Special Diets Gluten-Free Grains Print Which Types of Flour Are Gluten-Free? Flour doesn't always mean wheat—some flours are, in fact, safe! Medically reviewed by Medically reviewed by Emmy Ludwig, MD on May 30, 2017 Emmy Ludwig, MD, is board-certified in gastroenterology and hepatology. She practices at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. Learn about our Medical Review Board Emmy Ludwig, MD Written by facebook twitter Written by Jane Anderson Jane Anderson is a medical journalist and an expert in celiac disease, gluten sensitivity, and the gluten-free diet. Learn about our editorial policy Jane Anderson Updated on May 13, 2019 Verywell / Alexandra Shytsman More in Special Diets Gluten-Free Grains Other Foods Beverages Cooking/Dining Out Products Low-Carb 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. Verywell, 2017 Types of Gluten-Free Flour Gluten-free flour options include: Buckwheat flourFinely ground cornmealTapioca flourRice flourCoconut flourMillet flourSorghum 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 (But It Usually Is) Even though flour most often 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. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Following a gluten-free diet can be challenging. We're here to help. Sign up and receive our free recipe guide for delicious gluten-free meals! Sign Up You're in! Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. What are your concerns? Other Inaccurate Hard to Understand Submit Article Sources Verywell Fit uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial policy to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Questions and Answers on the Gluten-Free Food Labeling Final Rule. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Updated July 16, 2018. Additional Reading Celiac Disease Foundation. What Should I Eat? Fact Sheet. Continue Reading