Oat Fiber vs Oat Flour: Everything You Need to Know 

Oats are among the healthiest foods you can eat, so it’s not surprising that there are so many products made from oats. It can get a little confusing, such as when comparing oat fiber and oat flour. But fear not – we’ll explain it all in this article! But to summarize:

Oat fiber is made only from the outermost protective layer of the oat kernel called the hull/husk. Oat fiber is most often used to add fiber and texture to baked goods and is suitable for low-carb diets, but might also be used as a flour substitute for very low-carb diets.

Oat flour is made from de-hulled oats and is considered a whole grain. Oat flour is typically used in higher amounts than oat fiber, such as to replace all-purpose flour altogether.

What is the difference between oat fiber vs. oat flour?

Oat fiber is made only from the husk of the oat, which is the outermost part surrounding the oat kernel (also called a groat). The husk (hull) of the oat is indigestible because it’s primarily made of fiber, so it provides no calories or carbohydrates per serving.

Oat flour is made by finely grinding the whole oats that don’t contain the hull/husk. Unlike oat fiber, oat flour contains calories from carbohydrates, but it does contain some fiber.

Since oat fiber doesn’t contain any part of the grain, it’s not considered a whole grain or even a grain. Oat flour is considered a whole grain because it includes all parts of the oat, including the bran and germ.

What about rolled oats vs. oat groats?

In case you’re wondering what type of oats oat flour is made from, the answer is rolled oats! Rolled oats are simply oat groats that have been steamed and then flattened by large rollers, which makes them easier to cook and prolongs their shelf life.

Oat groats aren’t as popular as rolled oats because they take longer to cook – even longer than steel-cut oats, which are simply oat groats that have been cut into smaller pieces. (If you’re wondering what oat groats look like, it’s the type of oats you might have seen fed to livestock!)

All of this oat talk can get a little confusing, so we’ll try to clarify it with this visual comparison of some different types of oats/oat byproducts:

	Contains hull/husk	Whole grain	Low-carb	Cook time
Oat fiber	Yes	No (only husk)	Yes	n/a
Oat flour	No	Yes	No	n/a
Oat groats	No	Yes	No	Longest
Rolled oats	No	Yes	No	Shorter
Quick-cooking oats	No	Yes	No	Shortest
Steel cut oats	No	Yes	No	Long

How to use oat fiber vs. oat flour

Oat fiber

Oat fiber is very high in fiber and has tremendous liquid absorbency abilities. For this reason, oat fiber can be added to baked goods to add bulk or thicken the texture. You can also use oat fiber to make cookies, muffins, pancakes, or any baked goods or cereal. 

Adding oat fiber to baked goods can make them more crumbly because it absorbs liquid – you might try adding it as a crumb topping for your next dessert!

The serving size of oat fiber is much smaller than that of oat flour (one teaspoon vs. ¼ cup, respectively). That means that oat fiber isn’t generally meant to be used on its own as flour, but can be added to other flours like almond flour, all-purpose flour, and many others.

Oat fiber is especially popular among low-carb and keto dieters because it offers beneficial fiber without contributing carbs (the net carb content is 1 gram per serving). 

Oat flour

Oat flour can be used as a standalone flour – in fact, you can substitute oat flour for all-purpose flour by swapping every cup of all-purpose flour for 1 ⅓ cups of oat flour. 

However, you might need to adjust the other ingredients in the recipe to provide structure since oats don’t contain gluten, the elastic protein that gives traditional baked goods their chewiness. When in doubt, look for recipes that originally call for oat flour to get used to using it!

Oat flour is a popular all-purpose flour alternative because it’s less refined, healthier, and has the added bonus of being gluten-free for those following a gluten-free diet.

Nutritional comparison of oat fiber vs. oat flour

The serving sizes for oat flour and oat fiber are very different because they are intended for different uses. However, you can tell how much higher oat fiber is than oat flour if you were to change the serving size to ¼ cup – it would contain 36 grams of fiber!

	Calories	Total carbs	Fiber	Sugar	Fat	Protein
Oat flour (¼ cup)	120	22 g	3 g	0 g	2 g	4 g
Oat fiber (1 tsp.)	0	4 g	3 g	0 g	0 g	0 g

FAQs:

Links on this page may be affiliate links, for which the site earns a small commission, but the price for you is the same