Making Oat Flour at home couldn’t be simpler and is more economical than store-bought. I’m sharing how to DIY oat flour and the differences between making it in a food processor and a high speed blender. Use it to make Sourdough Oat Pancakes, Oat Flour Zucchini Bread or Vegan Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. This recipe is vegetarian, vegan and easily gluten free.
Incorporating Whole Grains into Baking
Incorporating whole grains into my baking repertoire has been a gift and a challenge. Because of a gluten free trial, I started exploring the world of alternative baking flours. Its been a learning curve but one that has stretched my baking skills and has allowed me to try new whole grain flavors and textures in baked goods that I probably would have never considered.
I’ve found oat flour to be a go-to, new-to-me flour of choice so far. Because it’s made from oats, it has the same earthy, nutty flavors you’d get from a bowl of oatmeal. Because of its texture and flavor, it makes an ideal whole grain flour to use in waffles, cookies, muffins, and quick breads like scones. I’m finding it to be endlessly versatile!
At a Glance: How to Make Oat Flour
Oat flour is simply oats milled to a fine soft flour. It’s super simple to make and only takes a few minutes to whip up.
- Add 2 cups (200g) of whole rolled oats (not quick), gluten free if needed, into a food processor or high speed blender.
- Process for about three minutes in the food processor or one minute in the high speed blender until a fine meal/flour if formed, scraping down the bowl/pitcher as needed.
- One cup of oats yields one cup of flour (100g).
How to Store Oat Flour
Store in a lidded container in a dry, cool pantry for up three months at room temperature, up to six months in the refrigerator or 12 months in the freezer.
Can You Sub Oat Flour for Wheat Flours?
Because baked recipes are specially formulated using specific ingredients, oat flour cannot be subbed 1:1 for wheat flours in any given recipe. Since wheat flours are glutenous and gluten plays a vital role in baked recipes that include it, a recipe would need to be redeveloped if subbing all oat flour. So, proceed with an experimental heart when subbing flours!
However, oat flour can easily be substituted for up to 1/4 cup of wheat flour in cookies, pancakes, muffins, and quick breads.
Homemade Oat Flour in a Food Processor or Blender
Because this flour can be pricy and even pricier for gluten free at the store, I started making homemade oat flour.
Note, I tested this recipe using a high speed VitaMix Blender and Breville 12 Cup food processor (affiliate links). My preference is the blender method.
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FOOD PROCESSOR
Making flour in a food processor takes about three minutes. When finished, the oat flour is ground to irregular bits some being larger than others. The flour isn’t as fine as what would be produced in a high speed blender and produces a more crumbly and grittier texture in finished baked recipes. I’ve processed up to five minutes and didn’t get a finer flour than I had at three and a half minutes. Individual food processors may vary.
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HIGH SPEED BLENDER
Making flour in a high speed blender takes about a minute and a half. When finished the oat flour is ground to a uniform fine meal, almost to a powder. Because this oat flour is finer, it produces a finer crumb in baked goods resulting in better texture.
RELATED: Looking for an easy treat recipe to try with oat flour? Make these reader favorite Vegan Oatmeal Cookies – raisin or chocolate chunk!
Traci’s Tips
- Whisk or Sift: this flour tends to clump after processing, so before using it in recipes, it’s a good idea to give it a whisk or sift before using.
- Oat Flour Pairing: it pairs deliciously with other ingredients that you’d consider putting in your oatmeal bowl: brown sugar, nuts, honey, maple, butter, coconut, vanilla, peanut butter, coffee, yogurt, pears, chocolate and bananas just to name a few.
Recipes to Use Oat Flour In
- Gluten Free Sourdough Pancakes
- Breakfast Banana Nut Muffins
- Homemade Espresso Brownies
- Vegan Oatmeal Cookies
- Blueberry Oat Flax Muffins
How to Make Oat Flour (Blender or Food Processor)
Ingredients
- 2 C (200g) Old Fashioned Rolled Oats not quick, certified gluten free if needed
Instructions
- Add 2 cups (200g) of whole rolled oats (not quick), gluten free if needed, into the work bowl of a food processor or high speed blender.
- In a Food Processor: process the oats for about 3 1/2 minutes stopping to scrape the bowl down several times. Continue processing until fine bits are formed. There will be irregular pieces. I've found with the food processor I use, more processing does not produce a finer flour.
- In a High Speed Blender: process the oats for about 1 1/2 minutes stopping to scrape the pitcher down several times, tapping the bottom on the kitchen counter to dislodge the finer flour if needed. Continue processing, stopping to scrape bowl several times, until fine bits are formed and the flour is in uniform pieces. *Vitamix produces several different models, recommending a wet or dry container for specific applications. The model I use does both. Read your manufactures specific instructions for processing grains.
- Store oat flour in a lidded container in a dry, cool pantry for up three months at room temperature, up to six months in the refrigerator or 12 months in the freezer.
Very helpful.
Thank you Lakeisha!
Yesterday I spent an hour blending rolled oats in a ninja professional food processor, and it still doesn’t look like flour
Hi Andi! I’ve not used a ninja professional food processor, so I’m not sure why your oats aren’t breaking down. Creating oat flour in a food processor won’t produce the finest oat flour. It’s a little grainier than oat flour made in a blender, but is still delicious in baked goods.
I think it got toasted, from the heat, so it’s like sand. I’m not sure what to do with it.
Yesterday I groud Chia Seed and flaxseed in a coffee grinder and they came out great. I’ll try grinding oats in that.
Why not use quick oats?
Hi Barbara… feel free to give em a go! I don’t typically have quick oats on hand which means do I don’t bake with them. Note that if you do use your oat flour in a recipe, the outcome could change depending what type of oats you use for oat flour. I hope this helps!
I drop a teaspoon of homemade oat flour in my morning smoothie. Don’t even taste or feel it, but I am sure my body enjoys it. Just make sure you have enough liquid in the smoothie to not cause problems when the oats hit your stomach. Or, let them sit in the liquid for ten minutes or so before you run the smoothie maker.