Everyone likes a good brownie. Am I right? Unfortunately, when you are on a pretty strict diet like the keto diet, making these delicious desserts can become a bit tricky. Afterall, how on earth are you supposed to make a brownie, cake, or cupcake without flour? You know, the essential ingredient in baked goods that also contains a thousand carbs! Of course, it really isn’t a thousand but in the realm of keto it may as well be. Thankfully, there are alternatives and we are here to let you know all about the keto flours you can use!
Ultimate Guide to Keto Flours
How to Use Keto Flours
Most of these flours cannot simply be substituted 1:1 in recipes. I know. More work on your end. A perfect example of this would be coconut flour. Coconut flours absorbs more liquid than regular flour. So, typically, this flour is used in smaller amounts and other ingredients like eggs are increased.
This can be extremely daunting for those just starting the keto diet. Fortunately, there are so many recipes out there that outline exactly what you need to do if you are substituting flours while being on the keto diet. However, you should still have a general idea and that is why we wanted to share all of this wonderful information!
The Best Keto Flours
Low-Carb Almond Flour
One serving of almond flour (approximately ¼ cup) is around 160 calories and 6 grams carbs. It also has around 3 grams of fibers! This means the net carbs contained in a serving of this flour is 3. Hallelujah!
This flour is also widely popular. Almond flour is available in many grocery stores and can also be ordered online. Some of the most popular brands of almond flour include Honeyville, Bob’s Red Mill, and NOW Foods.
Related Post: 8 Keto Bread Recipes for Your ‘Carb’ Fix
Low-Carb Almond Meal
You may be confused. Didn’t we just talk about almond? Well, yes but…
Almond meal is made just slightly different than almond flour. In the process to make almond flour, the almonds are blanched removing their skins. In almond meal, this step is skipped and the skins are left on the almonds. So, almond meal ends up being a bit coarser than almond flours. Both almond flour and almond meal have the same nutritional properties and bake relatively the same.
Whichever you find at the store, both are great options!
Low-Carb Coconut Flour
Coconut flour is a rising star among keto flours as it is extremely low in carbs and high in both fiber and protein. This flour has around 45 calories per serving (2 tbsp), 11 grams of carbs, 8 grams of fiber, and 4 grams of protein. So, of course, the important part. This flour ends up having a net carbs total of 2!
There is a learning curve to this flour though. Unlike other keto flours, coconut flour requires more moisture when baking. Typically, recipes will call for 2-3 eggs per ¼ cup coconut flour to add more moisture to your mix.
Low-Carb Ground Flax Meal
This particular ingredient included in our list of keto flours can go by many names. When shopping, you may find it named ground flax, ground flaxseed, or linseed. Ground flax has around 70 calories per serving (2 tbsp), 5 grams carbs, 4 grams of fiber, and 3 grams of protein making the net carbs 1!
The wonderful thing about always having ground flaxseed around the house is its multipurpose in the kitchen. Not only can it substitute for flour, it can also replace eggs in recipes!
It is recommended to mix 1 tbsp ground flax meal with 3 tbsp of water (allowing it to swell) for every egg you need to replace in a recipe. However, you need to be careful when using this trick as it does not always work. if a recipe relies on eggs, avoid replacing them!
Keto Smarter Not Harder
Everyone is allowed to indulge now and then. Just because you are on a diet doesn’t mean you should always skip our on those yummy desserts everyone around you is enjoying! While it may come with a bit of a learning curve, it is completely worth it to teach yourself to use keto flours in baked goods.
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