Cassava flour is easy to use in recipes in place of traditional grain-based flours or even gluten-free flour blends. One of the best things about using cassava flour is its neutrality in terms of taste. It doesn’t have a dry, strong or unfamiliar taste or texture that often comes with using some gluten-free flours.

Many people find that cassava can be used in recipes without it even being detected at all and that it’s practically indistinguishable from wheat-based counterparts. Its texture lends well to baking things like brownies, cookies and denser breads, or you can use it in savory dishes to thicken sauces or to form burgers/patties.

Many people like baking with cassava flour since it doesn’t have a sour taste or smell that fermented, sprouted grain flours sometimes can carry. If you’re going to bake something like bread or cake and require a flour that rises well, cassava can be used to replace a portion of the flour in the mixture. For recipes that don’t require rising, cassava can totally replace grain flours.

Cassava has less than 120 calories for a quarter-cup serving, making it lower in calories than some other gluten-free flours, such as almond or coconut flour. Overall, it has a higher water content, lower fat content and lower calorie density than other flours, including corn, wheat, plantain, almond, coconut, rice and sorghum flour.

Cassava flour makes a good choice for people with health conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure or high cholesterol, since it’s extremely low in salt/sodium, sugar and fat, plus totally free from refined carbohydrates and synthetic ingredients. Depending on what other ingredients you use cassava with, it can help you maintain normal blood sugar and provide a good source of energy.

The Benefits of Cassava Flour: A Gluten-Free Alternative