The best almond flour substitutes you can use for all your favorite baked good recipes. Learn what to use and what to avoid here! Whether you’re searching for more whole-food based recipes, are gluten-free or grain-free, or browsing keto recipes, tons of them contain almond flour. Whether you have nut allergies or don’t have access to it, it can be frustrating to find a 1:1 substitute. Well, i’ve got you covered – let’s dive into my favorite 1:1 swaps.
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.
What is almond flour?
Almond meal, or almond flour, is made from ground sweet almonds. Almond flour is usually made with blanched almonds, whereas almond meal can be made with whole or blanched almonds. If you are gluten-free or have recently become gluten-free, or eat a paleo, keto, or Whole 30 diet, you have most likely seen almond flour on a recipe’s ingredients list. Let’s chat quickly about the difference:
Almond flour is made from blanched, peeled almonds. Almond flour is lighter in color and doesn’t have the small brown specks that almond meal has, as their skins are removed. It has a fine texture and works best in baked goods.
Almond meal is typically made from skin-on, unpeeled almonds (that haven’t been blanched) and it’s therefore darker in colour. It can vary in coarseness, from the a fairly fine, powdery texture to a slightly coarser texture.
alternatives to almond flour
It can be very hard to find a substitute for almond flour in baking. Using different flours can yield different textures and results in recipes, which can ultimately lead to a baking fail. Different flours have different textures and absorbency, which is why it’s not as simple as swapping in whole wheat flour cup for cup. There are three substitutes that work BEST as a 1:1 substitute for almond flour
We will go over my three favorite almond flour substitutes below. I highly recommend swapping in another nut-based flour, as these work best. However there are two nut-free flour options that also work great! The best part is these are all naturally gluten-free flours.
Swap 1: Cashew Flour
Cashew flour is not as popular as other gluten-free flours, so you may not see it in some stores. However, I’ve seen it at popular chains like Walmart and Whole Foods. I purchase mine on Amazon and find it to be the best price there, anyway! You can also easily make homemade cashew flour. Just blend raw cashews in a high powered blender (I use my Vitamix) until it resembles a fine, flour-like consistency.
When substituting cashew nut flour for almond flour in baking, simply use it as a 1:1 swap. 1 cup almond flour = 1 cup cashew flour.
Swap 2: Tiger Nut Flour
Tiger nut flour is made by roasting tiger nuts and processing the roasted roots into a fine powder. This flour has a mild, nutty flavor with the slightly sweet and earthy essence of a root vegetable. Tiger nut flour is not as popular as almond flour, coconut flour, cassava flour, or chickpea flour so it can be a little trickier to find it in stores. I purchase mine on Amazon!
When substituting tiger nut flour for almond flour in baking, simply use it as a 1:1 swap. 1 cup almond flour = 1 cup Tiger nut flour.
Swap 3: Sunflower Seed flour
Sunflower seed flour is finely ground sunflower seeds. I actually make my own sunflower seed flour at home. Blend raw sunflower seeds in a high powered blender until it resembles a fine, flour-like consistency. Sunflower seed flour isn’t my favorite substitution as sunflower seeds have a stronger flavor than other subs. However, it makes a great nut-free option.
When substituting sunflower seed flour for almond flour in baking, simply use it as a 1:1 swap. 1 cup almond flour = 1 cup sunflower seed flour. Heads up – sunflower seed flour can turn your baked good a tint of green! This is due to the reactions with baking soda or powder! It’s totally fine, but it can be shocking if you’re not ready for it!
Is coconut flour an alternative to almond flour?
Unfortunately, no. Coconut flour will completely change the outcome of your recipe, as it absorbs 5-8x more liquid than almond flour. You would have to totally change the liquid and eggs in the recipe to adjust, which will throw everything off. If you want to use up your coconut flour, it’s important to find a recipe that is specifically formulated using it.
how do i substitute almond flour for all-purpose flour?
If you are wanting to make a recipe that calls for all-purpose or whole wheat flour, unfortunately you won’t be able to simply swap it 1:1 with almond flour or one of the other substitutes. All-purpose flour is glutinous and has a different liquid absorbency than almond flour. Let’s say you’re looking to swap almond flour for all-purpose in a banana bread recipe. You would be better off searching for an almond flour banana bread recipe, as it was formulated to work with almond flour.
What about other gluten-free flours?
Other options like oat flour and cassava flour are great for baking, however they will not work as a 1:1 substitute for almond flour. This takes us back to the absorbency conversation. These flours absorb liquid differently, which would require adjustments to other ingredients in the recipe.
Recipes that would work with any of the almond flour substitutes above!
Below is one of my favorite blueberry loaf recipes! It works wonderful with the flour alternatives. I’ll also leave some other recipe ideas below!
- Blueberry quick bread
- Cinnamon swirl banana bread
- Snickers banana bread
- Paleo Sandwich bread
- Twix-style coconut cookie bars
- Homemade tagalong cookies
- 3 Ingredient fudge stripe cookies
Healthy Blueberry Loaf with Lemon Glaze
Ingredients
Bread
- 2 cups blanched almond flour *See notes for subs
- 1 cup quick oats
- 1/2 cup tapioca flour *arrowroot flour may also work
- 2 tsp baking powder
- pinch sea salt
Wet Ingredients
- 3 eggs room temp
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1/3 cup thick coconut yogurt or thick greek yogurt *set out at room-temp for a bit
- 1/4 cup melted coconut oil *can sub vegan butter, avocado oil, etc.
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
Crumb/Streusel topping
- 1/3 cup coconut sugar
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 1/3 cup chopped pecans *or other nut
- 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
Lemon glaze
- 1 cup powdered monk fruit sweetener *or regular powdered sugar
- 2-3 tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
Bread
- Preheat oven to 325F and line a bread loaf tin with parchment paper. You'll want to make sure your egg and yogurt are more at room-temp, so it doesn't seize the coconut oil.
- In a large bowl, combine the wet ingredients. Then add in the dry ingredients, folding in the blueberries last. Careful not to stir the blueberries in too much, as this will cause purple streaking throughout. Spread the batter into the prepared baking tin.
- In the same bowl, combine all of the streusel topping ingredients. Sprinkle the crumb topping over top of the bread batter, slightly pressing it down into the top to make sure it sticks after baking.
- Bake for 50-55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The center should feel firm to touch.
- Remove the loaf from the oven and let cool COMPLETELY. Letting it cool completely will help eliminate the bread crumbling when cutting into slices.
Glaze
- In a small bowl, mix together the powdered sugar and lemon juice to form the glaze. If your glaze is too thick, add an extra 1/2-1 tbsp lemon juice or milk of choice until it reaches your desired consistency. Drizzle over the bread before slicing and enjoy!