Most recipes call for all-purpose flour for frying food, whether as a coating or to prepare the batter before frying. But what happens if you’re on a low-carb and/or gluten-free diet? Can you use alternative flour like coconut flour for frying instead?
Coconut flour can be used for frying and is a good alternative for those wanting to avoid more traditional wheat-based flour!
In this article we’ll explain:
- The role flour plays in frying
- Some of the best flours for frying
- How your choice of oil plays a role in frying
The role of flour in frying
There are several roles flour plays in frying food, helping give fried food the crispy, crunchy texture we all know and love!
Flour can help enhance the texture and flavor of fried foods by:
- Sealing in moisture: frying foods at high temperatures can quickly dry out the foods if you’re not careful. Coating in flour first helps retain the moisture in the food being fried, so you’re left with juicier chicken strips or whatever else you’re frying.
- Promoting a crunchy exterior: if you’ve ever had fried food with a soft or moist exterior, you probably didn’t enjoy it as much as if it was crispy. That’s one of the appeals of fried food, after all!
Coating food in flour helps brown the outside (by absorbing some of the oil) when exposed to high heat and gives it the crunchy texture fried food is known for. - Adding flavor: mixing seasoning with the flour can boost the flavor in fried foods so you’re not just left with the taste of the food and oil.
- Creating a batter: flour can either be used as a coating before frying or to make a batter. Coconut flour can be used in gluten-free/low-carb batters similar to how all-purpose flour is used.
- Adhering the batter: if you’re dipping the soon-to-be-fried food in an egg wash or some type of batter to coat it, the flour gives the egg/batter something to “hold on to” so it can better adhere to the outside of the food. Otherwise, the liquid isn’t as likely to stick to the outside of the food (especially things with slippery surfaces like a chicken breast!).
Is coconut flour good for frying?
If you’re craving battered or fried food but don’t want to use all-purpose flour, you might be wondering how alternative flours like coconut flour might do the job. After all, you don’t need to give up fried foods if you’re on a gluten-free or wheat-free diet, and coconut flour is suitable for both!
Coconut flour can be used for frying and is a great alternative to wheat-based flour. You’ll find several recipes calling for coconut flour in fried foods, including keto-friendly and other low-carb recipes, thanks to the low net carb content of coconut flour.
Benefits of using coconut flour for frying
- Gluten-free
- Keto-, Paleo-, and low-carb friendly
- Suitable for those with wheat allergies
- Suitable for most people with nut allergies (coconuts are recognized as a tree nut by the FDA, but most people with tree nut allergies can safely eat coconut)
- Rich in fiber compared to many other flours
- Offers a subtle coconut flavor (might be a con for some – but great for coconut shrimp!)
Alternatives to coconut flour for frying
Some of the most preferred flours and starches for frying are:
- Rice flour (gluten-free)
- All-purpose flour (not gluten-free; most commonly used in the majority of recipes)
- Corn starch (gluten-free)
- Semolina flour (not gluten-free)
What type of oil is best for frying with coconut flour?
While we’re on the topic of frying, we might as well touch on cooking oils really quickly!
You’ll want to choose an oil with a higher smoke point (doesn’t turn into smoke as easily/quickly) for frying. The reason? Using oils with lower smoke points is more likely to burn the food and release unpleasant smoke in your kitchen (and let’s face it – it spreads through the rest of the house pretty fast, too!).
The typical temperature range for frying ranges from 325oF-375oF, sometimes going as high as 400oF. Maintaining the high temperature of the oil is a crucial part of achieving the desired fried food texture.
Some of the oils with higher smoke points suitable for frying include:
- Corn oil (450°F)
- Sunflower oil (450°F)
- Vegetable oil (~450°F)
- Soybean oil (453°F)
- Safflower oil (510°F)
- Avocado oil (520°F)
FAQs:
Like coconut flour, almond flour is another great gluten-free, low-carb flour alternative for frying. You can also use it in place of breadcrumbs to make recipes lower-carb and/or keto-friendly!
Coconut flour is a good gluten-free and low-carb alternative for frying, including making the coating and/or batter.
I’m surprised a dietician and all-around food guru is recommending seed oils. Of course avocado oil is not made from the seed, itself. Safflower and sunflower are, and corn and soy have herbicide and biotech issues as well as the chemical stripping agents and perfumes added with all seed oils. We’ve been using refined coconut oil, which is ‘refined’ via bleaching without the solvents required of the seed oils, using an activated clay filter (I’ve read). I think even that would be a better option than solvent-soaked and necessarily perfumed seed oils.
That said, I am going to try making fried chicken today, using coconut flour, maybe with or without an egg wash, to see what works best for me. Thank you for the recipes and info!
Still don’t know if I can just roll foods in coconut flour alone without mixing it with other flours to cook in air fryer
Can you clarify?
Thanks for your question, Helen! You do not need to mix coconut flour with other flours before frying.