Is Nutella Keto Friendly?

You can enjoy your chocolate spread on a slice of bread even when on a keto diet! Is Nutella the answer? No, but you have alternatives!

Diet culture has taken the world by storm. You will find at least one other individual around you following some diet or another. Of course, their diets do vary, but one thing ties all of these individuals together, or I’d like to assume it does so. What is this one thing you ask? Well, cheat days. We all have cheat days, and we love to indulge ourselves. It’s almost like a reward. However, getting out of your cheat day might be a struggle, and trying to include “cheat day” foods in your diet is most definitely a stretch.

For the sake of this article, let’s say this “cheat food” is Nutella, and the diet that is being followed is the keto diet. So, is Nutella keto-friendly? Can we include that in our keto diet? Unfortunately, the answer to that is no. Nutella is not keto-friendly. Nutella is packed with sugar and brings about 21 grams of net carbs per serving. Eating even just a small amount of Nutella when on the keto diet can result in your body coming out of ketosis, and that will affect your overall progress.

Requirements of a Keto Diet

The ketogenic diet, also known as the keto diet, is one of the most popular weight-loss diets. The main requirements of a keto diet are healthy fats, adequate amounts of protein, and limited amounts of carbohydrates. The idea is to gain more calories from fats than carbs. Therefore, when on a keto diet, you will be consuming large amounts of proteins and fats while still avoiding carbs. While on a keto diet, the body is depleted of its sugar reserve, and as a result, it starts breaking down fat to produce energy.

A ketogenic diet boosts your metabolism, reduces your appetite, and helps in weight loss. It also helps in insulin resistance and metabolic health. In a research conducted, the keto diet showed positive results with regard to weight loss and a significant decrease in the body mass and cholesterol levels of the individual [1].

Nutella, its Ingredients and Nutritional Facts

Who hasn’t heard about Nutella? At this point, it’s almost like it’s taken over the world. Not just kids like it, but adults too! This chocolate spread that tastes like heaven itself has become a staple in every household. Like every other staple, it is important to know what ingredients are used to make this and what nutrients you ingest.

Nutella is a spread used across the world, and therefore also has slight variations in its ingredients. In India, it is made using sugar, palm oil, hazelnuts (13%), skim cow milk powder (8.7%), low-fat cocoa powder (7.4%), emulsifier (lecithin – INS 322), and added flavor (vanillin, a nature-identical flavoring substance). In the United States, it is made using sugar, palm oil, hazelnuts, skim milk, cocoa, reduced minerals whey (milk), emulsifiers: lecithins (soya), and vanilla (an artificial flavoring).

You might notice that there isn’t much of a difference between the preparation methods of the two countries. You will also notice that sugar, palm oil, cocoa solids, milk powder, and hazelnuts are the main ingredients and do not vary; they are ingredients used by all the countries that make Nutella.

That was about the ingredients in Nutella, coming to nutrition, Nutella contains 58% of processed sugar and 10.4% of saturated fat by weight. Two tablespoons of Nutella is said to have 200 calories, including 99 calories from 11g of fat, out of which 3.5g is saturated, and 80 calories from 21g of sugar. One serving of Nutella is also said to contain 15 mg of sodium and 2g of protein.

Nutrition Per 100g of Nutella [2]

Energy	541 kcl
Protein	5.41 g
Total Fats	32.43 g
Carbohydrates	62.16 g
Fiber	2.7 g
Sugars	56.76 g
Calcium	108 mg
Iron	1.95 mg
Sodium	41 mg
Saturated Fats	10.81 g
Cholesterol	14 mg

Looking at these numbers, one wouldn’t hesitate to say that Nutella isn’t the most nutritious food or spread available. It is loaded with sugar and excessive calories. Although it is high in calories and can be beneficial for bodybuilders who are bulking, the amount of sugar present is a huge factor that makes eating Nutella in large quantities a bad choice.

Why Nutella isn’t Keto Friendly

A keto diet relies on foods high in fats and proteins but low in carbohydrates. This helps trigger ketosis in your body. Ketosis is a process that takes place when your body doesn’t have enough carbohydrates to burn for energy, so instead, it uses the fats present to produce ketones, a substance that is used as fuel. This usually helps with weight loss [3].

Nutella is a sweetened chocolate hazelnut spread made almost entirely of sugar. This makes it rich in carbohydrates, and since a keto diet avoids foods rich in carbohydrates, Nutella is immediately highlighted as one of the food items that need to be avoided when on a keto diet.

The amount of sugar present in Nutella is enough to bust you out of ketosis with just 2 tablespoons. If just 2 spoons of Nutella can result in you losing all the progress you’ve made (internally), then you can only imagine the result of your diet if you include this into your daily keto diet.

Alternatives to Nutella

Almost everyone has a sweet tooth, even those on a keto diet! If you’re on a keto diet, you might crave a chocolate sandwich, or maybe just Nutella. Perhaps you can’t have Nutella; however, there are other alternatives. Sugar-free chocolate spreads are your best bet.

Sugar-free chocolate spreads claim to have little to no carbohydrates. This can help keep your keto diet on track while also satisfying your chocolate cravings. However, most products that claim to be sugar-free will, in fact, have loads of sugar present in them in ways we are not aware of; therefore, making your own keto-friendly Nutella at home might be your way to go for a healthy diet.

Keto-Friendly Nutella Recipe

Most keto-friendly recipes are similar and consist of the same base ingredients. You’ll find a variety available on the internet, and you might find it hard to decide which one to follow, so we took the liberty to choose one of the simplest one’s available and put it down here.

This recipe requires 5 ingredients only and a total cooking time of 20 minutes! This recipe is not just easy but is quick as well. It is not only keto-friendly but is also low carb, paleo diet-friendly, sugar-free, and gluten-free.

Ingredients

2 cups Hazelnuts (raw if available)

⅔ cup Erythritol or Stevia (types of sweeteners)
¼ cup Cocoa Powder (unsweetened)
1-2 tbsp Avocado Oil (or any mild oil of choice)

1 tsp Vanilla extract

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 177 ℃ or 400 ℉, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Arrange the hazelnuts on the baking sheet and roast them for around 8-10 minutes until they are brown and fragrant.

Remove the skin of the hazelnuts by either rubbing them between your palms or a folded towel. You could also place them in a large container and shake them until your hazelnuts are skinless.
Place these nuts in a blender, and process them for 1-3 minutes. Scrape the sides as and when required and process it until the nuts start to release oils to form a smooth nut butter.
Add your sweetener of choice, cocoa powder, avocado oil, and vanilla extract. Blend until it forms a smooth glossy spread.

If the spread is thicker than you desired, add a little more avocado oil and process again. Remember to add the oil only 1 teaspoon at a time.

This spread can be stored at room temperature in an airtight jar for over a month. Like any other nut butter, this might also harden over time. This is because the natural oils start to separate. If this happens, do not discard the spread; add a few more teaspoons of your desired oil and blend again. Sometimes, you might also notice that the oil has surfaced. Do not pour out the oil, but instead blend it again until it is all combined.

Nutrition facts of the keto-friendly butter mentioned above.

Serving size – 1 tbsp

Per serving

Calories	67
Fat	6g
Protein	2g
Total Carbs	2g
Net Carbs	1g
Fiber	1g
Sugar	0.5g

Note – Honey can not be used as a sweetener for this recipe since it is also rich in carbs. The nutrition in honey might be beneficial, but the carbs present will affect your keto diet.

FAQs

How many net carbs are in Nutella?

Nutella has a total net carb of 22g. This is mainly owing to the amount of sugar found in Nutella. Around 2 tbsps of Nutella alone has 21g of sugar. The amount of carbs present in Nutella is one of the biggest reasons to avoid it when on a keto diet.

Is chocolate allowed in keto?

Yes, chocolate is allowed in keto. However, only dark chocolate can be consumed, and remember to do so in moderation. Milk chocolate and any other type of chocolate might consist of large amounts of sugar, and this can ruin your keto diet and bust your body out of the state of ketosis.

Is Nutella healthy for a diet?

Although Nutella isn’t ideally consumed when on a diet, it doesn’t harm to consume it now and then in moderation. If you’re on a keto diet, avoid Nutella altogether. If you’re following any other diet, check with your nutritionist before consuming any to ensure that it doesn’t affect your diet. However, we believe that everything in moderation is the key to healthy living.

Wrapping up

The Keto diet is one of the highly recommended diets for weight loss. Although it might seem ideal, there are certain food items that you will have to drop from your diet to ensure ketosis is taking place at all times. Nutella happens to be one of them

Nutella is loaded with sugar and is therefore high in carbohydrates, and since a keto diet requires a low-carb diet, Nutella shouldn’t be consumed at all.

Are there other foods you might have to avoid when on a diet?

Find out by checking out