Simple almond meal is made from coarsely ground almonds by grinding the almonds with their skin down to a meal, much like corn meal. Typically it is used as a substitute for traditional all-purpose flour as a low-carb option, and for those that are allergic to standard flour.
What's the difference between Almond Meal and Almond flour:
Almond meal is not to be confused with almond flour, which is ground almonds sans skins into a fine powder like standard flour. Almond meal is quite often that it is used in low-carb, keto, and diabetes-sensitive recipes. You have probably noticed many of our recipes call for the use of almond meal in them. You can make your own almond meal at home, or you can purchase almond meal in the store.
But, what if you are allergic to almonds, or almond meal, or you just want to use a substitute in its place? We have put together a list of 14 best simple almond meal substitutes to help you with your cooking!
Almond Meal Swaps
All-Purpose Flour
All-purpose flour is the most popular cooking flour. It is made from wheat, ground into a fine powder, and then bleached to create the end product. All-purpose flour only consists of the endosperm of wheat (the protein and starch part).
Almond Flour
Almond flour is a great 1:1 substitute for all-purpose flour or almond meal. It does not have almond skins in it, as almond meal does, and it is nearly as fine of a powder as all-purpose flour.
Breadcrumbs
When a recipe calls for coating with almond meal, you can substitute it with breadcrumbs or panko.
Cashew Flour
Paleo and gluten-free, cashew flour offers a great alternative to almond meal while maintaining lower carbs than standard all-purpose flour.
Coconut Flour
Made from dried coconut meat and coconut milk, coconut flour is a fun and bright alternative to almond meal. However, coconut flour is thicker and may be runnier than all-purpose flour or almond meal, so it will require mixing longer than normal.
Hazelnut Flour
Ground with hazelnuts, hazelnut flour is a naturally sweeter flour that pairs extremely well with chocolates and sweets!
Macadamia Flour
Macadamia flour is not as cost-effective as many other flours, but it certainly tastes great as a naturally sweet flour, higher fat, and lower-carb substitute.
Oat Flour
Oat flour is whole grain and made from rolled oats, and it surprisingly comes with a lot of health benefits.
Polenta Flour
Polenta flour is coarsely ground yellow cornmeal mostly associated with Italian cuisines. It is also high in complex carbs.
Quinoa Flour
Quinoa flour is ground from quinoa, and it is naturally gluten-free and high in protein. Most recipes that call for quinoa flour will also incorporate starch and other stabilizers because it lacks normal structure for cooking as all-purpose flour has.
Rice Flour
Rice flour is made from dry-milled white rice and is an amazing alternative for confections. It is typically found in East Asian cuisine.
Sunflower Seed Flour
Sunflower seed flour is naturally gluten-free, made from ground sunflower seeds and oddly enough many people with nut allergies are not allergic to it. Of course, consult your doctor and the person consuming it prior, just in case.
Walnut Flour
Walnut flour is made from ground walnuts and the walnut oil is removed, which leaves a coarser flour than all-purpose flour, but remains a lower carb option for those that wish to substitute it in place of all-purpose flour.
Wheat Flour
Whole wheat flour contains endosperm (the protein and starch part), germ (the protein, fat, and vitamin part), and bran (the fiber part).
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