If you’re looking to make your baking and cooking a bit healthier, these seven nutrient-packed flours offer delicious alternatives to all-purpose flour—without sacrificing taste or texture.
A 100 gram (g) serving of buckwheat flour contains:
- Calories: 335 kcal
- Protein: 12.6 grams (g)
- Carbohydrates: 70.6 g
- Fiber: 10 g
- Fat: 3.1 g
- Manganese: 2 milligrams (mg), 87% of the DV
- Magnesium: 251 mg, 60% of the DV
- Copper: 0.5 milligrams, 57% of the DV
This provides more than 50% of the Daily Value (DV) for nutrients like manganese, magnesium, and copper.
Despite the name, buckwheat is not a wheat. It’s a gluten-free crop. This makes buckwheat flour suitable for people with a wheat allergy, celiac disease, or non-celiac gluten sensitivity (gluten intolerance).
Buckwheat contains resistant starch, which acts as a prebiotic. Beneficial gut bacteria feed on prebiotics, and then produce compounds called short-chain fatty acids (SCFA). SCFAs help improve inflammation in the gut, increase beneficial bacteria, and inhibit harmful bacteria.
A 100 g serving of whole wheat flour contains:
- Calories: 340 kcal
- Protein: 13.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 72 g
- Fiber: 10.7 g
- Fat: 2.5 g
- Manganese: 4.07 mg, 177% of the DV
- Selenium: 61.8 micrograms (mcg), 112% of the DV
Whole wheat flour is the most commonly used alternative to white flour. It has more fiber, vitamins, and minerals compared to white flour.
Whole wheat flour has a lower glycemic index than white flour. This means it doesn’t cause a sharp rise in blood sugar like white flour does.
Whole wheat flour is not suitable for people with a wheat allergy, celiac disease, or gluten intolerance.
A 100 g serving of oat flour contains:
- Calories: 389 kcal
- Protein: 13.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 69.9 g
- Fiber: 10.5 g
- Fat: 6.3 g
- Manganese: 3.26 mg, 142% of the DV
- Phosphorus: 372 mg, 30% of the DV
Oats are naturally gluten-free. However, oat products may have gluten due to cross-contamination in manufacturing facilities. Check the gluten-free labeling to be safe.
Oats have beta-glucan, a type of soluble fiber. Soluble fibers help slow down digestion. This can help regulate blood sugar and promote feelings of fullness.
Beta-glucan can help lower low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. High levels of LDL cholesterol can raise your risk of heart disease and stroke.
A 100 g serving of quinoa flour contains:
- Calories: 385 kcal
- Protein: 11.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 69.5 g
- Fiber: 6.3 g
- Fat: 6.6 g
- Manganese: 2.02 mg, 88% of the DV
- Magnesium: 164 mg, 39% of the DV
Quinoa is another gluten-free crop. Quinoa flour has slightly lower protein than the other flours mentioned, but it contains all essential amino acids (EAAs).
Your body can’t make essential amino acids, so you need to get them from food to build and repair tissues. A food that contains all nine EEAs, such as quinoa, is called a complete protein.
There are red, black, and white quinoa flours available. Black quinoa has the highest protein content and quality.
A 100 g serving of spelt flour contains:
- Calories: 364 kcal
- Protein: 14.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 70.7 g
- Fiber: 9.3 g
- Fat: 2.5 g
- Molybdenum: 91.9 mcg, 204% of the DV
- Manganese: 2.94 mg, 128% of the DV
Spelt is from the wheat family, so it contains gluten. It has slightly more protein than whole wheat flour.
It also provides a good source of manganese, copper, zinc, magnesium, iron, and selenium.
Refined spelt flour is available, but choose whole spelt flour for more fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
A 100 g serving of almond flour contains:
- Calories: 622 kcal
- Protein: 26.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 16.2 g
- Fiber: 9.3 g
- Fat: 50.2 g
- Biotin: 61.9 mcg, 230% of the DV
- Copper: 0.97 mg, 108% of the DV
Flours are generally high in carbs and low in protein. However, almond flour is a great low-carb and high-protein option. But it also contains more calories and fat than most other flours.
Fats in almonds are unsaturated fats. The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends replacing saturated fats with unsaturated fats to lower the risk of heart disease.
A 100 g serving of coconut flour contains:
- Calories: 438 kcal
- Protein: 16.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 58.9 g
- Fiber: 34.2 g
- Fat: 15.3 g
- Copper: 2.08 mg, 231% of the DV
- Potassium: 2090 mg, 44% of the DV
Technically, a coconut is a fruit. Coconut flour has lower carbs and higher fat than most flours.
It is also one of the highest-fiber flours. A 25-gram serving of coconut flour provides more than 30% of the daily fiber recommendation for most people.
However, coconut flour is high in saturated fats. So, it’s not the best choice if you need to limit your saturated fat intake.
Coconut flour is also rich in copper, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, and selenium.
Here’s how the flours rank for each nutrient, from highest to lowest in the nutrient:
Calories
Protein
Carbohydrates
Fiber
Fat
Almond flour (622 kcal)
Almond flour (26.2 g)
Whole wheat flour (72 g)
Coconut flour (34.2 g)
Almond flour (50.2 g)
Coconut flour (483 kcal)
Coconut flour (16.1 g)
Splet flour (70.7 g)
Whole wheat flour (10.7 g)
Coconut flour (15.3 g)
Oat flour (389 kcal)
Splet flour (14.5 g)
Buckwheat flour (70.6 g)
Oat flour (10.5 g)
Quinoa flour (6.6 g)
Quinoa flour (385 kcal)
Oat flour (13.2 g)
Oat flour (69.9 g)
Buckwheat flour (10 g)
Oat flour (6.3 g)
Splet flour (364 kcal)
Whole wheat flour (13.2 g)
Quinoa flour (69.5 g)
Almond flour (9.3 g)
Buckwheat flour (3.1 g)
Whole wheat flour (340 kcal)
Buckwheat flour (12.6 g)
Coconut flour (58.9 g)
Splet flour (9.3 g)
Whole wheat flour (2.5 g)
Buckwheat flour (335 kcal)
Quinoa flour (11.9 g)
Almond flour (16.2 g)
Quinoa flour (6.3 g)
Splet flour (2.5 g)
Health.com uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
U.S. Department of Agriculture: FoodData Central. Buckwheat flour, whole-groat.
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U.S. Department of Agriculture: FoodData Central. Wheat flour, whole-grain (Includes foods for USDA’s Food Distribution Program).
U.S. Department of Agriculture: FoodData Central. Wheat flour, white, all-purpose, unenriched.
Wieser H, Koehler P, Scherf KA. The two faces of wheat. Front Nutr. 2020;7:517313. doi:10.3389/fnut.2020.517313
U.S. Department of Agriculture: FoodData Central. Flour, oat, whole grain.
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U.S. Department of Agriculture: FoodData Central. Flour, quinoa.
Manzanilla-Valdez ML, Boesch C, Orfila C, Montaño S, Hernández-Álvarez AJ. Unveiling the nutritional spectrum: A comprehensive analysis of protein quality and antinutritional factors in three varieties of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Wild). Food Chem X. 2024;24:101814. doi:10.1016/j.fochx.2024.101814
U.S. Department of Agriculture: FoodData Central. Flour, spelt, whole grain.
U.S. Department of Agriculture: FoodData Central. Flour, almond.
American Heart Association. Saturated Fat.
U.S. Department of Agriculture: FoodData Central. Flour, coconut.
