There are a lot of gluten free and non-traditional flour options available, but which flours are the best for a keto diet? In this article, we share all!
When starting a keto diet, many people want to remake their favorite non-keto foods (like pizza!) into keto-fied versions. This can be a great tool to help with compliance, especially when you’re just starting keto!
Many foods that people seek to re-create are breads, buns, muffins, cookies, brownies, pastries, tortillas, and many other flour-based foods.
But which flours should you use? If you’re new to keto, it can be tricky to determine which gluten free flours are best for low carb and keto-friendly baking! We’re sharing a list of our favorite flours to use on a ketogenic diet.
The Best Keto Flours
To give you a better understanding of the different types of keto flours, in this article we explain what each is and how to use it. Additionally, we list nutritional information for each flour. Lastly, we share a couple recipes that utilize each type of flour.
A couple things to note:
- Plan on using more than one type of keto flour in a single recipe. Most recipes for keto breads or other baked goods use multiple types of keto flours. This helps yield the best results in terms of flavor and texture. Ultimately, it makes a baked good that’s as close to the “real” thing as possible!
- Beef gelatin is a secret ingredient in a lot of keto baked goods recipes. Because keto baked goods lack gluten, we have to be creative to find ways to achieve a bread-y texture. Beef gelatin is commonly used in keto and low-carb baking because it lends a chewy texture to baked goods. There are two things to note: 1) a little bit of beef gelatin goes a long way, and 2) it’s not used as a keto flour; rather, beef gelatin is used in addition to keto flours in keto baking.
Coconut Flour
This is the coconut flour we use.
What is Coconut Flour?
Coconut flour is made from ground dried coconut meat.
How to Use Coconut Flour
You’ll need much less coconut flour compared to other flours, such as all-purpose flour in traditional baking or almond flour in low-carb baking. Because coconut flour is high in fiber, it usually only requires about 1/4 the amount if substituting it in place of all-purpose flour or almond flour.
Coconut flour is a little finicky to work with. If you are using coconut flour as the only flour in baked goods, your breads and/or baked goods may turn out a little dry or dense. This is likely due to the high fiber content of coconut flour and the fact that it absorbs a lot of liquid.
This is why baked goods recipes that predominantly use coconut flour typically add a lot of eggs. The eggs help lighten, moisten, and bind the recipe, and provide structure. But then you run the risk of your baked goods tasting eggy! And no one wants that.
Over much trial and error, we’ve found that for the best results in keto baking, coconut flour is best used in combination with other keto flours, such as almond flour. Additionally, we like to use coconut flour in combination with almond flour as a replacement for regular breadcrumbs!
Coconut Flour Nutritional Information
Coconut flour is both gluten-free and low in carbohydrates, which makes it a popular baking choice for low-carb, paleo, and gluten-free baking. Compared with other types of flour, coconut flour is very high in fiber.
Coconut Flour Nutrition Stats
Here is the nutrition information for 1 serving (2 tablespoons/16 grams) of Viva Naturals Organic Coconut Flour:
- 70 calories
- 2g total fat
- 10g total carbohydrates
- 7g fiber
- 3g net carbs
Recipes That Use Coconut Flour
Almond Flour
This is the almond flour we use.
What is Almond Flour?
Almond flour is ground raw almonds with their skins removed. It’s different than almond meal, which is ground raw almonds that still have their skin on. As a result, almond meal is darker in color. Both almond flour and almond meal are used in keto baking.
How to Use Almond Flour
Almond flour and is often used in low-carb baking to replace traditional all-purpose flour. It’s normally used in higher amounts than coconut flour. It absorbs much less liquid than coconut flour.
Many keto and low-carb baking recipes call for a blend of both coconut and almond flour for the best results in terms of flavor and texture.
Almond Flour Nutritional Information
Almond flour is gluten-free and low-carb. It’s higher in fat, lower in fiber, and much denser than coconut flour.
Almond Flour Nutrition Stats
Here is the nutrition information for 1 serving (1/8 cup/15 grams) of King Arthur Almond Flour:
- 90 calories
- 8g total fat
- 3g total carbohydrates
- 1g fiber
- 2g net carbs
Recipes That Use Almond Flour
- Keto Soft Pretzels (Keto Pretzel Bites)
- Low Carb Crackers (Buttery Sesame Almond Gluten Free Crackers)
Ground Flaxseed
This is the ground flaxseed we use.
What is Ground Flaxseed?
Also sometimes called flaxseed meal, ground flaxseed is a meal made of flaxseeds that are ground into a fine powder. There are two types, brown and golden flaxseed meal.
Golden and brown flaxseed meal work interchangeably in recipes, but if you have a recipe that is a lighter color, using golden flaxseed meal will make your recipe look prettier instead of having dark specks throughout the finished product. Additionally, brown flaxseed meal has a bit of a stronger flavor than golden flaxseed meal.
How to Use Ground Flaxseed
Flaxseed meal is commonly used in keto baked goods recipes. However, it’s not usually used on its own. Instead, it is frequently in conjunction with other keto flours, such as almond flour.
In baking, ground flaxseed acts as a thickener and helps with the structure of baked goods.
Additionally, ground flaxseed is used in vegan baking to make a vegan egg replacement.
Ground Flaxseed Nutritional Information
Flaxseeds are a good source of fiber and provide omega-3 fatty acids in the form of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA).
Ground Flaxseed Nutrition Stats
Here is the nutrition information for 1 serving (1 tablespoon/7 grams) of Terrasoul Superfoods Ground Flaxseed:
- 40 calories
- 3g total fat
- 2g total carbohydrates
- 2g fiber
- 0g net carbs
Recipes That Use Flaxseed Meal
Psyllium Husk Powder
This is the psyllium husk powder we use.
What is Psyllium Husk Powder?
Psyllium husk powder is a finely ground powder made of psyllium husks. Through a lot of experimentation, we’ve noticed that the more finely ground it is, the better!
How to Use Psyllium Husk Powder
Because keto baked goods lack gluten, we have a few tricks to get as close as possible to a fluffy, bread-like texture. This is one of those tricks! Psyllium husk powder is used to add a more bread-like texture to keto baked goods.
Also, be aware that depending on the brand of psyllium husk powder you use, it may turn your baked goods purplish or grayish in color. But this shouldn’t effect the flavor!
Psyllium Husk Powder Nutritional Information
Psyllium husk powder is very high in fiber.
Make sure you check the label and get psyllium husk powder (not psyllium husks) because they are not interchangeable.
Psyllium Husk Powder Nutrition Stats
Here is the nutrition information for 1 serving (1 teaspoon/5 grams) of Terrasoul Superfoods Psyllium Husk Powder:
- 15 calories
- 0g total fat
- 4g total carbohydrates
- 4g fiber
- 0g net carbs
Recipes That Use Psyllium Husk Powder
More Keto Friendly Flours To Experiment With
- Ground Chia Seed – Chia seeds are high in protein and fiber, and have 0g net carbs per serving. Ground chia seed is great for using in baked goods. Additionally, we like using ground chia for smoothies because it tends to not stick on the inside of the blender like regular chia seeds do.
- Oat Fiber – With 3g of carbs all coming from fiber, this flour is perfect to add to baked good without the fear of spiking your blood sugar.
- Ground Sunflower Seed – We have seen a lot of pre-made baking mixes use ground sunflower seeds this as their flour of choice. This flour makes for really chewy cookies and brownies!
- Cricket Powder – Are you feeling adventurous? Cricket flour has 2g fat, 1g carb, and 7g protein per 10g serving. If you use cricket powder in keto baking, let us know what you make!
And if you want to dive deeper into keto baking, take a peak at our Keto Bread cookbook available on Amazon!
JoAnna Radabah says
Wonderful, Thank you so much!
JoAnna Radabah says
What type of flour would you recommend for thickening soups? I have a great mushroom soup recipe, which all the ingredients are Keto friendly, but it calls for 2 Tbl of flour to thicken. Thank you for your help!
Faith Gorsky says
JoAnna, We have 3 ways we typically thicken soups: 1) with a bit of cream cheese, 2) with heavy cream, or 3) with beef gelatin. Depending on which you use, it will change the flavor of the soup slightly, but cream cheese or heavy cream might be a really delicious flavor pairing with mushrooms! Xanthan gum will also work if you have it on hand (start with a little and work your way up), but we don’t use it (unfortunately it causes tummy troubles for a lot of people, us included!).
Maureen Darragh says
Zucchini is a natural thickener too!
Nafula says
Hi Lara, How about peanut flour? Is it keto?
Lara says
Peanut flour is lower in carbs, so it depends on the amount that you use.
Maggie says
We have someone in our house who cannot have any nuts (almonds) or coconut so those flours are out. He cannot have oats either.
What flours would be acceptable?
Mukhtar Ahmed says
What about Besan (chickpeas flour) is it okay to use it?
Lara says
I wouldn’t use much of it because it’s high in carbs and not that high in fiber
anthony says
Is Quinoa flour good for Keto diets?
Lara says
Unfortunately not, quinoa is high in carbohydrates.
Sonia says
What about soy flour? I’m fed up with almond flour…everything is starting to taste the same!
Lara says
We prefer not to consume soy at all.
Neal says
New to your web site ladies. What is your take on the Carbquik baking mix?
Lara says
Personally, we like to use individual flours and combinations of flours instead of pre-made mixes like Carbquick. For example Carbquicks ingredients are: CarbaloseTM flour (enzyme enriched wheat, vital wheat gluten, wheat fiber, high-protein patent wheat flour, soy fiber, canola oil, salt, emulsifiers, enzymes, ascorbic acid, calcium propionate), palm and palm-kernel oil, buttermilk powder, baking powder, egg white powder, lecithin, salt, natural flavors.
Also, we tend to avoid wheat, soy and canola oil so this wouldn’t be a product we would use personally.
Marsha says
What about tigernut flour. I don’t like coconut or almond flour. They give foods a funky taste. So any suggestions on different flours to use?
Lara says
I have never heard of tigernut flour, I will have to look into that.
Bobbi says
Hello, did you ever look into Tigernut flour? Description:
It is a small root vegetable that grows in Northern Africa and the Mediterranean. Tigernut flour is naturally gluten free and Paleo. And it offers those allergic to nuts an option for adding protein when baking and cooking.
https://www.glutenfreeliving.com/blog/what-is-tigernut-flour/
On average, one ounce (28 grams) provides (1):
Calories: 103–121
Fiber: 2–7 grams
Carbs: 9 grams
Protein: 1 gram
Fat: 7–9 grams
Vitamin E: 278% of the daily value (DV)
Iron: 13–40% of the DV
Phosphorus: 9–11% of the DV
Vitamin C: 2–8% of the DV
Magnesium: 7% of the DV
Zinc: 5–7% of the DV
Potassium: 3–5% of the DV
Calcium: 1% of the DV
Lisa says
What about Sesame Seed flour?
Lara says
That should be fine too!
Farida says
To make tortilla/roti what flour or combination would you recommend?
Lara says
For our low carb tortilla recipe we use almond flour.
Faisal says
Is Oat really a low carb choice? According to nutrition data website , 100 grams of Oat flour contains 60 grams of carbs plus 5 grabs of fiber.
Lara says
Hi Faisal,
Oat fiber is low carb, while oat flour is high carb.
Faisal says
Thanks for prompt reply. I learned something new today. I will try it when I bake next time.
Joan says
What flour do you think would work best for making homemade pasta both in terms of flavor and workability? I am concerned that some of these flours might be hard to work through a pasta maker and I don’t want a flavor that will clash with basil pesto! Really appreciate your help!
Lara says
Hi Joan,
I’ve actually never made keto pasta so I don’t think I would be much help. Maybe google a few keto pasta recipes and see which ones they use?
Julie Reser says
I am very new to this diet, but I must say I am so impressed. No snack cravings were the first surprise! I am already gluten intolerant so was bummed out to learn of all the flours that are way too high carbs especially rice flours! But already I have tried many recipes even found one made with almond flour taste just like the cheddar biscuits at red lobster! Heading out, I saw you mentioned oat fiber.. what can you use this in?
Lara says
That’s awesome about not having any snack cravings! You can use oat fiber to provide more stability to breads and other quick bread recipes. It has 0g net carbs which is awesome!
Julie Reser says
Laura,
What about cassava flour? By the way, I did not notice arrow root flour on the list and I’ve already used this quite a bit in cooking. Is sweet potato flour also a no no?
Julieta says
Hi! Is rice flour good for this diet? These types of flours like almond and coconut are very expensive where I live! :'(
Lara says
No, rice flour is too high in carbs.
Carmen Montanez says
I was wondering if you have created some flour mixes to replace all purpose. Like a keto flour mix of sorts. I am also wondering, if with any other gluten free flour mix, the amounts of binder like xantham gum, guar gum, or gelatin would apply following the same rules of a non-keto flour mix. I found this recipe but haven’t tried it: https://donnareish.com/low-carb-flour-mix/
Lara says
Hi Carmen,
We have not made any keto flour mixes yet unfortunately. It’s on our list of things to test though!
Mary says
Do you have to use xanthum gum with coconut or almond flour?
Lara says
Almond flour and coconut flour are both gluten free so many recipes that use those flours have xanthan gum to help bind them together.
Sandra says
If you use the gum stuff, can people on gluten-free diets still eat the baked goods? I want to make keto-friendly pastry for pies, but my friend is avoiding gluten and I’d want her to have a pie too.
Lara says
Gums like xanthan or guar somethings cause GI irritations to people even without gluten sensitivities or allergies. It’s very individualized for tolerance.
Carmen Montanez says
Yes. Gluten free flours need binding.
Christy says
is this why my cookies fall apart and crumble instead of being like normal cookies.
Felicia says
would you please note the ratio of Omega6 to omega3 in your suggestions. I am trying to avoid the inflammation assoc w too much Omega6.
Lara says
Most medical organizations rec a ratio of 4:1 (omega 6: Omega 3). If you have any inflammatory diseases a smaller ration like, 3:1 or 2:1 may be beneficial.
Hayfa says
Is splet flour ok with keto diet?
Lara says
Spelt flour is pretty high in carbohydrates so I would try to minimize it.
Cheri says
Which one would you say was the best financial choice?
Faith Gorsky says
Cheri, Coconut flour is probably the most affordable choice, especially because a little bit usually goes a long way. However, take note that coconut flour can be a little finicky to work with, as it absorbs a lot of liquid. Have fun experimenting!
Katie says
What is the easiest for a new cook to use? I have no idea what I’m going, but I got a new kitchenaid and am getting a food processor, so I’d like to switch it up!
Faith Gorsky says
Katie, Almond flour is probably the easiest keto-friendly flour for a new cook to work with. It’s very versatile and can be used in recipes for cookies, muffins, breads, scones, cakes, etc. (Of course the ratio of almond flour to other ingredients changes based on what you’re making.) But with that being said, because almond flour doesn’t have gluten, it can be difficult to simulate the soft crumb of regular baked goods unless you combine almond flour with another keto-friendly flour and/or a binding agent. This is why a lot of our recipes call for more than one type of flour. I hope this helps! If you’re looking for a certain recipe in particular please let us know and we’ll try to point you in the right direction!
And yay, have fun with your new food processor!
Beverly calloway says
What about calobose flour
Lara says
Hi Beverly,
I have not heard of that flour before but I will look into it.
Verne says
How about mesquite flour?
Lara says
I’m sorry I’ve never heard of that but I will have to look into that!
Brena says
Question: is peanut flour a better substitute for almond flour ?
Lara says
It depends. Some people have reactions to legumes so it’s very individualized. It is low in carbs tho!
Lara says
We don’t really recommend peanut flour that much since so many people have food sensitivities but it is a good low carb option.
Lee says
carbalose flour
Karen says
I thought you could not have oats is that different than oat fiber
Lara says
Hi Karen,
Yes oats and oat fiber are different. Oat fiber is just fiber so it comes to 0g net carbs and has negligible affect on your glucose and insulin. I hope this helps 🙂
Michelle says
Am sure trying something different this weekend.
RH says
I like to use Macadamia nut flour. You usually have to make it yourself by getting the unsalted whole nuts in bulk at a shop like sprouts. Then pulse it through the food processor to make flour.
Lara says
That’s a great idea! I’ve never thought of thought!
Melissa says
I’m on the keto diet and I have tried various recipes using almond flour but cannot stand the taste or texture so end up throwing the food out. I’ve been reading about Carbquick but wondered if that’s even a good option. If I use psyllium husk powder or oat fiber, would I do a 1:1 sub?
Faith Gorsky says
Melissa, First of all, welcome to the keto family! Unfortunately, we don’t use Carbquick so we can’t give advice on that. Regarding psyllium husk powder and oat fiber, they are typically used in very small amounts in conjunction with another keto-friendly flour because they can create very dense and/or rubbery baked goods when used alone. We hope this helps!
Sandra says
Is anything flour if you’re brave enough?? I mean, crickets? lol So long as you grind something fine enough, can you call it flour and try baking with it? I’m sure some things work far better than others.
Lara says
I know right!?
Himangi Sikri says
Can we eat semolina also??
Lara says
Semolina is the flour mainly used in making pasta. It is high in carbohydrates so it will be extremely hard to fit this into a keto diet.
Janelle says
Thank you for this list of flours. I am highly allergic to anything almond and coconut. You’ve listed several alternatives that I am willing to try.
Same holds for oils. No almond or coconut,
Lara says
Glad we could help!
George says
What what about buckwheat
Lara says
Not in large quantities since it is high in carbohydrates.
Romario says
Is Grape seed powder okay to have on keto?
stefanie vasquez says
Hello, How about Spelt flour?
Lara says
Hi Stefanie,
Spelt flour is high in carbs so I wouldn’t suggest consuming this in large quantities.
Duaa Jilani says
is protein flour keto?
Lara says
Do you mean protein powder? We use protein powder in some of our recipes 🙂
Simran says
I was always allergic to coconut and always thought I am the only one with coconut allergy. It give me nausea and i vomit even if i smell it. My husband convinced me that my allergy is psychological. So I overcome it this year. The only exception is raw coconut and I am positive that i will eat that one day.
I watched a an episode of Rotten on netflix and it gives me better understanding of allergies.
CARMEN LUCIA RIDDLE says
Hello, could you tell me if Sorghum flour is allowed in a Keto diet?
Faith Gorsky says
Carmen, This flour is very high in carbs, so we avoid it on a keto diet.
Troy says
Lupin flour?
Neal says
So will psyllium flour work alone to produce baked goods and gravies?I just tried mashed cauliflower to replace potatoes it was great.I really miss my breads and brownies though.
Lara says
No, you can’t use psyllium husk 100% to replace a normal flour. It can become a very chewy texture. We usually use psyllium husk in small amounts like 1-2 tbsp max to add texture to baked goods.