Substitutions

What can I use instead of oat flour?

Q: Can I use whole wheat pastry flour instead of oat flour?

1 cup oat flour = 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour. A similar soft texture and comparable absorption, with a comparable wholegrain flavour. Contains gluten, so the result is chewier and holds together better.

Q: Can I use sorghum flour instead of oat flour?

1 cup oat flour = 1 cup sorghum flour. A comparably soft, mildly sweet gluten-free flour with a similar absorption rate.

Rolled or steel-cut oats ground to a powder. Mildly sweet, soft-textured and easy to make at home in a blender.

What it does in a recipe: Tender, soft-crumbed bulk with a gentle sweetness and good moisture retention. Pick the swap that covers that job — the ratios below are written so you can act on them without doing any arithmetic.

3substitutes

1close matches

Flourscategory

Quick answer

Rolled oats, blended

1 cup oat flour = 1 1/4 cups rolled oats, blended until powdery

All substitutes, best first

3 ways to replace oat flour

Rolled oats, blended

Closest match

1 cup oat flour = 1 1/4 cups rolled oats, blended until powdery

Oat flour is nothing but ground oats. Whole oats take up more volume than the flour they produce, hence the extra quarter cup.

MethodBlend for a full minute and sift out any coarse pieces, or the crumb comes out unevenly gritty.

BakingVeganVegetarianDairy-freeEgg-freeNut-freeSoy-free

Whole wheat pastry flour

Reliable

1 cup oat flour = 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

A similar soft texture and comparable absorption, with a comparable wholegrain flavour.

Trade-offContains gluten, so the result is chewier and holds together better.

BakingVeganVegetarianDairy-freeEgg-freeNut-freeSoy-free

Allergen checkWheat-based, so not a swap for anyone avoiding gluten.

Sorghum flour

Reliable

1 cup oat flour = 1 cup sorghum flour

A comparably soft, mildly sweet gluten-free flour with a similar absorption rate.

BakingVeganVegetarianGluten-freeDairy-freeEgg-freeNut-freeSoy-free

Worth knowing

Oats are naturally free of gluten but are grown, harvested and milled alongside wheat almost everywhere. Only oat flour explicitly certified gluten-free is safe for coeliac disease — a plain bag of oat flour is not.

At a glance

Oat flour in summary

Category	Flours
Job in a recipe	Tender, soft-crumbed bulk with a gentle sweetness and good moisture retention
Suits	Vegan, Vegetarian, Dairy-free, Egg-free, Nut-free, Soy-free
Swaps available for	Dairy-free Egg-free Gluten-free Nut-free Soy-free Vegan Vegetarian
Number of substitutes	3

More flours

All-purpose flour4 substitutes Almond flour3 substitutes Bread flour3 substitutes Buckwheat flour3 substitutes Cake flour3 substitutes Chickpea flour3 substitutes

Cooking around an allergy? Diet tags here describe the ingredient itself, not any particular brand. Processed products change formulation without notice and shared production lines are common, so read the label on everything you use. A severe allergy is a medical matter — confirm with the manufacturer or your clinician rather than relying on a substitution chart.