Are you debating between oat flour vs sesame flour? Well, your debate ends here.
While both flours have their uses, oat flour is better for sweet desserts and sesame flour is best for savory baked goods. And why? It all comes down to flavor and texture. Let’s dig in.
Comparing oat flour vs sesame flour
Sesame flour offers a gluten-free, keto-friendly, and paleo-friendly option. Oat flour, on the other hand, is a gluten-free option but is not keto or paleo-friendly. Sesame flour also lasts on the shelf just as long as all-purpose flour, making it an easy substitute. Meanwhile, oat flour may only last three months, unless stored in the freezer.
These two types of flour have a few differences, including the ratio of sesame or oat flour to all-purpose flour and oat flour vs sesame flour ideal uses. For example, oat flour is best for desserts. It can provide a dense finish. Yet, sesame flour is better for savory baked goods, like pies, bread, dough, and more.
| Oat flour | Sesame flour | All-purpose flour | |
| Substitution ratio vs all-purpose flour | 1.3:1 | 1:4 | N/A |
| Gluten-free? | Yes | Yes | No |
| Keto-friendly? | No | Yes | No |
| Paleo-friendly? | No | Yes | No |
| Common Allergens | None | Sesame | Wheat, gluten |
| Liquid absorbency | High | High | Medium |
| Pantry shelf life (unopened/sealed) | 3 months(In the freezer, it can last up to 6 months) | 6-8 months | 6-8 months |
| Best for baking… | Most desserts – especially cakes, cookies, pancakes, muffins, fruit crumbles, and crisps | Cookies, cakes, breads, biscuits, pizza dough, crackers, muffins, pancakes, quiche and pie crusts | non-yeast recipes (think cookies, biscuits, and some breads) |
While sesame seed flour is less common than oat flour, especially in recipe ingredients lists, it still has a variety of uses and can add a mild and nutty flavor. They also both can serve as a substitute for all-purpose flour. It’s good to be aware that they can slightly alter the taste so this may take a bit of experimentation to get right.
Differences between oat flour vs sesame flour
A key difference between oat flour vs sesame flour is how they are made. Oat flour is made by grinding up oats (You can even do this easily with a blender and oats at home). Sesame flour is frequently made by cold-pressing sesame seeds to get the oil out, then grinding the seeds into a fine powder.
Sesame flour also can cater to a variety of different diets, including paleo and keto. However, oat flour doesn’t work for the keto or paleo diet, yet is gluten-free.
Baking with oat flour vs baking with sesame flour
When it comes to baking, oat flour is often used for sweet treats and baked goods, like cookies, squares, muffins, cakes, pancakes, crisps, and more. It has a nice sweet and nutty flavor. While sesame flour also has a bit of a sweet and nutty flavor, it works better in more savory-type baked goods. It can be a great addition to quiches, crackers or biscuits, as it enhances their flavor with its sesame taste.
Sesame flour can also offer a great substitute for almond flour as they both have similar usage recommendations and qualities. Both oat flour and sesame flour have a high absorbency, which means that when substituting for regular flour, you should never do a 1:1 ratio. The ratio of oat flour to all-purpose flour is 1.3:1, and the ratio of sesame flour to all-purpose flour is 1:4
Ingredients in oat flour vs sesame flour
Oat flour is made from rolled oats. You can easily make this at home by adding rolled oats to a blender and letting them blend until you have a fine powder. Sesame flour, on the other hand, involves a bit more processing. It starts with sesame seeds. The oil is pressed out of the seeds; then they are ground into a fine powder.
Oat flour + sesame flour nutritional facts
Oat flour and sesame flour greatly differ in their nutritional values, with sesame flour containing almost double the calories of oat flour. They have the same amount of carbs, with sesame flour having more fiber. Meanwhile, unsurprisingly, sesame flour contains much more protein, with 24 grams per ¼ cup. (In fact, it’s one of the highest protein flours out there.) Both flours are relatively low on the glycemic index, meaning they shouldn’t drastically spike blood sugar levels.
| Per 1/4 cup serving | Oat flour | Sesame flour | All-purpose flour |
| Calories | 120 | 230 | 110 |
| Carbs | 22 g | 22 g | 23 g |
| Fiber | 3 g | 10 g | 1 g |
| Fat | 2 | 8 g | 0 g |
| Protein | 4 | 24 g | 4 g |
| Glycemic index score | 44 (low) | 35* | 85 |
*This is the glycemic index of sesame seeds because information on sesame flour is hard to come by.
FAQ
Yes, you can. Depending on the recipe, this may take some trial and error to figure out the exact ratios, but luckily, these two flours are very similar, and you can often swap them out at a 1:1 ratio.
You can! Store-bought sesame flour undergoes a bit more processing to reduce the fat content. Thus, homemade sesame flour will have a higher fat content. However, you can simply grind sesame seeds up in a high-powered blender to form a fine powder and use this as your sesame flour if you so choose.
¼ a cup of oat flour contains about 22 grams of carbs, making it a rich carb source.
Sesame seed flour is a powder for baking made by grinding sesame seeds. It makes for a protein-packed flour, which is tasty in many savory baked goods.
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