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Almond Flour Substitute for Recipes

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After years of baking with almond flour and converting recipes back and forth -from traditional recipes to grain-free and vice versa, you can say that I’ve learned what works and what doesn’t as an almond flour substitute.

There are many recipes on the internet that look and sound delicious, and unless you’re an experienced baker with almond flour, you probably don’t keep it in your pantry.

image: two small bowls side-by-side one filled with whole almonds and the other filled with almond flour.

Almond flour is one of the most popular baking flours in most paleo, keto, and grain-free households and for this reason, many recipes were developed with it to fit those eating lifestyles.

I use almond flour in many of the recipes in my latest cookbook, Clean Treats for Everyone. You’ll also find other clean flours used, like oat flour or cassava flour. If you’re looking for cleaner recipes with alternative flour options check it out!

Clean Treats Cookbook

Healthy and wholesome dessert recipes you’ll want to eat made with clean ingredients you already have on hand.
Grab your copy today!

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What Is Almond Flour?

Unlike traditional flour from wheat, almond flour isn’t a “flour” but ground almonds into a flour-like texture.

It is higher in fat, which gives bread, muffins, and brownies a moist and tender texture. It’s also a good source of healthy fats and protein and it is lower in carbohydrates compared to regular wheat flour. 

However, almond flour can be a problem if you have a nut allergy.

Most importantly, almond flour will not perform like traditional flour in baked recipes, so it is not a 1:1 substitute.

Alternatives to Almond Flour

So you find a great recipe on the internet that calls for almond flour and you realize that you don’t have any in your pantry. Before you take it upon yourself swap out “a few ingredients” here and there.

There are alternatives to almond flour in baking, but unfortunately, it is not as simple as swapping 1 cup almond flour for 1 cup of regular white or whole-wheat flour.

Nut-flours are often more finicky because they absorb liquids differently, have no gluten, and therefore, recipes will call for a specific ratio of wet to dry ingredients.

I recommend swapping the almond flour for another nut-based flour whenever possible. In today’s post, we’ll be discussing other substitutes like:

  • Sunflower Seed Flour
  • Cashew Flour
  • Cassava Flour
  • Oat Flour
  • A Homemade Gluten-Free Flour Blend
  • All-Purpose Flour
  • Whole Wheat Flour

If you find yourself looking for baking substitutions for ingredients like butter, eggs, and dairy- you’ll find this post helpful. 

It’s a life-saver on those occasions when you want to make a loaf of Banana Bread only to realize you’re out of eggs and butter.

image: bowl of gluten-free flour to be used in place of almond flour.

Is Coconut Flour a Substitute for Almond Flour?

Coconut flour is not a subsitute for almond flour -in any capacity- without altering the entire recipe.

If you want to use coconut flour to bake or make your favorite recipes, I suggest you search for a recipe specifically created (that means that it’s been tested) with coconut flour.

Coconut flour absorbs 5-8x more liquid than almond flour since it’s made from dehydrated ground coconut meat, and will need adjustments to the liquid stated in the recipe and usually eggs as well.

Before you waste your ingredients, skip the substitution and find a suitable recipe.

Gluten-Free Almond Flour Substitutes

Below I’m listening grain-free options as well as more conventional flours that are easy to find and good for making multiple recipes. 

When baking gluten-free, it’s not always a cup-for-cup replacement. Amounts may vary, and other chemical agents such as baking powder and baking soda may be needed. 

Sunflower Seed Flour
Due to its similar consistency, this is one of the more popular gluten and nut-free substitutes for almond flour. Heads-up- sunflower seed flour can turn your baked good a tint of green due to the reactions with baking soda or powder. 

The taste and texture will be fine- only the color will change. To avoid this, add a tablespoon of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar to the recipe, it should help. 

Cashew Flour
Another 1:1 substitute for almond flour, and if you like cashews, it gives your favorite baked foods an incredible flavor. You can make it at home with cashews and a blender or purchase it online.

How to make a gluten-free flour blend

With some recipes, using a gluten-free flour blend can be helpful when it comes to finding a substitute for almond flour. If you want to make your own gluten-free flour blend, you will need:

  • 2 cups of rice flour
  • ⅔ cup potato starch
  • ⅓ cup tapioca starch
  • 1 teaspoon xantham gum

Gluten-free flours can require more moisture and often thickeners/binders such as xanthan gum or guar gum, so don’t skip these ingredients! 

This blend is great for all sorts of baked goods, especially these chocolate chip cookies. Use the appropriate amount of flour and reserve the rest in an airtight container. 

If you don’t have time to make a gluten-free flour blend, this one from Bob’s Red Mill has done wonders! 

image: Gluten-Free flour blend in a sifter

Nut-Free Substitutes for Almond Flour

An important note: eggs are often highly relied on in almond flour-based recipes. It’s nothing unusual to see 4 eggs for in one recipe. The proteins help to bind the ingredients and give the baked good more structure. 

When replacing almond flour for one of these options, you’ll typically need to reduce the number of eggs by half.

Cassava Flour
The newfound darling in the paleo world! Made from the cassava root, it is soft, powdery, and very similar to wheat flour. 

In most cases, you can substitute cassava flour at a 1:1 ratio for almond flour. However, I highly recommend skipping the “substitution” and searching for recipes that were specifically created with accurate measurements to be used with cassava flour.

I love using cassava flour to make these Cassava Flour Pancakes.

Oat Flour
Another popular and super convenient gluten-free flour is oat flour! You can make it at home with old-fashioned oats and a blender like I do in this post or purchase it at the store. Watch how to make oat flour in this quick video.

All-Purpose White Flour 
The rule of thumb for wheat flours is a 1:2 ratio of wheat flour to almond flour. For instance, if the recipe calls for 2 cups almond flour, you’ll need 1 cup of wheat flour. 

Whole-Wheat Flour 
Whole-wheat flour is denser than traditional white flour and is not a good substitute for almond flour alone. You’ll need to mix it with all-purpose white flour. 

So if the recipe calls for 2 cups almond flour, you’ll need ½ cup of whole-wheat flour + ½ cup all-purpose white flour.  

Which Almond Flour Substitute Tastes Best?

Sunflower seed flour is the winner with cassava coming in as second. Sunflower is the closest in taste and texture to almond flour, and if it weren’t for that green tint it gives- you’d have a hard time telling the difference. 

Cassava is in a league of its own. The powdery, soft texture makes it easy to bake with and ideal for recipes like this Paleo Pancake Recipe. I don’t know of another gluten-free flour that makes lighter and thicker pancakes. 

image: stack of cassava flour pancakes topped with berries, butter and syrup.

Is Almond Flour Keto?

Yes! Almond flour is a great keto-friendly option for baking as well as the cashew flour. Since they are both finely ground nuts, the carbohydrate content is low compared to other grain-free alternatives.

Which Almond Flour Substitute Works Best?

This is a tough one to answer since all almond flour recipes are developed specifically to be used with almond flour. If I had to choose, I would say that oat flour will perform best.

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Almond Flour Substitute for Recipes | Homemade Oat Flour

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★★★★★

5 from 11 reviews

Find the best almond flour substitute for your next recipe here! For many recipes I substitute almond flour with this oat flour recipe.

  • Author: Laura Fuentes
  • Prep Time: 3 minutes
  • Total Time: 3 minutes
  • Yield: 1 cup
  • Category: How-to
  • Method: Blender
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Gluten Free

Ingredients

  • 1 cup rolled or old-fashioned oats

Instructions

  1. Place the oats into the bowl of your food processor.
  2. Pulse the oats until they are ground into a powder-like consistency.
  3. Depending on the speed and power of your food processor, this process should take 60 seconds or less.
  4. Stop and stir to ensure that all the oats have been finely ground.
  5. Two cups of rolled oats will yield approximately 1 cup of oat flour.
  6. Store unused portion in air-tight container.

Equipment

Blender

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Nutrition

  • Serving Size: ¼ cup
  • Calories: 75
  • Sugar: 0g
  • Sodium: 0g
  • Fat: 0g
  • Saturated Fat: 0.3g
  • Trans Fat: 0g
  • Carbohydrates: 13.5g
  • Fiber: 2g
  • Protein: 2.5g
  • Cholesterol: 0g

Keywords: oat flour, homemade oat flour

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  1. Dale Almond

    June 19, 2022 at 12:36 pm

    Thank you for this wonderful post. I am a very sensitive celiac, and can’t have coconut flour or any type of grain – even gluten free. I’ve had some success baking with 80% blanched almond flour and 20% tapioca flour, usually using 3 or four eggs as a binder. I’m trying to convert a few standard wheat flour recipes to paleo – childhood favorites, etc. I’m having difficulty figuring out the correct ratio of the almond/tapioca blend to standard all-purpose wheat flour, as well as any other adjustments that should be made. Do you have any suggestions or guidance on this? Thank you kindly.

    Reply
    • Laura Fuentes

      June 23, 2022 at 2:02 pm

      Hi Dale, unfortunately, this is a lot of trial & error and there’s no single rule for converting with a mix of flours (such as almond and tapioca mixed). It’s’ for this reason that there are few recipes out there, people like me -who have successful websites for more than 10y- spend a lot of time on the testing process before publishing a recipe. I have some wonderful Almond Flour recipes on my website. I hope you’re able to use some of them! If you can have cassava flour, try these cassava flour pancakes.

      Reply
    • Millie R

      August 01, 2022 at 11:26 am

      I just decided to try the keto diet and noticed all the almond flour recipes and coconut substitute. Yikes I’m allergis to both, specially the almonds and several other nut varieties. Can you help me with a substitute and can that substitute be used for all keto recipes??
      Thank you.

      Reply
      • Laura Fuentes

        August 01, 2022 at 1:30 pm

        Unfortunately, when it comes to a keto diet, there are only a couple of “flours” that can be used: Almond and coconut. Both are low-carb and keto-approved. My recommendation is to look for cauliflower recipes which you can use instead. Flax is another alternative for some flax flatbreads and tortillas but I don’t know if you can have flax meal if you’re allergic to nuts (and seeds are ok). You can also use pumpkin seeds or or sunflower seeds to make a flour out of them and replace them in almond flour recipes.

        Reply
  2. Robert

    June 09, 2022 at 1:52 pm

    Thanks for the advice, I have oxalate sensitivity and almonds are very high in oxalates. Have you tried pea protein powder in recipes in place of almond flour? Lower fat for sure, but I wonder if adding the gums would balance that out?

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Laura Fuentes

      June 13, 2022 at 5:55 pm

      Pea protein is not a great substitute for almond flour because the nutritional content and performance are completely different. I would suggest looking for recipes that are developed with pea protein (the website of the protein you purchase is always a great start). Great question!

      Reply
    • Sophie

      August 23, 2022 at 1:56 am

      Hi
      Thanks for this. My daughter has to be gluten free but also has a nut/sesame and annoyingly potato allergy. She loves baking. Have you any suggestions for replacing the potato starch in a gluten free flour? We had a massive coconut flour failure as I think I tried it as a straight swap. She is ok with coconut allergy wise.

      Reply
  3. Ingrid

    May 20, 2022 at 8:07 am

    This is so helpful. I’m new to alternative flours and this answered a lot of my questions.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
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