Understanding Nutella's Ingredients: Does Nutella Use Palm Oil?

November 10, 2025 •

5 min read

Over 1.8 billion jars of Nutella are sold worldwide each year, but for many consumers, the question remains: Does Nutella use palm oil? Yes, palm oil is a key ingredient, and its use has sparked debates surrounding both its nutritional and environmental impacts.

Quick Summary

Nutella's unique creamy texture and long shelf life are attributed to its use of high-quality palm oil. The manufacturer, Ferrero, uses 100% certified sustainable, segregated palm oil, but the spread remains high in sugar and fat, offering limited nutritional value.

Key Points

Palm Oil Use Confirmed: Nutella's unique creamy texture and stability are due to the inclusion of palm oil, which is a core ingredient in its recipe.
Sustainable and Certified Sourcing: Ferrero, Nutella's manufacturer, sources 100% RSPO certified segregated palm oil, ensuring it is kept separate from non-certified oil and is traceable to the mill.
No Deforestation Policy: Ferrero actively monitors its supply chain with satellite technology to enforce its strict no-deforestation policy, in line with its Palm Oil Charter.
High Sugar and Fat Content: Nutritionally, Nutella is high in both sugar and saturated fat, placing it in the category of a dessert spread rather than a healthy breakfast item.
Healthier Alternatives Exist: For a more nutritious option, natural nut butters or homemade chocolate-hazelnut spreads provide more protein and healthy fats with significantly less sugar.
Context is Key: While controversies exist regarding both the environmental and health impacts of palm oil, the ultimate dietary takeaway is to consume Nutella in moderation.

The Role of Palm Oil in Nutella

Yes, Nutella contains palm oil. According to the manufacturer, Ferrero, it is one of the seven carefully selected ingredients in the recipe. Palm oil is a vegetable fat extracted from the pulp of the oil palm fruit and serves several crucial functions in creating Nutella's signature characteristics.

Reasons for using palm oil in Nutella:

Texture and consistency: Palm oil is semi-solid at room temperature, which is essential for giving Nutella its smooth, creamy, and spreadable texture. Without it, the hazelnut and cocoa paste would have a different, less appealing consistency.
Flavor enhancement: After a careful refining process, the palm oil used by Ferrero is neutral in taste and odor. This allows it to enhance the flavors of the other ingredients, such as hazelnuts and cocoa, without overpowering them.
Shelf-life and stability: Palm oil is more resistant to oxidation than many other vegetable oils, which helps maintain the spread's taste and quality over time. This also means the product does not require hydrogenation, a process that creates trans fats considered particularly unhealthy by the scientific community.

A Commitment to Sustainable Sourcing

While the use of palm oil itself is confirmed, the sourcing practices have drawn significant attention. The parent company, Ferrero, has been a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) since 2005 and has a strong commitment to sustainable practices.

Ferrero's Sustainable Palm Oil Policy:

100% RSPO certified segregated: Since 2015, Ferrero has sourced 100% RSPO certified segregated palm oil. This is the most demanding level of certification, ensuring that the sustainable palm oil is kept physically separated from non-certified palm oil throughout the entire supply chain, from the plantations to the factory. This guarantees traceability.
No deforestation commitment: Ferrero has established a Palm Oil Charter that goes beyond RSPO certification. It explicitly prohibits deforestation, protects biodiversity, and respects workers' rights within its supply chain.
Satellite monitoring: To enforce its no-deforestation policy, Ferrero utilizes satellite monitoring technology. This allows the company to actively monitor its sourcing areas for deforestation in near real-time.
Partnerships: Ferrero works closely with NGOs like the WWF and Earthworm Foundation to drive sustainable transformation in the palm oil sector. In 2024, the WWF Palm Oil Buyers Scorecard ranked Ferrero highly for its sustainable sourcing efforts.

Nutritional Considerations and Healthier Choices

Beyond the debate over palm oil's sourcing, the overall nutritional profile of Nutella is a critical aspect of any diet. Despite its advertising, Nutella is more accurately categorized as a dessert topping due to its high sugar and fat content. The ingredient list shows that sugar and palm oil are the primary ingredients by weight.

A standard two-tablespoon serving of Nutella contains approximately 200 calories, with a significant portion coming from sugar and fat. A single serving can contain more than 20 grams of sugar, which nears the daily recommended sugar intake for women and children. Regular, excessive consumption of high-sugar foods can contribute to health issues such as weight gain, high blood pressure, and an increased risk of diabetes.

Comparing Nutella to Natural Nut Butter

To put the nutritional content into perspective, here is a comparison of Nutella with a natural almond butter, which offers a different nutritional profile.


Nutritional Aspect (per 2 tbsp)	Nutella	Natural Almond Butter	Note
Calories	~200	~200	Similar caloric density
Total Fat	12 g	19 g	Higher total fat in natural almond butter due to healthy fats
Saturated Fat	3.5 g	1.6 g	Nutella is higher due to palm oil
Sugar	21 g	<1 g	Nutella is significantly higher in added sugar
Protein	2 g	5 g	Natural nut butters offer more protein
Nutrients	Trace calcium, iron	Rich in manganese, magnesium, phosphorus, etc.
Primary Ingredients	Sugar, palm oil	Almonds, sometimes salt

Creating Your Own Healthy Alternative

For those who want to control their sugar and fat intake or avoid palm oil entirely, making a homemade version of hazelnut-chocolate spread is an excellent option. It is easy to prepare and allows you to adjust the sweetness and ingredients to your preference. Here is a simple recipe to get started:

Ingredients: 1 cup roasted hazelnuts, 4 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder, 4 tbsp maple syrup or honey, 2 tbsp coconut or a neutral-flavored oil, 1 tsp vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt.
Instructions:
1. Place the roasted hazelnuts in a food processor and blend until they form a smooth, creamy butter.
2. Add the cocoa powder, sweetener, oil, vanilla, and salt, then continue to blend until all ingredients are well combined.
3. Adjust sweetness to your liking. Store in an airtight jar in the refrigerator.

Navigating the Palm Oil Controversy

The palm oil discussion often involves two main points of concern: environmental impact and health implications. On the environmental side, unregulated palm oil production has historically been a significant driver of tropical deforestation, threatening biodiversity and contributing to climate change. However, organizations like the RSPO and companies like Ferrero are working to address these issues through stricter certification and monitoring.

From a health perspective, concerns arose in 2016 following a European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) report. The report noted that refined palm oil, when heated to very high temperatures, can generate higher levels of potentially carcinogenic contaminants compared to other vegetable oils. Ferrero has maintained that its processing is done at controlled temperatures below the threshold to minimize these contaminants and has defended the safety of its product. While the health debate continues, it's widely accepted that products high in saturated fat and added sugar should be consumed in moderation as part of a balanced diet.

Conclusion

In summary, Nutella does use palm oil, and its manufacturer Ferrero has adopted a strong commitment to sourcing 100% certified sustainable, segregated palm oil. This approach aims to address the environmental concerns associated with unregulated palm oil production. However, from a nutritional standpoint, Nutella remains a high-sugar, high-fat product, and it is best considered a treat to be enjoyed in moderation rather than a daily staple. For those seeking healthier alternatives, natural nut butters or homemade spreads offer superior nutritional value with less sugar. Understanding the full picture, from sourcing to nutritional facts, allows consumers to make informed choices that align with their health and ethical values. For more information on Ferrero's sustainability efforts, you can visit their official palm oil page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutella contains palm oil because its semi-solid nature at room temperature provides the spread with its signature creamy texture and unique stability. The oil is also neutral in taste and smell, allowing the flavors of the hazelnuts and cocoa to stand out.

Yes, Ferrero has stated that the palm oil used in Nutella is 100% certified as segregated and sustainable by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), a certification that ensures traceability and separates it from non-certified sources.

Ferrero maintains that its palm oil is safe due to its careful processing at controlled, lower temperatures to minimize the formation of certain contaminants. As with any high-sugar, high-fat product, it should be consumed in moderation as part of a balanced diet.

No, natural nut butters are generally healthier. Nutella is much higher in sugar and contains more saturated fat from palm oil, while natural nut butters offer more protein and healthy unsaturated fats.

Segregated certification means that the sustainable palm oil is kept separate from conventional palm oil throughout the supply chain. This is the highest level of certification and ensures complete traceability back to the mills and plantations.

You can make a homemade version by blending roasted hazelnuts into a butter and mixing in cocoa powder, a natural sweetener like maple syrup, a different oil such as coconut oil, and vanilla extract.

Unregulated palm oil production has historically been linked to tropical deforestation and habitat destruction for endangered species. Sustainable certifications like RSPO are intended to mitigate these issues.