A few years ago, when peanut butter dominated my life, I never thought another spread would ever compare to it. In my mind, nothing could beat the superiority of creamy peanut butter. That is, until I tasted the hazelnut perfection of Nutella. Nutella is so good that it makes eating a bland piece of bread 50 times more exciting. However, the ingredients in Nutella can cause vegans to question what they're putting into their bodies. They want to know the answer to one question: is Nutella vegan?
Is Nutella Vegan?
On Nutella's website under the frequently asked questions page, there's a question asking if their product is suitable for vegetarians, but there's no mention of vegans. Nutella says their spread is suitable for vegetarians to eat because the whey powder used in it is not derived from animals. However, it's imperative to know that there's still animal products in Nutella.
When looking further down the website, there's a section on whether milk is used in Nutella, and it says that skimmed milk powder is used. This means Nutella is NOT vegan friendly.
So, is Nutella vegan? No. Since skimmed milk powder is derived from the milk of a cow, vegans cannot have Nutella because it contains an animal product.
Vegan Alternatives to Nutella
While Nutella may not be available as a spread for vegans, there are plenty of other tasty spreads in the market. Justin's Chocolate Hazelnut Butter and Peanut Butter and Co's Dark Chocolate Dreams are two great vegan spread alternatives.
If you want to use these vegan Nutella-like products to make some recipes, Justin's website has a ton of amazingly easy recipes. This Better-For-You Chocolate Hazelnut Truffles recipe is one of the many things you can make with Justin's Chocolate Hazelnut Butter.
While it's disappointing to know that the answer to "is Nutella vegan?" may be no for now, there are some great alternative hazelnut spreads that are vegan friendly. You won't be missing out on any chocolatey goodness if you try some other hazelnut spread brands that cater to vegans.