Can coconut flour be used as a thickener

Q: Is coconut flour a good thickening agent?

Because its so thick, coconut flour works well as a thickener in things like soups and sauces.

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How to Cook with Coconut Flour
Is coconut flour a good thickening agent?
Can you substitute coconut flour for regular flour in Roux?
Can I use coconut flour instead of cornstarch?
What can be used as a thickener instead of flour?

Recipes on on June 2 2016 by Cassidy Stockton

With the rising popularity of the paleo diet, coconut flour is popping up in all sorts of recipes. Have you tried coconut flour yet? If you have, you know it's a tricky ingredient to bake with, and it's a challenge to substitute into a recipe. I often tell people to try coconut flour with a tried and true recipe first, before setting off into unexplored territory. Coconut flour is not cheap and can be very temperamental. A bad experience with it will be enough to turn most of us off. Coconut flour is a wonderful ingredient, though, and is worthy of a home in your kitchen. In this article, we outline some ideas and recipes for how to use coconut flour. Here are our 8 favorite ways to use coconut flour:

Coconut Flour Brownies
Coconut Flour Wraps
Coconut Curry Muffins
Coconut Layer Cake
Vanilla Almond Sugar Cookies
Coconut Crusted Mahi Mahi
Fluffy Coconut Flour Pancakes
Double Chocolate Coconut Flour Brownies

How to Cook with Coconut Flour

Coconut flour is extremely high in fiber, which means it absorbs a lot of liquid during baking. This makes it critical to follow the recipe exactly without making additional substitutions. Dough will often be much thicker than expected when baking with coconut flour. Don't worry too much, just keep going. A quick rule of thumb is to swap about 1/4 to 1/3 cup coconut flour for 1 cup of regular flour. Due to its high absorbency, you’ll also want to increase the number of eggs. To help you try this unique ingredient, we've rounded up eight of our best coconut flour recipes. These are tried and true! P.S. If you want to know more about coconut flour, check out our post all about what it is and how to use it.

Coconut Flour Brownies: Chewy and chocolaty, these brownies are a great foray into baking with coconut flour.

Coconut Flour Wraps - Great for crepes or using as tortillas. Photo courtesy of Vitacost.

Coconut Curry Muffins - A fun and flavorful muffin.

Coconut Layer Cake - A beautiful cake that takes coconut to the next level.

Vanilla Almond Sugar Cookies - One of our favorite and easiest coconut flour recipes.

Coconut Crusted Mahi Mahi - Yes, you can use coconut flour as a breading, as proven here by Eat Well with Janel

Fluffy Coconut Flour Pancakes - So easy and so delicious!

Double Chocolate Coconut Flour Brownies - Double the chocolate and double the deliciousness from Bran Appetit.

Is coconut flour a good thickening agent?

Because it's so thick, coconut flour works well as a thickener in things like soups and sauces.

Can you substitute coconut flour for regular flour in Roux?

You can make a roux with coconut flour or even almond flour but it won't thicken like the unflavored whey protein isolate because of the proteins!!

Can I use coconut flour instead of cornstarch?

Coconut Flour – With a fine grind that soaks up moisture, coconut flour is ideal for dredging in recipes like coconut shrimp. Use it 1:1 like cornstarch for this purpose, and add more if needed.

What can be used as a thickener instead of flour?

Cornstarch or arrowroot Cornstarch and arrowroot are gluten-free alternatives to thickening with flour. They'll also keep your sauce clear and cloud-free. You'll need about 1 tablespoon for every cup of liquid in the recipe. Mix the cornstarch with equal parts water to create a slurry and pour it into the pot.