If you love baking with almond flour, but don’t love how expensive it is at the grocery store, try making it at home! It’s cheaper than store-bought options, and is ready in just minutes when you use a food processor or blender.
Can You Substitute Almond Flour for All-Purpose Flour?
One of the most common questions I am asked is how you would substitute almond flour for all-purpose flour, to make a recipe healthier or naturally gluten-free. If a recipe calls for eggs, I’ve found that you can usually swap almond flour for all-purpose flour using a 1:1 ratio, which makes it an ideal alternative. However, I recommend testing this with a recipe before serving it to company.
Because almond flour is higher in fat and protein than all-purpose flour, it’s not the best substitute when making a loaf of bread or anything cake-like that does NOT call for eggs. Instead, I recommend looking for almond flour recipes that have already been tested, so you won’t have to do the guesswork and potentially waste ingredients.
How Healthy is Almond Flour?
Compared to white all-purpose flour, almond flour is high in protein and monounsaturated fats to help leave you feeling satisfied. Just one ounce of almonds has 6 grams of protein and 3.5 grams of fiber!
Because almond flour is simply ground almonds, which are a good source of magnesium, it may also help with blood sugar control and lowering blood pressure levels.
Is Almond Flour Considered Low-Carb?
I think almond flour is a great choice for low-carb baking. A 1/4 cup of blanched almond flour has 6 grams of carbohydrates and 3 grams of fiber, so it has 3 grams of net carbs. For comparison, a 1/4 cup of all-purpose flour has nearly 24 grams of carbohydrates and less than 1 gram of fiber.
Is Almond Flour Good for Keto?
If you’re following a keto diet and need a flour alternative, I think almond flour is a good option since it has only 3 grams of net carbs. On a Keto diet I wouldn’t imagine that you’d want to make too many sweet baked goods, but you can make low-carb almond flour pancakes without maple syrup to get a bread-like fix!
What is the Lowest Carb Flour?
If you’re interested in other gluten-free & grain-free flours, I thought it might be fun to compare a few options. Below you’ll see the amount of “net carbohydrates” (which are the carbohydrates minus the fiber) in 1/4 cup of the following flours:
- Almond Flour: 3 net carbs
- Coconut Flour: 4 net carbs
- Tigernut Flour: 9 net carbs
- Cassava Flour: 25 net carbs
- Arrowroot Starch: 27 net carbs
As you can see, almond flour is the lowest carb flour, followed closely by coconut flour. Keep in mind however, that you can not substitute almond flour for coconut flour. Instead, look for coconut flour recipes that have been specifically developed to use that high-fiber flour.
Is Homemade Almond Flour Cheaper Than Store-Bought?
How does the cost of making homemade flour compare to buying it at the store? It used to be more of a drastic difference (close to a savings of $3 per pound), but I’m updating this post to reflect current 2019 prices.
Here’s the math:
- 8 oz. blanched slivered almonds from Trader Joe’s currently costs $3.49. That comes to about $0.44 per ounce.
- One pound of blanched almond flour from Trader Joe’s currently costs $7.49, which comes to abouve $0.47 per ounce.
- 3 pounds of Honeyville Blanched Almond Flour (from Amazon with free shipping) currently costs $23.35. That comes to $0.47 per ounce.
So, when you make your own almond flour you save roughly $0.50 per pound. This cost savings might not be motivation enough for you to make your own almond flour at home, but there’s still an advantage to those who can’t find prepared almond flour in their area.
It’s also nice to make your own almond flour if you don’t need that much of it for a recipe. If you only need a 1/2 cup of almond flour, you can easily grind your own without worrying about storing the rest of a big bag for months.
Almond Flour vs. Ground Almonds
When a recipe calls for almond flour, it’s most likely referring to blanched almond flour, which is made from almonds that have had their skin removed. Blanched almond flour is great for making authentic-looking baked goods with no brown flecks in the batter.
Ground whole almonds are referred to as “almond meal” and can be used interchangeably in most almond flour recipes. However, keep in mind that the texture and appearance will be slightly different if you make this swap. Almond meal tends to make baked goods more cake-like in texture, so cookies won’t be as crisp or buttery with this alternative.
How to Make Your Own Almond Flour
Making your own almond flour at home is as simple as adding blanched almonds to your food processor or blender, and processing them until they are finely ground. However, there are a few tips & best practices to keep in mind:
- One cup of slivered almonds = about one cup of almond flour.
- One 8 oz. bag of these raw blanched slivered almonds turned into exactly 2 cups of almond flour–> just what you need for my almond flour cookie recipe!
- Only proess one cup of almonds at a time. Blending more than that creates an uneven texture, so you’ll wind up with clumps of un-ground almonds.
- If you don’t mind seeing specks of brown in your resulting baked goods, you can also use regular whole almonds (non-blanched) to make almond meal. Almond meal makes “cakier” baked goods, rather than giving baked goods a buttery, shortbread-texture the way almond flour does.
I find that I get the best, most finely-ground results using my Vitamix blender, but a food processor can definitely be used if that’s all you have. The resulting baked goods will just be slightly grainier that way.
How to Make Almond Flour (Cheaper than Store-Bought!)
Ingredients
- 8 ounces blanched almonds , whole or slivered
Instructions
- Place the blanched almonds in a high-speed blender or food processor, and process until they are finely ground. If using a high-speed blender, be sure not to over-process as the almonds will eventually start to release their oils and become almond butter.
- For best results, do not blend more than 8 ounces of almonds at a time. (I tried using 16 ounces and couldn't get them evenly ground.) For the most finely-ground results, I've found a blender works best, but the flour I made in the food processor also works for making almond flour recipes-- the final product is just slightly grainier.
- Store leftover almond flour in an airtight container in a dark pantry, or better yet in the fridge or freezer for the longest shelf life. Almond flour can keep well for up to one year if it's not exposed to heat or moisture.
Nutrition
Per 1/4 cup: Calories: 167, Fat: 14g, Carbohydrates: 5g, Fiber: 2g, Protein: 6g
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I hope this helps you all create even more almond-flour-based goodies in the future!
Reader Feedback: Have you tried making your own flours before? Let me know your favorite way to use almond flour in the comments below!
Thank you for all your creative ideas! You have definitely made going grain free and dairy free a whole lot tastier! Question about the almond flour. I just made crispy almonds. That is where you soak them over night and then dehydrate them. Could you use these to make the almond flour?
Wow thanks for that! I’m on the Ketogenic diet and this is perfect as I really love baking. Going to use almond flour to make my breakfast Bacon and Avocado muffins…Im so excited!
I’m making marzipan for my mum as one of her gifts for the holidays-we all miss it since we’ve moved to the US, but there’s only one place I’ve found that makes even halfway decent marzipan and it’s a 13 hour drive from here. Anyway, I just had to spend about twelve dollars on a 10oz bottle of rose water that I’ll be using a tiny dribble of (it was the only food-grade rose water I could find here) and then almond flour was near on 40$ for a decent size bag-15 for a little one. I was starting to worry until I found this-proper lifesaver you are!
I use the pulp from making Almond milk for almond flour, i just squeze the bag and put the pulp on a baking sheet and dry it carefully on low heat in the oven. Works and tasts just the same,maybe a little lighter, but i could not taste the difference.
So there you go – Almond milk and almond flour – at the same time!
Unfortunately, the blanched slivered almonds at my local Trader Joe’s are $3.99 for an 8 oz bag, so it’s actually more expensive. Booooooo! Lame!
my trader joes has a lb bag of almond flour for $5.99 so it makes no sense to me to make your own……………..just saying
What blade did you use on your food processor to make the almond flour? Did you use a grater or the actual blade? I tried to grind up flax seed and it didn’t work but maybe since almonds are bigger and not as slippery as flax seed it may work.
We use a coffee grinder for flaxseeds, works great!
question did you use the dry or wet blade in the vitamix to make the almond flour thanks
I only have the wet container, so that’s what I used!
This is a great help as we tried it in the dry container with patchy results. So, with using the Vitamix wet container for 20 seconds….did you use short pulses for 20 seconds? Did you have it on high or low? Or did you start at 1 and work your way up to full speed and then flip quickly to high? (Lots of questions, I know! But my husband spent the better part of an hour slowly grinding a lb of almonds in the dry container and then sifting out the bigger pieces, pulsing more and trying to avoid turning it into almond butter. Thanks, in advance, for your help! We should have looked here first!)
I’ve just been through this exactly and have the same questions! My almonds started turning into a paste in the vitamix!
Wow, I’m on a diet for Ankylosing Spondylitis, and this is going to save me loads of money. So simple I’m kicking myself for not thinking of it on my own!
I recently made a cookie using the almond meal/flower that I think you gave the recipe for which was using the almond pulp and drying it out after making almond milk in the vita mix. The cookies came out awful and I had to throw them away. Could it be perhaps because using that type of Almond flour isn’t good for baking. Help
Almond pulp cannot be used as a substitute for “almond flour” or “almond meal” in any recipe. Most of the fat is removed from almond pulp, and therefore it’s more similar to a grain flour than a nut flour for baking. I recommend ONLY using recipes that call for leftover almond pulp if you want to use that as an ingredient– I have a couple recipes here on the blog specifically for almond pulp, as well as in my cookbook.
Thanks so much I’m on a Keto life style and ran out of almond flour
I have almond meal .Can I make almond flour out of almond meal ? and how
Thanks a lot for the great post. I will share it with my known ones…..
Do you think I can use whole almonds?
I have a grain mill, do you think I can use that instead of a blender or processor?
I’ve never worked with a grain mill, so I couldn’t say for sure, but yes, you can use whole almonds. Almonds that are ground with their skins on are called “almond meal” and that bakes slightly differently than blanched almond flour, so just expect slightly different results. Almond meal makes more cake-like baked goods, while blanched almond flour makes more buttery, shortbread-like cookies and crackers.
Thanks for you post, you have opened a new way of cooking for us and I appreciate it. Thanks for your info.
Does a cup of almonds equal a cup of flour?
I am so glad to have found your site. I just started keto and went shopping at a local Cub food market and almond flour was $13 a pound! ouch! I know where there is a Trader’s Joe.
I have never baked with almond flour…this is going to be great! Thank you. Will comment again afterwards. Sharon
Thank you for posting this. I had ran out of almond flour and was desperate to make a sweet (SF GF mug cake). Ever since that first attempt at using my vitamix I’ve been grinding my own. I love Honeyville but not always thrilled with the price. I contemplated using my food processor but since you’ve already proven the results I’ll stick to my blender. Cheers!
Thanks so much for info on what worked best for making almond flour.
Is this almond meal instead of flour? I always thought that flour should be very powdery, where-as the meal is more grainy. TY.
The difference between the two is that almond flour is made from blanched almonds, so the skin is removed and the result is a finer texture and you get crispier baked goods, like shortbread cookies. When you grind whole almonds with their skins, you get almond meal and it is a little grainier and the resulting baked goods have a more cake-like texture.
Would this flour work with macarons? Almond flour is sooooo expensive and I’m dying to try making macarons.
Thank you so much. I am on fixed I come. A big help!!
Thanks to all of you for your in site on making your own flours. I am just getting into all of this . Looking forward to making yummy things that are healthy !
Thank you for so much information!
I recently went to Costco for the first time and got a 3 lbs bag of Almond Flour for $11.00 that comes out to $0.22 per ounce
I hv almond flour(AF) but recipe(pumpkin bread, Keto) calls for fine AF. How do I make it w the Reg. I already hv? When I use up what I hv I’ll make from nuts.
I would just try it with what you have and see how it turns out!
Glad I found this info!! I wanted to try a recipe for a peach crumb cake that calls for a 1/2 cup of almond flour. I went to get the ingredients but didn’t want to spend $8 or $9 for a bag of the flour when I only need 1/2 cup. I’ll happily get the blanched almonds at Trader Joe’s and make the cake!! Thanks.
I just used buckwheat groans to make buckwheat flour (used a coffee grinder and it worked perfectly). May I know if
It’s possible to grind almond meal into flour? I’ve got it and thought I could use it?
Thanks
I learned how to make almond flour by first soaking my almonds and making almond milk and then drying the almond meal that is left. It has a huge taste difference then store bought almond flour and I cannot figure out why!!! By processing the almonds the way you said I ended up with almond butter – pouts I am so frustrated and welcome any feedback
The fat is removed when you make almond milk, so the pulp that is leftover isn’t idea for making recipes that call for true almond flour. (Simply ground blanched almonds.) If you wind up with almond butter, that means the almonds were processed for too long. But, you can bake with almond butter, too! Check out my almond butter blondies or cookies. 🙂
Dear Megan, I think that the reason the blanched almonds are preferred over the plain almonds is because much of the lectin resides in the skin and you want to eliminate as much of the lectin as you can! Thank you for the idea! I am going on a web search for blanched almonds now!
Chuck
Walmart has a 2 lb bag of Blanched Superfine Almond Flour for 10.98 or 0.35/oz. You might have to blend it a bit more to get the actual superfine texture but its the cheapest so far I’ve found anywhere.
I love how simple this is to make.
Why go to this effort? Every grocery store in my area sells high quality almond flour blanched and finely ground for the exact same price as whole, chopped, or slivered almonds. It is quite a bit of work to mill nuts at home as finely as bagged almond flour and it’s even harder without a 400 dollar blender. Perhaps you should try looking at a different store than Trader Joe’s because other stores may have more competitive prices. I get bobs from Walmart at about .08 cents per gram.
This post was originally written in 2009 when it wasn’t easy to buy almond flour at an affordable price. Now there are many more options in the United States, but not all areas, or other countries, have the same access so it’s still helpful for some people to make it themselves.
Whole almonds at Costco are $499/# – just blanch them in boiling water and squeeze off the skin. Then grind to powder in your vitamix. Or buy almond flour at Costco for $4/# already done – Kirkland brand in 3# bag is $12.Least exp I have found and superfine fresh delicious.
Did you blanch your own almonds or buy them already blanched
I buy them blanched.
When I make homemade almond milk, I end having wet almond… not meal, because the skins are off. But I think you get the idea. Should I dehydrate this in order to get the almond flour product I’m looking for? Would be nice to handle two birds with one stone.
I wouldn’t use the leftover pulp in a recipe that calls for almond meal or flour (because much of the fat is removed, the results are very different) but there are a few recipes here on my website that are developed with almond pulp so you can make the most of it! https://detoxinista.com/?s=almond+pulp
Hi, just wondering if it matters if I use a coffee grinder mill instead of the Vita-Mix?
I have store bought almond slivers, but have no clue if they are blanched or not. I no longer have the packaging. Is there a way to tell if they are blanched?
Blanched almonds have their skin removed, so the almonds are just white-looking.
How does 8oz. of almonds equal 1lb. of flour? Volume does not equal weight. Your $0.50 savings actually equates to a higher cost per pound. What is math?
This post does not say that 8 oz. of almonds equals a pound of flour. I used an 8 oz. bag to calculate the cost per ounce. We are comparing price per ounce in this post, but you can multiply that by 16 to get the cost savings per pound.
i found some almond flour on amazon that was 25 cents/ounce but the cheapest price for almonds is 47 cents/ounce. Doesn’t this make it cheaper just to buy the flour or am I missing something?
(I mean this in the most curious way possible. Just want my tone to come off right, I know it can be easy to read this as a cocky comment, but I promise I mean this in the nicest way possible)
If you can find almond flour for 25 cents an ounce right now, I would buy it! I originally wrote the post nearly 7 years ago, when almond flour was very expensive and more rare, and it seems to be getting cheaper by the month. So definitely shop around!
What can I use the ground almonds left over after I make almond milk? And, can this be used to make almond flour?
Search for “almond pulp” recipes on my website, and you’ll see a few options! My favorite is Almond Pulp Hummus, because you can use the wet pulp right away without drying it.
Just made almond flour bread hope it turns out ok the flour alone was $10
It’s still in the oven xx
Would a spice grinder be good to use instead of a blender?
Yes, I think that would work fine, too!
Life saver
hi!!! I was just wondering if I can use this almond flour recipe to make macarons?
I just blanched some almond to remove the skin. Do I have to dry it out first before putting in blender. Thank you?
Yes, I think they would need to be totally dry before grinding them into flour.
I tried to make almond flour but it seemed to be getting sticky. Also there were pieces that didn’t grind. I was using a blender. Maybe I should try my processor?
This would be great dusted on top of a frosted cake, or ice cream, brownies, etc. However given the price of almonds, I think that using this as a substitute for flour in say a loaf of bread would be extremely expensive.
Now consider.. gluten free vs HUGE amount of calories and FAT.. Don’t sacrifice the healthy choice for a trendy “fad” Humans have been eating gluten for millennia.
Oh thanks so much for your experience. I found this very helpful and love your tips, that were also helpfu. Making Macarons
Hi. I am wondering if you could update your info with buying a large raw almond canister of almonds from Costco and how to blanch them.
I recently had to return a bag of Keto flour made with MCT oil because it turned out to be $18!!!
Do you have a recipe for making your own keto flour? Also if I want to make a loaf of bread that requires at least 3.5 cups of regular flour. Can organic flour be mixed half and half for a low carb alternative?
Why BLANCHED?
The most common type of almond flour that recipes call for is blanched almond flour. Removing the almond skins gives the almond flour a more fine texture for a fluffy baked good. If you want to use almonds with the skin on, I’d use it in recipes that call for almond meal instead, or expect the result to be slightly more dense.