If you do gluten-free baking and are into mindful eating, you’re probably a fan of brown rice flour. This flour is a rather popular ingredient thanks to its nutritional benefits and distinct taste. Even so, plenty of brown rice flour substitutes can work for the same recipes if you don’t have this in stock.
When choosing what you’ll replace brown rice flour with, just note the culinary uses and nutritional quality of the original. With a mild, nutty flavor and slight earthy notes, brown rice flour can give most recipes a deeper taste and inviting aroma. You can use it as a thickener for sauces or gravies, baking goods, and frying chicken or tempura.
Brown rice flour has a much better nutritional value compared to regular rice flour and wheat flour. As such, many have turned to this choice.
Healthy brown rice flour substitutes
1. Almond flour
This nut-based flour will give your recipe a more pronounced nutty flavor and earthy notes much like brown rice flour.
Almonds are among the healthiest nuts that people can snack on. Ultimately, it’s been turned into milk and even flour.
This protein-rich flour can be used for baking cookies, cakes, and more.. You can use it in meatballs or make pasta with it. So while it can work for those things, it is not as effective as in thickening dishes.
2. Oat flour
Get a certified gluten-free pack of oat flour and you’ll have a healthy and good alternative to brown rice flour.
Oat flour has good dietary fibers which can help against digestion problems. It also contains minerals, vitamins, and antioxidants which would support your overall health.
You can use oat flour to make waffles, muffins, pancakes, and more. While it can also be used as breading for frying, this option is most efficient when it comes to baking.
3. Coconut flour
Coconut flour is another safe choice for those with celiac disease or are sensitive to gluten. It’s also a doable replacement for brown rice flour.
Rich in protein, fiber, and a safe amount of carbs, it will give you satiety without filling you with junk. It can help your body against heart diseases and help in controlling your blood sugar.
Coconut flour is quite distinct among all other flours because it may give your recipe a coconut aroma and taste. Like almond flour, while you can use it as a thickener, it’s not as efficient as other options. It’s best to use coconut flour for cakes, muffins, cookies, brownies, and the like.
4. Amaranth flour
Amaranth flour has plenty of protein, fiber, and is a rich source of minerals like calcium, magnesium, and copper. It is good in reducing inflammation, lowering cholesterol levels, and assisting in weight loss.
Like brown rice flour, this works well in most baked treats and unlike other flours, this one works great as a thickener for sauces, soups, and stews.
5. Arrowroot flour
Another effective thickening agent that adds texture and structure to your baking and cooking recipes is arrowroot flour. This is a versatile alternative to brown rice flour that you can also use in roasting and frying.
Use arrowroot flour to thicken sauces and gravies or make jellies and puddings with it. Of course, it’s also good in baking goods although it doesn’t give the same nutty notes or bready aroma as other flours do.
Learn more: 10 Arrowroot Starch Substitutes For Your Recipe
6. Tapioca flour
Extracted from cassava plant, tapioca flour is among the top choices when you need a versatile ingredient that heavily affects texture. From gummy and chewy to spongy and fluffy, you can work it all with tapioca flour.
It makes up for its lack of nutrients with its culinary use. You can use it to add crispness to pie crusts or pizza, make some chewy cookies, bake moist, gluten-free breads, or thicken soups, stews, and pie fillings.
7. Millet flour
Made from finely ground millet, millet flour is another gluten-free product you can opt for. It has a good blend of nutty and sweet flavor which would be especially good for your baked treats.
Millet flour is also nutritious with its fair amounts of minerals and vitamins. It is also higher in fiber compared to rice and wheat so it would be ideal for weight control.
You can use millet flour to make a variety of baked goods or use it in some dishes like fritters, casseroles, stews, and pizza.
8. Sorghum flour
Sorghum flour is another good replacement for brown rice flour. It contains minerals, vitamin B3, and fiber.
In taste, this flour is the closest thing to wheat flour but absolutely contains no gluten. Having the mild, earthy flavor of wheat flour makes it a great base flour for plenty of baked goods.
Unlike other gluten-free flours, sorghum also works well as a thickener for soups, gravies, stews, and chowders.
9. Potato flour
Especially good as a thickening agent and also works well for baked goods, try potato flour instead of brown rice flour. Its nutritional value is not as diverse or high as other flours but it can work perfectly in your recipes.
Use potato flour for making smooth sauces, creamy gravies, and thick soups. Try it for your gluten-free baking as well.
10. Corn starch
Another starchy flour that can work for dishes needing brown rice flour is corn starch. It is predominantly used as a thickening agent for sauces, gravies, soups, casseroles, stir-fries and more.
Though it’s an efficient ingredient for your culinary needs, corn starch isn’t very healthy compared to other flours. It is high in carbs and calories so it’s important to manage your meals or control your consumption of this.
11. White rice flour
Last but not the least in this list of gluten-free alternatives is white rice flour. It’s probably the closest thing to brown rice flour given that both are processed from the same type of grain.
White rice flour works well for all recipes needing brown rice flour.
Relevant FAQs
What’s the difference between white rice flour and brown rice flour?
Brown rice flour is a step higher in terms of having more. Brown rice flour has more nutrients as it includes the bran during the food processing. It offers more flavor and texture because it is not milled as finely as white rice flour. It has more color, specifically a light brown hue which can add some difference in baked goods.
Can I use all-purpose flour to substitute brown rice flour?
In a pinch, you can use all-purpose flour for most if not all recipes needing brown rice flour. As its name suggests, this flour covers all culinary uses for flour so you will have no trouble in making adjustments.
Choosing this alternative however would mean losing all the qualities as to why someone would use brown rice flour in the first place. This flour is far from nutritional content and taste so you’d mostly just be using it for its ‘technical’ culinary purpose. As such, it’s the last substitute for brown rice flour we’re featuring.
So, what’s the best substitute for brown rice flour?
If it’s for thickening sauces and soups then starchy options like potato flour and cornstarch are best. If you’re looking for the easiest to cook with, using all-purpose flour would be your top choice.. If you want the same hints of nutty and earthy flavor, getting almond flour, sorghum or millet would add some taste to your recipe.
The three basis you should consider when choosing an alternative is the function, flavor, and nutrition of the product. Don’t get too hung up on your choices though as the flours listed above would work well as long as you make proper adjustments.