The 10 Best Recipes To Make With Almond Flour

Just a simple bag of almond flour will get you halfway to making these recipes for muffins, cakes, cookies, and rolls.

Dec 17, 2024 - 16:00

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The 10 Best Recipes To Make With Almond Flour

Platter of Mexican Wedding Cookies — Simply Recipes / Photo by Julia Gartland / Food Styling by Samantha Senevirate

The wonders of almond flour are many. It's got protein, a gentle nutty-sweet flavor, and only one ingredient (almonds, or course!). It's grain-free, paleo, and gluten-free.

But almond flour's assets can also work against it in recipes. Since it's made from nuts, it's much higher in fat than flours made from grain, and that extra fat can lead to dense baked goods. Its lack of gluten means you need to use it with binders to keep cakes and cookies from falling apart.

Translation: Instead of swapping almond flour 1:1 in recipes calling for all-purpose flour, use almond flour in recipes specially formulated for almond flour. Luckily, we've rounded up all of our favorite ones for you. Many of them are low in sugar and gluten-free. Why not tap into that bag of almond flour and get to a cozy afternoon of guilt-free baking?

1. Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

A loaf of sliced almond flour banana bread seen from the side. — Simply Recipes / Cambrea Gordon

This loaf is moist and substantial. Almond flour lends a nuttiness to this one-bowl recipe. And chocolate chips lend...chocolate! You can even omit the sugar and use just maple syrup for a loaf that's still plenty sweet. Everyone will love it.

2. Flourless Lemon Almond Cake

A longtime favorite of Simply Recipes readers, this beguiling recipe has long-ago roots in Sephardic Spain. Lemon zest scents its tender crumb, and there's not a lick of dairy, making this a splendid cake for times when you're serving people with food sensitivities.

3. Gluten-Free Dinner Rolls

Gluten-Free Dinner Roll Cut in Half with Butter — Simply Recipe / Coco Morante

Appealing homemade gluten-free bread is a Holy Grail for gluten-free households. Here are dinner rolls made with almond flour and tapioca flour (making them grain-free as well). These get their lift from baking powder, not yeast, so they come together quickly.

4. Almond Croissants

Pile of Almond Croissants on a Wooden Tray, and in the Surroundings, a Kitchen Towel and a Blue Coffee Mug — Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm

Contributor Mark Beahm says, "I wouldn't recommend using fresh artisan croissants from your favorite bakery unless you just happen to end up with leftovers. Store-bought croissants actually work best for this recipe as they soak up more syrup."

5. Mexican Wedding Cookies

This recipe, a classic holiday cookie, traditionally calls for all-purpose flour. But many readers have swapped almond flour 1:1 for the AP flour to make these gluten-free, and they report raving reviews from friends and family.

6. Almond Flour Waffles

A stack of almond flour waffles on a plate as syrup is poured on top — Sally Vargas

People! These waffles are so easy, and such a delight. Crispy and light, they trounce those frozen gluten-free waffles you pay so much for at the store. If fact, why not make a batch and freeze them?

7. Grain-Free Honey Apple Cake

Grain-Free Apple Honey Cake — Coco Morante

This cake is kosher for Passover, but you can enjoy it any time of year. Particularly in the fall, when you can showcase your favorite baking apples.

8. Chinese Almond Cookies

Almond cookies scattered on a rimmed plate. — Michelle Becker

Contributor Garrett McCord says, "If you leave the dough in the fridge for more than 2 hours, make sure you allow the dough to warm enough to work with. It should be warm enough so that when you make a ball in your hands, the ball stays together."

9. Easy Homemade Marzipan

Log of Marzipan with Sliced Marzipan Disks Next to It — Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm

Contributor Mark Beahm says, "While almond paste and marzipan are similar, the differing almond and sugar content will cause a significant difference in results when baking."