Nutella Latte Oatmeal

Happy December! Truthfully, winter is my least favorite season, by a mile and a half, but recipes like this sure do help fight off those winter blues. It’s a mixture of hazelnut, coffee, and cocoa, and because that’s just not enough, it’s topped with a spoonful of silky chocolate hazelnut spread. I mean, look at it.

What you’ll need:

• 3/4 cup milk of choice, or water*
• 1/4 cup quick-cook steel cut oats*
• 1/2 ripe banana
• 1/2 tsp hazelnut extract
• heaping 1 tbsp. cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp instant coffee granules
• pinch of salt
• 1-2 tbsp chocolate hazelnut spread (like Nutella or Justin’s, the latter of which is vegan)

How to make it:

1. Bring liquid to a boil, add oats, and reduce heat to medium.
2. Mash up banana well and add to the oatmeal. Stir.
3. Once more of the liquid has absorbed, add cocoa powder, coffee granules, hazelnut extract, and salt. Stir.
4. When you’re pleased with the consistency of the oatmeal, transfer to a bowl. Top with chocolate hazelnut butter and serve with another splash of your milk of choice, along with any other additional toppings (chocolate chips, hazelnuts, etc.).

Just an FYI:

Every time I think I can’t come up with any other “latte” recipes, I think of another. How could I forget Nutella lattes? True, they’re not super common, but I’ve definitely seen them at a fair share of coffee shops. Sadly, since Nutella contains dairy, I’ve never been able to try one myself.

Hey, Nutella, if you’re reading this, y u need milk in your recipe? Don’t you know that stuff is for hungry calves?

Also, here’s a deep thought: Since Nutella lattes contain chocolate, why are they called a latte and not a mocha? Hmm.

Naming discrepancies aside, this recipe checks all the boxes for a healthy-but-tastes-indulgent breakfast (or hell, dessert). It’s sweetened with banana, and I swear I could not taste it all underneath all those coffee, chocolate, and hazelnut flavors.

If you’re feeling a little lazy, you could also skip the cocoa powder and hazelnut extract and just stir your chocolate hazelnut spread into the oatmeal itself. I considered this, but I ultimately can’t resist a puddle of nut butter on top of my oatmeal–and let’s be honest, a double dose of nut butter would definitely result in a tummy ache.

So I saved my chocolate hazelnut butter for the topping, and I replicated the Nutella experience in the oatmeal itself using cocoa powder and hazelnut extract (which, admittedly, can be difficult to find unless you live near a speciality store; I eventually gave up and bought mine online).

I had originally arranged the nut butter in a nice little swirl on the spoon, but it quickly melted (and dirtied that nice white cloth napkin). I gasped in horror at first, but quickly realized it was better this way. 🙂