How to Make Praline Paste

If you’ve ever tried my praline chocolates or praline chocolate spread before, then you already know how much I adore praliné. For those of you hearing that word for the first time, praliné is a paste made of caramelized almonds and hazelnuts.

To sum it up, it’s like nut butter but with a twist: the nuts are first tossed with caramel before being processed into butter, yielding deliciously sweet and toasty notes.

I have been perfecting my praliné for over a decade, making small adjustments along the way until I was completely happy with it. Today, I’m excited to share my recipe with you! It is based on traditional French recipes, so I can assure you that it’s as authentic as it gets!

⭐️ Why You Should Try It

Nut butter, enhanced.

Imagine your favorite nut butter infused with a wonderful caramel aroma and a touch of sweetness. That’s exactly what praliné is!

Once the nuts are roasted, they are generously coated in a golden brown caramel, creating a medley of toasty, nutty notes with an irresistibly addictive caramel flavor. Honestly, this is better than Nutella, and I weigh my words. It’s so good that I made a habit of drizzling my morning oatmeal with it!

A key ingredient in many desserts.

Praline paste is an essential ingredient in many French desserts. If you are baking regularly, you most likely came across it in recipes for tarts, éclairs, mousse, entremets, and more. My recipe has the advantage of tasting better and being more affordable than the store-bought options. Moreover, it allows you to adjust the sweetness to your liking.

Great for gifting!

Like any nut butter, this praline paste can be stored for months at room temperature, as it doesn’t contain any milk or perishable ingredients. This means that it makes a great edible gift. Transfer it to a glass jar, attach a lovely label, and gift it to friends and family!

📘 What Is Praliné?

Praliné is a sweet condiment that first appeared in France around the 1600s. It consists of nuts, commonly a combination of almonds and/or hazelnuts, coated in caramelized sugar and then ground into a smooth paste. The paste can then be used in the preparation of desserts, such as Paris-Brest, Mille-feuille, and chocolate bonbons, or simply used as a spread for crêpes or waffles.

Do not confuse “praliné” with “pralines,” as that is the name of whole caramelized nuts. In this recipe, I will teach you how to male Praliné, which refers to the paste.

🌰 Ingredient Notes

You will need only four ingredients to make this praline paste.

Almonds and hazelnuts

Raw almonds and raw hazelnuts make the base of this praliné. If you are wondering why you should start with raw nuts instead of already roasted ones, the answer lies in the ability to roast the nuts by yourself, giving you control over the toastiness level.

On top of that, it yields a much better, fresher flavor. I have tried using roasted nuts before, and it doesn’t compare with roasting them yourself.

Regarding hazelnuts: You can use blanched hazelnuts or those with their skin on. If you choose the latter, you will have to rub them in a clean towel after roasting to remove their skin. I’ll explain more about that below.

Regarding almonds: As for almonds, there’s no need to worry about the skin. Unlike hazelnuts, you can use almonds as they are, skin-on (or not)!

Note: Although I went with half hazelnuts and half almonds, feel free to use hazelnuts, almonds, or other nuts like pecans, cashews, or peanuts!

Sugar

Traditional praliné typically consists of 50% sugar and 50% nuts. I personally find it a bit too sweet for my liking, so I slightly lowered the amount of sugar. You can lower the sugar even more and use up to 70% nuts, but be aware that the lower the amount of sugar, the milder the caramel flavor.

Which sugar to pick: White sugar works best for this recipe. Coconut sugar or brown sugar would burn when making caramel.

Vanilla

After experimenting with different options, such as using vanilla sugar, vanilla extract, and whole vanilla beans, the clear standout is definitely fresh vanilla bean – it brings the flavor to another level, giving the praliné fresher and more floral notes.

Note: Yes, fresh vanilla beans are pricey, but trust me, they truly elevate the flavor significantly. If you don’t have access to vanilla beans, you can still add about 2 teaspoons of good-quality vanilla extract when processing the nuts.

🥣 How to Make It

Making praline consists of 3-steps: roasting the nuts, tossing them with caramel, and finally, processing them into a paste.

1. Roast the nuts

1. Roast the nuts. Spread the almonds and hazelnuts on a baking sheet. Tip: I recommend separating the almonds from the hazelnuts so it will be easier to remove the skin from the hazelnuts later. Roast the nuts for 17-18 minutes.

2. Remove the skins. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and transfer the hazelnuts to a clean kitchen towel. Rub with your hands to remove their skins. They should come out super easily!

Note: There is no need to remove the skin from the almonds, only the hazelnuts, as their skin is bitter.

3. Set aside. Next, discard the hazelnut skins and transfer both the hazelnuts and almonds to a bowl. Set aside.

2. Make the caramel

1. Prepare a baking sheet. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and very lightly oil it. Set aside.
2. Melt the sugar. Add the granulated sugar and water to a light-bottomed pan. Heat it over medium heat for about 5-6 minutes or until the sugar dissolves and the water starts to boil.
3. Caramelize it. Once there is no more water, the sugar will crystallize and become hard. This is normal. Keep heating over medium heat until the sugar melts again and starts to caramelize. This step might take another 2-3 minutes. Do not stir.

3. Caramelize the nuts

1. Add the nuts. As soon as the caramel has a golden brown color, immediately add the nuts and vanilla bean to the pot. Stir quickly using a wooden spatula to coat the nuts with the caramel. Heat for another 2 minutes, constantly stirring to coat the nuts evenly.
2. Transfer to the baking sheet. Carefully transfer the caramelized nuts to the prepared baking sheet and flatten them into a thinner layer using a wooden spatula. Allow the caramelized nuts to cool down for at least 30 minutes.

4. Process into a paste

1. Process. Once cool, transfer the caramelized nuts to a food processor or blender. Pulse a few times until you get smaller pieces. Continue to process until it turns into a paste, about 5-7 minutes, depending on your food processor. Your praline is now done!

Note: At first, the caramelized nuts will turn into a powder, but as you keep processing, it will turn into a smooth paste.

2. Transfer to a jar. Once the caramelized nuts have turned into a liquid praline paste, transfer it to a clean glass jar. Your praline paste is now ready to use!

🥜 Variations

• Use different nuts: Feel free to use pecans, peanuts, or even pistachios!
• Infuse it with spices: Add a generous pinch of cinnamon, pumpkin spice, or chai spice mix. This works particularly well if you are planning to use it for Fall desserts.
• Add coffee: Give it a twist by incorporating some espresso powder.

🧁 Where to Use It

Praline paste is extremely versatile, as it can be used in many desserts and sweets. Here are some ideas:

• French desserts: Use it to make Paris-Brest, Mille-feuille, or macarons.
• Tarts: Spread some praline in the bottom of your pear, banana, or chocolate tarts.
• Cakes: Add swirls of praliné into the batter of banana bread, chocolate cake, muffins, or pound cake.
• Cream filling: Mix it with vanilla pastry cream to make a delicious praline pastry cream. You can then use it to fill éclairs or cream puffs.
• Chocolate truffles: Replace half of the cream with praline paste to take your truffles to the next level!
• Cookies: Either mix it into the batter or simply swirl it into chocolate chip cookies. Both ways are equally delicious!
• Chocolate spread: Combine praline paste with melted chocolate for an amazing chocolate spread. I recommend using 1 part of melted chocolate for 3 parts of praline.
• Yule log: Combine it with chocolate cream and use it as a filling for the yule log!
• Oatmeal: Lastly, it makes a terrific topping for your morning oatmeal!