The Vegetarian’s Guide To Oat Flour

Curious about oat flour? You have come to the right place! Vegetarian or not, The Vegetarian’s Guide to Oat Flour covers all things oat flour. How to make it, how to store it, and how to use it in your sweet + savory creations. PLUS! My favorite recipes using oat flour.

What Is Oat Flour?

Oat flour is a powder made from grinding oats. As with oats in their original form, oat flour is packed with fiber, copper, selenium, magnesium, manganese, zinc, phosphorus, iron. This type of flour has a lower glycemic index than all-purpose flour and therefore is a healthier option in baked goods. The fiber keeps you feeling full longer, and it doesn’t spike your blood sugar as much as all-purpose flour! It can also be a great alternative in a pinch if your run out of flour. You can simply grind up some oats and still complete your recipe.

Is Oat Flour Gluten Free?

Yes! As with oats, oat flour is naturally gluten free. Be careful! If you truly have a gluten allergy or Celiac disease, when you purchase oats or oat flour, be sure the packaging says gluten free on it. Not all oats are processed in a gluten free manner, so check the labeling.

Is Oat Flour Healthy?

Yes! One ingredient = oats! Doesn’t get any better than that! Low in fat, an excellent source of “good” or complex carbohydrates, high in fiber, copper, selenium, magnesium, manganese, zinc, phosphorus, iron, and contains some protein too!

How To Make Oat Flour

Start with whole grain rolled or old-fashioned oats. Not the steel cut kind, and not the quick cooking kind. Process in a blender or food processor until you achieve a fine powder consistency that resembles the texture of whole wheat flour. Usually takes under one minute to get the correct consistency. You may need to shake or scrape the canister to check for remaining oats that didn’t get processed and pulse again a few times. Transfer to a jar or use immediately in your recipe.

How To Store Oat Flour

Store in an airtight container (glass or Mason jar is best) in a cool + dry place. Can be stored in the refrigerator to maintain freshness. If you buy a bag of oat flour from the store, use it by the ‘best by’ date on the bag. If you make your own, it can stay fresh for about 3 months.

Guide To Baking With Oat Flour

This is by far my favorite flour to use when I am looking to swap out all-purpose flour! It gives baked goods a nice dense consistency with a slightly nutty but sweet taste and doesn’t change the color like some whole grain flours do. Balancing the right amount of oat flour replacement can be a little tricky. Too little and you will have too much moisture. Alternatively, too much can leave your baked goods dry and crumbly. My top tip for adding oat flour is to add other flours as well. Making a blend of flours with different properties will yield the best results. Remember, oat flour is gluten free so you will lose the binding properties of the gluten if you use it without another gluten alternative. Check out my tips for successfully swapping oat flour into your recipes 👇🏻

Tara’s Top Tips For Substituting Oat Flour

It’s tricky! Try following a recipe if you can.
If you are going to go it on your own and make a swap, be mindful that there is no exact science to this. Every baker you ask will give you a different answer and most times the answer is based on what you are baking, what you are swapping out, what other flours are involved, if there are eggs or other gluten flours. Ugh, it’s complex!
To replace all-purpose flour or whole wheat flour with oat flour, reduce the amount of flour by 25%.
Let your batter sit when you use oat flour. This gives it time to fluff/rise. This is especially useful when making pancakes or waffles.
In a recipe that uses eggs or a vegan egg replacement (not the boxed gluten free version), oat flour can typically be swapped in at a 1:1 ratio because the ‘egg’ adds the structure that is missing from oat flour as it is lacking gluten.
Pro tip: if you are looking to take the all-purpose flour completely out of a recipe to increase the fiber and vitamins while decreasing the glycemic index you could swap out 1 cup of all-purpose flour and replace it with ½ cup oat flour plus ½ cup whole wheat flour. This tremendously improves the nutritional profile while still using one flour with gluten to maintain the texture.
Quick breads and cookies do best with oat flour as they don’t need the gluten to make them rise.