Cassava flour is a well-liked gluten-free flour substitute you should use in quite a lot of recipes.
As an example, you’ll be able to swap in cassava flour for wheat flour in baked items, use it to thicken soups and sauces, or make it a staple ingredient in scrumptious do-it-yourself flatbreads, tortillas, and pastas.
Nonetheless, cassava flour could also be tough to search out, because it’s not at all times out there in native shops. Additionally, in the event you’re following a low carb or ketogenic weight-reduction plan, you could wish to keep away from it.
Happily, there are many different components you should use as a substitute when whipping up your favourite dishes.
Listed here are 9 easy and wholesome substitutes for cassava flour.
1. Tapioca starch
Like cassava flour, tapioca starch is made out of the cassava plant.
Nonetheless, whereas cassava flour is produced utilizing all the root of the plant, tapioca is made utilizing solely the starch of tapioca.
Since they’re derived from the identical plant, it ought to come as no shock that tapioca starch generally is a good alternative for cassava. You should utilize tapioca starch simply rather than cassava flour in every part from important dishes to baked items.
Tapioca starch and cassava flour are very comparable by way of diet, though tapioca starch is barely decrease in carbs and fiber and better in potassium (
Nonetheless, understand that tapioca starch might not present as a lot thickness as cassava flour, so you could wish to pair it with different gums or thickening brokers in sure recipes.
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Tapioca starch is derived from the identical plant as cassava flour and can be utilized in baked items, important dishes, and desserts.
2. Potato starch
Potato starch is an ingredient made by crushing potatoes, extracting the starch, and drying it to type a nice powder.
The most effective elements of potato starch is that it’s naturally gluten-free, so you should use it rather than cassava flour to thicken meals with out gluten content material.
Like cassava flour, potato starch is excessive in carbs. Nonetheless, it’s missing in different vitamins, together with fiber, fats, and protein (
Moreover, potato starch is far heavier than cassava flour and other types of flour, so it could make some dishes too dense.
Due to this fact, you could discover that it’s finest to make use of potato starch in small portions as a thickener to keep up the feel of your baked items.
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Potato starch is a gluten-free flour substitute that may assist thicken dishes or add construction to baked items.
3. Chickpea flour
Comprised of floor dried chickpeas, chickpea flour is a excessive protein, gluten-free flour substitute that you should use as a direct alternative for cassava flour in lots of recipes.
It really works particularly effectively as a binder and thickener for fritters, veggie burgers, soups, stews, and sauces.
It’s additionally an excellent supply of protein, fiber, and micronutrients like thiamine, folate, manganese, and copper (
Nonetheless, chickpea flour can have a powerful nutty taste, which you will discover overpowering in sure recipes. Moreover, it’s denser than cassava flour, so you’ll want to modify the quantity as wanted. Thicken slowly and test the feel!
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Chickpea flour has a powerful taste and can be utilized rather than cassava flour as a thickener in savory recipes.
4. Almond flour
Comprised of almonds which might be blanched and floor right into a nice powder, almond flour is without doubt one of the hottest keto-friendly flours out there.
It’s considerably decrease in carbs than cassava flour and gives you a supply of protein, fiber, and heart-healthy fat (
It’s additionally versatile, because of its excessive fats content material, which might add a moist and tender texture to meals — particularly pancakes, cookies, biscuits, breads, and scones.
Whilst you can substitute cassava flour with almond flour utilizing a 1:1 ratio for many recipes, understand that this will change the flavour and consistency of your last product. As ordinary, you could want to regulate the quantities of different components in your recipe.
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Almond flour is a flexible ingredient with a excessive fats content material, which might enhance the feel of pancakes, cookies, biscuits, and breads.
5. Coconut flour
Made by grinding dried coconut into flour, coconut flour has a nice consistency much like that of cassava flour.
It may be utilized in quite a lot of paleo and keto recipes, together with baked items like truffles, cookies, and muffins.
It’s additionally one of the vital nutritious flours, boasting a hearty dose of fiber, protein, potassium, and iron in every serving (
Nonetheless, as a result of it’s denser than cassava flour and imparts a powerful nutty taste, you’ll sometimes want to make use of solely one-quarter as a lot coconut flour as you’d of different flours in the identical recipes.
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Coconut flour has a nutty taste and a nice consistency. It’s typically utilized in paleo and keto meals, together with baked items like truffles, cookies, and muffins.
6. Arrowroot starch
Arrowroot flour is derived from arrowroot, a kind of root vegetable that’s native to Indonesia.
It has a impartial taste and aroma, so it may be a helpful ingredient for a lot of recipes.
Arrowroot flour is very nutritious, packing an excellent quantity of fiber, protein, and folate into every serving (
Lastly, it really works effectively as a thickener and can be utilized rather than cassava flour in a 1:1 ratio when making savory baked items similar to biscuits, cookies, or breads.
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Arrowroot flour is a thickener and gluten-free flour substitute that has a impartial style and aroma.
7. All-purpose flour
Usually made out of a mix of soppy and exhausting wheat, all-purpose flour is without doubt one of the most versatile substitutes for cassava flour.
It could possibly thicken your soups, sauces, and gravies. Additionally, you should use it for all sorts of baked items — together with truffles, cookies, breads, pancakes, and waffles.
In contrast with all-purpose flour, cassava flour is lighter however tends to soak up extra liquid.
Due to this fact, whereas you should use an equal quantity of all-purpose flour to exchange cassava flour, you could wish to modify the ratio of different components in your recipe to attain the specified texture and consistency.
Moreover, understand that all-purpose flour has been heavily processed and refined, so it comprises much less fiber per serving than cassava flour does (
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All-purpose flour is a flexible ingredient that works effectively in baked items, soups, sauces, and gravies.
8. Rice flour
Rice flour is a gluten-free flour made out of raw rice that has been finely milled. It’s supreme for baking, however it may additionally boast other benefits.
It’s excessive in protein, fiber, and an assortment of different important vitamins, together with B nutritional vitamins and magnesium (
It has a delicate taste and texture that make it an appropriate alternative for cassava flour in baked items or as a thickening agent. You probably received’t discover it overpowering in your dishes.
Whereas it may be substituted for cassava flour utilizing a 1:1 ratio, rice flour tends to have a stickier texture, so that you would possibly want so as to add additional oil or water to your recipe.
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Rice flour has a delicate taste and will be swapped in for cassava flour in baked items or used as a thickener.
9. Cornstarch
Cornstarch could also be one of the vital reasonably priced and customary options to cassava flour.
It’s sometimes used as a thickening agent to enhance the feel and consistency of every part from pie fillings to omelets.
Needless to say cornstarch is excessive in carbs and energy however low in different vitamins similar to protein and fiber. It typically lacks dietary advantages, so think about using it in small quantities (
Moreover, as a result of cornstarch has stronger thickening properties than cassava flour, you sometimes want to make use of solely about half as a lot.
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Cornstarch can be utilized as a thickening agent to enhance the feel and consistency of many dishes.
Cassava flour is featured in a variety of recipes as a standard gluten-free flour substitute.
Nonetheless, in the event you don’t have any readily available, loads of different components can work as a substitute.
Although you could want to regulate your recipe to account for any variations in style and texture, embrace the number of substitutes out there. You could find flours to fit your gluten-free, low carb, excessive protein, or paleo weight-reduction plan.