Which Types of Flour Are Gluten-Free?

Many people think flour contains wheat, meaning all flour contains gluten and therefore isn't safe on a gluten-free diet. However, luckily for those who eat gluten-free, this assumption is wrong: not all flour contains wheat. Many types of gluten-free flour are safe to eat.

Types of Gluten-Free Flour

Gluten-free flour options include:

• Buckwheat flour
• Coconut flour
• Finely ground cornmeal
• Millet flour
• Rice flour
• Sorghum flour
• Tapioca flour

You also can find gluten-free flour blends intended as direct replacements for wheat flour in recipes. Products include:

• Better Batter Gluten-Free Flour
• Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour
• Cup4Cup Gluten-Free Flour
• King Arthur Gluten-Free Flour
• Pamela'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 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 can be listed on a package as "whole wheat flour" or "wheat flour"—both 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 ingredient 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. Such specialty flours are, for example, often used to produce the best gluten-free pasta. People following a low-carb diet often use almond flour instead of grain-based flour.

Flours made from 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 reading ingredient labels, flour made from anything other than wheat 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 Alternative Flour 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; farmers and manufacturers frequently use the same equipment to process 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. Check out these gluten-free cookbooks for inspiration in the kitchen.

Also, some products that use alternative flours as ingredients 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 alternative flours are aimed directly at the gluten-free market—and they'll display the words "gluten-free" prominently on the package, so they should be safe on the gluten-free diet. 

The bottom line is that when you see "flour" on a food label, you should read further before you can tell if the food contains gluten. If the ingredients label provides no detail other than "flour, sugar, yeast, shortening" then assume this food contains gluten.