or sprinkle some finishing salt on top when serving.
EASY Directions
Place your food processor bowl onto your kitchen scale. If you don’t have a scale, check out the Amazon Shop, and there are a couple to choose from.
Tare to 0. If your bowl is huge like mine, you might need to use a regular cereal bowl to weigh the ingredients. Add each ingredient to the food processor, and tare between each one.
When you get to the milk, you can start with 60mL (2 ounces) and see if you like the texture. I felt the spread was a touch too runny at first, but everyone sampling it loved it with 85mL (3 ounces). It does stiffen up some in the fridge as well, so keep that in mind.
Once you have all of the ingredients in your food processor, process until a smooth paste/spread forms. There will be tiny granules in your spread, like what’s in the photo. That’s the tiger nut flour.
Store covered. I opted to store in the fridge.
How to Use Your Nut Free Chocolate Spread
Use your spread anywhere you’d like a kick of chocolate. Here are some ideas:
- On Sandwiches
- With Bananas
- On Buttery Toast
- Pair with Pan Fried Buttery Bread (like a jazzed up French Toast)
- Dip Shortbread Cookies in it
- Use as a Cake Filling
- Cupcake & Cake Frosting Alternative
- Serve with Plain Yogurt
- With Strawberries
- In Lieu of Syrup on Pancakes and Waffles
Have fun making your spread! If this is your first faux Nutella moment, I hope it’s everything you’ve dreamed of.
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