How To: Substitute Ground Nuts for Flour When Baking

how to substitute ground nuts for flour

Did you know that you can use finely ground almonds, pistachios, etc. instead of flour when you’re baking? This is great if you want to reduce your gluten intake, are aiming for a lighter flavor, or just want to give your dessert a slightly nutty flavor to whatever it is you are baking. And hey, it helps you get some protein in as well!

The key is to know how much you can substitute. Substitute up to half of the flour the recipe calls for with finely ground nuts when baking. If you do any more than that, the final product will not hold together very well. But you’re okay if you stick to up to half of the flour amount.

Here’s a substitution sample with pistachio cake:

pistachio cake

I decided I wanted to make a pistachio-flavored cake—one with an authentic pistachio flavor. Looking at the recipe, I found that it called for 1 3/4 cups of cake flour.

I calculated that I could use up to 7/8 of a cup of ground pistachios. I decided to go with 1/2 a cup so that the flavor would be just slightly nutty.

…So I shelled a bunch of pistachios, put them through a food processor, and voila! A tasty flour substitute. I then proceeded to use just 1 1/4 cup of flour instead of 1 3/4 of a cup.

Happy baking!

4 thoughts on “How To: Substitute Ground Nuts for Flour When Baking

  1. This was exactly the information I was looking for! I want to make banana nut scones, and incorporate the walnuts instead of pressing pieces onto the tops of the scones.

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