Homemade hazelnut milk is a delicious dairy-free alternative to chocolate milk. The hazelnut milk is lightly flavored with cocoa powder for extra flavor.
The popularity of nut milks and other non-dairy milk alternatives is still on the rise.
Every time I go to the market or coffee shop, I’m constantly being introduced to new ones: flax milk, oat milk, macadamia milk.
And today I’m adding another one to that list: cacao hazelnut milk.
How to Make Hazelnut Milk
This cacao hazelnut milk is made from a handful of ingredients:
- roasted hazelnuts
- cacao powder
- dates
- filtered water
I highly recommend roasting your hazelnuts. The heating process helps to enhance and intensify the nut’s flavors.
However, if you prefer, you may use raw hazelnuts as well.
Use a high powered blender
Those iconic red knobs bring a smile to my face. I dream of one day having a Wolf Gourmet range and oven. (It’s in my 10 year plan.) I daydream about my ideal kitchen the way some people fantasize about cars, vacations, retirement, etc.
Until then, I’m super excited to add this new Wolf Gourmet blender to my kitchen.
Over the years, I’ve gone through a handful of blenders. When one blender starts to fail me, I upgrade to a better one. I have no doubts about this Wolf Gourmet blender. It’s sturdy and powerful. I won’t have to replace this blender for a very long time, if ever.
The hazelnuts are covered with cool water for an hour (up to 24 hours) to soften.
Then they’re drained and placed in the blender with the remaining ingredients. Once the nuts have been pulverized, the cacao hazelnut milk is strained out.
You can use a nut milk bag like the one photographed above, or use a fine cheese cloth set over a strainer.
We all know that chocolate and hazelnut are a perfect match. So many desserts stem from this delicious flavor combo. (See: chocolate hazelnut thumbprint cookies, flourless chocolate hazelnut cake, choco-hazelnut banana bread.)
My blender gets used frequently. From my morning smoothies to my weekly nut milk making, my blender has a permanent spot on my kitchen counter.
Now that the weather is cooling down, I’ll also be making a ton of soups, especially my favorites- miso butternut squash soup and cheddar broccoli soup.
Cacao Hazelnut Milk
Yield: about 4 cups
Ingredients
- 2 cups raw hazelnuts
- 4 cups filtered water
- 3 pitted dates
- 2 Tablespoons cacao powder, or unsweetened cocoa powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake hazelnuts for 10-12 minutes until toasted and skins begin to separate from hazelnut. Rub the warm hazelnuts in a clean dish towel to remove the skins. Let hazelnuts cool to room temperature.
- Place cooled hazelnuts in a jar or bowl. Pour in enough cool water to submerge the nuts. Cover and let sit for at least one hour, up to 24 hours.
- Drain and rinse the hazelnuts. Place in blender. Add filtered water, pitted dates, and cacao powder. Blend at the highest speed for 45 seconds to 1 minute until the nuts have been ground.
- Separate liquid mixture using a nut bag, or cheese cloth set over a mesh strainer. Discard hazelnut pulp, or save to add to smoothies, baked goods, or pancake batter.*
- Pour cacao hazelnut milk into an airtight container and keep chilled in the fridge for up to three days. Shake well before servings. Mixture will separate as it sits.
Notes
- Cacao hazelnut milk keeps in the fridge for 3 days. Mixture will separate as it sits. Shake well before serving.
- I used this cacao powder. Cacao powder is a less processed cocoa powder. If you don’t have cacao, simply substitute unsweetened cocoa powder for the same results.
Giveaway!
Now the fun part… win a Wolf Gourmet Blender!
With this blender you’ll be able to puree sauces, whip cream, churn butter, grind grains, mix nut butters, and of course, easily blend together nut milks!
To enter this giveaway: leave a comment and tell me what’s the first thing you would make with this blender.
Fine Print: One entry per person. To participate, you must be 18 years or older and reside in the 50 United States. Giveaway ends Tuesday, October 10, 2017 at 11:59PM PST. Winner will be chosen at random and notified via email the morning of October 11. Winner will have 24 hours to respond. After 24 hours, another winner will be randomly chosen.
Disclosure: I have partnered with Wolf Gourmet for this giveaway. Wolf Gourmet has provided me with a blender, and they will send one to the winner. As always, all opinions expressed here are my own.
I would make peanut butter. This house goes through a lot of peanut butter and I could make a big batch in the blender :)
jslbrown2009 at aol dot com
I would make some homemade dairy free Nutella
I would use it to make homemade Orange Julius. That, and smoothies are what we primarily use our blender for.
I would make a strawberry banana smoothie.
I would blend up a batch of tomato bisque and serve it with grilled cheese sandwhiches for this fall weather!
I would love to make smoothies or a good winter soup (maybe fresh pea and mint)! So many options!
I’d make the smoothest, richest split pea ham soup Y U M
A creamy cauliflower soup sounds really good about now. Thanks for the chance!
I would make baby food and soups!
I would make a strawberry smoothie! Then a chocolate smoothie of some type! After that, I would make some kind of yummy soup.
With cooler weather around the corner, I need to stock my freezer with red chili sauce. A must for enchiladas!
I would make my own almond butter, peanut curry! Love this post. Obviously I would also try the cacao hazelnut too:) perfect treat
mixed nuts butter with salted date caramel
My baby boy is coming up on 6 months and I would love to use this blender to make little vegetable purees for him to try!
I make smoothies for breakfast (family of 6!) several times a week, so I’d make one of those first.
I would make my morning smoothie with the blender
I would make a mango-lime (maybe basil) sorbet.
And probably a hundred other things! Yumm!?
Green smoothies!
I would make homemade baby food, soups (that butternut squash one sounds good) and smoothies! And this recipe sounds really good so I’d try that too :) love all your stuff!
The first thing I would make with this blender would be homemade sauce for pizza! I would make it out of chickpeas artichokes and sautéed onions al blended together!!!!!!!! So yummy on top of cauliflower crust with cooked tomatoes on top!!!!
The possibilities are endless!! I would make frozen hit chocolate with mine! Oh how I love frozen treats!
I would make some strawberry banana smoothies.
I have never thought of churning butter with a blender, I think I would give that a try just to learn more about the process of making butter, I just love learning new things! I also have a few different nut spreads that I would love to give a try too, they just seem a little hard on my other blender so I haven’t really tried them.
I would make this cacao hazelnut milk! Looks so delicious ??
I’d make almond milk!
The possibilities are endless but I would probably make myself a banana berry smoothie first ☺
this sounds like such an awesome combo (i mean chocolate + hazelnut is always going to be fantastic!). and i love how creamy and smooth this looks.
The first thing I would make in this blender is carrot squash soup. I had it at a friends house many years ago and actually have it in my ‘make some day’ pile of recipes. Fall is here and it’s the perfect time to dive into that pile.
I’d love to use it to make butternut squash apple soup.
I would love to make a smoothie or creamy tomato soup with this blender.
Pumpkin soup!
I’d make butternut squash soup.
Coconut butter. All the coconut butter.
If I had this blender, the first thing I would make would be iced coffee or pina coladas!
i would love to make some nut butters!
I don’t think I’ve ever wanted a nut milk more in my life! I’m a sucker for hazelnuts. Gorgeous photos Maryanne!
First: I would make this very Cacao Hazelnut Milk for my 2 yr. old and I to hopefully stock and chug on.
Second: Some yummy homemade soups to freeze up for those Winter mornings and evenings!
Third: Some homemade whipped topping for our hot cocoa and coffee
And Fourth: Smoothies for our little guy as a treat and frozen drinks with a little extra something for Mommy and Daddy on date nights-in heheh. (We totally deserve this lol!) p.s- possibly everything that I can get my hands on that’s blendable because Mama’s excited!:)
Eyeing the glut of tomatoes that our garden keeps producing makes me WANT to say that the first thing I’d make with this blender would be gallons of purée, then put it to use turning that purée into all manners of sauces and soups. But who am I kidding… one cannot just sit idly by when there is the promise of a treat! The ingredients for your cacao hazelnut milk would be prepped and waiting for the delivery person to ring the doorbell!!
Had you asked me 10 minutes ago I probably would have said a pumpkin pie milkshake (exactly what it sounds like). But now that I have seen this thick, delicious looking cacao hazelnut milk I’m torn. Might have to try your recipe first!
I’d make a pistachio pesto ???
I would make broccoli soup.
Yum I’d make this!!
That milk looks and sounds delicious! I would make almond milk and green goddess dressing.
The first thing I would make is a pesto sauce!!! (Or a smoothie!!)
I think the first thing I would make with this blender would be either a nut butter or a smoothie! I am also definitely making this cacao hazelnut milk! I love that it is refined-sugar free :)
I would love to make some almond milk!
I want to try and make some vegan cashew cheese, even though I’m not vegan, just vegetarian. Cheese is one of the things holding me back but if the recipes I’ve seen taste anywhere near as good as they look, then that might change.
I would make squash soup.
I would make this recipe!
Pesto–I have so much basil from my garden that I need to use up soon!!!
I’d make a creamy winter squash soup!
A spiced hot pumpkin chai blended tea with pumpkin spice, ground ginger, brew chai tea, and cinnamon all blended together. This is a perfect start to Fall for me!
The first thing I’d make is the Cacao Hazelnut Milk. It sounds heavenly. Then I’d use it to make my own mayonnaise, for starters, and then peanut butter of course. Got my fingers crossed!!!
this milk!
Applesauce! I’m in western NY, it’s apple season and my twins love fresh homemade applesauce with cinnamon
Margaritas! ;)
With a Wolf blender, I would make squash soup because it is one of my favorite things about fall!
I’d make crepe batter. My daughter just found my crepe pan that I thought was lost forever!
The first thing I would make with this blender is guacamole!
I would make my own nutella!
I would make this recipe and use the milk for a cocktail!
I would use it for green smoothies, nut butters, and whipped cream.
I would want to make your Brownie milkshake but would probably make your ginger banana green smoothie.
I also puree a lot of soups and sauces. This blender would be great for those too.
I would make a blueberry and coconut milk smoothie
Wolf brand is amazing! I too dream of a Wolf stove. If I were to win this beautiful blender, the first thing I would make is a nut milk. I usually make almond or cashew, but I would love to try this recipe for hazelnut (as it is my favorite nut!).
Coconut butter and nut butters!
I would make almond butter!
I would make a smoothie
I like smoothies so I would start with making one of them
The weather is changing…I’d make soup!
I’d like to make breakfast smoothies but I don’t have a blender!
I would make a tomato and basil soup!
I would make almond butter first!
I would most likely make a smoothie…or soup!
Making nut butter is on my culinary bucket list and I would start with cashews!
I would make my signature spinach, almond milk, greek yogurt, chia smoothie :)
Happy Autumn! Cheers!
xoxo
A peanut butter frozen banana smoothie with almond milk!!
Probably some great sauces for taco night…and a good peanut butter treat for my four legged baby!
I have always wanted to make a delicious fall squash soup with a blender but your recipe above sounds absolutely delicious ?
First thing I would make is this! Liquid Nutella
I would make milkshakes for the family. Maybe I would add whipped cream and cherries on top.
Honestly, I would love to make rice milk using this blender. I have been so skeptical that I can even make one because I failed miserably everytime using conventional blenders….. I can really use a powerful blender in my life!!!
The first thing I would make is cream of broccoli soup.
I would freeze some of my favorite fruits, blueberries, strawberries and bananas and add some kale with coconut or a nut milk. Then I would enjoy the most incredibly delicious frozen treat.
The first thing I would make would be a cucumber and pineapple smoothie :+)
What an amazing blender! I would love to make an almond milk pina colada smoothie.
I would blend fresh spinach and freeze it in batches to add to smoothies.
I would L-UV to blend some of your baked hazelnuts with frozen strawberries, bananas, and a dab of yummy Nutella! Thank you for all your lovely posts.