Are There Any Flours That Aren’t Vegan?

Flour is a staple in cooking and baking. With several options to choose from, you probably assume they’re all vegan-friendly. But are they?

There is only one flour that isn’t considered vegan – and that’s cricket flour! That means that the majority of flour is indeed vegan.

If you’ve never heard of cricket flour before, don’t worry – you’re not alone! We’ll explain what cricket flour is, why it’s not vegan, and explain why all the other types of flour are vegan!

Is flour vegan?

Vegans only eat plant-based foods and avoid all animal products – even gelatin and honey, which are sourced from animals.

The overwhelming majority of flour is vegan – and we’re talking like 99.9% of them. Why? 

Flour is made by drying and grinding plant-based foods into fine powder. Most types of flours are made from grains (both gluten-containing and gluten-free), legumes, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds.  

Because all of these foods align with a vegan diet, that means that flour is almost always considered vegan. There is only one exception, which we’ll get to soon!

What about the additives in flour?

Some flour is enriched with important nutrients like B vitamins and iron. The nutrients usually added to enriched flour include:

• Niacin (vitamin B3)
• Thiamine Mononitrate (vitamin B1)
• Riboflavin (vitamin B2)
• Iron or reduced iron 
• Folic acid (vitamin B9)

All of these added nutrients are vegan-friendly!

Oh, and if your flour is bleached, don’t worry – the bleaching process doesn’t use any animal-derived ingredients.

Are there any flours that aren’t vegan?

So if 99.9% of flours are vegan, what is the exception? The answer: cricket flour.

Cricket flour (or cricket powder) is made from finely ground – you guessed it – crickets! You can find both plain cricket flour (called cricket powder) which is 100% crickets, or you can buy actual cricket flour which is ground crickets mixed with wheat flour.

So what’s the deal with crickets, anyway? It turns out they’re naturally rich in protein (22 grams of protein per ¼ cup of cricket powder!), omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, and iron.

Because crickets are living things, vegans don’t eat them – similar to how vegans don’t consume honey, which is produced by bees.

What are the best flours for vegans?

When it comes to the best flours for vegans, it all depends on what your diet and cooking goals are. Some flours stand above the rest in terms of the nutrients they provide, such as protein, iron, and calcium (nutrients that can be lacking in some vegan diets).

Some of our favorite flours for vegans include chickpea flour, hemp flour, and amaranth flour, among several others.

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