Sesame Flour substitute

Best substitute

Sunflower Seed Flour

Use the same amount as the sesame flour you are replacing

Best for keto breads

Different taste

Sunflower seed flour is the closest nut-free swap at 1:1, milder and slightly sweeter. Almond flour also goes 1:1 by weight and is the easiest to find, though it is fattier and much more neutral, so hold back a little liquid. Peanut flour matches the protein and absorbency at 1:1 with a roasted peanut flavor instead. If you only want the sesame taste, 1 tablespoon of tahini replaces about 2 tablespoons of the flour, minus some other fat.

Other sesame flour substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Almond Flour
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount by weight, holding back 1 to 2 tablespoons of liquid per cup
The standard low-carb flour, mild, sweet and widely available.
What changes
Best for
cakes and muffins, cookies, pie crusts, breading
The most practical swap. The difference is fat and thirst: defatted sesame flour is lean and absorbent while almond flour carries roughly half its weight in oil, so the same weight makes a looser batter and a richer, moister crumb. Take out a tablespoon or two of liquid per cup. Flavor goes from bitter and toasted to mildly sweet and marzipan, which is an improvement in a cupcake and a loss in a savory seeded loaf. It is a tree nut, so no use in a nut-free kitchen.
3Peanut Flour
Different taste
Use the same amount
Defatted roasted peanut flour, closest of all in protein and liquid absorption.
What changes
Best for
protein-heavy bakes, cookies, bars, satay-flavored recipes, breads
Structurally almost a drop-in, since both are lean, high-protein, very thirsty flours, so the dough behaves the same and needs no changes. What changes is the flavor entirely: sweet roasted peanut instead of bitter toasted sesame, and it is strong enough to define the whole recipe. Peanuts are legumes, so this works around tree nut allergies but obviously not a peanut allergy. It scorches quickly, so lower the oven by 25F.
4Ground Golden Flaxseed
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount by volume
The most likely thing already in a low-carb pantry, adding gel along with bulk.
What changes
Best for
keto breads, crackers, waffles, muffins, binding
Similar fiber and protein, and it brings something sesame flour does not: it gels when wet, so the dough holds together better and needs less binder, but the crumb turns denser, moister and slightly slippery. The flavor is nutty and faintly grassy rather than bitter, and golden flaxseed keeps the color paler than brown. Flax goes rancid fast, so grind it fresh if you can and keep it in the freezer.
5Pumpkin Seed Flour
Different taste
Use the same amount
Ground pepitas, nut-free and sesame-free, useful with multiple allergies.
What changes
Best for
nut-free breads, savory crackers, muffins, crumb coatings
Handles very much like a nut flour and needs no recipe changes, with slightly more fat than defatted sesame flour so you may need a touch less oil. It is distinctly green, so a loaf comes out olive-toned, and the flavor is grassy and vegetal rather than bitter and toasty. That is excellent in a savory seeded bread and slightly odd in a sweet bake. It does not react with baking soda, so no color surprises.
6Tahini
Different texture
Use 1 tablespoon tahini for every 2 tablespoons sesame flour, minus other fat
The flavor answer when it is the sesame taste you are after, not the dry bulk.
What changes
Best for
cookies, halva-style sweets, sauces, no-bake bars, dressings
Same seed, same flavor, but all the oil is still in it, so this is not a dry-for-dry swap. Remove about a tablespoon of butter or oil from the recipe for each tablespoon of tahini you add, and expect a denser, chewier, richer result. In sauces, dressings and no-bake mixtures it is a straight upgrade. In a bread or cracker that needed sesame flour for structure it will not hold shape at all.
7Homemade Ground Sesame Seeds
Different texture
Use the same amount by weight, then reduce the recipe's fat slightly
Toasted hulled sesame seeds ground yourself, cheap and easy to find.
What changes
Best for
crackers, flatbreads, crumb coatings, savory bakes
Worth being clear that this is full-fat, not defatted, so it does not absorb liquid the way commercial sesame flour does. Cut a tablespoon of oil per cup from the recipe and expect a heavier, oilier, more fragrant bake. Grind in short pulses in a dry spice grinder and stop before it turns to tahini, which happens fast with sesame. Toasting the seeds first for a couple of minutes makes the flavor far rounder and less bitter.

What is Sesame Flour?

Sesame Flour is milled sesame seeds, usually with most of the oil pressed out and sold as sesame flour or defatted sesame flour, giving a high-protein, very low-carbohydrate flour that supplies structure plus an unmistakable toasted tahini flavor.

Cooking tips

Sesame flour is naturally bitter, and how bitter depends on whether the seeds were hulled. Unhulled sesame flour is much more astringent. A pinch of extra salt plus a teaspoon of honey or sweetener, even in a savory bake, softens the bitterness dramatically.
Toast it for two to three minutes in a dry pan before mixing. Raw sesame flour tastes flat and slightly soapy, and toasting turns that into the warm nutty flavor people actually want. Let it cool before combining it with fat.
Defatted and full-fat sesame flours are not interchangeable. Defatted flour is dry and thirsty, homemade full-fat meal is oily and absorbs very little, so switching between them means adjusting both the liquid and the fat in the recipe.
It has no gluten and a lot of protein, so on its own it makes a dense crumb. In breads it wants eggs, psyllium husk or a little xanthan gum to give the structure something to hold on to, and it works best as a third of a blend rather than the whole flour.
Sesame is one of the major labeled food allergens, so if you are baking sesame flour goods for other people, say so. Sunflower seed and pumpkin seed flour are the usual sesame-free alternatives.

Frequently asked questions

Can I just leave the sesame flour out?

In a recipe where it is a small part of a flour blend, yes, and you can make up the weight with whatever the main flour is, losing flavor but nothing structural. If it is the bulk of the dry ingredients, no, because it is providing the body, the protein and the absorbency of the whole recipe. Swap in the same weight of sunflower seed flour or almond flour instead.

Is sesame flour the same as ground sesame seeds?

Not quite. Most commercial sesame flour is defatted, meaning the oil has been pressed out, which makes it dry, powdery and highly absorbent. Ground sesame seeds are full-fat and behave more like a wet meal. You can use ground seeds in place of the flour by weight, but reduce the recipe's oil by about a tablespoon per cup or the result will be greasy.

Can I use sesame flour instead of almond flour?

Yes, 1:1 by weight, and it is a common nut-free substitution. Add a tablespoon or two of extra liquid or oil per cup if your sesame flour is defatted, since it is leaner and thirstier than almond flour. The bigger adjustment is flavor, because sesame is bitter and assertive where almond is mild and sweet, so sweet recipes need a little more sweetener and vanilla.

Why does my sesame flour bake taste bitter?

That bitterness is native to sesame, especially unhulled seeds, and it is more noticeable when the flour has not been toasted. Toast it briefly, salt the recipe properly, and pair it with flavors that welcome bitterness such as honey, cinnamon, cardamom, chocolate or roasted garlic. If it still bothers you, replace half of it with sunflower seed flour.

Is sesame flour keto friendly?

Yes, and it is one of the better options, since it is very high in protein and fiber with only a few grams of net carbohydrate per serving. That combination is why it appears increasingly in low-carb bread and cracker recipes, especially ones written for people avoiding nuts.

Related substitutes

More flour substitutes

Sesame Flour substitute

Other sesame flour substitutes

2Almond Flour

3Peanut Flour

4Ground Golden Flaxseed

5Pumpkin Seed Flour

6Tahini

7Homemade Ground Sesame Seeds