For individuals embracing a low-carb lifestyle, one of the most significant hurdles often involves limiting the consumption of baked goods. These treats, both sweet and savory, are notoriously high in carbohydrates. However, with the right flour alternatives, binders, and a bit of experimentation, it's possible to enjoy low-carb baked goods that satisfy cravings while staying true to dietary goals.
Low-Carb Flour Alternatives
These flours serve as replacements for all-purpose white flour, which is derived from wheat and contains a high carbohydrate content (23 net carbs per ¼ cup).
Blanched Almond Flour
- Net Carbs: 5.75 per ¼ cup
- Ease of Use: Easy
This flour is made from finely ground blanched almonds without the skins. It's widely available, relatively inexpensive, and easy to use. Almond flour can be used as a 1:1 replacement for all-purpose flour, making it simple to adapt traditional recipes. It creates a good crumb texture in cakes and bakes, is naturally low carb, and is rich in nutrients. However, it is not suitable for anyone with a nut allergy.
Almond Meal
- Net Carbs: 4 per ¼ cup
- Ease of Use: Easy
While made from similar ingredients, almond meal differs from almond flour in its texture. Almond meal is a coarser grind of whole almonds, including the skins. The inclusion of skins results in a higher fiber content, leading to lower net carbs. Its coarser texture makes it suitable for muffins and quick breads, adding a heartier, denser quality. If you are running low on almond flour for baked goods like muffins and cookies, then simply throw some almonds in a food processor, make some almond meal, and use it to replace the blanched almond flour. Do the same thing with almond meal that you do with almond flour.
Soy Flour
- Net Carbs: 5.4 per ¼ cup
- Ease of Use: Easy
Soy flour is a fine-textured flour made from raw soybeans. Similar to almond flour, it can be used as a 1:1 replacement for all-purpose flour. In addition to being low in carbs, it's also high in protein. The high protein content helps bind baked goods together, reducing the need for added binders. However, it imparts a slight soy flavor and is not recommended for individuals with soy allergies.
Read also: Easy Low-Carb Cheese Crackers
Flaxseed Meal
- Net Carbs: 0.5 per ¼ cup
- Ease of Use: Moderate
Flaxseed meal is made from coarsely ground flaxseeds and boasts one of the lowest net carb counts among low-carb baking ingredients. Its high fiber content means it's not a 1:1 replacement for all-purpose flour, so careful measurements are necessary. When mixed with water, flaxseed meal can replace eggs in allergy-sensitive or vegan baking and helps bind gluten-free recipes. It's crucial to use flaxseed meal quickly, as its oils can go rancid over time. Due to its earthy taste, flax meal is perfect for making keto-friendly bread, muffins, cookies, nutty cakes, and scones. By simply putting some water on the flaxseeds and letting them swell, they acquire egg-like properties. Flax meal and flaxseeds can become rancid very quickly, so it is best to store them in the fridge before and after opening. Other Considerations: Brown Flaxseeds vs. Some keto recipes will call for flaxseeds or flaxseed meal, but which one should you use? Although they have similar fatty acid content and health benefits, golden flaxseeds are known as the better tasting flaxseed.
Coconut Flour
- Net Carbs: 7 per ¼ cup
- Ease of Use: Hard
Coconut flour is made from finely ground dried coconut meat, a natural byproduct of coconut milk production. It has a higher learning curve than other low-carb baking ingredients due to its high fiber content, which requires up to four times the amount of eggs to properly hydrate the flour. It imparts a slight coconut flavor, which can enhance recipes with tropical or coconut flavors. Coconut is a binder, so can be combined with almond flour to create an excellent structure for low carb bakes.
Keto Wheat Flour
The first keto wheat flour has hit the market, with 80% less carbs than regular wheat flour. It's designed to replace wheat flour, so will work well if you want to adapt your favorite recipes and make them lower carb.
Lupin Flour
Lupin flour is made from the lupine bean, and is incredibly low carb--even lower in carbs than almond flour--as well as high protein. If you're allergic to peanuts or soy you may also find that lupine beans cause an allergic reaction.
Sunflower Flour
Sunflower flour is a great nut-free alternative to almond flour. It's fine-textured, gluten free, high in fiber and friendly to keto and vegan baking. It's plant-based, nut-free, gluten free. Since it is free of allergens, it's great for children.
Read also: Keto Calorie Counting: A Detailed Guide
Peanut Flour
Peanut flour is made from defatted peanuts and is a lower carb, high protein flour ideal for carb conscious baking. It's plant-based, vegan and gluten free. It tastes like peanuts, so is great if you want to bring the flavor to your bakes.
Other Nut Flours
You can grind almost any nut to obtain a flour-like consistency and use it to reduce the carb content of your recipes. Walnut meal, for example, can be used in many recipes that call for almond flour. Other nut flours that you can experiment with are hazelnut meal, pecan meal, macadamia nut meal, and pistachio meal. An important caveat, however, is that it is much harder to find recipes using these nut flours.
Sunflower Seed Meal and Pumpkin Seed Meal
Sunflower seed meal and pumpkin seed meal are ideal options for those who are allergic to any of the nut flours we mentioned above. Replace almond flour/meal with the same amount of sunflower seed or pumpkin seed meal. If you are trying to avoid coconut, then use more flour and less liquid than the recipe calls for. The downside of these flour alternatives is that they are a bit more expensive than the more popular low-carb flours and much harder to find.
Organic Soy Flour
Soy flour is derived from ground soybeans. It is somewhat similar to coconut flour in that it is quite dry and easily absorbs ingredients. It also has more protein than the keto flours we mentioned above and is an excellent source of dietary fiber.
Organic Sesame Flour
Sesame seed flour is a great alternative to all-purpose flour. It tastes great in both sweet and savory recipes and is especially good for making keto bread. By using sesame flour with psyllium powder, you can make your favorite baked goods more light and fluffy.
Read also: Magnesium Supplements for Keto
Oat Fiber
Oat fiber is made from the crushed husks of oats. It’s a common addition to keto baked goods because it provides some structure and bread-like consistency.
Pork Rind Dust
Though it may sound weird at first, crushed pork rinds (fried pork skins) make a great breading for fried, air-fried, or baked keto foods, since flour and cornmeal are off the table due to their carb content (1, 11). You can buy pork rind crumbs or make your own using store-bought pork rinds. Pork rind dust is totally free of carbs and high in fat and protein, so it’s ideal for keto. It’s a great alternative to breadcrumbs as well, so you can use it to make meatballs, meatloaves, and many other recipes that are typically high in carbs (12).
Low-Carb Binders
Nearly all low-carb flour alternatives require a binder to hold the finished baked goods together, sometimes in addition to traditional binders like eggs.
Wheat Gluten or Vital Wheat Gluten
- Net Carbs: 6 per ¼ cup
- Ease of Use: Moderate
Wheat gluten can replace 7-15% of the flour in most recipes, adding structure, fluffiness, and a better rise to baked goods by adding gluten. However, using this binder will make the finished product not gluten-free, even if gluten-free flour is used.
Whey Protein Concentrate
- Net Carbs: 1.5 per ¼ cup (depending on the brand)
- Ease of Use: Moderate
Whey protein concentrate can add texture and protein to baked goods. It can replace up to one-third of the required flour in most recipes, but excessive use can result in a chewy, rubbery texture.
Xanthan Gum, Psyllium Husk Powder, or Glucomannan
- Net Carbs: 0 per ¼ cup
- Ease of Use: Hard
These binders replace wheat gluten in gluten-free, low-carb baking and can also replace eggs when used in small amounts. They may be harder to find and require trial and error to determine the right amount for each recipe. Psyllium husk is typically used medicinally as a colon cleanser, but in the kitchen, it is a thickener that helps the recipes bind together. For this reason, psyllium husk powder is an essential ingredient for making low-carb bread, cakes, and pies.
Low-Carb Sweeteners
While numerous sugar-free sweetener alternatives exist, they exhibit considerable differences in aftertastes and sweetness levels. Some sweeteners are high impact, meaning they are significantly sweeter than sugar, requiring only a small quantity. Other sweeteners replace both the sweetness and bulk of sugar and can be used similarly to granulated sugar in recipes. Keto and low-carb baking recipes often combine sweeteners to minimize aftertaste and achieve a desirable level of sweetness.
Sugar-Free Maple Syrup
- Net Carbs: 1 per ¼ cup
- Ease of Use: Easy
While not a 1:1 replacement for granulated sugar, sugar-free maple syrup is an easy 1:1 swap for maple syrup on pancakes, waffles, and in baked goods. As a liquid sweetener, it dissolves easily and can be used in cold beverages.
Sucralose-Based Sweetener (e.g., Splenda)
- Net Carbs: 10.9 per ¼ cup
- Ease of Use: Easy
Sucralose-based sweeteners are a widely available artificial sweetener group that can be used as a 1:1 replacement for granulated sugar. However, they are usually mixed with maltodextrin, another artificial sweetener, making them not zero net carb and potentially leaving an aftertaste. Pure sucralose, which is 600 times as sweet as granulated sugar, is also available in bulk online but can be difficult to find and use.
Allulose
- Net Carbs: 0 per ¼ cup
- Ease of Use: Moderate
Allulose is a very low-calorie sweetener found naturally in fruits like figs and raisins with no aftertaste. It is 70% as sweet as sugar and is not a 1:1 replacement for granulated sugar. However, like granulated sugar, allulose can caramelize and brown, making it suitable for softer, lighter-textured recipes like cakes and muffins. It may be harder to find in some grocery stores.
Xylitol
- Net Carbs: 0 per ¼ cup
- Ease of Use: Moderate
Xylitol is a naturally occurring sugar alcohol that is 95% as sweet as granulated sugar but can be used as a 1:1 sugar replacement. It has a significant cooling mouthfeel and aftertaste. Ingesting more than 2 tbsp per serving may cause gastric effects. Xylitol is toxic to pets.
Erythritol (e.g., Swerve)
- Net Carbs: 0 per ¼ cup
- Ease of Use: Moderate
Erythritol is a naturally occurring sugar alcohol available in granulated, confectioners’ (powdered), and brown forms, making it a versatile addition to a low-carb baking pantry. It is 70% as sweet as granulated sugar and is not a 1:1 replacement. It has a cooling mouthfeel and aftertaste that can pair well with cold or frozen desserts, but it doesn’t dissolve as easily as sugar into liquids. Ingesting more than 2 tbsp per serving may cause gastric effects.
Erythritol-Stevia Blend (e.g., Truvia or Wholesome Organic Stevia)
- Net Carbs: 0 per ¼ cup
- Ease of Use: Moderate
This blend of sugar alcohols and plant-based sweeteners helps increase sweetness and counteract aftertaste. It is not a 1:1 sugar replacement and may be sweeter than sugar, so it's essential to check the packaging for sugar equivalents.
Stevia Extract Powder
- Net Carbs: 0 per ¼ cup
- Ease of Use: Difficult
Stevia extract powder is a plant-based sweetener that is 200-300 times sweeter than granulated sugar. It is best used as a sweetness enhancer to an existing sweetener rather than an outright sugar replacement. It is a very concentrated sweetener with a licorice flavor that can leave an aftertaste and is not a suitable 1:1 replacement for sugar.
Monk Fruit Extract or Luo Han Guo
- Net Carbs: 0 per ¼ cup
- Ease of Use: Difficult
Monk fruit extract is a plant-based extract derived from the monk fruit, a native fruit found in southern China and northern Thailand, that is 150-200 times sweeter than sugar. Its extreme concentration can mean it sometimes leaves an aftertaste and is not a 1:1 sugar replacement. Some brands also mix monk fruit extract with erythritol to decrease aftertaste.
Low-Carb Baking Add-Ins
These ingredients are frequently used as alternatives to classic sugar-sweetened ingredients and/or to help reduce net carbs in a recipe.
Unsweetened Almond or Coconut Milk Beverage
- Net Carbs: 0-0.5 per ¼ cup (depending on the variety and brand)
Though lower in protein and fat than whole cow’s milk, these milk alternatives can be used as a 1:1 replacement for cow’s milk to reduce carbs in a recipe or make a recipe vegan.
Sugar-Free Chocolate Chips
- Net Carbs: 12-32 per ¼ cup (depending on the brand)
While lower in net carbs than conventional chocolate chips, sugar-free chocolate chips can still significantly contribute to the net carbs in a low-carb baking recipe, so use them in moderation.
Hemp Hearts or Hulled Hemp Seeds
- Net Carbs: 1.9 per ¼ cup
Hulled hemp seeds, also known as hemp hearts, are a lower-carb replacement for oats, nuts, or other chewy components of baked goods. They are very high in fiber and a source of omega-3 fats.
Chia Seeds
- Net Carbs: 2.5 per ¼ cup
Chia seeds are very high in fiber and a source of omega-3 fats. They form a unique, gel-like texture when soaked in liquids like water or milk. Use them to make no-cook puddings or as a replacement for eggs in vegan baking. Chia flour is made from ground chia seeds, which are loaded with soluble fiber. Because of this, chia absorbs a ton of water and moisture, just as coconut flour does.
Tips for Low-Carb Baking
Adapting a favorite high-carb recipe into something lower in carbs can take practice, as low-carb baking ingredients perform differently than wheat flour.
- Get experimental: Many recipes use a combination of several low-carb flours, binders, and sweeteners to achieve a texture and sweetness comparable to their high-carb counterparts.
- Add extra egg: An extra egg or half an egg can be helpful to provide more structure for baking quick breads and muffins; additionally, increasing the raising agent slightly can be helpful.
- Allow cooling time: Allow the baked item to sit and cool completely. Otherwise, you may end up with crumbs. Crackers and pie/tart crusts will be crisper, and muffins and cakes will have a better texture and hold together if allowed to cool for a couple of hours.
- Bake at a lower temperature: Bake at 25°F lower than you normally would for a longer time. Watch your oven carefully and cover with aluminum foil if it starts to brown too quickly.
- Adjust for moisture: Coconut flour absorbs a lot of liquid, so it’s common to see it as a blended flour with almond flour, which behaves more like a wheat flour.
- Adjust for texture: Most keto flours are naturally gluten-free, so you may need to add ingredients that act as a binder.
- Adjust for flavor: We like the earthy notes in walnut flour and the mild nutty aftertaste of almond flour, but some low-carb flours can overpower a recipe.
- Consider blending flours: Many keto recipes include flour blends to improve the balance of flavors and textures or the structure of a dish.
Benefits of Low-Carb Flours
- Low glycemic index (GI): Keto-friendly flours are digested more slowly and don’t cause blood sugar spikes and crashes, making them healthy for individuals with diabetes.
- Satiating: The fiber content in low-carb flours promotes a longer-lasting feeling of fullness.
- Weight loss: Many of these flours are low-calorie and high in dietary fiber. Others are high in healthy fats to promote better digestion and act as a more stable energy source.
- Nutrient-dense: Many of these have high amounts of vitamins, minerals, and other health-boosting compounds to help you meet your nutritional needs.
- High-quality: Keto-friendly flours are generally made with fewer heavily processed ingredients and are non-GMO.
- Versatile: Eliminating wheat flour from your diet doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy bread, buns, and pizza crust.
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