Both meals keep the bake grain-free and give it bulk and structure, but they soak up far less liquid than coconut flour's fibre does, so you need three times the weight and about half the eggs; sunflower seed meal is the pick if the bake must also be nut-free.
You're making pancakes or everyday muffins, nobody eating them needs gluten-free, and you just want the batter to set.
Plain flour's gluten takes over the binding job the extra eggs were doing, so with the eggs halved it gives a lighter, springier result; oat flour, blitzed from rolled oats, works too but tastes of oats and bakes denser.
You're baking for someone who can't have gluten or nuts, and coconut flour was the recipe's way around both.
A gluten-free plain flour blend gives the most neutral, cake-like structure while staying gluten-free and nut-free, and sunflower seed meal suits moist, dense slices and savoury bakes; both absorb much less liquid, so cut the eggs and liquid back.
You're adding a spoonful of coconut flour to firm up bliss balls, a no-bake slice or a mixture that's too wet to roll.
almond meal — 25 g for every 8 g coconut flour (9 tsp)
Here coconut flour is only soaking up excess moisture, so any drier meal or flour will do it if you use about three times as much; add it gradually and let the mixture sit for five minutes, and remember a recipe written with a 20 ml Australian tablespoon calls for a third more than one using a 15 ml tablespoon.
You're making a recipe designed entirely around coconut flour, such as a grain-free bread or flatbread with just a few tablespoons of flour and six or more eggs.
Nothing really replaces it here.
These recipes depend on coconut flour's fibre absorbing an unusually large amount of egg, and no other flour does that, so a swap means rewriting the whole recipe rather than changing one ingredient; buy coconut flour or switch to a recipe written for almond meal or gluten-free flour.
What Coconut Flour does in a recipe
moisture absorption · primary — Its very high fibre content soaks up several times its own weight in eggs and liquid, so a small amount sets a wet batter into a sliceable bake.
structure & bulk · primary — It provides the body and crumb in gluten-free and grain-free baking, relying on eggs rather than gluten to hold that crumb together.
flavour · secondary — It adds a mild, faintly sweet coconut taste that suits muffins, pancakes and slices.
Plain flour gives plenty of structure through gluten, but it absorbs a fraction of the liquid coconut flour does, so the egg-heavy recipe must be cut back.
The catch: Halve the eggs and liquid, then add more a spoonful at a time only if the batter is stiffer than the recipe describes, because gluten now does the binding and too much egg turns the bake rubbery.
Covers
structure & bulk, moisture absorption
Misses
flavour
Taste
The coconut flavour is gone and the bake tastes like a standard wheat muffin or pancake.
Texture
The crumb is springier and lighter, and turns tough if over-mixed.
Looks
The bake rises higher and browns more evenly and slowly.
Oat flour, easily made by blitzing rolled oats, gives soft structure and moderate absorption, but at three times the weight with fewer eggs it bakes up noticeably oaty and denser.
The catch: Halve the eggs or liquid and let the batter rest for 10 minutes so the oats hydrate before you judge its thickness.
Covers
structure & bulk, moisture absorption
Misses
flavour
Taste
The coconut note is replaced by a nutty, porridge-like oat flavour.
Texture
The crumb is soft and slightly chewy, and denser than a coconut flour bake.
Looks
The bake is a light beige with a slightly speckled surface.
Best for
pancakes, muffins, slices
Dairy-freeVeganNut-free
Tried this swap? How did it work?
sunflower seed meal
Close enough
90 g for every 30 g coconut flour
Sunflower seed meal works like almond meal for nut-free gluten-free structure, but it tastes earthier and can turn green in bakes with bicarbonate of soda or baking powder.
The catch: Roughly halve the eggs or liquid, and add a little lemon juice to limit the green colour the seeds can produce with raising agents.
Covers
structure & bulk, moisture absorption
Misses
flavour
Taste
The bake tastes noticeably seedy and earthy, with a faint bitterness.
Texture
The crumb is moist and dense, similar to an almond meal bake.
Looks
The crumb is greyish and may develop green patches as it cools, which is harmless.
People blitz desiccated coconut because it seems like the same thing, but it is around 60–65% fat and absorbs only a fraction of the liquid, so an egg-heavy coconut flour batter never sets and grinding it further just turns it into an oily paste.
Tried this swap? How did it work?
When to buy the real thing
The recipe uses six or more eggs to a small amount of flour, as grain-free breads and keto-style loaves often do.
Instead: Buy coconut flour, which most Australian supermarkets stock in the health food aisle, or choose a recipe written for almond meal from the start.
You're baking for someone who must avoid both gluten and nuts, and it's for an occasion where you can't risk a failed first attempt.
Instead: Buy coconut flour so the tested recipe works as written, or pick a recipe developed for gluten-free plain flour instead of converting one.
The coconut flavour is meant to come through, as in a coconut flour cake with no other strong flavourings.
Instead: Buy coconut flour, because every substitute that sets the batter loses the coconut taste and the one that keeps it, desiccated coconut, won't set.
Rescue a swap gone wrong
The batter is thin and pourable after swapping in almond meal, plain flour or gluten-free flour.
Why: The eggs and liquid were kept at the coconut flour quantities, but the substitute absorbs much less, or the flour was measured with spoons smaller than the recipe intended.
Fix: Stir in more of the substitute a tablespoon at a time, resting the batter for a few minutes between additions, until it is as thick as a dense cake batter.
The muffins or pancakes made with plain flour are rubbery, bouncy and taste of egg.
Why: Gluten was already binding the batter, so the extra eggs the coconut flour recipe needed set into a firm, eggy custard.
Can't be fixed — next time: This batch can't be softened, so serve it warm with butter or syrup and next time halve the eggs, adding milk a spoonful at a time only if the batter is too stiff.
The sunflower seed meal bake has turned green inside as it cooled.
Why: Compounds in sunflower seeds react with alkaline raising agents such as bicarbonate of soda and baking powder, turning the crumb green.
Can't be fixed — next time: The bake is safe to eat and the colour can't be reversed, so next time use a little less bicarbonate of soda and add about a teaspoon of lemon juice to the batter.
The gluten-free flour bake is cooked on top but gummy and wet in the centre.
Why: Too much of the original egg and liquid stayed in, and gluten-free starches stay gluey when they are overloaded with moisture.
Fix: Cover the top loosely with foil and return it to the oven at about 160°C (320°F) for another 10–15 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean.
Key numbers
Weight of 1 cup
125 g per Australian cup (250 ml) · 120 g per US cup (240 ml)Spooned in and levelled. Compare other ingredients in cups to grams by ingredient.
dietary fibre
about 35–40%This fibre is what absorbs liquid, which is why coconut flour recipes use so little flour and so many eggs.
fat
about 8–15%Most of the oil is pressed out before milling, unlike desiccated coconut, which is around 60–65% fat.
protein
about 15–20%None of this protein forms gluten, so eggs do the binding in coconut flour recipes.
Differences between countries
Applies to Australia
Tablespoon size changes the amount (Australia, United States)
An Australian tablespoon holds 20 ml, while US, UK, NZ and Canadian tablespoons hold 15 ml. Because coconut flour recipes use so little flour, a few Australian tablespoons add noticeably more than a US recipe intends, which can turn a batter stiff and dry.
Applies to Australia
Almond substitute goes by different names (Australia, United Kingdom, New Zealand, United States, Canada)
The almond substitute is sold as almond meal in Australia, ground almonds in the UK and New Zealand, and almond flour in the US and Canada. US almond flour is usually blanched and ground finer than Australian almond meal, so it gives a smoother crumb.
Shredded coconut is often sweetened (United States, Canada)
In the US, shredded coconut on supermarket shelves is often sweetened, and finely ground desiccated coconut is less common than in Australia. Check the label for unsweetened if you are using it in a coconut slice or macaroons.
The wheat flour Australians call plain flour is sold as all-purpose flour in the US and Canada. Gluten-free blends follow the same naming, so look for gluten-free all-purpose flour there.
Where to buy it
Applies to Australia
Australia · easy to find
health food aisle
Most supermarkets stock it near the gluten-free and specialty flours, and health food shops carry larger bags.
New Zealand · easy to find
health food aisle
Look near the gluten-free flours in supermarkets or at health food shops.
United Kingdom · easy to find
free-from or baking aisle
Larger supermarkets and health food shops stock it, often alongside other gluten-free flours.
United States · easy to find
baking aisle or gluten-free section
It is widely sold in supermarkets and natural food stores, usually in bags of about 450 g (1 lb).
Canada · easy to find
baking aisle or natural foods section
Supermarkets and health food shops both carry it.
Questions people ask
Can I swap coconut flour for plain flour one for one?
No, a one-for-one swap fails in both directions. Coconut flour absorbs several times more liquid than plain flour, so replacing plain flour with the same weight of coconut flour gives a dry, crumbly bake. Going the other way, use about three times the weight of plain flour and roughly halve the eggs and liquid.
How many grams is a cup of coconut flour?
A level 250 ml Australian cup of coconut flour weighs about 125 g, and a 240 ml US cup weighs about 120 g, when spooned in and levelled. Coconut flour clumps easily, so weighing it is more reliable than using cups.
How many grams is a tablespoon of coconut flour?
A 20 ml Australian tablespoon holds about 10 g of coconut flour, while a 15 ml tablespoon used in US, UK, NZ and Canadian recipes holds about 7.5 g. If a recipe from overseas lists coconut flour in tablespoons and you use Australian spoons, you will add a third too much, so use a 15 ml spoon or three teaspoons per tablespoon.
Why do coconut flour recipes use so many eggs?
The eggs provide both the liquid that the flour's fibre soaks up and the binding that gluten would normally give. Coconut flour has no gluten, so without plenty of egg the bake crumbles apart. This is also why you must cut the eggs back when you swap in a flour that absorbs less.
Can I make coconut flour from desiccated coconut?
Not successfully, because desiccated coconut still contains most of its oil and turns into a paste when ground. Coconut flour is made from coconut meat that has had most of its fat removed. You can make a version at home by drying and finely grinding the pulp left over after making coconut milk.
Does coconut flour taste like coconut?
Yes, it has a mild, faintly sweet coconut taste, but it is far gentler than desiccated coconut. In muffins and pancakes with banana, chocolate or spices, most people barely notice it.
Where Coconut Flour comes from
Coconut flour is made from the white flesh of mature coconuts after most of the milk or oil has been pressed out. The remaining pulp is dried and finely ground into a soft, high-fibre flour.
Coconut Flour is usually dairy-free, vegan, gluten-free, nut-free — check the label, and see the disclaimer.