5 Best Coconut Flour Substitutes For Any Occasion

In my humble opinion, coconut flour is one of the most delicious gluten-free flours available! It has a mild and slightly sweet flavor that is perfect for baking muffins, pancakes, tasty slices, and more. But sometimes you need to find an alternative – whether it’s because you don’t have coconut flour on hand or because someone in your family just flat out doesn’t like it. Here are five of the best coconut flour substitutes for any occasion!

• Almond flour
• White rice flour
• Oat flour
• Cashew flour
• Soy flour

Best All-Around Gluten-Free Coconut Flour Substitute: Almond Flour

It is hard to pick substitutes for coconut flour as it has a unique flavor and can be temperamental when baking. With most flours, you cannot just swap it one to one in recipes due to its high liquid absorbency. It also doesn’t hold together well without binders, so I suggest using it with recipes designed for it!

Now that is out of the way, while there is no perfect substitute, the overall best substitute for coconut flour is almond flour. It has a slightly sweet flavor, so it lends itself to coconut flour-based recipes well in terms of taste. However, it does not absorb as much liquid, so you must use a lot more flour or less liquid when substituting. 

Almond flour is just as easy to find and purchase in supermarkets and is probably even more well-known than coconut flour as a gluten-free baking flour.  It is also more affordable than coconut flour, making it a great substitute if you’re on a slightly tighter budget.

Best Budget-Friendly Coconut Flour Substitute: White Rice Flour or Oat Flour

The best budget-friendly coconut flour alternative is white rice flour or oat flour. These flours are gluten-free, and while they are not as healthy or tasty as coconut flour, they are usually less expensive. The same rules apply here when it comes to substitution, though; coconut flour absorbs more water than rice flour and oat flour, so you must use more flour or less liquid when substituting.

Both oat flour and rice flour have a mild flavor that is usually not distinguishable once mixed with other ingredients.

Best Easy-to-Bake-With Coconut Flour Substitute: Almond Flour

The most accessible alternative flour for baking, if you cannot get your hands on coconut flour, is almond flour. You can sub it with all-purpose if you want, but I’m assuming that if you are seeking out coconut flour in the first place, you are looking for healthy or gluten-free flour, both categories covered by almond flour. 

When substituting almond flour for coconut flour in baking, you would likely need to use four times more flour to compensate for almond flour’s reduced liquid absorption. If you are substituting almond for all-purpose, swap them one for one, and add extra binding ingredients. 

Almond flour adds a similar nutty flavor to baked goods but lacks the sweetness of coconut. It works well with many of the same kinds of dishes that coconut flour suits. 

Closest in Flavor Coconut Flour Substitute: Almond Flour or Cashew Flour

The flour that has the most similar flavor profile to coconut flour is almond flour or cashew flour. When I say similar, I mean only in the sense that they offer a toasty and nutty flavor to baked goods; no other flour will ever really taste like coconut flour. 

Cashew flour is very similar to almond flour in taste. Still, my palette thinks it’s slightly sweeter, making it a great alternative to coconut flour for sweet products, and almond flour can be used for both sweet and savory products. Keep in mind that cashew flour is usually more expensive than almond and coconut flour, though. 

Best Neutral-Flavored Coconut Flour Substitute: White Rice Flour

The most neutral-flavored coconut flour alternative is white rice flour. White rice flour has almost no taste, meaning all the other ingredients in your recipe will shine through. It has a slightly grainy texture that will help approximate the crunch of coconut in specific recipes.

Brown rice flour is not a good substitute, as it differs from white rice flour, and the taste is much more like a dense grain.

Best Healthy Substitute for Coconut Flour: Almond Flour

The healthiest substitute for coconut flour is almond flour. Coconut flour is overall more nutritious than almond flour, with better levels of fiber and a few other essential nutrients. Still, almond flour is high in vitamin E, calcium, and manganese. 

Almond flour is higher in fat and calories than coconut flour, so be mindful of this if you are on a calorie-controlled diet. 

Best High-Fiber Coconut Flour Substitute

Coconut flour does not have a high fiber equivalent, as it is really high in fiber on its own! All the flours most similar regarding flavor and baking profiles have lower levels of fiber, so there is no viable substitute for this category. Coconut flour has around 10 grams of fiber per ¼ cup, whereas something like almond flour has only 4 grams. 

You could use almond flour and then add a bit of a high-fiber ingredient, such as psyllium husk. Psyllium is cheap and easily mixes into flour blends, but just be aware it absorbs quite a bit of water, so the liquid ratios in your recipe may need to be adjusted again. 

Best Lower Calorie Coconut Flour Alternative: Soy Flour

A lower-calorie alternative to coconut flour is soy flour. It hasn’t made the cut in other categories as a substitute, primarily because the flavor is very different from coconut flour. It can taste savory, earthy, and, yes, beany, unlike coconut flour’s sweet and nutty profile. 

When looking at soy flour, it is better to find the defatted kind rather than the full fat or ‘natural’ kind, as the defatted has a much lighter flavor, meaning you could use it in more recipes.  

Best High Protein Coconut Flour Substitute: Soy Flour

The highest protein alternative to coconut flour is also soy flour. Soy flour is often used in baking in smaller quantities to add extra protein to the baked good, as it contains 12 grams of protein per ¼ cup compared to coconut flour’s 6 grams. 

While soy flour is more absorbent than some other substitutes we have discussed, it still isn’t quite as absorbent as coconut flour, so you may need to double the flour in the recipe or halve the amount of liquid.

Best Keto/Paleo/Whole30: Almond Flour

While coconut flour is great on all three diets, almond flour would be the next best choice. Almond flour is suitable to have on all three diets, as it is low on carbohydrates and is grain and legume free.

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