This Fluffy Nutella Buttercream is SUPER easy to make, with just 6 ingredients – and it’s ready in 5 minutes, too.
Nutella icing is perfect for vanilla or banana cupcakes, chocolate cake, or pumpkin anything. If you or a loved one are Nutella lovers, this Nutella frosting is definitely going to be your love language!
Table of Contents
- The Story Behind the Recipe
- Why You’ll Love Fluffy Nutella Buttercream
- Ingredients
- How to Make Nutella Buttercream
- Tips for Success
- What to Frost with this Buttercream
The Story Behind the Recipe
Dessert is beautiful in many, many ways, but in our house, we especially appreciate its ability to bridge the divide between my vegetarianism and his carnivorous diet.
Because, unless we’re putting lard in our pie crusts or sprinkling bacon on our ice cream (and even my bacon-loving guy isn’t really on board with the bacon-in-desserts thing), dessert is naturally vegetarian!
No need for our usual fork-in-the-road recipes, which really isn’t such a bad way to live, but there’s something fun about being able to nosedive simultaneously into, for instance, the same Fluffy Nutella Buttercream frosted cupcakes.
I first created this recipe all the way back in 2012, so it’s been around a long time! It’s consistently been one of the most popular and well-loved on my website, and I hope you’ll love it, too.
Why You’ll Love Fluffy Nutella Buttercream
This fluffy, light buttercream combines your traditional buttercream ingredients, butter and powdered sugar, with a nice dose of Nutella. A little vanilla adds a perfect note, and a good pinch of kosher salt rounds out the sweetness while also highlighting that delicious chocolate-hazelnut flavor that’s uniquely Nutella.
And lastly, it’s got heavy whipping cream, which I love, love, love adding to my buttercream recipes. It gives an otherwise heavy frosting such a wonderfully airy texture.
In the case of the photos here, I topped basic vanilla cupcakes (from the same vanilla sponge cake recipe I used for my Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes) with Nutella icing. Pure, simple perfection!
Readers say …
– Merebear
“This frosting was out of this world. Honestly one of the best I’ve ever tasted- and I’ve made a lot! It is very light and fluffy with an addictive flavor. Thanks for posting this recipe, it is going in my recipe binder and I know I’ll be making this again in the future.”
Ingredients
- Butter – I recommend starting with unsalted butter so that you can better control the salt content in your Nutella buttercream. Make sure it’s room temp so it’s easy to blend.
- Powdered sugar – Also known as confectioner’s sugar.
- Nutella – Or another chocolate-hazelnut spread.
- Vanilla extract – The mellow sweetness of pure vanilla extract helps enhance the chocolate-hazelnut flavors.
- Salt – Just a pinch to help round out the sweetness.
- Heavy whipping cream – Only a couple of tablespoons needed, but key to achieving the fluffiest fluffy Nutella buttercream!
How to Make Nutella Buttercream
It’s really, really easy to make this Nutella Buttercream recipe! Just whip the butter and powdered sugar together with a mixer …
Then it’s time to add the Nutella. Increase the speed to medium and beat for around two minutes until fluffy and luscious.
Mix in the vanilla and salt, then add the heavy whipping cream and beat for around one more minute. Your Nutella frosting will lighten a shade or two in color and become even more fluffy.
SO DELICIOUS!
Now, it’s time to slather the Nutella icing of your dreams onto your cake of choice. You can use a piping tip and pastry bag, or just pile it into a plastic bag and snip the corner off. Pile it high!
Tips for Success
- Start with room-temperature butter. This way, the powdered sugar can completely mix with the butter and get nice and fluffy.
- Start with unsalted butter, too. This way, you can control the exact amount of salt that you add to your Nutella buttercream.
- Start mixing slowly. If you turn the mixer on high, it’ll probably look like a blizzard just hit your kitchen, thanks to the powdered sugar that’s sprayed all over. Start nice and low and slow, until the powdered sugar is blended into the butter. You can increase the speed after that.
- Make ahead. Make this buttercream up to 7 days ahead of time. Place it in the refrigerator to keep, then move it back to room temp about 30 minutes before you want to use it.
What to Frost with this Buttercream
- Chocolate Crazy Cake
- Chocolate Layer Cake
- Banana Spice Cake
- Pumpkin Spice Cake
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Cupcakes
Nutella in buttercream form. Pure heaven.
Dessert – especially this one – is a beautiful thing indeed.
Fluffy Nutella Buttercream Frosting Recipe
Ingredients
Instructions
- In a stand mixer afixed with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and powdered sugar on low until well-blended. Add the Nutella and increase the speed to medium. Beat for two minutes.
- Add the vanilla extract and salt and whip for an additional 30 seconds.
- Add the whipping cream and beat for about one minute, until the frosting lightens slightly in both color and texture.
Hi! I’m Karen – I’m a real person with real recipes. No A.I. here! Since 2009, every recipe on Kitchen Treaty is thoroughly tested and loved before I hit “publish.” I’m a home cook, certified plant-based pro, and mom. I’m a vegetarian married to a carnivore, and my goal is to coexist deliciously.
Just wanted to let you know that this photo is floating around Pinterest but someone has stolen your photo and redirected the pins to their site. It’s obviously a page just for ad revenue. I really wanted to find the recipe, so I did a reverse image search and found you, but I can’t report the pin because it’s not my intellectual property. I’ve seen 100’s of pins this morning that all point to the same fake website. Just thought you’d like to know! And I’m pinning this with your URL for my boards 🙂 Yum!!!
Made this today in a pinch for my husband who loves hazelnut – perfect! Fluffy, nutella flavored, maybe a little sweeter than I’d like, but yum! Thank you!
Can I use shortening instead of butter?
I’ve never made it with shortening so I can’t say – sorry. I do definitely think butter would taste better!
can this be made dairy free? Will this recipe frosting a one layer or two layer cake?
Hi Denise, I have made buttercream dairy-free by using a dairy-free/vegan butter like Melt and plant-based milk. Though I think Nutella has dairy in it too, so might want to find a vegan alternative for the Nutella as well. This recipe makes a generous amount of frosting, enough to frost a two-layer cake.
Can this be frozen?
Hmm, I’ve never tried to freeze it so I’m not sure. But I’m not confident it would turn out very well.
can i substitute whipped cream from the can?
I haven’t tried it so I can’t say if it would work. Whipping cream is different than whipped cream so I’m thinking it might not turn out. Sorry!
Hi, are your volume measurements in metric or US standard measurements? I can’t find a declaration on your page. Thanks.
US standard measurements.
Can use milk instead of whipping cream?
Yes, just start with a little less, and keep in mind that it won’t get quite as fluffy.
once the cupcakes are frosted do they need to be refrigerated?
i am making these tomorrow but for an event on sunday, so will i need to refrigerate overnight as it has heavy cream in it?
Just made it. Absolutely yummy ! I give this a 5 star!!!!
I have been making this for about 5 years now and it is ALWAYS a HUGE HIT! I use it to top store bought mini brownies and one of my friends BEGS me for them with this frosting. I also love to use the leftover frosting as a dip for pretzels. I can’t get my 5 star rating to register, but I definitely give it 5 stars!
Can I use soy milk to substitute heavy whipping cream or will it ruin its texture?
It might not be as fluffy but it should still turn out fine.
Delicious and easy. I made this for a chocolate cake that didn’t look very pretty on top. Thank you, Kare.
I make a coffee cake and banana cake(layer coffee cake layer banana cake etc…) with this frosting and OMG it was delicious!!!!! I will continue to use this recipe for so many different baking adventures! Thank you so much!
I was not expecting this level of deliciousness. I might have swore when I tasted it, it was THAT good!
Hi! It can be refrigerated?!? For how many days?!?
Thnx
I just made this and it’s amazing! I reduced the sugar to about 1 3/4 cup for fear it would be too sweet and upped the Nutella slightly (maybe 3/4 cup). The result was an incredibly delious light and fluffy frosting that definitely tastes like Nutella. I frosted a chocolate cake with it and decorated with malted milk balls (grocery didn’t have Ferraro Roche). Happy birthday dad!
After I frost my dessert can it be refrigerated or will it ruin the frosting?
Yes, you can refrigerate it.
Delicious! Added an extra tablespoon of whipping cream to make it slightly less sweet, but is a wonderful recipe!
So glad you like it! Extra whipping cream can never be a bad thing. 😀
Can the sugar be halved…at least?
No, it won’t work with less sugar. Sorry!
Made this today for my sons birthday cake and WOW…DELICIOUS! I did add a little extra nutella because, well…it’s nutella and I added half and half cream because that’s what I had. This will definitely be my go to buttercream.
I did double the recipe as the cake was a construction cake and I needed lots of dirt?
That sounds like such an adorable cake! 🙂 Happy birthday to your son!
Just made this frosting for my chocolate cake it was a big hit. Thank you 🙂
This is my favorite frosting for brownies. I have been asked to make this just to eat plain! I’m always getting requests for this frosting. So fluffy and delicious!
Best frosting!
We made it and it needed more powdered sugar than called for. Might have been because of how soft our butter got.
I’m planning to make the frosting today. I have a 3 hour drive before it reaches the table. Just wondering if I should make the frosting and carry it or make it on-site before frosting. How does it stay at room temperature?
I’d suggest making it on-site.
Soooooooo good. This may be my new favorite chocolate frosting!
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Im going to try this
Would this buttercream frosting be ok to use to fill profiteroles
Kind regards,
Sheila
I made this buttercream a few days ago and for some reason it did not turn fluffy or smooth. It was really hard to pipe on the cupcakes. I did make sure to stir the nutella up because I know the oil settles on the top layer and that can always hinder the buttercream. Any tips or suggestions to fix this issue? I was going to try to make it again this weekend.
This was amazing!! Everyone thought it was swiss meringue buttercream because it was so light 🙂
just made this frosting for a birthday cake and it is so delicious! i added extra nuttella because, well, its so good!
Yay! 🙂
How does it taste with vanilla cupcakes? Usually people make it with chocolate, so I am a little nervous
It’s amazing with vanilla cupcakes 🙂
I tried it and it was a big hit 🙂 thanks so much for sharing it with us 🙂
Once I frost the cake, does it need to be refrigerated or can it be kept at room temp?
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I found this buttercream to be one of the easiest and delicious of all of the “Quick recipes” I have ever had.
Thank you for sharing it!
Just made this today for a mini chocolate cake I baked and it was PERFECTION! I don’t normally leave reviews online but I had to share my excitement. Followed the directions exactly and got a fluffy, light, not-overly-sweet icing that was a hit!
It was a bit too sweet, but otherwise texture was great!
Beautiful! Yummy and fluffy Nutella buttercream without being too gummy or overwhelming Nutella flavor.
BST DAUM FROSTING EVER!!!!!!!!!
perfection
LOVE this recipe!! Someone made them for me years ago, and she shared your recipe. Delicious. It frosts 24 cupcakes for me. I use a Milk Chocolate Cake mix, baked as directed into cupcakes. I’ve made these many, many times. Wonderful! Thanks for sharing!!
Hi Lindsey, I love that this is a winner for you! The combo of chocolate cupcakes + Nutella frosting is perfect. Thank you for sharing and for the review!