This is a comprehensive guide to cassava flour, explaining all your questions about what cassava flour is, its nutritional makeup and how to use it.
I've been baking with cassava flour for the past 10 years, and I've learned so much about it along the way.
Cassava flour has become one of my favorite paleo baking flours. I love that it's naturally nut free, gluten free and grain free.
Cassava flour can be tricky to work with if you've never baked with it before. However, once you get some experience, you'll find it's easy to create delicious baked goods with a similar taste and texture to any wheat flour recipe.
What is Cassava Flour?
Cassava flour comes from from the cassava (or yuca) root. The cassava root is peeled, dried and ground to make cassava flour. It is white in color, dense and has a fairly neutral taste and smell, similar to wheat flour.
Cassava flour is gluten free, grain free and paleo friendly. It also works well as a 1:1 substitution (by weight) for wheat flour and many gluten free baking mixes.
Nutritional Information
Cassava flour is high in carbohydrates and low in protein and fat. ¼ cup contains 28 grams of carbs, 1 gram of protein and 0 grams of fat. That serving size also contains about 3 grams of fiber, a decent dose of vitamin C, and a small amount of calcium and potassium.
What Does It Taste Like?
Cassava flour has a neutral, slightly earthy flavor. You won't be able to taste the cassava flour in most baked goods, depending on the ingredient list.
Substitutions for Cassava Flour
The best substitute for cassava flour is all purpose flour or a gluten free flour blend. If swapping another flour for cassava flour, be sure to measure at a 1:1 ratio by weight, as cassava flour is quite dense.
What's It Used For?
Cassava flour can be used in all sorts of baked goods and savory recipes. You can use it to thicken sauces, bread chicken tenders, bake cakes or pancakes, or make cookies and crackers.
Is Cassava Flour Paleo?
Yes! Cassava flour is paleo friendly, as it's made from the cassava (or yucca) root, which is a starchy tuber.
Are Cassava Flour and Tapioca Flour the Same?
No, cassava flour and tapioca flour are not the same thing, although they both come from the cassava root.
Tapioca is the extracted starch of the cassava root. Whereas, cassava flour comes from the whole cassava root. They serve very different purposes in baking and cooking and are not interchangeable in most recipes.
Recipes with Cassava Flour
I have a huge collection of cassava flour recipes on my website, as it's one of my favorite grain free baking flours. Here are some of the best cassava flour recipes:
- Cassava Flour Dinner Rolls (Paleo)
- Pumpkin Cassava Flour Cupcakes (Paleo, Nut Free)
- Cassava Flour Pizza Crust (No Yeast, Paleo)
- Cassava Flour Cake (Paleo, Vegan)
- Homemade Chicken Nuggets With Ground Chicken (Gluten Free)
- Healthy Cassava Flour Brownies
- Cassava Flour Waffles (Paleo)
- Paleo Biscotti Recipe (Easy, Gluten Free)
- Paleo Chocolate Chip Tahini Cookies (Vegan)
- Paleo Bagels (Yeast Free, Nut Free, Dairy Free)
- Rosemary Cassava Bread (Paleo, Gluten Free)
- Cassava Flour Crepes (Gluten Free, Paleo)
Tips and Tricks for Baking with Cassava Flour
As much as I love baking with cassava flour, it can be tricky if you're not familiar with it. Here are some helpful tips when baking with cassava flour:
- Combine cassava flour with other flours. I find that using cassava flour in combination with other flours (coconut, tapioca, almond, cocoa powder) provides the best results. Often times, using ONLY cassava flour in a recipe will result in a gummy texture.
- Measure cassava flour by weight. I've measured 1 cup of cassava flour more times than I can count and nearly every time it has a different weight. (It varies because of how packed the flour is in that 1 cup). As a solution, I like to use a simple food scale to weigh cassava flour for all of my recipes.
- Pair with nut or seed butters. cassava flour bakes really well when paired with nut and seed butters, especially when creating egg free cassava flour recipes. Many of my recipes use cassava flour in combination with almond butter, tahini or sunflower seed butter. For instance, my mini chocolate muffins, tahini banana collagen bread and chocolate donuts.
- Follow the recipe exactly. When following a recipe that requires cassava flour, don't make any changes or alterations, unless the author says it's okay. Small tweaks can lead to undesirable results, depending on the recipe.
Products Made with Cassava Flour
Cassava flour has become a popular ingredient in many gluten free products. Here are some great paleo friendly products that use cassava flour:
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