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Home » Recipes » Nut Butters

Smooth Vanilla Chocolate Spread

By: Thomas Published: 19 Sep, 19 Updated: 17 Sep, 22 12 Comments

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4.67 from 3 votes
Smooth Vanilla Chocolate Spread

Smooth Vanilla Chocolate Spread

Looking for an alternative on sugary store-bought chocolate spreads?

This recipe is exactly what you need! A rich and creamy, naturally sweetened chocolate spread with hints of vanilla!

The goal here was to get a chocolate spread that is 1) Very smooth: while it's not as smooth as Nutella, it's pretty close 2) Healthy(ish) meaning no white sugar 3) Spreadable but not runny and 4) Room temperature stable, that would keep for a long time at room temperature, so no milk or water.

Smooth Vanilla Chocolate Spread

Since I wanted this chocolate butter to taste more like a decadent spread than a basic nut butter, I had to add some sugar. The thing is, adding any liquid sweetener like maple syrup or agave makes the nut butter thicken and gives it a grainy texture. So instead, I went with coconut sugar.

The secret is to blend the coconut sugar until it looks like powdered sugar. This way you almost cannot feel it.

Smooth Vanilla Chocolate Spread

When it comes to the cashews, I only roast them until slightly golden brown so they don't get a strong cashew flavor.

Next, cashews are blended with the powdered coconut sugar and cacao powder into smooth nut butter. For extra richness, we have some cocoa butter (or coconut oil), that also helps the spread thicken a bit. Vanilla extract for flavor, and a good pinch of salt because chocolate without salt is a no-no.

A quick tip: I recommend blending the cashews first into a nut butter before adding the remaining ingredients. I found this is the most effective method.

Smooth Vanilla Chocolate Spread

This spread is perfectly sweet, chocolatey, and keeps at room temperature for weeks!

Smooth Vanilla Chocolate Spread

If you are looking for an alternative on commercial chocolate spreads, look no further! This spread will please everyone, from kids to your grandma, everyone loves it!

For more nut butter recipes, check out this Candied Pecans Salted Tahini Butter, Best Almond Butter, or this Maple Praline Butter!

Let me know in the comments if you try this recipe!

Smooth Vanilla Chocolate Spread

Smooth Vanilla Chocolate Spread

Smooth Vanilla Chocolate Spread

Author: Thomas
Chocolatey, rich, and smooth vanilla cashew butter that is perfect on top of oatmeal, waffles, or spread on bread. Plus it's refined sugar-free and healthy-ish!
4.67 from 3 votes
Print Pin Review
Prep Time : 25 mins
Cook Time : 15 mins
Total Time : 40 mins
Servings 1.75 cup
Calories 116 kcal

Ingredients
 
 

  • 3 cups raw cashews
  • ¾ cup coconut sugar
  • ¼ cup cocoa powder*
  • 3 tablespoon melted cocoa butter or coconut oil
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
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Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 325°F (165°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread the cashews evenly on the baking sheet and roast for 11-14 minutes, or until slightly golden. You don't want to roast the cashews too much otherwise your chocolate butter will have a strong cashew flavor. Remove from the oven and let cool a few minutes.
  • In the meantime, add the coconut sugar and cocoa powder to the bowl of a high-speed blender. Blend for 2-3 minutes, or until the coconut sugar looks like powdered sugar. Transfer the powdered sugar to a bowl and set aside.
  • Add the roasted cashews to the blender and blend on high-speed until it turns into butter. Add the powdered coconut sugar, melted cocoa butter, vanilla extract, and salt. Blend for another 3-5 minutes, or until very smooth. The longer you blend the smoother.
  • Transfer to a clean glass jar and keep at room temperature. Use to top oatmeal, waffles, crepes, or bread! The vanilla chocolate butter will keep for up to 1 month.

Notes

  • My favorite way to make this chocolate butter is to use 3 tablespoon of raw cocoa powder and 1 tablespoon of normal cocoa powder.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 tablespoon | Calories: 116 kcal | Carbohydrates: 9.8 g | Protein: 2.4 g | Fat: 8.4 g | Fiber: 0.7 g | Sugar: 5.3 g
Course : Condiment, Snack
Cuisine : American
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? Tag @fullofplants on Instagram and hashtag it #fullofplants

Smooth Vanilla Chocolate Spread

 

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Flo

    September 21, 2019 at 7:45 am

    Absolutely amazing!! I just made this, and it took less than 10 minutes. The kids (and me!) LOVE it - you are awesome :o) Thank you Thomas!

    Reply
    • Thomas

      September 24, 2019 at 12:48 pm

      Awesome! So glad you and your kids love it 🙂
      Thanks for your feedback Flo!

      Reply
  2. Krol

    January 28, 2020 at 3:46 pm

    Looks fantastic! Do you have any recipes or thoughts on vegan white chocolate spread? Would love to find a good recipe that uses actual cocoa butter...

    Reply
    • Thomas

      February 01, 2020 at 7:57 am

      Thanks Krol! I don't have any recipe for white chocolate spread yet!

      Reply
  3. Twinkle

    June 20, 2020 at 9:24 pm

    I love chocolate. To over eat it now my weight is 80 kg. Still, I'm a chocolate lover.

    Reply
  4. Twinkle

    June 20, 2020 at 9:26 pm

    5 stars
    Wow, yummy recipe. I love chocolate. To over eat it now my weight is 80 kg. Still, I'm a chocolate lover.

    Reply
  5. Dave

    September 16, 2020 at 11:29 pm

    4 stars
    Mixing with nut butter (of your choice) is a great idea - cacao in water or nut milk tends to be kind of "grainy".

    Mixing with highly processed high-carb sugar ... well that's a really bad idea, kind of loses/offsets all of the health benefits of cacao powder. Mixing with stevia or monk-fruit sweetener would be a much better (healthier) choice ... in my opinion.

    Reply
    • Thomas

      September 20, 2020 at 3:42 pm

      Feel free to mix with your favorite sweetener. Personally I like the flavor or coconut sugar and I would not call it highly-processed.

      Reply
  6. Jenny

    October 23, 2020 at 11:14 am

    5 stars
    Thank you so much! I've been searching for exactly this for a long time now

    Reply
    • Thomas

      October 28, 2020 at 1:07 pm

      You're welcome Jenny!

      Reply
  7. Geeta

    February 04, 2021 at 2:47 am

    Can this be refrigerated too? Will it keep for ovet a month if refrigerated?
    Thanks.

    Reply
    • Thomas

      February 04, 2021 at 8:01 pm

      Since this spread doesn't contain any milk or water, you should even be able to keep it for more than one month at room temperature.

      Reply

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Hi, I'm Thomas, welcome to my blog! Here you will find simple, healthy and tasty plant-based recipes. Experimenting in the kitchen is my passion.

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