How To Make Oat Flour

Let’s talk about how to make oat flour! Oat flour is a nutritious whole grain flour that is easy to make out of—you guessed it—oats. Oat flour offers a mildly nutty flavor and a tender crumb. Plus, oat flour is gluten-free if you make it with certified gluten-free oats.

“Can I use oat flour?” is one of the most frequent questions I’m receiving on recipes for baked goods. This question tells me a few things:

You’re having trouble finding traditional flours at stores.
Oat flour is going mainstream.
You’re curious about how oat flour works.

So today, I’m sharing how to make oat flour. Plus, I’ll provide guidance on how to substitute oat flour for best results. Oat flour is more suitable for some recipes than others.

You won’t believe how easy oat flour is to make. Just pour oats into your blender or food processor (affiliate links). Blend until the oats have turned into a fine flour. You’ll find more details in the recipe below.

What kind of oats can be turned into oat flour?

You can use old-fashioned (rolled) oats, quick-cooking oats or even steel-cut oats. Since steel-cut oats are more dense, they require more blending time and yield twice as much flour per cup.

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Is oat flour really gluten free?

If you make oat flour out of certified gluten-free oats (or buy certified gluten-free oat flour at the store), then yes—oat flour is gluten free. It’s important that your oats are certified gluten free because oats can be cross-contaminated by grains growing in nearby fields, or contaminated in the factories that process and package them. Certified gluten-free oats are tested and confirmed to be gluten free.

A small percentage of people with celiac disease (around 10 to 15 percent) or gluten intolerance are also sensitive to the protein found in oats, called avenin. Therefore, oat flour is not suitable for everyone following a gluten-free diet. As always, listen to your body and consult with your healthcare providers.

Homemade Oat Flour

Learn how to make oat flour! It’s so easy. You’ll need old-fashioned (rolled) oats, quick-cooking oats or steel-cut oats, plus a blender or food processor. One cup old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats yields about one cup flour, whereas one cup steel-cut oats yields about two cups flour.

INGREDIENTS

Old-fashioned oats, quick-cooking oats or steel-cut oats (certified gluten-free if necessary)

INSTRUCTIONS

You can make oat flour on an as-needed basis, or make a larger batch to save for later. Fill your blender or food processor up to half-way with oats. Keep in mind that one cup old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats yields about one cup flour, whereas one cup steel-cut oats yields about two cups flour.
Blend until the oats have turned into a fine flour, about 20 seconds to 1 minute. (If you’re using a blender with a wide base and it’s not gaining enough traction to blend well, you’ll need to add more oats). The flour is done when it feels like powder with a very slight texture (it should not feel like sand). If you see any larger flecks of oats, blend longer.
Store extra flour in a labeled air-tight container for up to 3 months. Since whole grain flours contain good-for-you natural oils, they do not last as long as refined flours.

NOTES

MAKE IT GLUTEN FREE: Be sure to use certified gluten-free oats.

Did you make this recipe?

Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below

How To Make Oat Flour