Rice flour(or sweet rice flour) is made out of raw, ground white rice. Its main purpose is to make rice noodles and rice pancakes. This flour is also great to use for gluten-free baking and pasta making. Rice flour can also act as a thickening agent in sauces, gravies, soups, and stews.
Ground rice flour is very delicate and soft, and it actually looks like regular all-purpose flour. You might notice a subtly sweet flavor and a hint of rice but otherwise, the flavor is neutral so you can use it in either sweet or savory recipes.
Just a word of caution when purchasing this product! There are two types of rice flour and only one type of rice flour is gluten-free. There is a type of glutinous rice flour made from sticky rice(the type of rice you normally use for making sushi).
If you don’t have this type of product on your shelves, don’t worry! We are here to provide some alternatives that would make you forget all about rice flour in a second.
Substitutes for rice flour are
- Almond Flour
- Sorghum Flour
- Oat Flour
- Brown Rice Flour
- Coconut Flour
- All-Purpose Flour/White Flour
- Amaranth Flour
- Chickpea Flour
- Tapioca Flour
- Corn Starch
- Potato Starch
To learn more about these mostly gluten-free alternatives for rice flour, keep on reading our article.
Substitutes For Rice Flour
Almond Flour
This is a low-carb, gluten-free flour substitute. It is made by blanching almonds and grinding them up until they resemble regular flour. Almond flour became very popular, especially in vegan baking and paleo diets. Almond flour is very nutritious and contains lots of minerals and vitamins.
Another plus about this flour is that it is low in carbs but high in healthy fats and fibers. You might notice a subtle nutty flavor, so if you use it to substitute rice flour, I recommend using a little bit less.
Sorghum Flour
I admit, putting this Sorghum flour in a list of alternatives that can be already found on your shelves or in your local grocery store is a little bit far-fetched, but I truly do think that if you by any chance can find it, that it would be one of the greatest substitutes for rice flour.
Sorghum is an ancient grain that’s packed with nutrients. Sorghum flour is, of course, gluten-free, rich in antioxidants, and very high in fiber. It is one of the best options for flour, including glutenous types of flour.
Sorghum flour might taste a little bit sweeter than rice flour but I guarantee you that you won’t feel the difference when you incorporate it in your dishes/baked goods.
Oat Flour
Oat flour is very similar to Sorghum flour and it’s one of the best gluten-free alternatives for all-purpose flour. This is a whole grain product with a high fiber content(dietary fiber) and it is one of the healthiest and best flours to use(along with Sorghum flour).
Oat flour has a nutty taste and a grainy texture. Unlike Sorghum flour, you can actually taste the difference when baking with it. Because of the grainy texture of oat flour of course, that the texture of your dishes/baked goods will be crunchier and crumblier.
The taste will be slightly nuttier than rice flour, but I think that it really goes well especially in baking. Whether I’m making sweet or savory food, I always try to sneak just a little bit of a nutty taste in it. It makes my food more unique, more enjoyable.
If you by any chance have some rolled oats at home, you can make this rice flour substitute in just a couple of minutes. If you have a blender of a coffee grinder simply just put one cup of rolled oats and grind it up until you’re happy with the consistency.
To get finer flour you have to grind it up multiple times so it can get that silky texture like the rice flour. Oat flour is best for making gluten-free muffins, pancakes, gluten-free cookies, and muffins.
Oat flour is also an amazing substitute for wheat flour. People that are on healthy diets and don’t consume gluten are often religious users of this flour because it has many health benefits and it is an excellent source of fiber and protein content.
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Brown Rice Flour
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There isn’t much to say about brown rice flour except that it is made from brown rice aka whole grain rice instead of white rice. You can use this flour instead of white rice flour or all-purpose flour in both cooking and baking recipes with no problem. It has a mild flavor and a fine texture.
Coconut Flour
This is a type of flour that’s made out of dried coconut meat(found inside the coconut). It is used in various gluten-free baking recipes and plays a big role in any gluten-free diet. It is one of the most popular flours on the market alongside almond flour.
Now, when it comes to the taste, you probably guessed it. Coconut flour unfortunately doesn’t have that neutral taste that would be suitable for absolutely every food that you’re preparing.
But, it does make some seriously tasty cookies, pancakes, muffins, and as a savory alternative, excellent coconut shrimp. I mean, this flour isn’t essential to have around the house but it can come in handy if you want to add some exotic taste to your food.
All-Purpose Flour
You know that I had to mention the world-famous regular wheat flour. This is a versatile flour and I bet that you already have it in your home. After all, it is the essential product to have in every kitchen, no matter if you are much of a chef or not. To substitute white rice flour with wheat flour, simply just use a 1:1 ratio.
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Chickpea Flour
Chickpea flour needs no explanation. It is a flour made out of dried chickpeas or Garbanzo beans if you will. Chickpea flour is a great substitute for rice flour because they have the exact same texture and very similar taste. If you want to use chickpea flour as a substitute for sweet rice flour, just use a 1:1 ratio.
Tapioca Flour
Tapioca flour sometimes referred to as Tapioca starch or Cassava starch is a ground, powdery substance that has the same white color and texture as a regular, wheat flour. In fact, I bet you wouldn’t even notice the difference between them.
Tapioca starch has a neutral taste and it’s mostly used as a thickener for soups, stews, salad dressings, sauces, gravies, and deep-frying chicken. You can also use it in any gluten-free baking recipe.
This substitute for rice flour is made from the Cassava root from the Cassava plant and it is completely gluten-free and grain-free. Tapioca flour is pretty hard to find in the stores but maybe you’ll have more luck if you look for it in health-food stores.
Corn Starch
Corn starch is one of the things that every cook should have in their kitchen. And if you’re an experienced cook, I’m sure you already own it and you know its purposes.
Corn starch is made by extracting the natural starch from the corn grain. This flour/starch has a yellowish color and is great for multiple purposes. You can use this flour in recipes that are savory but you can also use it in some sweet recipes as well since its taste is almost neutral.
You can bake with it, use it as a coating for frying chicken or any other deep-fried food, and it is a great thickening agent in soups, sauces, and gravies.
This starchy flour is probably one of the cheapest alternatives for rice flour on the market and it’s pretty easy to find in the local grocery store.
Potato Starch
Potato starch or potato flour is the starch that’s extracted by crushing potatoes. This alternative to rice flour looks like regular, all-purpose flour and has a neutral flavor.
Potato starch is mostly used as a thickening agent in soups and stews, pie fillings, and is also great if you want to do some gluten-free baking with it.
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Amaranth Flour
Amaranth flour is made our a very special, ancient type of flower called the Amaranth flower and it’s very rare to find in other lands other than in Mesoamerica, its native land.
Amaranth is an ancient grain that is very nutritious and full of fiber and protein. Although Amaranth is considered to be a grain, Amaranth flour is actually grain-free since it’s made from only the seeds of the Amaranth flower.
This alternative to rice flour is not suitable for making dough that requires rising but it can be very useful as one of the gluten-free substitutes for making pancakes or flatbread. It is also good for thickening sauces, soups, and stews.
If you want to substitute rice flour with Amaranth flour, I advise using double the amount that you would use rice flour.
