The Best Gluten-Free Flour for Baking: Tested, Vetted (& Devoured)

If you’re new to gluten-free baking—or you’re just baking for a friend with celiac disease—Pillsbury is a great option. The cup-for-cup conversion makes it easy to substitute in recipes, and in our tests, the amount of xanthan gum included resulted in the puffiest, fluffiest treats. To that end, our chocolate chip cookies were almost cakey in texture, with a slightly gritty aftertaste, but they stayed soft when stored in an airtight container for days.

Fast Facts

• Types of Flour Used: rice flour (gussied up with pea fiber, tapioca starch and potato starch)
• Includes Xanthan Gum? Yes

For more advanced bakers who like to control their own destiny (AKA how elastic a dough is), King Arthur Baking Company’s Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour is the way to go. You’ll have to add your own stabilizer, such as xanthan gum, but it results in delightfully chewy, moist desserts. It’s ideal for using in gluten-free recipes that call for xanthan gum as an ingredient; if you’re trying to substitute it in an existing recipe, like our Toll House cookie experiment, you’ll have to play around to get the right amount (we recommend about two teaspoons, though King Arthur Baking suggests taking it easy on yourself and opting for its Measure for Measure flour instead).

Fast Facts

• Types of Flour Used: organic rice flour, organic brown rice flour, organic tapioca flour, organic millet flour
• Includes Xanthan Gum? No

One thing we learned, even with one-to-one gluten-free flour blends: You’ll need to keep a close eye on the timer, erring on the lower end of any timing instructions in the recipe, as many blends brown faster than others. That was the case with Arrowhead Mills Organic Gluten Free All-Purpose Flour, but we’ll be honest: The results were worth the added mindfulness. Our test cookies had the best chewy, gooey factor, with strong vanilla flavor and solid caramel notes. These treats disappeared fastest in our first test run.

Fast Facts

• Types of Flour Used: organic rice flour, organic brown rice flour, organic tapioca flour, organic millet flour
• Includes Xanthan Gum? Yes

If your favorite recipe calls for all-purpose flour and you’d like to make it gluten-free, look no further than Bob’s 1-to-1. It’s designed to substitute wheat flour in any recipe, from brownies to muffins to cookies. It’s a blend of sweet white rice flour, whole-grain brown rice flour, whole-grain sorghum flour, tapioca flour and potato starch, plus xanthan gum. So, you won’t need to make any tweaks or add any extra ingredients to bake your favorite goodies. Even better, the flour is made in a totally gluten-free facility and each batch is tested to ensure that it’s wheat free.

In the cookie test, these spread a bit more, but they were chewy with crisp edges, just like the original recipe.

Fast Facts

• Types of Flour Used: sweet rice flour, whole grain brown rice flour, whole grain sorghum flour, tapioca flour
• Includes Xanthan Gum? Yes

At less than $3 a pound, this one-to-one substitute for all-purpose flour is a steal. Add that it’s available at Target, and well, we found just the excuse to drop $100 while ‘grocery shopping.’ Price and convenience aside, the flour blend is legit. In our tests, it offered a pretty close match to a classic Toll House cookie—but it involved some tinkering (dropping the temp to 350 degrees instead of 375), as the cookie can burn and dry out a bit faster than ones made with other blends we tested. Still, it was soft, chewy and didn’t leave a chalky aftertaste, as some g-free treats do.

Fast Facts

• Types of Flour Used: millet flour, rice flour, sorghum flour
• Includes Xanthan Gum? Yes

When we heard Original Sunshine was the secret to the Last Crumb’s ultra-luxe gluten-free treats (which cost $13 a pop), we had to try it firsthand. And when tested in everything from cookies to banana bread, we were stunned: It somehow elevated the flavors of the star ingredients in each dish. The caramelization in cookies was more pronounced; multiple people were stunned by the sweetness and banana flavor in our quick bread.

So, what makes it so unique? Well, Original Sunshine has its own production process that removes gluten proteins from wheat, so you still have the bready texture you’d expect from traditional AP flour, yet Original Sunshine meets the FDA recommendations for a diet containing a max of 20 parts per million of gluten. (Still, if you’re celiac, you should talk to your doctor before trying it.)

Fast Facts

• Types of Flour Used: buckwheat flour, gluten-free wheat starch
• Includes Xanthan Gum? No

Made from yucca root, cassava flour is a smooth, powdery substance that’s similar to tapioca flour. It has a mild earthy flavor on its own but tastes more neutral when baked. Otto’s Natural doesn’t add any other flours to the mix either—it’s just pure non-GMO yucca root. Because cassava flour absorbs more liquid than wheat flour, it’s great for baking dense treats like cookies, cakes and brownies rather than yeasted ones like bread or doughnuts. You can also use it for pizza crust, breading or pasta, since those don’t require much lift.

If you don’t have a nut allergy, almond flour is definitely worth a try. It offers a boost of protein and fiber to any recipe, plus has a pretty neutral taste that makes it super versatile. (You might get a slight nuttiness, but that’s it.) Blue Diamond is ground so finely that it doesn’t have the grittiness of some almond flours, and it’s keto-friendly and kosher. Price-wise, it’s one of the more affordable options out there too, beating out even Whole Foods’s in-house brand, 365 by Whole Foods Market.

While you won’t be able to substitute it one for one for wheat flour, adding more flour than what’s called for in a recipe can help you get a stiffer batter or dough. You can also use xanthan gum, egg whites or psyllium husk powder to achieve a sturdier texture. Use almond flour to make cookies, pancakes, quick breads and other baked goods. (Oh, and if you’re looking for an organic option, our editors recommend trying Terrasoul.)

Coconut flour has a distinct taste that will come through in whatever you make with it. So, use it in recipes that already call for coconut or recipes that would benefit from its flavor, like macarons or chocolate chip cookies. Coconut flour is also great for tortillas, pancakes and chips. Viva Naturals recommends substituting a ¼ cup of coconut flour and one egg per cup of wheat flour (the protein from the egg will help in the structure department). Coconut flour also has the longest lifespan of just about all gluten-free flours. It will keep in the fridge for up to a year—just don’t store it in the pantry because it’s not shelf-stable.

Not only is buckwheat a great source of protein and fiber, but it also has a wonderful nutty, earthy flavor that can enhance recipes for crackers, soba noodles, pancakes, flatbread and even cake and muffins (baked goods could benefit from mixing it with another flour, like oat or rice). This particular buckwheat flour boasts 30 grams of whole grains in every ¼ cup. Pair it with ingredients that will complement its flavor, like dark chocolate, toasted nuts or mushrooms. (P.S. Arrowhead Mills’s millet flour has even more whole grains at 35 grams per serving.)

It’s made from sorghum, an ancient grain that’s higher in both protein and fiber than wheat. There’s 4 grams of protein and 3 grams of fiber in every ¼ cup of Namaste Foods’s sorghum flour, versus regular AP flour’s 3 grams of protein and ½ gram of fiber. Sorghum is also rich in iron, boasting 8 percent of your daily recommended amount in per serving. It’s great for pizza crust and flatbreads that will benefit from its earthy flavor. Like amaranth and oat flours, sorghum flour can be stored in the fridge or pantry. At room temperature, it’ll keep for about two months—freeze it to double its shelf life.

Brown rice flour is a popular choice because it’s minimally gritty and super light. Its taste is mild, unlike some other alternatives (ahem, coconut flour). Anthony’s is also non-GMO and made from stone-ground, medium-grain brown rice. Rice flour’s low protein content means that it doesn’t produce the best results in baked goods, as it won’t hold the dough together as well as other options. If you want to use rice flour to bake, pair it with other gluten-free flours that can help the structure. On its own, rice flour is best as a thickener for soups, sauces and stews and as a way to dredge meat for frying or for making noodles, though Anthony’s reviewers also say it’s wonderful for pancakes. Be sure to store it in the fridge for up to five months or in your freezer for up to a year.