The Worst Nutella Alternative We Tried Tastes Super Artificial

Nutella, man. Who doesn't love the stuff? There's something about that combo of chocolate and hazelnut that really hits, and no one does it quite like Nutella. But what do you do if no store near you has any of the good stuff in stock or if you're looking for a dairy-free option? To answer these pressing questions, we tried several chocolate hazelnut spreads and made a list of 12 Nutella alternatives, ranked worst to best. To us, the lowest one by far was the Gooey Hazelnut Cocoa Spread, which can barely even be called a Nutella substitute at all.

The flavor of this product is totally off, first of all — it didn't have the rich, nutty flavor you'd want. On top of that, we picked up on a chemical aroma and aftertaste, which may be due to the fact that it's sweetened with allulose in addition to agave syrup and dextrose. Texturally, it's closer to a sauce than a spread — it looked like hot fudge. Gooey's hazelnut spread may be a vegan alternative to Nutella, but if you can get over the taste, it would honestly be better as an ice cream topping or drizzled over the whipped cream in a mug of hot chocolate rather than smeared on toast or whipped into a Nutella-cream cheese dip.

Reviewers have a lot to say about this not-so-great chocolate hazelnut spread. Plenty of people agree with our point on flavor, reiterating that Gooey's product really doesn't have even the slightest echoes of the beloved Nutella flavor profile. Others pointed out a distinct grittiness in the product. The smell was another off-putting point for many, who caught strong whiffs of chemicals that reminded people of everything from acetone to vinegar. And of course, there's the titular gooey-ness of Gooey — definitely not appetizing for those who want a spread replacement that is creamy and smooth.

We're not sure where people got the wild idea that Nutella is a health food, but in this case, going the healthier route isn't necessarily the best choice. Sure, Gooey may have only 6 grams of sugar per serving compared to Nutella's 21 grams. It may be free of dairy and palm oil. But considering the relatively high price point of $5.38 per jar for 10 ounces of a pretty mediocre topping, you really aren't getting any bang for your buck here.