Homemade Nutella pop tarts transform cold refrigerator pie crust and a familiar chocolate-hazelnut spread into crisp, fork-crimped pastries with creamy interiors. The filling is not spread out thinly, but instead is heaped into a compact mound, so it stays generous while a neat pastry border provides each tart room to close.
This little fast project prepares 8 pastries, and finishes them with a smooth cocoa-Nutella glaze and roasted hazelnuts. Golden edges, a soft center and practical solutions to avoid leaks, maintain the filling soft, change the dough and use an air fryer.
Table of Contents
Why These Homemade Nutella Pop Tarts Work
Refrigerated pie dough keeps the project manageable, while providing the finished pastry that compact, tender-crisp bite people anticipate from a toaster tart. Rolling the pieces for each round into a neat little rectangle makes them easier to match up, and chilling the filled pastries helps to stiffen the dough before the hot oven fixes their shape.
The filling needs restraint rather than a special coating. A tablespoon of spread leaves enough room for a true pastry-to-pastry seal, while three small vents release steam before it can lift the top. Nutella naturally firms in a cold kitchen; the official Nutella storage guidance recommends ambient temperature for a softer texture, so room-temperature spread is easiest to portion.
Homemade Nutella Pop Tarts
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Heat the oven to 400 F and line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment. On a lightly floured surface, roll each cold pie crust into an 8-by-10-inch rectangle, trimming and patching scraps as needed.
- Cut each dough sheet into eight rectangles, each about 2 1/2 by 4 inches, for 16 pieces total. Move eight bottom pieces to the lined pan and keep the eight tops cold while you fill.
- Spoon one level tablespoon of chocolate-hazelnut spread into the center of each bottom. Keep it in a compact mound and leave a clean 1/2-inch rim. Beat the egg with water and brush that rim lightly.
- Set a top rectangle over each filled bottom. Press outward around the filling to release large air pockets, seal with your fingertips, then crimp all four sides with a floured fork. Cut three small vents in every top.
- Brush the tops thinly with egg wash and chill the tray for 15 minutes. Bake for 16 to 18 minutes, rotating once, until the tops are lightly golden, the crimped rims are deeper brown, and the bottoms feel dry and firm.
- Cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then move the pastries to a rack for at least 10 minutes. Whisk the powdered sugar, three tablespoons spread, cocoa, and milk into a thick glaze. Spoon it onto the cool tops and scatter with chopped toasted hazelnuts.
Notes
- Keep completely cooled pastries in a covered container at room temperature for up to 2 days, with parchment between layers.
- Freeze baked pastries without glaze for up to 1 month. Thaw at room temperature, warm gently if desired, cool, and glaze before serving.
- Warm unglazed pastries in a 300 F oven for 5 to 8 minutes or in a 325 F air fryer for 2 to 3 minutes. Do not use a slot toaster, and let the hot filling settle before eating.
Ingredient Notes
- Refrigerated pie crust: Keep both rounds cold until rolling. Pie crust bakes compact and crisp rather than dramatically puffy, which makes these easy Nutella pop tarts feel closer to the boxed classic.
- Chocolate-hazelnut spread: Use cool room-temperature Nutella so each tablespoon holds a mound but releases cleanly from the spoon. A thin smear exposes more filling to heat and can taste drier.
- Egg wash: Beat the egg with water. Brush it on the clean rim to glue the pastry layers, then apply a thin coat on top for color. Keep it away from the filling.
- Cocoa-Nutella glaze: Powdered sugar, cocoa, milk, and spread make homemade pop tarts with Nutella glaze that soft-sets rather than becoming hard. Add milk slowly so it stays thick enough to sit on the cooled pastry.
- Allergen note: The recipe contains wheat, egg, milk, hazelnut, and soy ingredients. Check every package if you are baking for someone with an allergy.
How to Make Homemade Nutella Pop Tarts
Roll and cut chilled pie crust, portion the chocolate-hazelnut filling, double-seal and vent the pastries, chill, bake until golden, then cool and glaze.
Total time: 1 hour and 13 minutes
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Prepare the pan and roll the dough
Heat the oven to 400 F and line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment. On a lightly floured surface, roll each cold pie crust into an 8-by-10-inch rectangle, trimming and patching scraps as needed.
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Cut matching rectangles
Cut each dough sheet into eight rectangles, each about 2 1/2 by 4 inches, for 16 pieces total. Move eight bottom pieces to the lined pan and keep the eight tops cold while you fill.
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Portion the filling
Spoon one level tablespoon of chocolate-hazelnut spread into the center of each bottom. Keep it in a compact mound and leave a clean 1/2-inch rim. Beat the egg with water and brush that rim lightly.
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Seal, crimp, and vent
Set a top rectangle over each filled bottom. Press outward around the filling to release large air pockets, seal with your fingertips, then crimp all four sides with a floured fork. Cut three small vents in every top.
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Chill and bake
Brush the tops thinly with egg wash and chill the tray for 15 minutes. Bake for 16 to 18 minutes, rotating once, until the tops are lightly golden, the crimped rims are deeper brown, and the bottoms feel dry and firm.
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Cool, glaze, and finish
Cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then move the pastries to a rack for at least 10 minutes. Whisk the powdered sugar, three tablespoons spread, cocoa, and milk into a thick glaze. Spoon it onto the cool tops and scatter with chopped toasted hazelnuts.
Cut one dough sheet before the other and use the first rectangle as a guide. Matching tops and bottoms need less stretching, which protects the clean border. If any filling touches the rim, wipe it away before adding egg wash; greasy spread between the layers prevents the dough from bonding.
The pastries should color around the edges before the centers become deeply brown. Pull them once the bottoms are set instead of baking for extra color. The enclosed filling will be very hot when the tray leaves the oven, so give it time to settle before tasting.
Glaze only cool pastries. Warm crust melts the topping into a translucent film, while a cooled surface holds a thick, softly set layer. If the glaze will not spread, add milk one teaspoon at a time; if it runs off the edges, whisk in more sifted sugar.
Pie Crust, Puff Pastry, and Air Fryer Options
Refrigerated pie crust
This is the main method: compact, tender-crisp pastry at 400 F for 16 to 18 minutes. Keep the dough cold and use one tablespoon of filling.
Puff pastry
For puff pastry Nutella pop tarts, use two thawed but cold sheets and cut straight down with a sharp blade. Fill lightly, avoid flooding cut sides with egg wash, and bake at 400 F for about 14 to 18 minutes. Expect a taller, airier pastry.
Air fryer
For air fryer Nutella pop tarts, preheat to 360 F and cook in one uncrowded layer for 8 to 10 minutes, checking at 7 minutes because machines vary. The Instant Pot pie-dough method supports that range. Cool before glazing.
Storage, Freezing, and Reheating
Room temperature
Up to 2 daysLet the glaze settle, then cover the pastries and separate layers with parchment.
Freezer
Up to 1 monthFreeze baked pastries without glaze. Thaw, warm gently, cool again, and add fresh glaze.
Gentle reheat
300 F for 5–8 minutesWarm unglazed pastries in the oven, or air-fry at 325 F for 2 to 3 minutes. Never put filled or glazed homemade pastries in a slot toaster.
Frequently Asked Questions
These answers cover the most common questions about creamy filling, secure seams, shortcut dough, and air-fryer timing.
Save This Nutella Pop-Tart Recipe
Save these homemade Nutella pop tarts to your breakfast or baking board so the clean-border sealing method is ready for your next chocolate-hazelnut craving.
