Nutella is not a good choice for people with diabetes. More than 70% of the spread is sugar and palm oil, and a single one-ounce serving contains about 15 grams of sugar. That’s enough to cause a noticeable blood sugar spike, especially when eaten on toast or another carbohydrate-heavy food.
What’s Actually in Nutella
Nutella markets itself around hazelnuts and cocoa, but those ingredients make up a small fraction of the jar. Hazelnuts account for roughly 13% of the product, and cocoa just 7%. The bulk of what you’re eating is sugar and palm oil, which together make up over 70% of the spread.
A one-ounce serving (about two tablespoons) delivers 153 calories, 9.2 grams of fat, and 15.4 grams of sugar. To put that in perspective, 15 grams of sugar is close to four teaspoons, roughly the same amount in a fun-size candy bar. The fat content is almost entirely from palm oil, a saturated fat that doesn’t offer the heart-health benefits of the fats found in nuts or olive oil.
Because Nutella is so calorie-dense and sugar-heavy in such a small volume, it’s easy to consume far more than you intended. Most people spread well beyond a measured tablespoon, and eating straight from the jar can double or triple the sugar load without you realizing it.
How Nutella Affects Blood Sugar
The sugar in Nutella is primarily refined sucrose, which your body breaks down quickly into glucose. When you eat it on bread, a pancake, or a cracker, you’re stacking fast-absorbing sugar on top of more carbohydrates. The result is a rapid rise in blood sugar that can be difficult to manage, particularly for people with type 2 diabetes who already struggle with insulin resistance.
The fat in Nutella does slow digestion slightly compared to eating pure sugar, which means the blood sugar spike may be somewhat delayed. But “delayed” isn’t the same as “prevented.” You still absorb all that glucose. And the combination of high sugar and high saturated fat is particularly problematic for people with diabetes, who already face elevated risks for heart disease.
Can You Ever Have a Small Amount?
A diabetes diagnosis doesn’t mean you can never eat foods with sugar. The key is portion size and what you eat alongside it. If you genuinely measure out one tablespoon (about half the labeled serving size), you’re looking at roughly 7 to 8 grams of sugar, which is more manageable within a meal that also includes protein and fiber.
The CDC recommends measuring out snacks at home rather than eating directly from the container. Their portion guide suggests using your thumb tip, from the tip to the first joint, as a rough visual for one tablespoon. That’s a thin smear on a piece of toast, not a generous scoop. Pairing that small amount with whole-grain bread and a source of protein (like eggs or Greek yogurt) can help blunt the blood sugar response, but even then, Nutella isn’t contributing anything nutritionally valuable that you couldn’t get from actual hazelnuts or a square of dark chocolate.
Better Alternatives for a Sweet Spread
If you love the flavor of hazelnut chocolate spread, several brands now make versions sweetened with sugar alcohols or other low-glycemic sweeteners instead of sucrose. Look for products labeled “sugar-free” or “keto-friendly” hazelnut spread and check the nutrition label for total carbohydrates rather than just sugar, since some sugar substitutes still contribute carbs. A good target is under 5 grams of net carbohydrates per serving.
Natural nut butters are another option worth considering. Plain almond butter or hazelnut butter without added sugar contains healthy fats, protein, and fiber, all of which help stabilize blood sugar rather than spike it. You can stir in a small amount of unsweetened cocoa powder to get closer to that chocolate-hazelnut taste. It won’t be identical to Nutella, but the nutritional profile is dramatically better: more protein, more fiber, far less sugar, and fats that actually support cardiovascular health.
The Bigger Picture for Blood Sugar Management
Managing diabetes well comes down to patterns, not individual foods. An occasional thin layer of Nutella on whole-grain toast won’t derail your health. But treating it as a daily staple, or eating it in the quantities most people naturally reach for, adds a significant amount of sugar and saturated fat to your diet with almost no nutritional return.
Getting portions under control is one of the most effective strategies for managing both weight and blood sugar. That applies to all calorie-dense foods, but especially to products like Nutella where the gap between a measured serving and what feels like a normal amount is so wide. If you find it difficult to stop at one tablespoon, switching to a lower-sugar alternative or a natural nut butter removes the need for that kind of discipline entirely.