Whether you have a dietary restriction (gluten-free, keto, paleo, etc.), are trying to get healthier, or just want to try something new, we’ve got an alternative flour for you!
As its name suggests, all-purpose flour can do just about anything, but believe it or not, there are more than 50 common flours to choose from.
Here are the best flour substitutes in nine categories, from high-fiber to low-cal. Let’s start the slideshow with paleo!
For people on a paleo diet (or Whole30, gluten-free, or keto), almond flour is a very popular replacement for all-purpose flour.
Almond flour can be used on its own or mixed with other flours to reduce the amount of moistness it adds due to its high fat content.
There are actually LOTS of good choices to avoid gluten.
Gluten-free all-purpose flour is #1 on our list because it is purpose-built for mimicking AP flour without the gluten. It’s actually a mix of other flours that depends on the manufacturer. For example, Bob’s Red Mill includes a couple different rice flours, potato starch, sorghum flour, and tapioca flour.
You might be wondering why we almond flour won on its own for paleo but is mixed with vital wheat gluten for keto.
The reason is simple. Vital wheat gluten isn’t allowed in paleo or Whole30 diets but is low in carbs and keto-friendly. And adding vital wheat gluten makes almond flour more like AP flour for baking.
We’re talking de-fatted peanut flour here to keep it less greasy.
Other nut flours are also high in protein, but a quarter cup of peanut flour has a whopping 15g of protein versus 6g for almond flour or cashew flour and just 4g for regular flour.
The bad news is that there really isn’t a “diet” flour.
The best we can offer is Einkorn flour, an ancient grain that has 100 calories per quarter cup vs. all-purpose flour’s 120 calories.
But you can generally swap it 1:1 with AP flour. It’s pretty similar-tasting to wheat but with a deeper character.
You know this one!
The additional nutrition comes because unlike all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour uses the entire wheat kernel, resulting in a lot more fiber and some more protein.
Lecture over!
Two winners?
Certainly, and you can guess why.
Cake flour is better for cakes and bread flour is better for bread…duh!
Cakes require less protein so they can be lighter while breads require more to bake correctly.
Whole wheat flour has a LOT more fiber than its all-purpose alternative.
Think 5 times more if we’re using round numbers (5g to 1g)!
It’s also delicious in its own right. I could go for a turkey and Swiss sandwich on wheat right now!
If you’re going for the true closest substitute for all-purpose flour, it’s a mix of cake flour and bread flour. The softer flour and harder flour combine to approximate regular flour’s blend.
If you’re making a cup (around 130 grams), use 70 grams of bread flour and 60 grams of cake flour.
We’ll also give a shout out to almond flour once again here. It’s an excellent substitute for many special diets. You simply need to make some baking adjustments to deal with almond flour’s high fat content. If you don’t need to avoid AP flour completely, substituting almond flour for just a bit of the regular flour to get more protein and fat and fewer carbs is an option.
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