Diets Gluten-Free Which Types of Flour Are Gluten-Free? Flour doesn't always mean wheat—some flours are, in fact, safe! By Jane Anderson Jane Anderson Facebook Twitter Jane Anderson is a medical journalist and an expert in celiac disease, gluten sensitivity, and the gluten-free diet. Learn about our editorial process Updated on July 08, 2021 Fact checked Verywell Fit content is rigorously reviewed by a team of qualified and experienced fact checkers. Fact checkers review articles for factual accuracy, relevance, and timeliness. We rely on the most current and reputable sources, which are cited in the text and listed at the bottom of each article. Content is fact checked after it has been edited and before publication. Learn more. by Emily Swaim Fact checked by Emily Swaim LinkedIn Emily is a board-certified science editor who has worked with top digital publishing brands like Voices for Biodiversity, Study.com, GoodTherapy, Vox, and Verywell. Learn about our editorial process Print Verywell When many people think of "flour," it's easy to assume that "flour" is equivalent only to "wheat flour," which would mean that all flour contains gluten and therefore aren't safe on a gluten-free diet. However, luckily for those on a gluten-free diet, this assumption is wrong: not all flour contains wheat. Actually, there are many types of gluten-free flour that are safe for those on a gluten-free diet to eat. Types of Gluten-Free Flour Gluten-free flour options include: Buckwheat flourCoconut flourFinely ground cornmealMillet flourRice flourSorghum flourTapioca flour You also can find gluten-free flour blends intended as direct replacements for wheat flour in recipes. Products include: Better Batter Gluten-Free FlourBob's Red Mill Gluten-Free 1-to-1 Baking FlourCup4Cup Gluten-Free FlourKing Arthur Gluten-Free FlourPamela's Products Gluten-Free Artisan Flour Blend It's true, however, that the vast majority of foods made with flour will not be gluten-free. So read on to learn how to identify foods made with gluten-free flour. Wheat Flour Contains Gluten The U.S. Food and Drug Administration allows manufacturers to list wheat flour as "flour" on food labels. In fact, the word "flour" is reserved for flour that's made from wheat. This can make it tricky for those looking for gluten-free options, as the word "wheat" may not be on a food label that contains wheat flour. Wheat flour—the only type allowed to be listed as just "flour" on ingredients labels—definitely does contain gluten (gluten is a protein found in the grains wheat, barley, and rye). If all you see on a food label is the word "flour," assume that it's wheat flour. Wheat flour also can be listed on a package as "whole wheat flour" or "wheat flour"—both of those also contain gluten, so the product can't be eaten as part of a gluten-free diet. However, if you see the word "flour" on an ingredients list preceded by a word like "rice" or "corn," that food may be gluten-free and safe for you to eat. Flour Isn't Always Wheat Although most flour is made from wheat, flour doesn't have to be made from wheat—by definition, "flour" is simply a powdery substance made by grinding a starch. The starch is usually a grain, but not always. You can make flour from almonds, chestnuts, and even potatoes in addition to different types of grains, and many companies sell these specialty flours. People following a low-carb diet often use almond flour in place of grain-based flours, for example. Flours made from a starch other than wheat, barley, or rye are usually gluten-free (but not always). If a label says "gluten-free", it complies with the Food and Drug Administration's gluten-free guidelines and should be safe for those on gluten-free diets to eat. When you're reading ingredient labels, you'll see that flour made from anything other than wheat always will be identified as such—for example, it will be listed as "rice flour," "soy flour," "chestnut flour," "almond flour" or "(fill in the blank) flour" instead of just as "flour." Choose Your Alternative Flours Carefully While these alternative flours are usually gluten-free, they're not always safe on a gluten-free diet due to gluten cross-contamination in processing. The equipment to harvest and mill coarse grains or seeds into flour is pretty expensive, and so farmers and manufacturers frequently use the same equipment to process both gluten-containing and gluten-free ingredients. When that occurs, naturally gluten-free ingredients can be cross-contaminated with gluten during harvesting or processing. That may mean they will contain enough gluten to make them unsafe for someone with celiac disease or non-celiac gluten sensitivity to consume. Also, some products that use alternative flours as ingredients also include gluten as another ingredient—to eat gluten-free, you always need to check ingredients carefully. A Word From Verywell Of course, many foods made with these alternative flours are aimed directly at the gluten-free market—and they'll display the words "gluten-free" prominently on the package, which means they should be safe on the gluten-free diet. The bottom line is, if you see the word "flour" on a food label, you need to read further before you can tell if the food contains gluten or not. If the ingredients label provides no detail other than something like "flour, sugar, yeast, shortening" then you should assume that this food contains gluten. 4 Sources Verywell Fit 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. Celiac Disease Foundation. What should I eat?. U.S. Food & Drug Administration. Cereal flours and related products. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Questions and answers on the gluten-free food labeling final rule. United States Department of Agriculture. FoodData Central:[Historical Record]: almond flour. By Jane Anderson Jane Anderson is a medical journalist and an expert in celiac disease, gluten sensitivity, and the gluten-free diet. See Our Editorial Process Meet Our Review Board Share Feedback Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! What is your feedback? 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