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This thick and creamy Chocolate Hazelnut Oatmeal is a decadent breakfast that is delicious and nutritious. A comforting chocolate oatmeal bowl, sweetened with Medjool dates and full of chocolatey Nutella-inspired flavor. Top with banana slices, chopped dark chocolate, and a spoonful of hazelnut butter, for a simple, yet satisfying breakfast treat that is vegan, gluten-free, and refined sugar free!

White bowl filled chocolate oatmeal, sliced banana, melted dark chocolate, and a spoonful of hazelnut butter, on a white marble counter.

A healthy vegan Nutella oatmeal bowl

Chocolate Hazelnut Oatmeal for breakfast anyone? This chocolate oatmeal has a Nutella-inspired twist. By combining chocolate and hazelnuts, we achieve Nutella!

This Chocolate Hazelnut Oatmeal recipe has major Nutella vibes, thanks to the perfect mixture of cacao powder, Medjool dates, and hazelnut butter. It’s creamy, easy, and tastes like a major treat.

By adding Medjool dates to the recipe, there is no need to add any additional sweeteners, making this oatmeal recipe refined sugar free. Also, Medjool dates are the best way to make oatmeal more decadent, since oats are relatively bland on their own, but I promise this recipe is full of flavor.

Types of oats to use

This decadent chocolate oatmeal bowl can be made with rolled oats, steel cut oats, or even quick oats.

Rolled Oats: Rolled Oats, also known as old fashioned oats or whole oats, are my favorite type of oats to cook with. Their texture is great and they cook relatively quickly, compared to steel-cut oats.

Steel-Cut Oats: Steel-cut oats, usually take much longer to make, about 20 minutes. However, they contain more fiber.

Quick Oats: Quick oats are soft in texture and cook extremely quickly. They’re the best type of oats to use in the microwave versus cooking on the stove.

Whichever type of oats you select, before preparing, be sure to read the package instructions, for the liquid oat ratio, because the amounts may vary.

Now let’s get cooking!

Ingredients you’ll need

Oats: I used old fashioned rolled oats, but steal-cut or quick oats work as well. However, be sure to read the package instructions for the liquid oat ratio and the cook time, because they will vary. This recipe is written for old fashioned oats.
Non-dairy milk: I used to used unsweetened almond milk however, you can use any type of milk you enjoy!
Medjool dates: Dates provide the perfect sweetener and texture for this oatmeal bowl. Also, don’t forget to remove the pits from the dates, but you can buy them already pitted, to keep it easy.
Cacao powder: To make the oats chocolatey! If you don’t have cacao powder, you can use cocoa powder or even vegan chocolate protein powder.
Flaxseeds: Flaxseeds are loaded with nutrients, high in omega-3 fats, rich in dietary fiber, and you can’t even taste them. They are completely optional, and be substituted with chia seeds, so no problem if you don’t have them…yet!
Hazelnut butter: This is essential for this oatmeal recipe.’

Ingredients for overnight oats recipe. 1/2 cup of rolled oats, flaxseeds in a small clear glass bowl, cacao powder in a small clear bowl, 3 Medjool dates in a glass bowl, and white non-dairy milk in a glass bowl. All items on a marble background.

How to make this recipe

If I had known that you could sweeten oatmeal by using Medjool dates, without adding any additional sweeteners, I would have been doing it so long ago. Medjool dates are so good and can take a boring bowl of oatmeal and make it a million times better.

Making oatmeal is easy on it’s own, but this recipe has an extra step, that probably takes an extra 2 minutes, but it’s totally worth it.

Begin by placing non-dairy milk, Medjool dates, cacao powder, and optional flaxseeds, in a high-speed blender. Then, blend on high until smooth, with few to none pieces of dates remaining.

Small blender with chocolate milk in it sitting on a marble counter.

Pour chocolate milk into a medium saucepan and add the rolled oats.

Cooking chocolate oatmeal in a small saucepan.

Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook for about 5-7 minutes stirring frequently, until most of the liquid is gone and the texture is very thick.

Transfer to a bowl, top with banana slices, chopped dark chocolate, and a spoonful of hazelnut butter.

That’s it, making this thick and creamy bowl of warm chocolate, Nutella-inspired, oatmeal is so simple and doesn’t require any refined sugar.

Tips for making this recipe perfectly

To make the perfect Chocolate Hazelnut Oatmeal recipe, be sure to follow these tips!

For the best texture, I suggest using rolled oats, but you can use quick oats, or if you have more time, you can also use steel cut oats.
Be sure your dates are pitted, but you can buy them already pitted, to keep it easy.
Use a high-speed blender to ensure that the you achieve chocolate milk, with few to none pieces of dates remaining.

Oatmeal toppings

The options are limitless when it comes to topping your Chocolate Hazelnut Oatmeal. I personally topped mine with fresh banana slices, chopped dark chocolate, and a spoonful of hazelnut butter, to achieve a Nutella tastes, but you can top your chocolate oatmeal bowl with whatever you want!

Chopped dark chocolate
Dairy-free dark chocolate chips
Shredded coconut or coconut flakes
Fresh berries
Sliced banana
Hazelnut butter, creamy peanut butter, almond butter, SunButter, pecan butter, cashew butter, etc.
Chopped nuts: hazelnuts, peanuts, almonds, sunflower seeds, pecans, walnuts, cashews, etc.

No matter what you top your Nutella-inspired oatmeal with, it will be a treat!

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If you tried this Chocolate Hazelnut Oatmeal or any other recipe on the blog let me know how you liked it by leaving a comment & rating below! Be sure to follow along on my Instagram, Pinterest, and subscribe to my email list for more recipes and updates. Also, tag me on Instagram if you make this recipe, so I can see your creation!