I Tried Giada’s Viral Chocolate Hazelnut Pasta—And I Didn't Hate It

Former Food Network star Giada De Laurentiis is trying to start a "chocolate pasta movement.” Recently, the Italian cook shared a childhood recipe on TikTok: warm pasta covered in hazelnut spread. Alarming? Buddy the Elf spaghetti level of craziness? Maybe, but I’m not going to knock it until I try it.

Chocolate pasta isn’t exactly new—it’s traditionally made in the Umbria and Tuscany regions of Italy, the big difference being that those traditional dishes use pasta noodles made with chocolate rather than slathering pasta in chocolate spread. She also explains that it's a special treat her mom used to make for her with chocolate sauce or even chocolate chips.

In her video, as she eats it she says “nothing is more comforting or feels like more of a hug.” If Giada says it's good, there has to be some truth to it. I had to try making it myself.

To start, all you need is small pasta shells and a jar of hazelnut spread. You can add chocolate chips for more nostalgic Giada flair if you’d like. Here’s how I made it, according to her instructions:

1. Boil the pasta until cooked.
2. Serve warm noodles in a bowl.
3. Top warm noodles with a generous spoonful of hazelnut spread.
4. Mix until fully combined. Eat and (try to) enjoy!

The Results

From the get-go, the process of mixing hazelnut spread with warm, wet pasta was disgusting enough to put me off. But after incorporating the sauce well enough, it didn’t look too bad. Flavor wise, it just tasted like hazelnut spread with a weird, soggy pasta texture, and I kept thinking how much I would have enjoyed the two ingredients separately. Maybe let's stick to keeping pasta savory (we’ll make an exception for this pumpkin dish), and enjoying hazelnut spread on toast or fruit!

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What trending recipe have you seen lately that we should try? Let us know in the comments.