What's the difference between coconut flour vs almond flour? Which is better for keto?
Use the EASY coconut flour conversion chart and learn to AVOID the number one mistake most people make PLUS the top 10 best coconut flour recipes.
Both are gluten-free, both are grain-free and both are used heavily in low carb and keto cooking ... but which is best and how do you use them?
Jump to:
- Baking 101 (tips & charts)
- What is coconut flour?
- What is almond flour?
- Nutrition facts
- Benefits of using low-carb flours
- 3 benefits of baking with coconut flour vs almond flour
- 3 differences between almond flour vs coconut flour
- Coconut flour cooking tips
- How to swap almond flour for coconut flour?
- Coconut flour conversion table
- Top 10 best coconut flour recipes
- Coconut flour vs almond flour FAQ
- 💬 Comments
Baking 101 (tips & charts)
If you are new here, you may want to print a copy of the cooking conversion charts. You'll discover kitchen conversions for metric/imperial, tablespoon to ml, temperatures, and even international ingredient names. So no more guessing what a recipe needs.
What is coconut flour?
Coconut flour is dehydrated and defatted flesh from the coconut (coconut meat). It is the high fiber by-product of making coconut cream and coconut milk.
The dried coconut pulp is ground to make a super-fine flour that is naturally high fiber, low-carb, low-fat, and naturally gluten-free flour.
Coconut flour can be used in a variety of savory dishes and sweet keto baking recipes such as keto pancakes, keto waffles, coconut flour cakes, and coconut flour cookies.
How does coconut flour work?
Coconut flour is dehydrated so is incredibly absorbent and so recipes will require more liquid.
Extra eggs are required to help improve the texture of the baking and to help the cake to rise. These extra eggs also help the coconut flour recipe to be high-protein.
You must allow a cake batter made with coconut flour additional time to absorb these extra wet ingredients so the cake batter can swell and thicken.
What is almond flour?
Almond flour is made from ground whole blanched almonds and is the most common keto flour used by beginners.
Blanched almond flour has the skins removed, unblanched almond flour does not have the skins removed.
It takes 90 whole almonds to make 1 cup of almond flour.
Almond flour is a natural gluten-free flour commonly used in keto baking. It has a slightly sweet flavor and nutty flavor with a similar texture to traditional flour.
It is versatile because it can be used in sweet recipes such as cakes, cookies, and pancakes, or savory recipes such as garlic bread, almond flour pie crusts, and is a great replacement for breadcrumbs in recipes such as keto chicken nuggets, keto crumbed pork and grain-free keto fried chicken (KFC).
What's the difference between almond flour and almond meal?
Almond flour is creamy colored and is finely ground almonds, usually with the skins removed.
Almond meal is darker colored and is a coarser grade of ground almonds, usually with the skin attached.
They can both be used interchangeably in most recipes but almond flour is preferred for soft delicate cakes, and almond meal is best used in savory recipes.
Nutrition facts
Nutrition facts for 1 cup (112g) of almond flour: 9.6 g net carbs, 23.4 g protein, 56.4 g fat, 642 calories.
Nutrition facts for ¼ cup of coconut flour: 6.1 g net carbs, 4.4 g protein, 3.8 g fat, 91 calories.
Nutrition facts for 1 cup (125g) of all-purpose flour: 91.6 g net carbs, 12.9 g protein, 1.2 g fat, 455 calories.
Nutrition facts for 1 cup (120g) of gluten-free flour: 92.6 g net carbs, 5.5 g protein, 2.1 g fat, 432 calories.
Nutritional values from cronometer.com
What are the best low-carb flours to use?
Both coconut flour and almond flour are low-carb flours and naturally gluten-free.
These are the most common low-carb flours and you can read about each one in the Ultimate Guide To Low-Carb Flours. It's a general overview of low-carb flours and how to use them.
- Almond flour
- Almond meal
- Coconut flour
- Flax meal
- Peanut flour
- Psyllium husk
- Pumpkin seed flour
- Sunflower seed flour
Benefits of using low-carb flours
There are so many benefits of using natural coconut and almond flour over traditional wheat flour.
When you are on a keto diet or monitoring your blood sugar, baked goods made with grain-free flours have all these health benefits.
- High fiber - both coconut flour and almond flour are high fiber
- High protein - coconut flour isn't as high as almond flour, but when you consider baking using coconut flour generally requires more eggs to help the baking rise and improve moisture, it can be considered a higher protein option.
- Low-carb - both are lower in carbs than wheat flour, all-purpose flour, and gluten-free flour. 1 cup of all-purpose flour contains 92g net carbs compared to 10g net carbs in 1 cup of almond flour, and 6g net carbs in the equivalent ¼ cup of coconut flour (40% less than almond flour).
- Nutrition - both are better than wheat flour and grains. But don't rely on low-carb baking to provide you with the basis of your nutrient-dense diet.
3 benefits of baking with coconut flour vs almond flour
3 differences between almond flour vs coconut flour
“The FDA lists coconut as a tree nut but in fact, coconut is a seed of a drupaceous fruit. Most people allergic to tree nuts can safely eat coconut. Coconut allergy is reasonably rare. If you are allergic to tree nuts, talk to your allergist before adding coconut to, or eliminating coconut from, your diet.”
1: Allergies
Coconut flour recipes are allowed in most schools that have a nut-free policy.
With the increasing number of allergies, more readers are asking for tree nut-free recipes. An increasing number of schools have a nut-free policy for baking and school lunches.
If your children attend a school with a nut-free policy, baking with nuts is out of the question.
And because so many low-carb recipes use almond flour/meal, this limits what baking you can send your children to school with.
2: Costs
Coconut flour is cheaper than almond flour (and you use less).
Coconut flour is an economical low-carb flour to buy and to use because you only use ¼ of the volume of almond flour.
Coconut flour is almost half the price of almond flour/meal.
3: Fat content and quality
Coconut flour is lower in fat.
Almond flour has a higher fat content but it is the quality of fat that is important.
Almond flour is high in omega 6 which is the pro-inflammatory polyunsaturated fat that we want to avoid in large quantities.
This isn’t so important when you are just eating a few almonds as a snack, but to rely on cups of almond meal/flour for meals and baking, really does make a difference and adds up quickly.
Coconut flour is lower in fat (another reason why it is so absorbent for liquids in recipes), but it is stable saturated fat.
"Excessive amounts of omega-6 ... promote the pathogenesis of many diseases, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, and inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, whereas increased levels of omega-3 PUFA (a low omega-6/omega-3 ratio) exert suppressive effects." Source.
Conclusion: Coconut flour is versatile, cheaper, healthier, has better omega 3:6 ratios, and is far lower in carbs than almond flour.
Coconut flour cooking tips
If you think "coconut flour sucks" then you need to learn these 3 tips.
For those of you new to cooking with coconut flour, it can be tricky to work with unless you understand how coconut flour works and behaves.
Tip 1: Allow the coconut flour to rest.
Coconut flour is made from dehydrated and defatted coconut meat, so it is very absorbent.
When you make cookie dough or cake batter, the mixture needs to rest and swell to absorb the moisture and thicken.
For example, if you were to make my keto waffles and don't allow the batter to stand for a few minutes while the waffle maker is heating up, you may think the batter is too liquid and too runny to create the perfect waffle.
If however, you allow the batter to rest for a minute or two, you will see the batter thickening all by itself.
Tip 2: Add enough eggs.
Coconut flours need plenty of eggs to provide moisture, protein, and structure, and to help a keto cake rise and stay fluffy.
Tip 3: Add enough flavors.
Some people are sensitive to the subtle flavor of coconut flour and the extra eggs. You may need to add extra vanilla extract or sweeteners in sweet recipes or additional chees, herbs, and spices in savory recipes to override the subtle coconut flavor it has.
How to swap almond flour for coconut flour?
Unless you are very experienced at low-carb cooking, you cannot directly substitute coconut flour in almond flour recipes or regular wheat flour.
I recommend that you begin to bake with coconut flour using recipes that have already been developed using coconut flour.
Once you feel comfortable with the properties of coconut flour, you might want to try experimenting with converting some almond flour recipes.
Coconut flour conversion table
The best recipes to begin converting are those that only use a small amount of almond flour. A recipe that only needs ½ cup of almond flour is much easier to convert to coconut flour than a cake that uses 2-3 cups of almond flour. It simply won't work.
- Use a 1:4 ratio of coconut flour instead of almond flour.
- ¼ cup coconut flour = 1 cup almond flour
- 1 cup coconut flour needs 6 eggs and 1 cup liquid
- Allow the batter to swell and absorb the liquid then adjust accordingly.
- If the batter is too wet, add 1 tablespoon of coconut flour at a time until it thickens
- If the batter is too dry, add 1 egg or 2 tablespoons of liquid and mix until smooth
How to substitute almond flour for coconut flour
Every recipe will vary but as a rough guide to get you started to substitute almond flour, 1 cup of almond flour = ¼ cup of coconut flour PLUS extra eggs and extra liquid.
To substitute coconut flour, ¼ cup = 1cup almond flour with fewer eggs and less liquid.
Top 10 best coconut flour recipes
If you love cooking with coconut flour, these are the 10 most popular and easiest coconut flour recipes for beginners.
- Keto berry sponge cake
- Keto vanilla berry mug cake
- Nut-free "peanut butter" cookies
- Keto Fat Head nachos
- Keto waffles
- 1-minute keto muffins
- Coconut flour bread
- Keto blueberry cupcakes
- Soft keto bagels
- Sheet pan pancakes
Most recipes on Ditch The Carbs will have substitutions for coconut flour and almond flour. For example, the Fat Head keto pizza recipe can now be made with almond flour OR coconut flour.
Coconut flour vs almond flour FAQ
The almond flour debate in keto recipes depends on whether you have tree nut allergies, whether you want low-fat flours, or high-fiber flours, or whether calories and weight loss are a priority.
Finely ground almond flour is more popular in keto cakes and Paleo baking, but if you have nut allergies and can tolerate coconut flour, almond flour, and coconut flour cakes can both be soft and delicious.
You can use the coconut flour conversion table above as a guide but it is not easy to swap almond flour with coconut flour or conventional flour. They have completely different properties.
Coconut flour is lower in net carbs, higher in protein, and has fewer calories so better for the keto diet.
You can buy all types of keto-friendly flours worldwide from iHerb or from my Amazon Low-Carb Keto Store.
Organic coconut flour is the best if you can afford it, and make sure you buy coconut flour not desiccated coconut. They are not the same.
Buy almond flours such as blanched almond flour, or almond meal, in small enough quantities that you will use it before its expiry date.
You can but it takes a very long time and it will never be as good as store-bought coconut flour.
Buy blanched almonds and place them in your food processor or coffee grinder and chop until they are ground. This is called almond meal. When grinding almonds make sure to stop before they turn into almond butter.
Low-carb keto baking, whether it is from coconut flour vs almond flour, should not be relied upon regularly. Part of the ethos of going low carb is not to rely on sweet tastes too often, but to use them occasionally.
It is always better to reach for keto baking rather than high-carb high-sugar cakes and cookies. But they must begin to make less of an appearance in your weekly meal plan
One of the biggest challenges in a gluten-free diet is which type of flour to use. You need to avoid all grain-based flours and whole wheat flour. All low-carb flours and keto flours are naturally gluten-free.
Alternative types of flour are ground sunflower seeds, ground flaxseeds, psyllium husk powder, flaxseed meal, oat fiber, and other nut flours such as walnut flour. All are low in grams of net carbs and suitable for the ketogenic diet.
Almond flour has 23.4 grams of protein per cup.
Coconut flour has 16 grams of total carbs, 10 grams of fiber, and a net carb count of 6.
Xanthan gum is a thickener and is often used in sauces but also used in baking to help replace gluten otherwise some gluten-free cakes and cookies will crumble and fall apart.
You can search all the recipes using the coconut flour recipe index. You'll find coconut flour cookies, muffins, bread, mug cakes, pizzas, fudge, waffles, bagels, and even low-carb coconut flour chicken nuggets!
Read More: The Ultimate Guides Series
- Ultimate Guide To Carbs In Food 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 lists
- Ultimate Guide To Carbs In Vegetables
- Ultimate Guide To Carbs In Fruit
- Ultimate Guide To Healthy Fats
- Ultimate Guide To Low Carb Sweeteners
- Ultimate Guide To Low Carb Flours
- Ultimate Guide To Carbs In Alcohol
- Ultimate Guide To Carbs In Beige Food
- Ultimate Guide To Carbs In Nuts And Seeds
- Ultimate Guide To Carbs In Sauces
Rachel Novak
I can’t eat eggs, do you have any recommendations for an egg replacer that works in baking cookies or muffins with coconut flour? Also would you use more replacer than the amount of agh being called for since it doesn’t rise as easily?
Libby Jenkinson
Hmm, that's a tricky one because coconut flour recipes rely so heavily on eggs because of the moisture and protein. I would try to find recipes such as coconut flour cookies which require fewer eggs and so an egg replacer would work well in those compared to a coconut flour bread which requires a large number of eggs and would probably fail if you made the direct substitution to an egg replacer.
Vanessa
I want to make some pumpkin cookies and the recipe calls for 2 1/2 all purpose flour and 1 egg. I want to ketofie this. What would the correct conversion be using almond flour and coconut flour mix?
Libby Jenkinson
Vanessa, I'm afraid it's impossible to tell without knowing the other wet and dry ingredients that the recipe calls for. Almond flour and coconut flour would require totally different amounts of eggs and liquids. Maybe you could try my other cookie recipes and add some pumpkin pie spice would be a quick and easy option. I have coconut flour chocolate chip cookies, snickerdoodles, peanut butter cookies, and keto shortbread.
Barbara
Do you have a low carb, or diabetic recipe for the automatic pasta dough making machines ratio to ratio? I got a machine but no recipe, they only have all purpose flour in the guide. I’m really missing a real pasta after 2 1/2 years. I can’t afford to throw out dough and start over as they suggest.
Libby Jenkinson, MPS
I have an amazing keto pasta dough recipe here.
Barbara Maynard
The machine is starfrit sold by Walmart and bed bath and beyond. It says the two measuring cups that came with it are not standard and to use these only because measures have to be correct or will clog machine, plus they want you to use a scale exactly 200g the recipe is simple but they only give it for all purpose flour,Ratios below uses all-purpose flour and water. The ratio may vary if any other type of flours and liquids are used. Always use scale to measure flour if using a different pasta recipe refer to the section below to identify the right dough consistency. Basic pasta 400g 170mi water = 4-5 servings
Egg pasta 400g 170 mi (1egg + water = 4-5 servings.
If the ratio of liquid and flour is not correct, the extrusion will not succeed. In this case, prepare the ingredients again.
For good results the dough should not be too dry nor too wet, the right consistency should be crumbly, otherwise the hopper cannot gather it. Each flour type has its own water absorption level, it is not possible to indicate recipe amounts as absolute reference.different flours may require a different amount of water. Water should be added a little by little to identify the right consistency. It is recommended to experiment with the pasta maker to be able to easily identify and understand what is the right consistency for perfect pasta extrusion. There are a few more instructions and pictures of right and wrong consistency’s I don’t know how to send a pic. This looks like a very nice machine and sturdy we are in our 80s and don’t have the stamina to roll out dough and the time it takes. This would only require putting the ingredients in machine and pushing a button and it does all the work. I sure would be grateful for any help you can share and thank you for all the recipes you have shared most are quick and easy which helps us very much, thank you again Barbara.
Barbara Maynard
Sorry that is 400g all-purpose flour.
Barbara
Basic pasta: 400g. Flour weight 170ml water weight . = 4-5 servings
Egg pasta. 400g flour weight 170ml water weight (1egg + water. = 4-5 servings if the ratio of liquid and flour is not correct, the extrusion will not succeed. In this case prepare the ingredients again.should not be too wet or too dry consistency should be crumbly, otherwise the hopper cannot gather it. Each flour type has its own water absorption level, its not possible to indicate recipe amounts as absolute reference .
K
Thank you so much, this was most informative. I appreciate the detail which you have provided. I, too, have long tried to discern the nutritional values between the two flours and the pros and cons. You have given us wonderful options to make our own decisions based upon your research. Everyone's taste and needs are different, so I must say this has been extremely beneficial to those of us who love to bake and are seeking alternative options from the (also wonderful) wheat flours we grew up with.
I look forward to these baking adventures! Regards, K
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
I was so confused at the beginning of my low-carb journey and I made so many expensive baking maitakes, I wanted to help those who have only ever used regular wheat flour before (that was me). I'm so glad this article and information helped. You'll soon instinctively know which flour to use for which recipe and how to manipulate the consistency of your cake batter (for example) with eggs or other protein and liquids. Happy low-carb and keto baking!
Mark CM
This would have to be the most uncomfortable page to read I've seen in a long time. What a total mess. I gave up after 3 paragraphs, at least, I think it was 3, so hard to tell with all the crap everywhere. And if this comment is "moderated", that's OK because this comment is directed at YOU the blogger that is about to delete this comment. LOL
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Hey there Mark, what an absolute ray of sunshine you are to leave me such a wonderful comment to read this morning. As you can see, I do not delete comments but reply to each and every one. May you find peace and kindness in your day today, and are kinder to those who are near to you.
Jacqueline
Thank you for the information!
I also appreciated your reply to the sunny ray of 🌞! Dripping sarcasm for folks who have not realized you don't need to comment if don't appreciate what is here. Close the page and move on, some appreciate what is here on this page! 😊
George
Best reply ever 😂😂 But I do see his point!
Nessa
It's like complaining about the gift wrapping and not focusing on the gift which is free good information.
And when you use your phone for everything, the layout all is pretty much the same!
Mabel
I would love to switch to the coconut flour but adding in all those eggs also adds so many calories!
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Luckily we don't count calories. 😉 Eggs are a wonderful quality protein that helps keep us full and satiated. They are almost zero carb so coconut flour and eggs are perfect for low-carb and keto baking recipes.
Stacee
I am extremely allergic to all nuts and avocados so I find it difficult to replace them in most paleo and keto recipes.
Leland
Very well written & done!
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little of benefit. It's terrific to see an enlightening article of some true value too
your readers and me.
It is actually on the list of details I need to replicate as a new
blogger. Reader engagement and content quality are king.
Some fantastic thoughts; you have unquestionably got on my ist
of people to watch!
Continue the good work!
All the best,
Paulie
Terry Bowman
Those of us with a history of kidney stones say "THANK YOU!," because we must avoid nut consumption, ESPECIALLY ALMONDS!
Fehmida kola
Thank you so much for sharing this information and taking the time and trouble to do so. Almond flour is quite expensive here in South Africa, so this had been very helpful. May you be blessed ???
cs.scaleautomag.com
I don't commonly comment but I gotta tell thanks for the post
on this amazing one :D.
Tammy L. Buffington
I'm so glad I looked up a recipe for keto chocolate chip cookies made with coconut flour!!! This is such a wonderful site because all of my recipes need to be tree nut free due to my son's allergies. It's been quite a challenge finding recipes made wholly from coconut flour!! I can't wait to start making a lot of these yummy sounding recipes!! Again, Thank you!!
Patricia Bumpass
Thank you for this information. As I transition to a low carb lifestyle, I definitely need this type of post. I understand your reasoning behind moving to more coconut flour based recipes, however I do ask that you continue to include the almond flour version as well. I have eaten coconut all my life and, sadly, I now find that I am allergic to any amount of coconut in any shape or form. I made a recipe that called for a simple tablespoon of coconut flour so I figured that small amount t wouldn’t hurt. It took me a minute to realize that just that small amount of coconut flour was the culprit of my allergic reaction. You are awesome for converting your recipes using both flours. Thank you so much.
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
I'm so glad these recipes are useful and yes, rest assured, I will continue to make both almond flour and coconut flour recipes. There is definitely a need for both varieties.