Ridiculously Delish 3-Ingredient Nutella Croissants
Flaky, golden croissants filled with warm, gooey Nutella and crunchy pistachios? Say no more. These Nutella croissants are easy to make and even easier to devour- like, “how did I eat three while standing over the stove?” easy. They’re made with store-bought puff pastry, which is honestly one of life’s greatest shortcuts. Whether you’re making these for brunch, dessert, or an afternoon treat, just be warned: they will disappear fast.
Erica’s Thoughts
I used to love baking. I was A-okay with spending all day in the kitchen, experimenting with layered cakes or filled cupcakes and four different frosting varieties. And then I had kids. And now I’m in the little kids season of life, where even the simplest recipes made with my little helpers turn my kitchen into a hazard zone. So, when I bake now, it’s gotta be easy. Like one-bowl easy or in this case- lots of clever shortcuts easy.
I looooove a chocolate croissant. But spend hours laminating butter into layers of flaky goodness? Maybe once upon a time, but certainly not in my current life era. So! We’re using store-bought puff pastry sheets and creamy Nutella. And because my FYP is inundated with the Dubai chocolate bar, I thought it’d be fun to throw some pistachios in there.
I’m taking these to Easter brunch this weekend, they are perfect for anyone with a sweet tooth!
What You’ll Need to Make Easy Nutella Croissants
puff pastry: you’ll find puff pastry in the freezer section of any grocery store near the frozen desserts or pie crusts.
Nutella: or any chocolate hazelnut spread – don’t skimp, this is the star!
pistachios: technically optional, but I love roasted salted pistachios for crunch.
egg: one beaten egg to seal and shine.
powdered sugar: optional, but makes them look extra bakery-worthy.
What is Nutella?
Nutella is a creamy chocolate hazelnut spread made primarily from hazelnuts, cocoa solids, sugar and skim milk powder. It has a smooth, rich, and slightly nutty flavor, with a silky texture that is absolutely heavenly inside these buttery croissants.
Variation Ideas
- add peanut butter, almond butter, sunflower seed butter or if you can find it, pistachio butter!
- use raspberry jam or lemon curd instead of Nutella
- try it with crescent roll dough instead of puff pastry
- add banana slices to make banana nutella croissants
- sprinkle mini chocolate chips in or on the croissants
How to Make Chocolate Croissants
Let your puff pastry thaw at room temperature for 30-40 minutes (or according to package instructions). Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Use a rolling pin to roll out the puff pastry on a floured surface to slightly enlarge the rectangle. Use a pastry cutter, pizza cutter or knife to slice vertically into three wide strips, then slice horizontally across the middle to make six rectangles. Cut each rectangle diagonally to create 12 triangles.
Place a heaping ½ tbsp of Nutella filling on the wide end of each triangle and spread gently toward the tip, leaving the very end bare. Sprinkle with chopped pistachios.
Beat one whole egg until smooth (you don’t want big chunks of egg white). Brush the tips with egg wash and roll each triangle up into a croissant shape, starting from the wide end of the triangle. Place the rolled croissants on the lined baking sheet in a single layer and brush the tops with egg wash.
Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool slightly, then drizzle Nutella on top of each croissant, sprinkle with more pistachios, and dust with powdered sugar if you’d like.
Expert Tips
- Slicing: You can slice the sheet of puff pastry to yield 6 croissants by eliminating the horizontal cut or 12 croissants by dividing the three wide strips in half with that horizontal cut. I’ve done it both ways, and while the 6 croissant way yields a bigger croissant with more ‘rolls’, I prefer the 12-croissant way. To me the layers bake more evenly and there’s a better chocolate to flakiness ratio.
- Don’t skip the egg wash! It helps the croissants seal and gives that golden shine.
- Warm the Nutella in the microwave for ~10 seconds to make it easier to drizzle on the finished croissants
- Reheat in the air fryer or toaster oven for a few minutes to revive the crispness.
FAQs
They’re best fresh, but you can prep and roll them, then refrigerate unbaked for up to 8 hours. Bake when ready to serve.
Skip them or sub chopped hazelnuts or almonds.
You can, but they’ll lose a bit of crispiness. I do have to stress that these really are best straight from the oven. You can reheat in the oven or air fryer to ‘revive’ them a bit, but plan to gobble these right away if you can!
Absolutely!
Yep, they’ll have more of a ‘chocolate dinner roll’ vibe versus a flaky croissant but I’m pretty sure when it comes to Nutella, you can’t go wrong. They’ll take about the same amount of time to cook, but keep an eye out.
I like to make this a balanced brunch with some cheesy scrambled eggs, bacon and fresh strawberries!
If you love these flaky croissants, check out some of my other brunch favorites!
Chocolate lovers unite! It’s time to brunch.
If you try and like this recipe please don’t forget to leave a comment and star rating down below! If you love more lifestyle, behind the scenes and ‘eating in real life’ type of content come find me over on Instagram, @itsaflavorfullife, I love connecting with you all there!
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Ridiculously Delish 3-Ingredient Nutella Croissants
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 18 minutes
- Total Time: 33 minutes
- Yield: 24 mini croissants (or 12 larger croissants) 1x
- Category: Brunch
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
Nutella croissants made with puff pastry and topped with pistachios and powdered sugar- an easy, irresistible treat perfect for breakfast, brunch, or dessert.
Ingredients
- 2 sheets puff pastry
- 1 cup (16 tablespoons) Nutella or chocolate hazelnut spread
- 1/4 cup pistachios, finely chopped
- 1 egg, beaten
- powdered sugar (optional)
Instructions
- Let your frozen puff pastry sheets sit at room temperature for 30-40 minutes. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- On a lightly floured surface, use a rolling pin to roll the pastry sheet into a slightly larger rectangle. Slice the rectangle vertically into three wide strips. Then make one long slice to cut those strips in half horizontally. This should leave you with 6 smaller rectangles. Cut each rectangle in half diagonally to make 12 small triangles.
- Place a dollop of nutella (~ heaping ½ tablespoon) on the wide end of each triangle and use a butter knife to spread it. No need to be precious here just gently spread it to cover most of the triangle, leaving the tip bare. Sprinkle each triangle with chopped pistachios. Use a pastry brush to brush the tips with egg wash to seal the ends. Roll each triangle, starting with the wide end and securing at the egg washed tip.
- Place croissants on the prepared baking sheet and brush with egg wash. Bake for 18-20 minutes until golden brown.
- Transfer to a cooling rack and drizzle with more Nutella (I usually warm mine in the microwave for a few seconds to make it more drizzleable). Sprinkle with chopped pistachios and dust with powdered sugar, if desired.
TRY NOT TO EAT FOUR AT ONCE. A challenge, I’m tellin’ ya.
Notes
Slicing: You can slice the sheet of puff pastry to yield 6 croissants by eliminating the horizontal cut. OR as written, using a horizontal cut crosswise to yield 12 croissants. The six-croissant method way yields a bigger croissant with more ‘rolls’, but I prefer the twelve-croissant method because I think the layers bake more evenly and there’s a better chocolate to flakiness ratio.
Feel free to halve the recipe and use one sheet puff pastry for a total of 12 mini croissants.
These are really best served fresh, but if you have extra store in an airtight container at room temperature or in the fridge. I like to pop mine in the air fryer for 1-2 minutes at 350 degrees to reheat to its former glory.
Refer to the above blog post for step-by-step photos, tips and answers to frequently asked questions.
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Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 mini croissant
- Calories: 181
- Sugar: 6.8 g
- Sodium: 56.7 mg
- Fat: 11.5 g
- Trans Fat:
- Carbohydrates: 17 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 2.2 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
I don’t see a baking temperature anywhere.
Hi Jess, it’s in step number one!
So easy and delicious! My kids devoured them.
Yaaay! So did mine! Haha thanks Kristin!