Here is my review of SIX different low carb chocolate hazelnut spread products! All keto friendly and sugar free.
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Sometimes following a low carb diet can mean giving up some favorite food. For me that definitely includes Nutella! I've tried buying it and trusting myself to eat just a tiny bit as a treat now and then… but well, you can guess the results of that! I could make my own low carb version but decided to check out some commercially manufactured spreads.
Note: I originally wrote this post in 2015 and compared two products – since then I have tried four more and updated this comparison article!
I decided to start by testing two products that are low carb and readily available: NutiLight (Sugar-Free) and La Nouba:
So let's start with carb content and ingredients. The first five ingredients of NutiLight are Chicory dietary fiber, palm oil, erythritol, hazelnut, cocoa powder. This looks very different from La Nouba, where the first five are vegetable fat, hazelnuts, maltitol, cocoa mass, lactitol. While I don't like the idea that La Nouba contains more fat than anything else, I do like that hazelnuts are the second ingredient!
La Nouba is made by a Belgian company, so the nutritional data is listed in the European style (where fiber is not included in the carbohydrates – see my explanation on net carbs for more information!). Serving size is 17g, approximately one tablespoon. This contains 5.4g carbohydrates, of which 4.7g are polyols (sugar alcohols) and .22g is sugar. They list the net carbs as 0.5g per serving, so if you don't count sugar alcohols on your diet – this is very low!
NutiLight is more straightforward – other than the serving size is 32g (two tablespoons)! So for the purposes of comparison I have halved the figures on the nutritional data: 9g carbs (total), 5.5g fiber, 2.5g erythritol. So if you don't count sugar alcohols then net carbs are 1g per tablespoon, if you do include them then net carbs are 3.5g per tablespoon.
And now for the tasting! I made some plain tortilla chips under the broiler (using the same method as Cinnamon Chips, but no additional flavors added to the tortillas) and got ready! The NutiLight was darker and denser, with a pleasing consistency. Good strong flavor.
The La Nouba was very different – lighter in color and almost foamy compared to the NutiLight. Very soft and spreadable.
Flavor-wise both were very good – neither of them were interchangeable with Nutella, but they are great alternatives. Choosing between them is probably down to preferred consistency and ingredients.
2018 Update – I've added two more products!!
First is the dark chocolate hazelnut spread from LC Foods and it's great! It's 1g net carbs per serving of two tablespoons (or 5g net if you count sugar alcohols). Check it out! 
And the second is a Chocolate Hazelnut Syrup from Nekstella. It's really thick though, so you could definitely use it in place of any of the spreads. I received mine in a box of goodies from The Keto Box (lots of great low carb snacks, check them out!) or you can buy it from Netrition! It's 4g net carbs per serving of two tablespoons, and it's sweetened with monk fruit. Yum!
2020 Update – And here's another! Pyure Organic Hazelnut Spread is sweetened with erythritol, contains no palm oil, and is 2g net carbs per serving of two tablespoons. It's very scoopable and tastes great!
And here's another new product for 2021 – Choc Zero Chocolate Hazelnut Spread! This is all-natural spread is sweetened with monkfruit – so no sugar alcohols or stevia. It is made with sustainable palm oil and coconut oil, and is 1g net carb per serving of two tablespoons. It's very spreadable and has fantastic flavor and mouth-feel – probably the most similar to Nutella of all these options! Buy it from Netrition or Amazon, (shown here on low carb bread from Natural Ovens).
Try your favorite spread in a low carb crepe with whipped cream, or use it to make this filling low carb chocolate hazelnut shake!
Karen
Monday 16th of October 2017
Did you have any stomach issues with either? I purchased another Belgian product, Low Carb® Belgian Hazelnut Spread, which tastes great (to me) and has good/creamy consistency, but I'm having major stomach issues with it....so SAD! I know sugar alcohols can cause that, but I've not had a problem in the past with Truvia, for example, and it's got Erythritol in it. Anyway,...I'd appreciate any feedback...maybe not too detailed ;-)
Georgina
Monday 16th of October 2017
The only sugar alcohol that causes me - um - issues - is maltitol, so I tend to stay clear of that. Everyone is different but moderation and sticking to serving size is usually a good way to start!