Tiger Nuts substitute

Best substitute

Tigernut Flour

Use the same amount by weight, in baking as the tiger nuts you are replacing

Best for AIP and paleo baking

Different texture

It depends why you are substituting. For baking, tigernut flour is a straight 1:1 replacement for ground tiger nuts. For chewing or for snacking, cooked or dried chestnuts are the closest match at 1:1 for that starchy-sweet chew, and coconut chips work if you need it nut-free. For horchata de chufa there is honestly no substitute: three parts blanched almonds to one part unsweetened shredded coconut, blended and strained, makes a pleasant drink but a cleaner, thinner and sweeter one that lacks the earthy starch tiger nuts give. If you are avoiding tiger nuts because of a nut allergy, note they are a tuber and not a nut, so they are usually the safe option rather than the problem.

Other tiger nuts substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Cooked or Dried Chestnuts
Close match
Use the same amount
The best texture match on this list.
What changes
Chestnuts have the same starchy, mealy, faintly sweet density and the same substantial chew, and they are a tuber-like starch rather than an oily nut.
Best for
snacking, stuffings, grain salads, porridge, soups
Sweeter and softer than tiger nuts, and without their slightly gritty, earthy edge. Dried chestnuts soaked and simmered come closer to tiger nut chew than vacuum-packed cooked ones, which are quite soft. Note that chestnuts are a true tree nut, so they are not an allergy-safe swap.
3Toasted Coconut Chips
Different texture
Use the same amount
The nut-free option and a surprisingly good one, because tiger nuts genuinely taste coconut-adjacent.
What changes
Right sweetness, right slightly fibrous chew.
Best for
snacking, granola, trail mix, energy bars, AIP baking
Much lighter and crisper than a tiger nut's dense chew, and considerably more coconut-forward in flavour. Use unsweetened chips, not sweetened flakes, or the mixture turns cloying.
4Blanched Almonds Plus Shredded Coconut, For Horchata
Taste and texture differ
3 parts almonds to 1 part unsweetened shredded coconut, plus a date or two
The least-bad route to a chufa-style horchata.
What changes
Soak, blend with water, sweeten lightly, and strain twice through a fine cloth.
Best for
horchata-style drinks, plant milks, chilled desserts
Be clear about what changes. Tiger nut horchata is starchy, slightly gritty and earthily sweet with a body that coats the mouth. An almond and coconut version is cleaner, thinner and simply sweeter, closer to a spiced almond milk. Adding a tablespoon of rice flour and heating briefly gives back some of the starchy body.
5Chopped Raw Almonds
Different texture
Use the same amount
Works wherever tiger nuts are chopped into a bar, a granola or a bake, giving a similar size, a similar sweetness and a satisfying bite.
What changes
Best for
energy bars, granola, cookies, trail mix
Almonds snap and tiger nuts chew, which is a real difference in something like a bliss ball. Almonds are also far oilier and less starchy, so a bar that relied on tiger nut starch to hold together may need an extra spoonful of binder.
6Sunflower Seeds Or Pepitas
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount
The choice if you came to tiger nuts specifically to avoid nuts and cannot get them.
What changes
Both are seeds, both are widely available, both add crunch and fat to a bar or a granola.
Best for
nut-free granola, nut-free bars, trail mix, toppings
Neither is sweet, which is the main gap, so add a chopped date or a little extra honey or maple to compensate. Flavour is savoury and roasted rather than sweet and earthy, so the recipe shifts in character noticeably.

What is Tiger Nuts?

Tiger Nuts is Tiger nuts, also sold as tigernuts, chufa or earth almonds, are small wrinkled tubers from a sedge plant rather than nuts at all, with a chewy fibrous bite and a sweet flavour somewhere between coconut and almond.

Cooking tips

Dried whole tiger nuts are genuinely rock hard, and blending them unsoaked will strain your machine and give a dusty, sawdust-like drink. Soak them in plenty of cold water for twenty-four to forty-eight hours, changing the water once or twice, before you do anything else.
Strain horchata de chufa twice through a fine cloth or a nut milk bag, squeezing hard. Grittiness is the single most common complaint with homemade chufa horchata and a second straining fixes it.
Do not boil the finished horchata. Tiger nut milk separates and its delicate sweetness flattens with heat, which is why it is traditionally served very cold and never cooked.
Peeled and unpeeled tiger nuts taste different. Unpeeled ones are earthier, sweeter and more assertive but grittier; peeled ones give a milder, smoother drink. Traditional Valencian horchata uses unpeeled.
Once soaked, use them the same day or keep them refrigerated, because wet tiger nuts spoil and grow mould quickly. Dried, they keep for many months in a sealed jar.

Frequently asked questions

Are tiger nuts actually nuts?

No. Despite the name, they are small tubers from a sedge, botanically much closer to a vegetable than to an almond, which is why they are also called chufa or earth almond. That makes them a common choice for people avoiding tree nuts and peanuts. If you are buying them for allergy reasons, still check the packaging for shared-facility warnings, since many are packed alongside nuts.

Can I use tigernut flour instead of whole tiger nuts?

For baking, drinks and smoothies, yes, at 1:1 by weight, since it is the same tuber simply dried and milled. For anything that wants whole tubers to chew on, such as snacking or a chunky granola, the flour cannot help you and you want chestnuts or coconut chips instead.

Can I make horchata without tiger nuts?

You can make a good horchata-style drink, but not horchata de chufa. Mexican horchata is rice-based and entirely delicious in its own right, so that is often the better answer than faking the Valencian version. If you want to stay close to the chufa style, blend three parts soaked blanched almonds with one part unsweetened shredded coconut and strain well, and expect something cleaner, thinner and sweeter than the real thing.

Can I just leave tiger nuts out?

In a granola, trail mix or bar, yes, provided you replace the volume with another seed, nut or dried fruit so the mixture still binds. In horchata de chufa they are the entire drink, so there is nothing to leave out. In AIP or paleo baking where tigernut flour is the main flour, omitting it means finding a different recipe rather than adjusting one.

Do I have to soak tiger nuts before eating them?

For blending into a drink, yes, and for a long time. For eating out of hand, no, though they are extremely chewy dry and many people prefer them after a few hours of soaking, which plumps them up and makes them sweeter and much easier on the teeth.

Related substitutes

More nuts & seeds substitutes

Tiger Nuts substitute

Other tiger nuts substitutes

2Cooked or Dried Chestnuts

3Toasted Coconut Chips

4Blanched Almonds Plus Shredded Coconut, For Horchata

5Chopped Raw Almonds

6Sunflower Seeds Or Pepitas