Almond flour or coconut flour? And why?

ettaterrell
ettaterrell Posts: 887 Member
what do you use and in what do you make with it? Any tips on using it?
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Replies

  • auntstephie321
    auntstephie321 Posts: 3,586 Member
    I have both depends on what I'm making. Almond I use for bread, pancakes, in place of bread crumbs etc. Coconut I only used once it soaks up a ton of moisture so you have to be careful or things will be really dry.
  • Jakiepaper
    Jakiepaper Posts: 57 Member
    I think almond flour is more versatile.
  • ladipoet
    ladipoet Posts: 4,180 Member
    Only everything (seriously)!! lol Almond flour and coconut flour can be used as thickeners (i.e. for sauces), as breading, to make LC doughs (bread, cookie, or otherwise) or crusts (for pizza or quiche or pies or desserts). Almond flour tends to be dry so if you have a recipe that calls for a LOT of it, expect it turn out on the dry side. Coconut flour is VERY finicky to work with and can be extremely difficult to figure out the proper amounts to use in a recipe if the recipe doesn't already call for that ingredient specifically because coconut flour loves to soak up moisture so when you use coconut flour, you usually have to compensate by adding more liquid or eggs to whatever you are making UNLESS as I said before the ingredients already call for it. And yes, I really do use both of these in my kitchen. I use almond flour more often, but sometimes both are required for something I'm making. There are several good LC recipe website and no, I'm not going to re-post them here because they're already in the launch pad / sticky note area. Just check out some of the recipes listed there and sooner or later you will see these items come up as part of the ingredient lists for some recipes.
  • lithezebra
    lithezebra Posts: 3,670 Member
    I love almond flour. I've just started using coconut flour. It's higher in fiber, and it's tasty. I just made coconut shrimp by dredging the shrimp in coconut flour, dipping them in beaten egg white, coating them in shredded coconut, and baking them for 15 minutes at 400F. I make pancakes too, but more than one serving gives me cramps - I think it's all that fiber. That's just motivation not to eat more than one serving.
  • WIChelle
    WIChelle Posts: 471 Member
    I really like both. My favorite coconut flour uses are mixing with spices for breading nice fatty chicken thighs and for the individual coconut pancakes. Almond flour seems a lot more versatile.
  • WIChelle
    WIChelle Posts: 471 Member
    lithezebra wrote: »
    I love almond flour. I've just started using coconut flour. It's higher in fiber, and it's tasty. I just made coconut shrimp by dredging the shrimp in coconut flour, dipping them in beaten egg white, coating them in shredded coconut, and baking them for 15 minutes at 400F. I make pancakes too, but more than one serving gives me cramps - I think it's all that fiber. That's just motivation not to eat more than one serving.

    I must try that shrimp!!! Yum!!!
  • auntstephie321
    auntstephie321 Posts: 3,586 Member
    WIChelle wrote: »
    lithezebra wrote: »
    I love almond flour. I've just started using coconut flour. It's higher in fiber, and it's tasty. I just made coconut shrimp by dredging the shrimp in coconut flour, dipping them in beaten egg white, coating them in shredded coconut, and baking them for 15 minutes at 400F. I make pancakes too, but more than one serving gives me cramps - I think it's all that fiber. That's just motivation not to eat more than one serving.

    I must try that shrimp!!! Yum!!!

    Same here I love coconut shrimp this sounds amazing
  • KarlaYP
    KarlaYP Posts: 4,439 Member
    I've used almond flour as bread crumbs, and as a breading to fry pork chops. I haven't tried coconut flour, but those shrimp do sound good!
  • macchiatto
    macchiatto Posts: 2,890 Member
    I bought coconut flour (and a big bag of xylitol) when I first started keto but haven't gotten around to using either. This thread is helpful. I might get some almond flour now, too, and try that first if it's easier to work with!
  • Kitnthecat
    Kitnthecat Posts: 2,073 Member
    We use both, but generally don't bake as much as we used to. We had coconut flour pancakes that had a lot of eggs in them, for pancake day today. And that's fine with me, less carbs usually than a huge quantity of nut meal, especially with all those eggs.

    You really don't need to use much coconut flour in any recipe, compared to the larger amount of almond meal, so I am finding that coconut flour is very economical. We tend to make cookies with almond meal and cakes with coconut flour. The coconut flour can usually achieve a lighter fluffier texture.

    I used to use other but meals too, like pecan meal, just depends what you want to make.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    I only use coconut flour (with flax meal, chia seeds, hemp hearts and occasionally a GF flour mix added in). I like coconut but the main reason is because of my son; he has a tree nut allergy and I don't want him to accidentally eat something he shouldn't by mistake. Another 7 years or so when he is out of the house, I may experiment then.
  • SamandaIndia
    SamandaIndia Posts: 1,577 Member
    Similar to above, I have both. Used for pancakes and fat head pizza so far. Love the idea of the coconut coated shrimp. Early experiments here, but so far I found I dont need much of either in a recipe to achieve added thickness and texture. Have fun
  • sweetteadrinker2
    sweetteadrinker2 Posts: 1,026 Member
    I have and use both, but find low carb baking a bit of a chore no matter which I'm using. I can make some pretty good pancakes with either, and mug cakes with coconut flour. Bread uses almond flour, although I'll be trying it with coconut flour soon.
  • heyjude2014j
    heyjude2014j Posts: 48 Member
    Has anyone done fried zucchini with either of these? I love fried zucchini sticks...if this means I can have them again it would be rad :p
  • KarlaYP
    KarlaYP Posts: 4,439 Member
    I would try it with the almond flour. Doubt know about the coconut.
  • mandycat223
    mandycat223 Posts: 502 Member
    I've been using both flours (plus some other outliers) for a couple of months now. What I've found so far:

    1) They aren't interchangeable. Both have their own specific qualities so if a recipe calls for one type, use that and that only.

    2) The recipes I've had most success with were those that combined the two, usually with more almond flour than coconut. But again, don't try dinking around with the proportions; trust the recipe as written.

    As someone noted earlier, low carb baking can be a fair amount of work. I slaved over loaves of LC bread until I remembered that we didn't eat all that much bread BEFORE. It doesn't make sense to spend a lot of time and money on it NOW. The occasional pancakes or muffins just to add variety to breakfast is plenty.
  • kimmydear
    kimmydear Posts: 298 Member
    Going to buy some almond flour soon! Is there a recipe thread anywhere? I looked but nothing popped up.
  • ChoiceNotChance
    ChoiceNotChance Posts: 644 Member
    Oh man, now I want coconut shrimp! And pancakes!!
  • lithezebra
    lithezebra Posts: 3,670 Member
    WIChelle wrote: »
    lithezebra wrote: »
    I love almond flour. I've just started using coconut flour. It's higher in fiber, and it's tasty. I just made coconut shrimp by dredging the shrimp in coconut flour, dipping them in beaten egg white, coating them in shredded coconut, and baking them for 15 minutes at 400F. I make pancakes too, but more than one serving gives me cramps - I think it's all that fiber. That's just motivation not to eat more than one serving.

    I must try that shrimp!!! Yum!!!

    It was really easy: one pound raw, cleaned shrimp, patted dry; 2-3 egg white beaten with some salt and pepper; 2-3 tablespoons coconut flour; about a cup of unsweetened shredded coconut. You could make a sweet-tart-spicy sauce, although I did not because I was lazy and just wanted my favorite food, which is yummy prawns. I baked them on a silpat, so there was no problem with sticking.
  • klrmlr
    klrmlr Posts: 8 Member
    This may be a silly question, but are almond flour and almond meal the same thing?
  • KnitOrMiss
    KnitOrMiss Posts: 10,103 Member
    Has anyone done fried zucchini with either of these? I love fried zucchini sticks...if this means I can have them again it would be rad :p

    There are various recipes for zucchini fries at the like in parmesan, baked - or almond flour, etc. Most are tossed in a fat and coated and baked...


    klrmlr wrote: »
    This may be a silly question, but are almond flour and almond meal the same thing?

    Almond flour tends to be a finer grind, but yes, essentially the same thing. Watch for which have the skins and wich don't. Some folks find they react to the skins.
  • SamandaIndia
    SamandaIndia Posts: 1,577 Member
    I had some prawns, dunked them in melted butter, roĺled in shredded coconut, lightly fried. Yum.

    Thank you @lithezebra I may have missed a few steps but you inspired a tasty dinner. Will note recipe for next time.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    Ok so what would your top pick be for pancakes, Almond or coconut flour? My recipe calls for 32g of plain flour, Are the ratios the same for A and C flour?
  • mora982
    mora982 Posts: 169 Member
    @Christine_72 No the ratios are different!!
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    mora982 wrote: »
    @Christine_72 No the ratios are different!!

    Arrrggghhh I don't think i'll bother lol I can live without pancakes
  • mora982
    mora982 Posts: 169 Member
  • mora982
    mora982 Posts: 169 Member
    mora982 wrote: »
    u8y3oocry8yj.jpg

    @Christine_72 check this out!!
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    Awesome thankyou so much @mora982 :flowerforyou:
  • mora982
    mora982 Posts: 169 Member
    Awesome thankyou so much @mora982 :flowerforyou:

    My pleasure :)
  • mora982
    mora982 Posts: 169 Member
    What about flaxseed does anyone use it??