Flour Alternatives and Flourless Baking Recipes

Flour alternatives and flourless baking ~ when white flour is scarce, experiment with whole grain and nut flours, or bake flour free! Do you have half-empty bags of various types of flour languishing in your pantry? Me too. Let’s put them to good use with these recipes that call for alternatives when the larder’s looking a little bare.

If you’re like me, your regular all purpose flour supply is probably running low (I’m down to my last few cups), and it’s nearly impossible to find more in the stores or online right now. What’s an avid baker to do? I’ve gone through my recipes to gather those that make use different types of flour and flour alternatives that are more readily available, or that you may already have in your pantry. If you’ve never baked with alternative flours before, now’s a great time to start! It’s a wide world of wonderful flavors and textures that definitely doesn’t feel like “making do.”

Alternative grains ~

People have been stocking up on (even hoarding) all purpose white flour lately, so it’s tough to find. But you are more likely to find whole grain flours like whole wheat, buckwheat, oat, etc. Oat flour is naturally gluten free, and is easy to make yourself  from regular oats.  In fact you can make all kinds of whole grain flours yourself, see my directions at the botton of this post.

Recipes clockwise from top left ~

• Buckwheat Chocolate Chip Cookies ~  this recipe uses a blend of whole wheat flour and buckwheat flour for  really great flavor. It’s perfect for cleaning out those almost-empty bags. Try my Buckwheat Biscuits, too!
• Gluten Free Rhubarb Crisp with Cardamom and Vanilla ~ this recipe uses oat flour, but almond flour, or any gluten free baking mix works well too!
• Cheddar and Kale Skillet Cornbread ~ this recipe uses cornmeal and oat flour and bakes up with a lovely texture.
• Amazing Quinoa Chocolate Cake  ~  Did you think you could turn whole quinoa grains into a chocolate cake? You can!

Nut flours ~ 

I love using nut flours in all sorts of recipes. Almond flour is the most common, and so delicious. It has an amazing, moist, slightly crumbly texture. But you can easily make nut flour from all kinds of nuts with a food processor or blender. Just process until they become fluffy, but be sure to stop before they turn to nut butter!

Recipes clockwise from top left ~

• Flourless Whole Tangerine Cake ~ a whole tangerine and almond flour make up the bulk of this simple but delicious recipe. I’ve got a recipe for a whole lemon cake too.
• Gluten Free Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting ~ This cake uses just almond flour for a moist, tender crumb. It’s an amazing carrot cake, whether you need to eat gluten free or not.
• Flourless Walnut Cake ~ this cake is almost magical in the way it takes just 3 ingredients and turns them into a dense, moist cake with that beautiful crackly crust!
• Ottolenghi’s Flourless Coconut Cake ~ this super rich cake has amazing flavors and textures going on thanks to shredded coconut, almond flour, and a silky dark chocolate ganache.

Flourless Nut Butter Cookies ~

I had to give these their own category, because I went through a phase on the blog several years ago where I became obsessed with the idea of simple nut-butter cookies. They’re so easy, made without flour or butter, and you just have to taste them to believe how good they are. You can use just about any nut or nut butter you have in that pantry. And of course if you don’t have nut butter, make your own by grinding nuts in a high speed blender or food processor.

Recipes clockwise from top left ~

• Flourless Cashew Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies ~ cashews are such a creamy and delicious nut that makes a great base for these cookies.
• Flourless Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies ~ I particularly love the rich flavor of pecans. Toast them before grinding to bring out their complex flavor.
• Flourless Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies ~ there’s both cocoa powder and peanut butter in the batter of these cookies, taking the chocolate/PB combo to the next level.
• Flourless Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies ~ these are one of the first versions I made, and I was blown away by how well they stood up to a regular chocolate chip cookie recipe, they’re pretty amazing.

“Flourless” or nearly flourless recipes ~

These recipes stretch your flour or flour-alternative supply by using very little, or, in the case of the simple cocoa meringues, none at all!

Recipes clockwise from top left ~

• Flourless Chocolate Brownies ~ these decadent chocolate brownies allow the chocolate to shine, and use just a measly 4 tablespoons of flour.
• Easy Cocoa Meringues ~ meringues are probably the ultimate flourless treat. Just eggs, sugar, cream of tartar, and whatever flavorings you love turn into a delicious cookie with an amazing texture!
• Flourless Belgian Chocolate Cake ~ this is one of my all-time favorite recipes. I made it as a cake, as cupcakes, and it’s always well loved by guests.
• Warm Lemon Pudding Cakes ~ these cakes also rely on whipped egg whites for their structure and substance. The batter magically separates into a soft spongy cake layer on top of a lemony pudding layer. 

How to make your own flour ~

If you’ve got a good food processor or high speed blender (Vitamix or other) you can easily make your own flour. Use the ‘dry container’ if your blender came with one, because it’s specially designed for this purpose.

• Just about any whole grain or nut can be made into flour. This includes wheat berries, farro, oats, barley, etc.
• Simply blend or process until they become finely ground and fluffy. The better your machine, the finer your flour.
• If you’re interested in learning more about home ground flour, The Home Ground Flour Book is a good place to start.