A vegan diet comes with several potential health benefits, but it can also take some planning to ensure you’re getting enough nutrients that are commonly found in animal-based products.
While almost all types of flour are considered vegan-friendly, some of the best flours that provide important nutrients for vegans are:
- Amaranth flour
- Chickpea flour
- Coconut flour
- Flaxseed flour
- Hemp flour
- Okara flour
- Peanut flour
- Quinoa flour
- Sesame flour
- Vital wheat gluten flour
If you’re curious why some of these made our list, then read on for the explanations and nutritional comparison!
Important nutrients for a vegan diet
A vegan diet excludes all animal products, including meat, eggs, dairy products, things that contain gelatin (which is sourced from cows or pigs), and honey.
While a vegan diet can be higher in certain nutrients than a non-vegan diet (such as fiber, vitamin C, and other nutrients found in plant-based foods), there are potential nutrient deficiencies that can occur. It’s possible to get enough of these nutrients on a vegan diet, but it does take some planning!
Some of the nutrients of potential concern on a vegan diet include:
- Iron
- Calcium
- Vitamin B12
- Protein
- Calories
How to choose the best vegan flours
While almost all flours are considered vegan (except cricket flour!), not all of them offer a lot of nutrients that vegans need, like iron and protein.
The good news is that many types of flours are enriched with iron to help prevent deficiencies, such as wheat-based all-purpose and whole-wheat flours. Some alternative flours are higher in iron and protein based on their source, which means they pack more of a nutritional punch for vegans.
It’s important to note that vitamin B12 isn’t listed on most nutrition facts labels, but iron and calcium are more commonly listed.
10 best flours for vegans
Amaranth flour is a great source of iron with one serving providing 15% of the daily value for iron! It’s also a source of calcium (8% of the daily value) and contains a decent amount of protein (5 grams) per serving. Another bonus is that it’s a gluten-free option!
Legumes are one of the best plant-based sources of iron, and chickpea flour is no exception! One serving provides 10% of the daily value for iron, which is the same amount as enriched all-purpose flour (the iron is added to help prevent deficiencies). Chickpea flour is also higher in protein than all-purpose flour with five grams per serving.
This popular gluten-free flour is naturally rich in iron with 12% of the daily value per ¼ cup! (And there are some really great coconut flour brands out there nowadays!)
While salmon is the poster child for a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, flaxseed flour (meal) is a great plant-based source of these healthy fats. Flaxseed flour is also a good source of iron (12% of the daily value) and contains 6 grams of protein per ¼ cup.
Another handy use for flaxseed flour is to use it as a vegan egg substitute because of its great binding abilities!
Hemp powder is an excellent source of plant-based protein with 12 grams per serving. It’s also incredibly rich in iron providing 35% of the daily value per serving!
The listed serving size for okara flour is ½ cup, and that serving size provides 10% of the daily value for calcium. That amount is much higher than other flours contain per serving, making okara flour one of the best flours for vegans!
Peanut flour is an excellent source of protein for vegans (15 grams per serving) and provides 6% of the daily value for iron.
While quinoa flour isn’t as high in iron or calcium as other flours on this list, it’s still a good choice for vegans because it’s a complete protein, which means it provides all of the essential amino acids (building blocks of protein) that you have to obtain through your diet.
Two tablespoons of sesame flour provide a whopping 24% of the daily value for iron! Thanks to its high-fat content, sesame flour is also more calorie-dense (115 calories per two tablespoons, which is half the serving size of most flours with similar calories) and is a great source of protein with 12 grams per two tablespoons.
Because it’s so high in protein, vital wheat gluten is used to make seitan, a popular vegan protein source! One serving provides an impressive 23 grams of vegan-friendly protein!
Nutritional comparison of the best vegan flours
Because we mainly focused on protein, calcium, and iron, we’re only including those stats (in addition to calories since energy is a nutrient of concern for vegans) in this comparison (so no carbs/sugar/fiber, etc.).
Serving size=1/4 cup unless stated. DV=daily value set by the FDA
Flour | Calories | Protein | Iron | Calcium |
Amaranth flour | 140 | 5 g | 15% DV | 8% DV |
Chickpea (garbanzo bean) flour | 120 | 5 g | 10% DV | 2% DV |
Coconut flour | 120 | 6 g | 12% DV | 0% DV |
Flaxseed flour | 140 | 6 g | 12% DV | 4% DV |
Hemp flour | 120 | 12 g | 35% DV | 4% DV |
Okara flour (½ cup) | 140 | 7 g | 8% DV | 10% DV |
Peanut flour | 130 | 15 g | 6% DV | 2% DV |
Quinoa flour | 100 | 4 g (complete protein) | 6% DV | 0% DV |
Sesame flour (2 tbsp.) | 115 | 12 g | 24% DV | 3% DV |
Vital wheat gluten | 120 | 23 g | 6% DV | 0% DV |
FAQs:
Virtually all flours are plant-based and come from grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, and other plants. While there are a few rare exceptions (like cricket flour), it’s safe to assume most flours are plant-based.
All-purpose flour is commonly used in baking recipes, and it’s enriched with iron to help meet the nutrient needs of vegans. You can of course use alternative flours for vegan baking as well, such as coconut flour!
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