These Hazelnut Gianduja Squares are smooth, rich, and melt in your mouth. Made with tempered chocolate and praline paste, they taste just like a homemade Ferrero-style treat.
Homemade Hazelnut Gianduja Squares
Welcome to chocolate heaven. These hazelnut gianduja squares are rich, smooth, and incredibly indulgent.
They taste very similar to the creamy filling inside a Ferrero Rocher, with that perfect balance of chocolate and hazelnut.
The best part? You can make them at home with just a few ingredients.
What Is Gianduja?
Gianduja is a smooth chocolate mixture made by combining chocolate with hazelnut praline paste. The result is silky, nutty, and melt-in-your-mouth delicious.
You can learn how to make your own hazelnut praline paste here.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Rich and creamy chocolate texture
- Tastes like gourmet chocolate
- Perfect for gifting or entertaining
- Customizable with nuts or dried fruit
- Impressive but simple to make
Important Tips Before You Start
- Chocolate must be tempered for a smooth and shiny finish
- Use high-quality chocolate (at least 55% cocoa)
- Keep all tools completely dry
- Praline paste must be at room temperature
- Do not rush the process
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How To Temper Chocolate (Microwave Method)
Step 1: Chop chocolate. Place 2/3 in a bowl and reserve 1/3.
Step 2: Microwave in 30–45 second intervals, stirring until mostly melted.
Step 3: Heat in 15–20 second intervals until fully melted.
Step 4: Add the reserved chocolate (the “seed”) and stir until smooth.
Step 5: Stir until the temperature drops to about 86–88°F.
Congrats! You just tempered chocolate.
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Making The Gianduja
Mix 1 cup of hazelnut praline paste with the tempered chocolate until smooth.
Add chopped nuts or dried fruit if desired.
Line an 8×8 pan with plastic wrap and pour in the mixture.
Let it sit at room temperature for a few hours, then cut into squares.
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Tips For Best Results
- Do not refrigerate to speed setting
- If the mixture doesn’t set, tempering failed
- Store at room temperature
- Dip in chocolate for a fancier finish
I hope you try these delicious Hazelnut Gianduja Squares. Tag me @LivingSweetMoments if you make them!
Homemade Hazelnut Gianduja Squares
Ingredients
- 8 oz Tempered Chocolate
- 1 cup Hazelnut Praline Paste at room temperature
Instructions
- Line an 8x8" square baking pan with plastic wrap
- Mix the tempered chocolate with the hazelnut praline paste until completely combined
- Pour this mixture into the prepared pan. Leave it on the counter for a few hours until it sets up and becomes firm. Do not refrigerate
- When Gianduja is set up cut into squares or your desired shape
- Optional: Dip the squares in tempered chocolate, shake off the excess and place them on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper to set up
- Enjoy!
Nutrition
You may also like:
How To Make Praline Paste – A Tutorial
Hazelnut Chocolate Ice Cream Recipe (Gianduja)
Oh. My. Goodness!!! This looks utterly amazing. Like eat a whole recipe by myself kind of amazing!
Thank you, Janel! They are so sweet and have such a deep hazelnut flavor.
I’ve always wanted to know how to make this! Thank you for sharing your expertise!
Thank you Kim! Glad you liked this recipe!
Hey, do you have measurements in metric for praline paste?
About 120 grams
Sorry, this is incorrect – 1 cup is 240 ml, so it’s about 240 grams, maybe even more because of the sugar in the praline, which makes it heaver than water, On the other hand the fat in the nuts is lighter than water, so that might compensate for the sugar.
How Werner. I used 8 oz of chocolate and 1 cup of praline paste – not in ml.
Hi Tiffany,
Thanks for the recipe, hoping to make it tomorrow.
Can I please confirm the weight of the praline paste in grams? I looked at 1 cup of water at 227g, and 1 cup of corn syrup at 328g.
So thought the recipe would be –
227 grams – Chocolate (8 oz)
285 grams – Praline Paste (Rough guess on weights above)
Many thanks
Matthew
Hi Matthew. Honestly, the recipe converter sometimes is not very reliable. Both the chocolate and praline paste should weigh the same amount.You can do 225 g chocolate and 225 g praline paste
Thank you so much for a great recipe and for making this exotic thing so accessible. I have two questions and would love to get your help with this.
1) If store bought almond butter is used, and these are dipped in tempered chocolate; how long these will last outside refrigerator and also inside refrigerator?
2) Since the almond butter does not have any added sugar (has only roasted almonds), do you recommend adding powder sugar in the mixture?
Thank you once again.
Hi Seema. To answer your questions:
1) They should last about a week. If you enrobe them in tempered chocolate they will last for months as long as you store in an airtight container
2) Depending on the chocolate. If you use milk or white chocolate they will be sweet enough and no sugar will be needed.
hola que marca de chocolate y praline usastes
Chocolate El Rey, Ghirardelli, Vahlrona, Cacao Barry etc y las avellanas las compre en el Publix
How to make hazelnut praline paste
Recipe in this post: https://livingsweetmoments.com/how-to-make-praline-paste-tutorial/
Hi again Tiffany,
1 cup of praline paste was 245 grams if it helps.
What temperature do you take the caramel to?
Thanks
Matthew
Hi Tiffany, I was wondering if this recipe could work without tempering the chocolate beforehand, since I’m planning to use the Gianduja later to be mixed with creme anglaise (Gianduja Cremeux).
Thanks.
Hi Cindy! tempering will make your product last longer and will give you an excellent texture
Thankyou , Tiffany! Appreciate the reply. Great recipe, it’s hard to find gianduja in my country, making it myself is the way.
Let me know how it comes out
I don’t have enough molds what do I do with the extra melted chocolate mixed with praline paste until my molds become available ?
You can remelt it when the molds arrive
Do I have to temper it again?…can I temper together with the praline paste?
you can temper together with praline paste
Thanks for sharing the recipe. I followed the tempering instructions carefully using a thermometer, but the final product didn’t firm up and remained paste-like – still tasty, of course. Has anyone been able to reproduce the texture without refrigeration? I’d appreciate any tips.
Thanks so much for trying the recipe, and great job paying close attention to the tempering step! 🍫✨
A couple of things that often affect texture:
1. Chocolate quality matters
Not all chocolate bars/couverture have the same cocoa butter content. If the chocolate you used has less cocoa butter, the gianduja can stay softer or more paste-like even when properly tempered.
2. Temperature control is key
Even with a thermometer, small shifts (especially above ~88–90°F / ~31–32°C while working) can make it set softer. Make sure your workspace isn’t warm and that the chocolate stays within tempering range throughout.
3. Nut butter ratio & grind
If your hazelnut paste or butter is very sticky/finely ground, that can soften the final mix. Sometimes, a slightly coarser grind or letting the paste settle helps.
4. Refrigeration helps—but it does
This gianduja is quite soft at room temp because of all the nut oil. Refrigeration or even a short chill in the freezer after molding really firms it up and helps it hold shape. At typical room temp, it will stay softer — that’s expected for this style.
Tips if you want it firmer at room temp:
✔ Use high-quality chocolate with higher cocoa butter content
✔ Lower the nut paste ratio slightly (e.g., a touch less than the recipe calls for)
✔ Chill briefly after pouring so the cocoa butter crystallizes well
✔ Work in a cool kitchen (below ~70°F / ~21°C)
Hope that helps! If you try a variation that worked better for you, I’d love to hear it — it can help others too!
Thank you for the ideas! I used Valrhona milk chocolate, which I believe is high quality. I’ll try to use a different chocolate-to-praline ratio next time. It was incredibly tasty despite the buttery texture.