Peanut Flour substitute

Best substitute

Powdered Peanut Butter

Use the same amount as the peanut flour you are replacing

Best for smoothies

Close match

Powdered peanut butter is the same thing under a different name and swaps in 1:1, just cut back on any added sugar and salt in the recipe. For a nut-free version, sunflower seed flour or sesame flour go in 1:1 and behave similarly but taste toasty rather than peanutty. Almond flour also works 1:1 by weight but is much fattier and far less absorbent, so hold back some liquid. If you only want the peanut flavor, 2 tablespoons of peanut butter replaces about 1/4 cup of the flour, minus some other fat.

Other peanut flour substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Almond Flour
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount by weight, then hold back a little liquid
The default low-carb flour, richer and much less absorbent.
What changes
Best for
cakes and muffins, cookies, pancakes, crusts
The big change is fat and thirst. Almond flour carries around half its weight in oil where defatted peanut flour carries almost none, so the same weight makes a looser batter and a richer, more tender, moister crumb that browns sooner. Hold back two to three tablespoons of liquid per cup and drop the oven 25F. Flavor-wise you lose the roasted peanut character entirely and get a mild marzipan sweetness instead. Not suitable if the peanut flour was there because of a tree nut allergy.
3Sunflower Seed Flour
Different taste
Use the same amount
Ground sunflower seeds, the standard nut-free stand-in for any nut flour.
What changes
Best for
nut-free baking, school-safe snacks, breads, cookies
Similar protein and similar thirst, so it behaves well in the recipe. What changes is flavor: toasted, faintly bitter and clearly seedy rather than sweet and peanutty, which suits savory bakes and needs a little extra sweetener in a cookie. One quirk to know about: sunflower seeds react with baking soda and can turn a bake green or blue-green. Use baking powder instead, or add a teaspoon of lemon juice to the batter.
4Sesame Flour
Different taste
Use the same amount
Ground, usually partly defatted sesame seeds, high in protein and equally absorbent.
What changes
Best for
nut-free low-carb breads, crackers, savory bakes, halva-style sweets
Structurally the closest nut-free match, since like peanut flour it is high protein, low fat and drinks up liquid. The flavor is stronger and more divisive: bitter, toasted and unmistakably tahini-like, which is superb in a cracker or a savory loaf and can taste medicinal in a vanilla cake. Balance it with a little honey, cinnamon or extra salt. Note that sesame is itself a major allergen, so it is only a solution for peanut and tree nut avoidance.
5Chickpea Flour
Different taste
Use the same amount in savory recipes
Ground dried chickpeas, similar in protein and absorbency and cheap everywhere.
What changes
Best for
savory pancakes and flatbreads, fritters, batters, thickening curries
A good structural match with comparable protein and liquid uptake, and it holds together well. It tastes distinctly beany and raw until fully cooked, so it needs proper baking or frying and is a bad idea in anything eaten raw like a no-bake bar. Expect a yellow color and a savory, legume-forward flavor rather than roasted nuts, and note it carries considerably more carbohydrate than peanut flour, so it is not a keto swap.
6Natural Peanut Butter
Different texture
Use 2 tablespoons peanut butter for every ¼ cup peanut flour, minus other fat
The flavor answer when you have peanuts in the house but no peanut flour.
What changes
Best for
smoothies, satay and dipping sauces, no-bake bars, cookies
It brings the same roasted peanut flavor, but it also brings back all the oil that was pressed out, so it is not a dry-for-dry swap. Cut about two tablespoons of butter or oil from the recipe for every two tablespoons of peanut butter you add, and expect a denser, richer, chewier result. In sauces and smoothies, where nothing depends on dry structure, it works perfectly. In a bread or a bar that needed peanut flour for bulk, it will not hold shape.
7Lupin Flour
Different taste
Use the same amount
Ground sweet lupin beans, one of the highest-protein and lowest-carb flours available.
What changes
Best for
keto breads, pasta doughs, pizza bases, high-protein bakes
Nutritionally the closest of all, very high in protein and fiber with almost no net carbohydrate, and it absorbs liquid similarly. It tastes faintly bitter and beany with a yellow tint, so a peanut butter cookie made with lupin flour tastes noticeably less sweet and more savory. Lupin is in the legume family, like peanuts, and there is a documented cross-reactivity between the two, so this is not an option for a peanut allergy.

What is Peanut Flour?

Peanut Flour is Peanut flour, usually sold as defatted or roasted peanut flour, is roasted peanuts pressed to remove most of the oil and then milled into a fine, thirsty powder that is roughly half protein and tastes intensely of peanuts.

Cooking tips

Defatted peanut flour is extraordinarily thirsty, more so than almond flour and second only to coconut flour among common low-carb flours. Add liquid a tablespoon at a time and let the batter rest five minutes before deciding it needs more, because it keeps absorbing.
The natural sugars in roasted peanuts scorch quickly. A bake made with peanut flour will be browned and smelling done well before the middle is set, so drop the oven temperature by about 25F and give it a longer bake, and tent it with foil if the top runs ahead.
It makes an excellent satay or noodle sauce base. Whisk two tablespoons into a cup of hot coconut milk with soy sauce, lime and a little chili and you get a smoother, less greasy sauce than one built from peanut butter.
A pinch of salt makes peanut flour taste dramatically more of peanuts. If a bake tastes flat and cardboardy, it is usually under-salted rather than under-flavored.
Do not replace more than about a third of a wheat-based recipe's flour with peanut flour. It brings no gluten and a lot of protein, so beyond that the crumb turns dense and dry.

Frequently asked questions

Can I just leave the peanut flour out?

It depends what it was doing. In a smoothie or a sauce, where it is only adding flavor and protein, yes, leave it out or replace it with a spoon of peanut butter. In a baked recipe it is providing structure and soaking up a large amount of liquid, so omitting it leaves you with batter rather than dough. Swap in the same weight of another flour instead, even if it changes the flavor.

Is peanut flour the same as powdered peanut butter?

Practically, yes. Both are roasted peanuts with most of the oil pressed out and then ground. The difference is that products sold as powdered peanut butter usually have a little sugar and salt added, and are milled for mixing into drinks. If you are swapping one for the other, use it 1:1 and adjust the recipe's sugar and salt slightly.

Can I use peanut flour instead of all-purpose flour?

Not one for one. Peanut flour has no gluten, far more protein and it absorbs much more liquid, so a straight swap gives a heavy, damp, crumbly result. Replace up to a third of the wheat flour by weight and keep the rest as wheat, or use a purpose-written low-carb recipe that accounts for it with eggs and binders.

What is the best nut-free substitute for peanut flour?

Sunflower seed flour is the most straightforward, since it is closest in absorbency and mildest in flavor. Sesame flour is a slightly better structural match but has a strong bitter tahini taste, and sesame is a major allergen in its own right. Chickpea flour works well in savory recipes if carbohydrate is not a concern.

Can I make peanut flour at home?

You can make something close, but not the same. Grinding roasted peanuts in a food processor gives you full-fat peanut meal, which has all the oil still in it, so it will not absorb liquid the way defatted flour does and it turns to peanut butter if you push the machine. Freeze the peanuts first, pulse in short bursts, and expect to add extra dry ingredients and less fat to your recipe.

Related substitutes

More flour substitutes

Peanut Flour substitute

Other peanut flour substitutes

2Almond Flour

3Sunflower Seed Flour

4Sesame Flour

5Chickpea Flour

6Natural Peanut Butter

7Lupin Flour