How to Make Quinoa Flour
Gluten-free baking requires a little bit of creativity, and a lot of substitutions. Sometimes, those can be pretty pricey! A better option is to buy dry ingredients in bulk and then use them to make your own flours and flour mixtures. Simply take your grain (quinoa, oats, brown rice, etc.) and blend for 2 minutes or so in a high-speed food processor. This should give you a nice, granular flour. For even better quinoa flour, try these simple instructions.
1. Measure out 2 cups of quinoa.
2. Toast the quinoa in a skillet over medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Quinoa will make a light popping sound when the toasting begins. You want this sound for about a minute or two.
4. Let quinoa cool.
5. Add to a food processor and blend on high until you get a fine flour.
6. This can’t be used as a 1:1 flour substitute, but makes a great addition to flour mixes or in addition to other flour substitutes.
1. Gluten-free Baking « homemadeadventure | June 9, 2011 at 12:02 pm
[...] flour and oat flour. I made both of these myself for the purpose of experimentation, so you can see how to do that here! It is essentially just your grain of choice (oats, quinoa, brown rice, etc.) that is [...]
2. Cinnamon Spiked Lentils and Split Peas with Quinoa Cornbread | repas de budget | February 11, 2012 at 4:44 pm
[...] It turned out pretty good and is incidentally gluten-free. I used this tutorial as a touchstone: http://homemadeadventure.wordpress.com/how-tos/how-to-make-quinoa-flour/. But I just started with 1/2 a cup of quinoa rather than the 2 cups she [...]
3. Vanessa | March 20, 2012 at 8:43 am
Do you need to toast the quinoa or can you just blend it to make the flour skipping that part?
4. homemadeadventure | March 20, 2012 at 10:36 am
Toasting it gives it a richer flavor and also helps make it dry enough to process well. You can try it without roasting it though, I just haven’t!
5. Lydia Absar | April 29, 2012 at 4:47 pm
how would you use this in addition to rice flour or the like? Half and Half?
6. homemadeadventure | May 4, 2012 at 9:20 am
I think half and half should work. You can play around with the substitutions, which I have not done much of, too be honest. Let me know what you learn!
7. Momie | May 2, 2012 at 12:58 pm
I have a Cuisinart 12 cup food processor. Would it work or do I need something else?
8. homemadeadventure | May 4, 2012 at 9:19 am
That will work! Just make sure the quinoa is dry and you keep an eye on it!
9. Crystal | May 2, 2012 at 4:17 pm
2 cups dry quinoa makes how much flour?
10. homemadeadventure | May 4, 2012 at 9:19 am
If I recall, it made between 2 – 2 1/2 cups. I don’t recall measuring exactly though!
11. Allergy Friendly Family | May 29, 2012 at 11:20 pm
This worked great. Hope its ok to share your link on my blog
12. homemadeadventure | May 30, 2012 at 9:52 pm
Of course! I’m glad you enjoyed this!
13. Sammie Hunter | August 14, 2012 at 8:51 am
Most raw quinoa says to rinse before using. What about the need to rinse quinoa before making flour? Just curious. I really want to try this, because quinoa flour is expensive, I use a lot of quinoa flour.
14. homemadeadventure | August 17, 2012 at 6:12 pm
You can rinse, and the toasting step should take out all of the extra moisture, just make sure to drain it really well!
15. Lee | September 8, 2012 at 3:57 pm
Sammie Hunter,
Tapioca flour is a cheaper wheat- & gluten-free option.
Also, try buckwheat flakes for porridge.
16. Susan | September 28, 2012 at 4:42 pm
Do you rinse the quinoa first?
17. Susan | September 28, 2012 at 5:05 pm
Sorry, just saw you answered that. Can you get away without rinsing it or does it need to be rinsed if the package says so?
18. Elena | October 2, 2012 at 9:50 am
Susan, the rinsing and toasting do the same thing: removing the outer saponins on the shell of the seed. The saponins are what give quinoa the bitter taste, when they aren’t removed. So the rinsing is an unnesscessary step, and might cause you to actually “cook” your quinoa, which I imagine would make it harder to process into a flour.
When making quinoa for any recipe, you can toast it dry or with a little oil for a minute or so first; with oil makes it cook up clump-free, more like a rice pilaf.
19. Garrett I. Barlow | October 5, 2012 at 11:59 am
hmm, very cool
20. Ann | November 14, 2012 at 5:06 pm
Love this idea..does quinoa flour need to be refrigerated? You know how some flours will go rancid if not refrigerated.
21. homemadeadventure | November 19, 2012 at 9:40 am
I am not actually sure. I didn’t refrigerate mine and it was fine, but I also made a small-ish batch that was used up relatively quickly!
22. Ann | November 19, 2012 at 2:41 pm
Thanks I’ll just make small amounts too.
23. happydemic | November 27, 2012 at 8:26 am
Quinoa flour keeps for about 3 months if it is carefully sealed and kept in a cool dry place, or it can be stored for 6 months in the freezer. The relatively high fat content of quinoa flour means it will go rancid quickly if exposed to the air.
24. Healthy and Quick Quinoa | The Design Tree by Greentea Design | January 15, 2013 at 5:23 am
[...] be used as a 1:1 substitute for all-purpose in baking recipes. While most supermarkets carry it, homemadeadventure shows how quinoa flour can be made at home in a food processor for a fraction of the [...]
25. CowboyMan | March 24, 2013 at 11:19 pm
Thanks for all the posts here. Just needed to know if my Cuisinart was up to the job of flouring my bag of Quinoa. Off to the kitchen.
26. Carolina | March 29, 2013 at 8:13 pm
Thank you so much for the detailed instructions! My husband has just been diagnosed with gluten intolerance and I’m excited to try the Quinoa flour. (=
27. homemadeadventure | April 2, 2013 at 6:46 pm
hope it works well for you! in order to get a smooth flour, you will need to have very dry quinoa and process it for a long time. enjoy exploring gluten free baking!
28. Carolina | April 2, 2013 at 10:31 pm
Thank you! I have a Vitamix and I already tried it and it worked like a champ!! :)
29. Sara | April 22, 2013 at 4:12 pm
I really want to have GF flour on hand for those special occasions but don’t want to shell out a hefty price for it. I have quinoa and oats and rice. If I wanted to make a sweet bread with this flour, how much quinoa flour do I need to make a 1:1 substitution? Do I need to mix it with other grains to make the 1:1? Sorry, a total newbie and I just got my vitamix and LOVE it!
30. homemadeadventure | April 22, 2013 at 6:14 pm
Volume wise, you can substitute 1:1, but this doesn’t work with all recipes since the gluten is not there to absorb water and form a network. In many pre-mixed gluten free baking flours, there is added xantham gum. I am not sure exactly how to do this for breads, but I am sure there a Google search would help to answer this!
31. cancergal | April 26, 2013 at 5:23 pm
Do I need to rinse the quinoa before toasting it?
Thanks!
32. homemadeadventure | April 27, 2013 at 8:00 am
The toasting does the same thing as rinsing as far as I understand!
33. Sharman | May 7, 2013 at 8:04 pm
I plan to rinse it, so do I need to dry it in the oven before grinding it into flour?
34. homemadeadventure | May 9, 2013 at 9:29 am
I found that toasting it allows it to better grind into a flour. If it is wet, it will clump as you grind it.