Let’s talk about 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’ll also find recipes that are designed specifically for oat flour, including my all-time favorite waffles. I’ll be sharing more healthy recipes that use this wonderful flour soon!
Watch How to Make Oat Flour
How to Make Oat Flour
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.
How to Substitute Oat Flour
In fluffy baked goods, you’ll have the best luck substituting oat flour for all-purpose or whole wheat flour if:
- The recipe contains eggs, which help bind the ingredients together. Gluten is a protein that provides structure to baked goods. Eggs also provide some structure and help make up for gluten’s absence. Even with eggs, baked goods made with oat flour will be a little more delicate than their glutenous counterparts. Substituting both oat flour and egg substitutes, such as flax eggs, is more risky but often still works.
- You replace the “regular” flour with an equal amount of oat flour by weight, not by volume. This is when a kitchen scale comes in really handy. Oat flour is significantly lighter than all-purpose and whole wheat flour. If you use one cup of oat flour for every cup of regular flour, you won’t be using enough and your baked goods won’t rise as high as they should.
Don’t have a scale? You can measure by volume (with measuring cups) if you increase the flour by 42 percent. In other words, multiply the original amount of flour by 1.42. For example, many of my muffin recipes call for 1.75 cups whole wheat flour. To use oat flour instead, multiply 1.75 by 1.42 to yield 2.485, which we’ll round up to 2.5 cups oat flour.
Here are some measurements for reference:
- 1 cup (scooped and leveled) old-fashioned oats or quick-cooking oats weighs 100 grams, and yields just over 1 cup oat flour (spooned into cups and leveled)
- 1 cup (scooped and leveled) steel-cut oats weighs 176 grams, and yields exactly 2 cups oat flour (spooned into cups and leveled)
- 1 cup (spooned into cups and leveled) oat flour weighs 88 grams, whereas all-purpose or whole wheat flour (spooned into cups and leveled) weighs 125 grams
One more tip: When making pancakes and waffles, let your batter rest for 10 minutes before using. This gives the oat flour time to hydrate, which produces a thicker and more evenly-mixed batter—and a better end result.
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
- Author:
- Prep Time: 3 minutes
- Total Time: 3 minutes
- Yield: 1 cup
- Category: Baking
- Method: Blended
- Diet: Gluten Free
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.
Vegetable enthusiast. Dog lover. I'm probably making a big mess in my Kansas City kitchen right now. 
Alan Goldhammer
I have been baking chocolate chip cookies for years using equal parts all purpose and oat flours; I also add wheat germ. Cookies come out fine and are probably a little more nutritious than those made with just white flour.
Kate
Thank you for sharing, Alan!
William S. Kling
Since, like many folks, I’m doing more baking these days, this was welcome information. My Dad and I both like oats, and oat/wheat bread. Will have to try it. Thanks, keep safe.
Kate
Let me know what you think, William!
Lynn Absesis
Beautiful! Thanks, Kate! I just made some wonderful sugar-free sweet potato muffins with oat flour (I created the recipe; funny what stress does to a girl.)
Here’s the recipe:
1 sweet potato, mashed
1.5 cups oat flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 chia eggs
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tbsp vanilla
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp cloves
1/3 cup oat milk
1/2 cup avocado oil or vegan butter.
1. Place a peeled, cubed sweet potato in a medium pot of boiling water. Let simmer for 30 minutes.
2. When the potato chunks are fork-tender, mash or blend with the vanilla and spices.
3. Pour the sweet potato mixture into a bowl, and add the flour, baking power, oat milk, and oil. Stir to combine.
4. Pour into muffins 100% of the way full if you like big muffin tops (these don’t rise much; I’ll have to investigate), and bake for 20 minutes at 350.
Enjoy! Thanks for the oat flour recipe; I wouldn’t have been able to bake these awesome muffins without your input :).
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Kate
Thank you for sharing how you used oat flour! I appreciate you taking the time to review.
Marge Teilhaber
Lynn, I’ll sub equal amount of oil with one-ingredient applesauce. Have you tried that?
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Marge Teilhaber
Lynn, I’ll sub equal amount of oil with one-ingredient applesauce. Have you tried that?
Also, about the sweet potato, 1C? I’ll go with that. Sweet potatoes come in so many different sizes.
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Lizzy Jacobs
Can you make oat flour from Steel -cut oats, I use the long cooking kind from Ireland.
Kate
Hi there, yes, you can!
Breanne
I knew oat flour was ground up oats, but that’s it. Thanks for the educational post, especially the the part about substitutions!
Kate
You’re welcome, Breanne!
Malia
Thanks so much Kate! You have taken away my fear of doing this. This looks so doable. I can’t wait to try some recipes with this and am looking forward to your other recipes that will be coming with this flour. In France, Bob’s Red Mill one to one doesn’t exist but we can buy individual flours, but not always sure what to do with them. Thanks for all the time and research that you put into your recipes. I appreciate the EXTRA effort you make to try and answer questions (about gluten-free), how to store, etc. Your blog is by far my favorite, simple, GOOD, and HEALTHY recipes with great colors and a blogger that is super conscientious, educated, and down-to-earth!
Kate
Hi Malia! Thank you for your kind comment! I’m happy you appreciate all the detail. I try to provide as much helpful information as I can. :)
Eileen Wheeler
This is so helpful. Thank you very much for clear, useable information as always!
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Kate
Thank you, Eileen!
Deanna
I made your oatmeal waffles this morning, and since I had to make oat flour (why is it so much more expensive to buy than oats?) I made the batter in the same blender since I’d weighed the oats. So, so good and easy! I’m already planning to make them again
Leonella
This is why I love your blog. Not just delicious recipes, but also super relevant and educational info. Thank you, keep being awesome!
★★★★★
Kate
I’m happy you think so, Leonella! Thanks so much for your review.
Regina
Hey Kate,
Here’s another idea for oat flour. Did this year’s ago when I wanted to make cookies and was out of flour. I poured Cheerios into the blender, and out came flour. Cookies turned out great. Wonder if Total would make wheat flour.
Kate
That sounds interesting, Regina! I’m glad that worked out for you.
Adina
Hi Kate,
Recently, I have been trying to incorporate some vegetarian meals into my diet and I just discovered your fantastic blog! I am so excited to try your delicious recipes. Random side note: I am absolutely obsessed with the cutlery you use in your photos! If you get a chance, I just wanted to know what they are called and where you bought them from :)
Thanks so much!
Kate
Thank you! I love to hear that on both fronts. As for what I use for my photos, it really all depends. I like to find things at different vintage shops and on my travels. :)
Sue Green-Baker
Can I substitute part oat flour with all purpose or wheat flour? Ex: my bread machine calls for 4 cups all purpose flour. Could I use 2 cups all purpose and 2.84 oat flour. (2 7/8 cups oat).
Kate
Hi Sue! What recipe are you referring to?
SueGB
Hi Kate, the recipe is one from my cook book collection. I did play though since I sent you the question. I made some oat flour with my vita mix blender.
I have an oatmeal cookie recipe that calls for 1cup of all purpose flour and 1 cup of wheat flour. I substituted 2-3/4 cups oat flour for the two flours called for in the recipe. AND I still put 3 cups of regular oats and all the other ingredients called for….they came out great!!, my Cookie Monster eating husband loved them! Only noticeable difference was this morning the were not “soft” like the were yesterday. STILL HAD GREAT FLAVOR!! AND, YES I stored them in air tight container. Didn’t matter…they are still good. I’m going to try making banana bread or pumpkin bread with oat flour to see what happens. Thanks so much for the flour making instructions.
It has become very hard to find any types of flours in the supermarkets and it looks like oat flour will be a great replacement. Have you found any recipes that use flour where oat flour does not work well? I would think pie crust….Gravy….and cakes would be iffy.
Kate
Thanks Sue! I love your enthusiasm for oat flour and I’m so glad your cookies turned out great! I haven’t experimented with oat flour in pastry dough (like pie crust). I’m really not sure how that will turn out, but looking forward to giving it a try. I’m curious about shortbread, too. Gravy might taste a little oat-y but I suspect the flour would thicken well (I know that oat milk tends to thicken quite a bit when warmed). Oat flour produced a really tender, nice crumb in my banana bread so it actually might be good in cakes, too—especially if they’re heavily flavored with other ingredients that might overpower the oat flavor. So many possibilities!
SueGB
Kate…as we speak my pumpkin bread is in the oven. Husband was lured into the house by the smell of it baking! He is staring through the glass in the oven door asking when it will be done. So far…so good! But without my vita mix blender I may have given up on trying to make oat flour with a less powerful machine. My blender is my second favorite appliance in my kitchen during this time. My favorite is my seal-a-meal! And my freezer. Keep up the great work… both of you. What a team!
Andrea
Hi! What kind of cake recipes can we make with oat flour? Thanks!
Kate
Hi Andrea! I haven’t tested too many cakes with oat flour just yet. I think my favorite banana cake could work! Let me know if you try it.
Alma Partridge
Wow, first time I’ve seen this site! Can’t wait to try your ideas & recipes. As a vegetarian going to vegan, these will be a real blessing. Thank you ever so much!!!
Kate
I hope you love what you try! Be sure to comment on the recipes and leave a review to let me know what you thought.
Jolene
This is so great and easy. When substituting oat flour for another flour, by weight, do I need to also change how much baking powder I use? I’m specifically thinking about waffles. Thanks so much.
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Kate
Hi Jolene! I haven’t found that I need to adjust the baking powder when I substitute oat flour by weight. Hope your waffles turn out great.
Matías
Hello! So if a recipe calls for 160 grams of all purpose flour I can replace the same amount for oats flour and I don’t have to make the conversion? It just applies for when it is measured by cups? Thanks!
Kate
Yes, that’s true! I wish Americans measured by weight by default—that would make these scenarios much easier to explain. :)
PATRICIA ANN HIGGINS
Can I make Oat flour with whole grain cheerios?
Kate
Hi Patricia, that won’t get you the same result. You need rolled oats or quick cooking oats to make it.
Katy
Thank you so much for the conversion info. I’m hoping to make some recipes that use almond flour and sub the oat flour since that’s what I have.
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Kate
You’re welcome, Katy!
Ann Hughes
Can you make Pasta with oat flour?
Kate
Hi Ann, I’m not sure sorry!
Carol
So, if want to weigh my oat flour and not measure it, how much should I weigh out in oat flour to sub for t cup whole wheat flour? Is it 100 grams?
Thanks!
Kate
Hi! I explain all that in the post. Take a look at the measurements for reference section.
Randi Beall
hehehe I am 69 years old and just now trying to cook and or bake. by chance does any one have a GREAT recipe for FULL OAT BREAD? I heard conflicting things about white verses wheat etc .etc. and their using more round up on crops. so OAT, just OAT flour sounds like a good idea.
ANTOINETTE
Thsnks for the insight!!! I cannt wait to try something!!! Happy baking!!!
Leisa
I would add that rice flour can be made the same way (using rice). I love my Blendtec. It makes short work out of many task–grinding oats or rice for flour as well. (I also grind my coffee beans in it)
I had a bag of scratch corn and I was out of cornmeal for my bird suet. Hmmmm….I ground it into corn meal (NOT for human consumption). Really cost effective way to make suet.
And for any who do not own a kitchen scale, they are inexpensive and are indispensable in the kitchen–particularly when baking.
JESSICA
Hi Kate,
My husband and I love your blog. We are slowly incorporating healthy foods in our diet. We have been looking everywhere for the recipe of savory Parmesan muffins using oat flour but to no avail. Would you by any chance have one that you can share with us? Looking forward to hearing back from you.
Kate
Hi Jessica, sorry to disappoint but I don’t have one. Sounds delicious!
Shannon Smellie
Thank you so much for posting! I have a recipe for turkey meatballs that I’m trying to make and I could not find oat flour anywhere!
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Sunny1
This is very easy, I actually used my coffee bean grinder for a 1/3 cup and my banana bread turned out great.
★★★★★
Kate
Wonderful! Thank you for letting me know.
Linda Purl
Hello KATHRYNE TAYLOR,
Can we make oat flour without a blender?
Kate
Hi Linda, you can try a food processor. However, I’m not sure if it will get fine enough.
Jackie
This is exactly the information I needed! I love this! I am looking for options that are lower on the glycemic index, and oat flour is perfect for that. Thanks for this!
Jerri
Hi Kate, thank you so much for this! I made some cookies using oat flour but didn’t read about them first, well they came out super flat, very delicious but flat. I’m going to try to add an additional egg and more AP flour but would you have a suggestion on how much cornstarch to add per ratio of oatflour? Thanks again!
Kate
Hi Jerri, I’m sorry your cookies turned out flat. It really can depend on the recipe. Oat flour can require a bit more than wheat flour (see the post). I would use that as guidance. But I can’t speak to the recipe specifically without trying it myself. Sorry!
Bridget
Thank you so much. I’m trying to stay away from AP flour and rice but still want to enjoy pizzas and wraps.
Lori
Hello. Interesting article about Oat flour. I have a gluten free muffin recipe that calls for 1 cup of old fashioned oats. I want to convert the recipe into a chocolate chocolate chip version so I really don’t want the flakes of oats, or that type of texture. If I ground the oats instead, would I be able to achieve this?
Kate
Hi Lori, I wish I could provide more guidance. Unfortunately, baking is very precise so I wouldn’t know for sure without testing out the specifics myself.
Lori
Hi Kate. Appreciate acknowledging my question :) I did the testing because I was curious, and craving chocolate. It actually worked out wonderfully grinding the oats…(thank you magic bullet) and achieved the texture I was hoping for. I did add some liquid fat (olive oil) to offset the dryness that cocoa & cacao powder contribute.
FYI – since the recipe called for 1 cup of old fashioned oats, I measured it before I grinded it up. Did not think to remeasure/weigh it afterward. Next time!
AMuller
in all this time I have not cooked with oat flour. In an attempt to reduce our wheat flour intake, this motivates me to go for it!! cannot wait to give it a try! Thank you! We are in Lees Summit MO–neighbors!
Linda
Can i use oat flour instead of all-purpose?
Kate
Hi Linda, for which recipe? Oat flour can work in several recipes.
Kirk McDonald
One of your comments is “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” The one cup and one cup makes a little sense, but one cup to two cups seems to defy physics. It appears you are creating matter. The only thing that makes possible sense would be air entraining and that is really a false measure. Is this accurate?
Kate
Hi Kirk, I can assure you this is correct. Steel cut oats are a lot denser. I hope you try it!
Ali Broomall
Thank you for this well-written and well-organized post. You answered all of my questions about baking with oat flour.
Valerie
Thank you for posting this.
I was wondering if oat flour would be a good substitute for dredging or making a batter for frying/baking onion rings?
I didn’t notice any recipes or questions regarding this or if you have tried it. If you have, how does it turn out?
Thanks
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Kate
Hi Valerie! Great question, but I can’t say I have tried it. Sorry! I would be curious how it works for you. I don’t know if you will get the same result.
Mark
Thank you for the thorough and thoughtful post. I am doing some experimentation with oats and this helps a lot, in particular the recommendation to weigh the flour.
I am thinking that something like whey protein isolate might help provide some of the binding lost when using oat versus wheat flour.
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NC
Hi! Thank you so much for such an educational and well organized post. Was wondering if I can also use instant oats for this? Thank you!
Kate
I haven’t tried it with instant. Quick cook works as well.
rachel
Hi Kate thanks for the valuable info.. I’m interested in making a plate pie (top and bottom) I see you use it for an apple tart but do you think the pastry would withstand being a lid..? You say to push it into the tin (no rolling) so I assume it’s difficult to roll? If I could get it on there in the first place would it hold up..? Many thanks for your time x
Kate
I’m not sure without testing it myself, Rachel. If you try something, let me know how it turns out!
Susan
Hi Kate, do you have a plain oat flour muffin recipe that I can change the add ins (chocolate chips, nuts, etc)?
Kate
Hi Susan, I don’t sorry! My Maple-Sweetened Banana Muffins are flexible.
Susan Inman
Hi Kate, do you have a plain oat flour muffin recipe that I can add chocolate chips, fruit, etc?
Thank you
Kate
Hi! I don’t, sorry. I have other great muffin recipes though that you can try. Maple-Sweetened Banana Muffins work well and you can add chocolate chips.
Anne Prianti
Hi Kate, I pulled out my 30 year old Panasonic bread machine and substituted 1 cup of oat flour (using my food processor to grind the rolled oats into flour). The Panasonic recipe book that came with the bread machine called for 2 1/4 cups flour so I used only 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour. The bread came out fine except for the indentation where it should have risen. Then I stumbled across your post. I’m attempting the recipe again, but substituting all the wheat flour with oat flour (using weight instead of volume) and adding an egg. Wish me luck!
Shelby
I have found toasting the oats prior to blending also gives great flavor!
Jules
“ 1 cup (scooped and leveled) old-fashioned oats or quick-cooking oats weighs 100 grams, and yields just over 1 cup oat flour (spooned into cups and leveled)”…wouldn’t the ground version yield less by volume? Ie 1 cup of oats should yield just UNDER a cup of ground?
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Kate
Hi Jules, I can assure you the measurements are correct as I have used this guide several times. I hope you try some of my recipes with it and don’t for get to increase the amount of oat flour you use.
Kim
I’m just starting to use oat flour. I’m trying to use some lower carb flour but most, like coconut, almond etc, just don’t give a great texture for me. I want to use all oat flour for a yeast bread and I was wondering if you had any idea on how much vital wheat gluten to add for the rise?
Kate
Hi Kim, it really depends on the recipe. Baking is so precise so I can’t say without trying it.
Stephen Campbell
I have been experimenting with oat flour I make by spinning down rolled oats in my food processor. Results are reasonably good. I have noticed that, unlike AP flour, the oat flour still has a texture in the final product. It’s gritty in brownies where that is not desired (in cookies: no one notices). Has anyone overcome this problem and made an oat flour that disappears into the batter and the final desert?
Kate
Hi Stephen, if you have a high power blender you will want to try that. It needs to be fine, like a regular flour texture. I hope that helps!
David Nelson
Thank You for such an informative article. I just found out I am diabetic, but love to bake. Now, with sugar substitutes and this great way to make oat flour, I am still able to bake. I am looking forward to making some diabetic safe baked goods. Thank You so much!
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Kate
You’re welcome, David! I appreciate your review.
Winci
Thank you for your article!
Can oat flour replace cake flour 1:1 in the recipe? Thanks!
Kate
Hi! See the post above for the ratios I have laid out. See:How to Substitute Oat Flour in the post.
Kimberly
Would the oat flour last longer if it’s put in the freezer?
Kate
Hi Kimberly, I haven’t tried it, but it might.
Mama Mia
How do I convert 3 cups oat flour to regular AP flour . Will appreciate your advice, thanks
Kate
Hi, See the post for how much oat flour usually it takes for the substitution. :)
ellen
I need low carb, is oat flour good to use in baking?
Dave
Hi Kate
Do you have to sift the oat flour
Thanks
Dave
Kate
Hi! No need to sift, unless you find clumps. However, I would recommend to spoon and level when you measure. I hope this helps!
Tim T.
One cup of rolled oats does not equal one cup of oat flour, more like equals 3/4 cup oat flour.
Anne
I liked the details provided to help understand the ins and outs of oat flour. Thanks
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Kshav
I made these today and they were really good. I was surprised as I thought they wouldn’t have much flavor. I made some thinner and some thicker. I liked both but think I prefer the thicker ones. My husband actually liked them as well and I was surprised about that too lol. I pulsed regular oatmeal in a food processor for the oatmeal flour
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