One of the healthiest carb sources to ensure a balanced diet is oat flour. If your goal is to get more fiber in your food while staying away from unhealthy carbohydrates, opting for oat flour is the way to go. In addition, you can easily find the ingredient in most markets or grocery stores.
However, if you are out of oat flour and you cannot run to the nearest store, there are many gluten-free alternatives that may just be lying in your pantry.
- Brown Rice Flour
- Coconut Flour
- Almond Flour
- Oatmeal
- All-Purpose Flour
- Buckwheat Flour
- Amaranth Flour
- Cassava Flour
- Millet Flour
If you are still unable to get hold of the alternatives mentioned above, the following are the best gluten-free substitutes that you can use in lieu of oat flour.
17 Best Oat Flour Substitute
Brown Rice Flour
After milling and grinding, brown rice turns into its powder form, which is brown rice flour. Now, you may think that the same is true for white rice that undergoes a different process.
White rice’s refinement process gets rid of its husks, and makes it white in color. On the other hand, brown rice doesn’t go through refinement and maintains most of its natural components, including vitamins and nutrients like fiber. Thus, health-conscious people prefer brown rice over white rice which contains a generous amount of carbs.
So, when you’re out of oat flour, brown rice flour is a great substitute. Its flexibility allows you to use the ingredient in various dishes. It is commonly used in desserts, particularly sticky rice cake dishes, as well as in other baking recipes. To use as a substitute, use ¾ cup brown rice flour for 1 cup oat flour.
Coconut Flour
Similar to oat flour, coconut flour contains no gluten, making it safe for people sensitive to gluten or those who just want to remove gluten from their diet because of health reasons.
Coconut flour is rich in protein, fiber, and MCTs that help manage your body’s sugar levels. It also supports good digestion, and lowers the risk of heart disease at the early stages. In addition, the ingredient is low in calories. There’s no need to strictly measure your intake as it is a healthy carb type that you can indulge on.
Perhaps the best coconut flour feature is its aromatic smell. When using the ingredient for your baked dishes, you don’t have to include vanilla extract anymore. A word of caution though: it is highly absorbent.
It is easy to substitute coconut flour for oat flour. Just use the 1:1 ratio or a cup of coconut flour for a cup of oat flour. Just remember to adjust the other liquid ingredients to prevent your dish from getting crumbly or dry.
Almond Flour
The nut-based flour comes from fresh ground almonds, considered as one of the superfoods. It is great not only as snack, but helps your body maintain a healthy and fit lifestyle.
If you don’t eat meat, almonds can be a good source of protein, just like many other nuts. This way, you can avoid nutrient deficiency.
Almond flour is popular in the health niche because of the myriads of recipes you can use it on. It’s both healthy and economical as it is cheaper than most other oat flour alternatives.
You can also make your own almond flour right in your own kitchen. Just use your food processor to grind peeled almonds to achieve a powder consistency.
Store homemade almond flour in air-tight containers, so it will stay fresh when you need to use it for any recipe – from cookies, bakes, and pies, among many others. The ingredient is not only versatile. It’s likewise easy to use. To use as a substitute, use a 1:1 ratio.
Oatmeal
If you love the smell and taste of oat flour, but you need a substitute, look no farther than the oatmeal supply in your pantry. After all, oatmeal is a breakfast staple in most homes, and you can use good ole’ oatmeal as an oat flour substitute.
Oatmeal can go through the same process that turns almond into its powder form. Just grind a cup of oatmeal in a food processor, and voila! You get instant oat flour.
If preferred, you can tweak your flour to give it more texture. Just grind it a little bit more than usual. You can even make it as fine as sand in consistency.
There’s no need to panic if you suddenly find yourself out of oat flour, and you need it right away for the dish you’re preparing. As long as you have some oatmeal supply in your pantry, you’re good to go. You can make your own flour right in your own kitchen.
Buckwheat Flour
Some people might consider buckwheat flour as an acquired taste. It has been quite popular in many parts of the Asian continent for centuries, and it is fast gaining in popularity in the West, particularly among pastry chefs who may be looking to elevate their baked goodies into a whole new level with the ingredient’s distinct, earthly flavors.
Buckwheat flour is gluten-free, making it a superb choice for people who are conscious about their health. You can add this proven health food in your recipes that require oat flour to make a healthier, and more robust dish.
There is one problem with buckwheat flour, however. It is not always easy to find in some grocery stores. Otherwise, it is one of the best and most highly-recommended alternatives to oat flour.
Amaranth Flour
Another gluten-free oat flour alternative that is a good source of protein is amaranth flour. The ingredient is popular in the Americas where it has been used for many centuries.
While many households have this kind of flour in their pantry, it is not yet easily accessible in supermarkets and grocery stores.
Some people think that Amaranth is a nut, probably because of its nutty flavor. However, it is not. When turned into flour, amaranth is ideal for baking bread, making slurries, and thickening sauces.
While it can be an ideal option in these situations, it may not be ideal for other purposes.
Cassava Flour
This gluten-free type of flour is made from yucca, and it is very similar to oat flour in terms of flavor and texture. Its taste can be described as almost flavorless and mild, with a slight floury texture.
When substituting cassava flour for oat flour, you may need a bit less of the cassava flour as it is more absorbent, and using in excess could result to denser baked goods than what the recipe calls for.
To determine the right proportion to use, it may require a bit of trial and error. You can use a food scale instead of a measuring scoop to make your testing more precise.
Millet Flour
A type of whole grain flour, millet flour is a gluten-free option that comes with a slight nutty flavor. The ingredient is an ideal replacement for oat flour when making breads.
However, most people agree that while it can be used as a bread ingredient, millet flour is not suitable for use in any other baked goodie.
When substituting for oat flour, use ¼ of the required quantity in the recipe.
Sorghum Flour
Sorghum is often included in gluten-free flour mixes that use a binder like xanthan gum. This is mainly because of the ingredient’s smooth texture and mild taste.
Instead of wasting a good amount of ingredients while testing and learning the ideal ratios to use in particular recipes, you can use a gluten-free flour blend like sorghum flour that is commercially available.
This will often have better results than trying to make your own gluten-free substitute for oat flour on your own.
Sweet Rice Flour
Sweet rice flour is ideal for use as an oat flour substitute in shrimp patties, tempura, and salmon cakes. It comes from sticky white rice, and acts a bit more like starch than flour. The ingredient can be used as a binder to add more structure to savory recipes.
In terms of flavor, you can think of sweet rice flour as rice in the form of flour. It works best when blended with other types of flour when used in baking as a 1:1 replacement ratio is not recommended. While its name suggests that it is sweet, sweet rice flour is actually not sweet.
Many commercial blends you can find in the market that contain sweet rice flour, also contain xanthan gum and sorghum flour, among others.
Chickpea Flour
This type of flour is made from highly nutritious chickpeas. It is a good source of fiber and protein. While it can be used as an oat flour alternative, it may not be the most ideal to use for baking muffins and cakes as it tends to make these baked goodies come out heavier.
However, if you are preparing a savory dish, chickpea may be a good option. For instance, if you’re making Mediterranean flatbreads, chickpea flour may come in handy.
However, it wouldn’t be realistic to expect your chickpea flour pizza to look anything like the pizzeria pies you typically see commercially.
Black Beans
Similar to oat flour, black beans, when blended, can add structure and bulk to baked recipes like brownies. However, it can be a bit difficult to mask the ingredient’s distinct flavor which may involve some trial and error work.
This is why many people would prefer to go with flourless recipes that directly list black beans as part of the ingredient list.
However, if the taste is not a big issue for you, then you are free to use black beans as an oat flour alternative.
Arrowroot Flour
Arrowroot flour is a fine flour that comes from the arrowroot plant. They have other names like arrowroot starch or arrowroot powder and is a naturally gluten free and grain free ingredient
You can use arrowroot for pie filling or thicken sauces to substitute oat flour. It is an ideal ingredient for cooking or baking, for those on a paleo diet or for people who have corn allergies.
Tapioca Flour
Also called tapioca starch, tapioca flour is extracted from cassava roots. It functions similar to cornstarch and arrowroot: as a thickening agent that adds lightness and lends structure to baked goodies when blended with other gluten-free flours.
Unlike other oat flour substitutes for thickening gravies and sauces in savory recipes, no heating is needed to use tapioca.
Potato Starch
There are several possible health benefits to eating resistant starches in potato starch including improvement of insulin sensitivity, boost digestive and colon health and increase weight loss efforts[Source]
You can use potato starch as a substitute for oat as it is also a gluten-free ingredient. Potato starch functions similarly to cornstarch in baked goods like cookies and crackers. It improves crispness and provides a more delicate texture for your baked goods.
Quick Note
Too much potato starch can give baked goods a dry, crumbly texture
