Peanut flour is a protein-packed flour that has been gaining popularity for its unique flavor and health properties. After all, who doesn’t love peanuts? This nutty flour is super high in protein, sometimes up to 50%, which is why it has grabbed the attention of the health-and gym-conscious.
While peanut flour is great, it may not suit every dish or recipe. That’s why we’ve put together a list of the best substitutes!
- Almond flour
- All-purpose flour
- Coconut flour
- Pecan flour
- Cricket flour
Best All-Around Peanut Flour Substitute: Almond Flour
Peanut flour is made by grinding peanuts into a fine powder, and almond flour is made by grinding almonds into a fine powder. Both have similar nutty profiles and work well in similar recipes.
There are a few things to note with peanut flour. The processing and ingredients vary a lot by brand! Some peanut flours come from blanched peanuts, and some from roasted peanuts. Some have been defatted, and some have not. The one almond flour is most similar to is blanched peanut flour, as almond flour usually comes from blanched almonds.
While almonds flour is not as high in protein, it is still a great source of healthy fats, fiber and vitamin E.
Best Budget-Friendly Peanut Flour Substitute: All-Purpose Flour
Peanut flour is not the most budget-friendly option for baking, costing around 35 cents per ounce compared to as low as 3 cents an ounce for all-purpose flour.
All-purpose flour does not have the same nutritional benefits as peanut flour, but it can be a substitute for peanut flour in baking. It is important to recognise that all-purpose flour contains gluten, so it is unsuitable for those on a gluten-free diet.
Best Easy-to-Bake-With Peanut Flour Substitute: All-Purpose Flour
All-purpose flour is also the easiest substitute to bake with, as the gluten content and lack of fat hold baked goods together nicely and give them a chewy texture. Peanut flour can be greasy if not defatted and tends to fall apart without additional binders.
If you are new to peanut flour and you have no issue with the gluten in all-purpose flour, try substituting 25% of your all-purpose flour with peanut flour to boost the nutrition in your food, and then slowly work your way up once you are more comfortable with the way the peanut flour behaves.
Peanut flour may have a high liquid absorbency, but this varies depending on whether it’s defatted or partially defatted.
Flour Closest in Flavor to Peanut Flour: Almond Flour
Almond flour and peanut flour taste similar and bake in a similar way. Both are nutty, and both can add depth and richness to your recipes. They bake similarly if you use blanched peanut flour and not roasted flour.
Use them as stand-alone flour in cakes, muffins, pancakes and cookies, or mix them with your all-purpose flour to boost the taste and nutrition in your bake.
Best Neutral-Flavor Substitute for Peanut Flour: All-Purpose Flour
Although all-purpose flour doesn’t possess peanut flour’s distinct nutty taste or nutritional profile, it can still provide a comparable baking performance in recipes requiring peanut flour. The variations in texture and taste may impact the final product. Still, all-purpose flour serves as a suitable replacement for peanut flour for those dealing with peanut allergies or those who favor a more neutral flavor.
Best Healthy Substitute for Peanut Flour: Coconut Flour
Coconut flour is another good substitute for those looking for a healthy alternative. However, coconut flour is higher in fiber than peanut flour, so you may need to make adjustments to your recipe and possibly add more liquid.
This gluten-free flour contains fibre, vitamins, and minerals like manganese. It is lower in carbohydrates and higher in healthy fats than regular flour, making it a particularly good choice for those following a low-carb or keto diet. Plus, it has a lower glycemic index than regular flour, which may help to regulate blood sugar levels and is safe for people with diabetes.
Best High-Fiber Substitute for Peanut Flour: Coconut Flour
Coconut flour is higher in fiber than peanut flour. It has 10 grams of fiber per ¼ cup, whereas peanut flour usually has around 4 grams of fiber for the same amount. This means that when swapping peanut flour for coconut flour, you may need to adjust your recipe with the liquid ratios, as coconut flour is highly absorbent.
Best Gluten-Free Alternative to Peanut Flour: Almond Flour Or Pecan Flour
Almond flour or pecan flour are both great gluten-free options if you cannot find peanut flour. They can be substituted at a 1:1 ratio with each other and used pretty much interchangeably in recipes.
Nut flours overall can be a bit trickier to work with than regular flour because they don’t have the same binding properties as gluten-containing flour. This means that you might need to use more eggs or other binding agents (xanthan gum, guar gum) to keep your baked goods from falling apart.
Best High Protein Substitute for Peanut Flour: Cricket Flour
Peanut flour is an excellent source of protein, with around 15 grams of protein per ¼ cup serving. In fact, for a vegan flour, it is one of the highest in protein! If you are not vegan and feeling a little adventurous, try cricket flour! This is made by grinding roasted crickets into a fine powder.
Cricket flour is typically used to replace a small percentage of regular flour in baking to boost the protein content, as it contains 22 grams of protein per ¼ cup, which is around 60-70% protein by weight! It is not supposed to be used as a stand-alone flour, though, as it won’t bake well, but mixed in with other flours in recipes.
Best Keto/Paleo/Whole30 Substitute for Peanut Flour: Almond Flour
Peanut flour is a good keto flour, with only 9 grams of net carbs per serving, but it cannot be used in the paleo diet as it is technically a legume. Since almonds are a tree nut, naturally gluten-free and low in carbs, it is the best substitute for peanut flour for these diets.
FAQs
Buying peanut flour can be confusing, as you will often find peanut powder or peanut butter powder on the label. These are slightly different from peanut flour and often contain other additives. Peanut powder or peanut butter powder usually indicates that it has not been defatted and can be mixed with water to make peanut butter rather than being used as a flour for baking.
However, some peanut powders are the same as peanut flour when you look at the ingredients, which can be super confusing, so when shopping for peanut flour, specifically look for one that says peanut flour on the label just to be safe.
Peanut flour can be used for baking as a protein-rich substitute for traditional wheat flour. It can also be added to smoothies and shakes or sprinkled on yogurt or oatmeal.
Peanut flour is a bit more processed than just ground peanuts. It can be made from roasted and defatted peanuts ground into a fine powder. This removes the fat from the peanuts, which makes it lower in calories but also means it won’t produce the same texture as regular peanut butter when blended with water. Some peanut flours are made with blanched peanuts ground into a powder, which is more similar to almond flour.
Peanut butter is made with roasted and ground peanuts mixed with oil and salt. To make a spreadable paste crunchy or creamy texture, you need full-fat peanuts for the best result. Peanut flour won’t create the same texture as traditional peanut butter. For that, you should use peanut butter powder.
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