20 Decadent Recipes That Feature Nutella

There's absolutely nothing wrong with enjoying a spoonful of Nutella straight from the jar, but this beloved chocolate hazelnut spread also makes for a rather dreamy addition to a wide range of sweet recipes. Thick, luscious, and endlessly versatile, it's super easy to incorporate into homemade desserts, where it brings its signature nutty, cocoa-rich flavor and dials up the indulgence.

As well as enhancing cakes, cookies, and brownies, Nutella also serves as a delicious tool for stuffing pastries, sandwiches, and fruit. You can even blend the spread into drinks for a rich, dessert-like finish, or swirl it into buttercream frosting to add an extra layer of creamy decadence. 

Whether you're craving a quick, no-bake treat or whipping up an elaborate show-stopper, Nutella can help. These delightfully chocolatey recipes showcase just how irresistible the spread can be, so if you've got a jarful in your pantry, prepare to be tempted by this mouth-watering lineup. 

Start your day off right with this wonderfully indulgent, Nutella-loaded French toast. Perfect for weekend brunching, this pillowy-crisp treat can be made in under ten minutes. The Nutella is simply slathered between slices of white bread, with the sandwiches dunked in a vanilla-egg-milk mixture, and pan-fried until golden all over. This leaves the Nutella gloriously melty and oozing out with every bite. Try serving the French toast with a dusting of powdered sugar on top and some fresh berries on the side.

Recipe: Nutella French Toast

Amazingly, you only need two other ingredients to transform Nutella into a batch of perfectly chewy, chocolatey cookies. By mixing the spread with an egg and some all-purpose flour, you can create a smooth cookie dough that's ready for shaping and baking. And, the whole process will take no more than 20 minutes. The resulting cookies are packed with rich, hazelnutty flavor, and they're amazing enjoyed with a cup of tea or coffee for a sweet afternoon pick-me-up.

Recipe: 3-Ingredient Nutella Cookies

Nutella and banana are a pretty spectacular combination, and here we incorporate them into a batch of chewy, cookie-like bars that are sure to please a crowd. The banana gets mashed up and incorporated into the batter, and the Nutella is dolloped and swirled on top once everything is in the baking pan. Oven-baked until crisp on top and just a little gooey in the middle, they'll emerge golden, fragrant, and loaded with ribbons of sweet, nutty goodness.

Recipe: Shareable Banana Nutella Bars

These elegant sandwich cookies certainly have a bakery-worthy look, but crafting a batch is far easier than you'd think. Made with basic pantry staples (and a generous dollop of Nutella of course), the crisp hazelnut rounds are enhanced with a hint of espresso powder and sandwiched together with the chocolate spread for a rich, ultra-nutty finish. To really maximize that cocoa and nut flavor, each cookie is dunked in more melted chocolate and sprinkled with extra chopped hazelnuts.

Recipe: Toasted Hazelnut Nutella Sandwich Cookies

Nutella fits seamlessly into a creamy drink, especially when paired with other sweet, boozy mix-ins. In this indulgent creation, the milk and ice cream base is spiked with vodka, coffee liqueur, and Irish cream liqueur, which complement the nutty richness of the chocolate spread beautifully. Blitzed up in a blender until milkshake-like, and served in a Nutella-drizzled sundae glass, the cocktail looks oh-so tempting topped with a swirl of whipped cream and a crunchy Pirouette cookie.

Recipe: Frozen Nutella Mudslide Cocktail

Cheese probably isn't the first Nutella pairing that comes to mind, but hear us out, because this unlikely combination might just be the game-changer you've been looking for. In this decadent sweet and savory mashup, we combine mild and melty stracchino cheese with the spread between crisp slices of bread, turning a basic grilled cheese into something wonderfully unique. The recipe is adapted from a concept by New York restaurant owner Joe Carroll, and it's equally great enjoyed for breakfast, lunch, or dessert.

Recipe: Nutella-Stracchino Grilled Sandwich

Muddy buddies are an all-American festive favorite with endless options for customization, and Nutella fits right into this irresistibly crunchy treat. This version takes the classic Chex cereal base, and slathers it with a mixture of melted chocolate, vanilla, and the trusty spread, before a dusting of powdered sugar injects even more sweetness. Toasted hazelnuts and chocolate-covered pretzels join the party too, continuing the crunchy theme all while boosting the visual appeal.

Recipe: Festive Holiday Muddy Buddies

With a crumbly hazelnut streusel topping and tender sponge cake layer beneath, this easy coffee cake features swirls of Nutella throughout. Incorporating yogurt and almond flour into the batter keeps the crumb super moist, and every bite offers the perfect balance of buttery crunch, fluffy cake, and pockets of chocolate-hazelnut richness. Try serving up a freshly-baked slice with a steaming mug of chai, a creamy hot chocolate, or perhaps a hazelnut-infused latte.

Recipe: Crumbly Hazelnut Coffee Cake

This show-stopping cookie cake makes a fun alternative to a classic layered cake, and it certainly delivers on indulgence. The giant, chewy cookie layers are loaded with a tempting array of treats, including toffee bits, chocolate chips, and M&Ms. And, there is a selection of sweet fillings stuffed between them, too. This is where the gooey Nutella comes into play, pairing brilliantly with the fluffy marshmallow creme, and sweet, sticky caramel. It really doesn't get much more decadent than this!

Recipe: Over-The-Top Cookie Cake

Give a batch of plain popcorn a nutty, chocolatey makeover by tossing it with a sweet Nutella caramel. This recipe is an adaptation of one by Kurt Applegate — executive chef at Nitehawk Cinema in Brooklyn, New York. Once you try it, you'll be wondering why you didn't think of this mouth-watering combo sooner. It's a simple case of stirring the Nutella into a melty butter-brown-sugar-corn syrup mixture, then tossing the resulting chocolatey caramel with the popped corn. Once cooled and set, the corn takes on a gloriously crunchy texture.

Recipe: Nutella Popcorn

We've seen how Nutella, egg, and flour can be transformed into a batch of chewy cookies, but adjust the ratios a little, and you can turn this trusty trio into gooey, crackle-topped brownies instead. The melted Nutella gets mixed up with the other ingredients to make a smooth batter, which is baked in a rectangular pan until crisp on top and delightfully fudgy within. There's always the option to throw in some extras here too, such as chocolate chips, chopped nuts, or crushed pretzels.

Recipe: 3-Ingredient Nutella Brownie

If you don't fancy firing up the oven, these oat-based, no-bake cookies are the perfect option. To bind the hearty oats together, you'll prep a sticky-sweet mixture with ingredients like butter, sugar, cacao powder, and lashings of creamy Nutella. Mixed up and dolloped into mounds, all that's required is a quick 30-minute chill before the cookies are ready to enjoy, perhaps with a hot mug of tea or some fresh fruit.

Recipe: Easy No Bake Nutella Cookies

Craving cake but short on time? Just grab a mug, some Nutella, and a handful of pantry staples, and you'll be tucking into a warm chocolate-hazelnut sponge in no time. There's minimal clean up to contend with here, since everything is mixed up right in the mug, and the finished single-serve cake can be customized however you fancy. We love adding an extra dollop of Nutella and a dusting of powdered sugar.

Recipe: Easy Nutella Mug Cake 

In this fuss-free cupcake recipe, a simple chocolate sponge gets a nutty upgrade with a swirl of rich Nutella frosting. The spread blends in seamlessly alongside the usual mixture of butter, powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla, with everything coming together to create a light, fluffy, and totally delicious topping for the tender cakes. These tempting treats will look extra special garnished with some crunchy chocolate sprinkles, chopped nuts, or chocolate candies.

Recipe: Best Nutella Cupcakes

If you love a good pain au chocolat, you absolutely have to try this hazelnut-forward take on the French bakery classic. Swap the usual dark chocolate filling for Nutella, and you've got a gooier, sweeter, and arguably even tastier version of the original. To create that signature flaky texture, layers of the yeasted, egg-enriched dough are stacked up with butter, then rolled out and assembled with dollops of Nutella within. Once proofed and baked, the croissants puff up beautifully, taking on a gorgeous golden color and light texture.

Recipe: Rich And Flaky Nutella-Stuffed Croissants

Nutella is no stranger to a stack of pancakes or waffles, but it also shines in another breakfast favorite — baked oats. First we blitz the oats up with milk, banana, Nutella, and a handful of other staples to create a smooth batter. Then, this gets poured into ramekins with a generous dollop of extra Nutella added to the middle. The result is a fluffy, golden, cake-like breakfast treat that strikes the perfect balance between wholesome and indulgent. A scattering of fresh berries would make an excellent topping.

Recipe: Nutella Baked Oats

Chocolate-covered strawberries are great, but this Nutella-loaded version really takes things to the next level of deliciousness. To perfect the chocolate spread-to-fruit ratio, you'll hollow out the berries, allowing plenty of room for piling in the Nutella filling. And, there's a layer of hazelnut-studded chocolate on the outside too, for optimal crunch. You could totally experiment with other varieties of fruit here, stuffing Nutella into apples, pears, figs, or even dates.

Recipe: Nutella Stuffed Strawberries

A cheese ball often sees cream cheese blended with shredded cheddar and herbs, but this creamy creation doesn't always have to be a savory affair. Add Nutella into the mix, and you'll have a deliciously nutty, shareable dessert that is best served with slices of fruit, pretzels, and graham crackers. The Nutella-cream cheese mixture gets added crunch from mini chocolate chips, and a boost of sweetness from powdered sugar. And, the chopped hazelnut coating makes the finished dessert look all the more elegant.

Recipe: Chocolate Hazelnut Cheese Ball

Ina Garten's go-to chocolate cake makes excellent use of Nutella, packing it into the creamy frosting for a punch of nuttiness. The cake itself is a classic chocolate sponge, moistened with buttermilk and flavored with cocoa powder and a splash of coffee to enhance the chocolatey depth. And, if the Nutella buttercream filling wasn't already decadent enough, the layers are also sandwiched with tangy raspberry jam for an added dose of fresh, fruity flavor.

Recipe: Ina Garten's Chocolate Cake

These three-ingredient Nutella donuts are tender and cakey in the middle, yet crisp on the outside, all topped off with a thick, gooey layer of Nutella. The dough can be whipped up in mere minutes, by blending the spread with eggs and flour. After you've shaped this into rings and deep-fried the donuts in hot oil, they're ready for coating. Feel free to add a drizzle of white chocolate for a striking color contrast, or adorn them with some crunchy sprinkles.

Recipe: 3-Ingredient Nutella Donuts

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