When it comes to nutritious delicious baked goods, using oat flour is the key. Oat flour gives a more interesting and beneficial result to a recipe. While overall mild in taste, this flour gives irresistible nutty notes with a sweet and toasty aroma to food.
Oat flour can give your baked treats a chewier, denser, and crumblier texture. This is especially perfect for cookies, biscuits, and the like. Of course, much like other flour, this product is pretty versatile and effective in pancakes, muffins, bread, and so on.
If you are not convinced with the hype of oat flour and its benefits, or it is simply unavailable in your pantry, don’t worry; You can still follow that recipe you found. There are plenty of oat flour substitutes you can still use to bake some goods and some of these are always available in local stores.
Read more: Nutritious Oat Bran Substitutes to Try in Your Next Meal
Gluten Free Oat Flour Substitutes
1. Quinoa flour
Made from the superfood grain quinoa, quinoa flour is a great alternative to oat flour. It is gluten-free, high in protein, iron, and calcium. This is perfect for health conscious eaters.
Quinoa flour can be used in a broad range of baked goods including muffins, breads,and pancakes.
A little note on the taste, while it’s mild, some claim that quinoa flour can get a little bitter. To get rid of this, one tip is to lightly toast the flour and it’s perfect for all your baking needs.
2. Sorghum flour
Another good alternative to oat flour is sorghum flour. If you’re unfamiliar with sorghum, it’s a grain with texture and flavor often compared to wheat. Though likened to wheat, it’s safe for those with gluten intolerance and celiac disease.
Sorghum has numerous vitamins and minerals, so it won’t lose to oat flour in terms of nutrition. With sweet, mild flavor, and smooth texture, this flour is used in making a variety of baked goods. This includes breads, cakes, muffins, flatbreads, and more.
3. Rice flour
Rice flour can be made from white or brown rice. In their natural state, rice is gluten-free so you can find its flour product labeled as gluten-free. In terms of nutrition value, brown rice flour is closer to oat flour so it’s a better replacement over white rice flour.
Popularly made and used in Asia, rice flour is now available worldwide. Outside Asia it may be a little more expensive compared to other flour including oat flour. In case you’ve got time, you can make your own homemade rice flour. Rice is a lot cheaper and easily available.
Rice flour can be used in making cookies, pastas, noodles, and more. For baking, note that since rice flour is a lighter flour compared to oat flour, it will require some adjustments in liquid to achieve the consistency you want.
4. Almond Flour
In texture, flavor, nutritional value, and culinary use, almond flour is very close to oat flour. It’s packed with protein, fiber, and has a neutral flavor perfect as a base in baked goods and other recipes.
This nut-based flour works well in cookies, bread, biscuits, pies, and more. Depending on your recipe, it can give a soft and light consistency or a rich and chewy texture to your baked treats.
5. Buckwheat Flour
Another naturally gluten-free product perfect for using in place of oat flour: buckwheat flour. Like rice flour, this is a popular ingredient in Asian cuisine for its notable flavor and aroma. Nowadays, buckwheat flour is a favored baking ingredient even in the West.
Compared to oat flour, buckwheat flour has a more bold flavor. To reduce this full-bodied taste and achieve just the right earthy notes, adding ingredients like butter is recommended.
With a sweet aroma and nutty flavor, this flour can be used to make breads, cakes, pancakes, and noodles among others.
6. Amaranth Flour
Amaranth is not a cereal grain but it shares the same flavor profile to wheats or oats. Slightly sweet, nutty, earthy, and mild, it’s a tasty alternative to oat flour.
This plant has been consumed even in ancient civilizations most likely due to its culinary use and health benefits. Amaranth is filled with proteins, vitamins, and antioxidants. In both nutrition and taste, this flour makes for an excellent ingredient to many dishes.
Amaranth flour can be used for baked goods or as a thickener in sauces, gravies, and soups.
Other Alternatives to Oat Flour (Contains Gluten)
7. All-Purpose Flour
If you’re not a celiac, you can use regular all-purpose flour instead of oat flour. Among all kinds of flour, it’s the most go-to product thanks to being, well, all-purpose.
Otherwise referred to as white flour, you can use this practically for all recipes needing oat flour. It does not share the same nutritional value but if you’re in a pinch, this product is an efficient choice.
Note that all-purpose flour has finer texture and can easily absorb water compared to oat flour. Try not to use too much liquid at first when mixing and adjust accordingly.
8. Whole Wheat Flour
Whole wheat flour is made by processing the whole kernel of wheat grain. As such, it contains high dietary fiber and protein. In terms of flavor and aroma, it’s a close substitute to oat flour.
This flour is a bit heavier compared to oat flour or white flour. It has the tendency to add more color to a dish especially in baked goods. Also, its texture is a bit coarser and slightly bitter. It’s not a problem if you have a solution though which is to simply adjust the measurements and use other ingredients to level the taste.
Whole wheat flour is used in a variety of baked goods like bread, cookies, muffins, crackers, tortillas, pizza crusts, and more.
9. Spelt Flour
Spelt flour is made from spelt, a type of grain related to wheat, rye, and barley. It is a great source of protein and a variety of nutrients including vitamin B2, niacin, manganese, phosphorus, copper, and fiber.
This nutrient-rich flour is a lot like wheat, so naturally it also contains gluten. With a nutty flavor like wheat and barley, it works as a tasty alternative to oat flour.
You can use spelt flour in bread, biscuits, crackers, and pasta.
Relevant FAQs
Is oat flour healthier than regular flour?
Yes! One of the reasons why people are choosing to use oat flour rather than common flour is for health reasons. Aside from being a safe choice for gluten-sensitive people, its overall nutritional benefits beat regular white flour.
For an overview, ¼ cup of oat flour contains 3 grams of fiber, 4 grams of protein, calcium, iron, potassium, thiamin, and riboflavin. Also, it’s a lot lower in calories and carbs than regular flour.
Is oat flour good for weight loss?
Yes, oat flour is good for weight loss. It is not the solution but it can help you control your weight better. Oats are rich in fiber so it can help you feel full longer and prevent you from snacking.
Since it’s also comparatively lower in carbs and calories as opposed to regular flour, consuming baked goods using this flour will be a lighter choice.
What is the best oat flour substitute in baking?
Basically, all the flour listed above can work in any baking recipe. You just need to note how fine the texture of the flour is to avoid problems in consistency.
For reference, options like almond flour and whole wheat flour tend to be heavier and are best for baking denser goods. Light flours like rice flour and all-purpose flour can absorb liquid faster and has to be handled differently compared to oat flour.
How to make oat flour?
If you don’t want to replace oat flour after all, you can make homemade oat flour anytime. All you need is whole rolled oats and a blender or food processor. Place the oats in the machine and blend until it breaks down and forms a fine flour.
Final Words
If you’re sensitive to gluten and hoping to find an oat flour substitute that still works for your recipes, choose flour made from rice, sorghum, buckwheat, almond, amaranth, or quinoa. These six would be your next safest options.
If you’re not allergic to anything and want to explore easier or better options to baking, use all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour or spelt flour. Your preferences and baking goals will be the most important factors in choosing what works for you better than oat flour.