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September 15, 2026 · 6 min read

Is Nutella palm oil free? 14 chocolate spreads compared

Nutella lists palm oil second, right after sugar. We compared 14 hazelnut and chocolate spreads by their ingredient lists to see which ones use a different fat.

Short answer: no. Every Nutella label in our database that names its fat names palm oil, and it names it second, straight after sugar. The Italian pack reads "zucchero, olio di palma, nocciole 13%", the UK pack reads "sugar, palm oil, hazelnuts (13%)", and the French 750 g jar reads "sucre, huile de palme, noisettes 13%". Ferrero does not hide it; the company has argued publicly that palm oil is what gives the spread its texture without hydrogenation.

The more useful question is what the alternatives do instead, and whether the swap changes anything else on the label. We pulled 14 hazelnut and chocolate spreads from our database and compared them on the fat they use, the hazelnut percentage, and where sugar sits in the list. Each product links to its page, where the full ingredient text is shown.

Nutella, label by label

Four Nutella entries in our data have a readable ingredient list. Three fail the palm check for the same reason.

The percentages tell the story of the jar. Hazelnuts are 13 percent. Sugar and palm oil, listed first and second, are most of the rest.

Spreads that use a different fat

These passed our palm oil check because the ingredient list names a fat and it is not palm.

Milka Pâte à Tartiner aux Noisettes uses sunflower oil at 28 percent, with hazelnuts at 5 percent. The sugar figure is 57 g per 100 g, a little above Nutella, and saturated fat is 4.6 g. Swapping palm for sunflower cut the saturated fat by more than half; it did nothing to the sugar.

Bonne Maman Pâte à Tartiner Noisettes et Cacao is the hazelnut-heavy option at 20 percent, with sunflower and rapeseed oils. Sugar still comes first, at 51 g per 100 g; saturated fat is 5.2 g.

Skinny Chocolate Spread replaces sugar with maltitol and steviol glycosides and uses shea and rapeseed fats, with hazelnuts at 10 percent. No palm, no sugar, but a sweetener blend that not everyone wants.

FINE & RAW Dark Chocolate Hazelnut Butter Spread has the shortest list of the group: hazelnuts, coconut sugar, cacao, vanilla, sea salt. Hazelnuts come first, which none of the supermarket jars manage.

Fabalous Organic Hazelnut and Cocoa Chickpea Spread starts with chickpeas, then cane sugar and sunflower oil. An unusual base, but the label is clean on palm.

Wafers con Crema Nocciola (Coop) is a wafer rather than a jar, but its filling is built on coconut oil, which is why it is here: it shows the other common route away from palm.

Spreads that still use palm

Most of the mainstream competition sits with Nutella on this question.

Across the wider spreads category in our database, 168 products passed, 64 named palm oil and 16 were unclear. Chocolate and hazelnut spreads are the part of that category where palm concentrates; jams, nut butters and syrups almost never use it.

What the swap changes, and what it does not

Three patterns come out of the labels.

Sugar does not move. Every sugar-sweetened spread in this list puts sugar first, at roughly 50 to 57 g per 100 g where the figure is printed. Changing the fat changes the texture and the saturated fat number; it does not change the sugar.

Hazelnut content is the real difference between jars. It ranges from 1 percent (Krüger) to 20 percent (Bonne Maman) among the supermarket spreads, and a nut-first product like FINE & RAW is a different food altogether. Hazelnut percentage is printed on every EU label and is the fastest way to compare two jars.

The fat that replaces palm is usually sunflower or rapeseed. Both are liquid at room temperature, so palm-free spreads are often softer and may separate a little. Some brands add shea or coconut fat to firm them up, which is why "palm free" and "no saturated fat" are not the same claim.

Reading a spread label in ten seconds

Look at the first three ingredients. If the second one is palm oil, palm fat or "vegetable oil" without a plant name, you have your answer. Then find the hazelnut percentage; it is always printed. Everything else on the front of the jar is decoration.

For the full list of what our check counts as palm, see the 30 most common palm oil names. For products across every aisle that passed, the palm oil free hub is the place to start.

FAQ

Has Nutella ever been palm oil free?

Not in any version we have seen. Ferrero has said it uses certified palm oil and has defended the choice on texture grounds. If a palm-free Nutella appears, the label will say so, and the ingredient list will name a different fat.

Is the "vegetable oil" on the US Nutella label palm oil?

Almost certainly the same recipe, but the label we have does not name the plant, so we do not give it a verdict. Newer US packs may be more specific; check the jar in your hand.

Which spread has the most hazelnuts?

Among supermarket jars in our data, Bonne Maman at 20 percent, then Nutella at 13 percent. Specialist nut-butter spreads such as FINE & RAW put hazelnuts first and do not print a percentage because the whole product is mostly nuts.

Does palm free mean lower in saturated fat?

Usually, when sunflower or rapeseed replaces palm: Milka's spread has 4.6 g per 100 g against Nutella's 10.6 g. It is not guaranteed, because coconut and shea fats are also saturated. Read the nutrition table rather than the front claim.

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