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Looking for an alternative to sugary store-bought chocolate spreads? Introducing Smooth Vanilla Chocolate Spread!
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.
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.
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 powdered coconut sugar and cacao powder into smooth nut butter. For extra richness, we have some cocoa butter (or coconut oil), which 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 nut butter before adding the remaining ingredients. I found this to be the most effective method.
This spread is perfectly sweet and chocolatey and we can keep it at room temperature for weeks!
If you are looking for an alternative to commercial chocolate spreads, look no further! This smooth vanilla chocolate 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
Ingredients
- 3 cups raw cashews
- 3/4 cup coconut sugar
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder*
- 3 tbsp melted cocoa butter or coconut oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
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 tbsp of raw cocoa powder and 1 tbsp of normal cocoa powder.
Nutrition
About the Author
Thomas Pagot is the founder, photographer, and recipe developer behind Full of Plants. He created the blog in 2016 as a personal cookbook for vegan recipes. Through years of recipe development, Thomas has successfully grown Full of Plants into a trusted resource for plant-based recipes.
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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!
Awesome! So glad you and your kids love it 🙂
Thanks for your feedback Flo!
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…
Thanks Krol! I don’t have any recipe for white chocolate spread yet!
I love chocolate. To over eat it now my weight is 80 kg. Still, I’m a chocolate lover.
Wow, yummy recipe. I love chocolate. To over eat it now my weight is 80 kg. Still, I’m a chocolate lover.
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.
Feel free to mix with your favorite sweetener. Personally I like the flavor or coconut sugar and I would not call it highly-processed.
Thank you so much! I’ve been searching for exactly this for a long time now
You’re welcome Jenny!
Can this be refrigerated too? Will it keep for ovet a month if refrigerated?
Thanks.
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.