What's the Difference Between Almond Meal and Almond Flour?

Almond meal and flour are similar products that work great for gluten-free, paleo, low carb, and keto recipes.

They’re both commonly used in sweet and savory dishes and have gained popularity in the last couple of years due to their culinary versatility.

Still, you may wonder about the differences between the two.

This article explains the main differences between almond meal and almond flour, as well as the best uses for each.

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The basics

Almond meal and flour are both made from ground almonds. Yet, they’re processed differently, resulting in differing colors, textures, and flavors.

Almond meal

Almond meal is made by grinding whole, unpeeled almonds.

Given that the skin is still present in the final product, almond meal has a coarse consistency with brown specks or spots. It also tends to have a larger grain size.

Additionally, the presence of the skin may produce a slightly bitter taste.

Almond flour

Unlike almond meal, almond flour is made from skinless, blanched almonds.

In this case, almonds are soaked in boiling water to remove the skin before being ground, which produces a pale, almost white product.

Almond flour has a mild flavor and smaller or finer grains. It’s ground to the point that it has an almost powdery consistency.

Summary

Almond meal and flour are both made from ground almonds. Their main difference is that almond flour is made from blanched almonds, which leads to variations in color, texture, and flavor.

Nutritional comparison

Given that both products are made from ground almonds, they have virtually the same nutritional profile.

Below is the comparison between a 1/4-cup (30-gram) serving of almond meal and flour (1, 2):

Almond mealAlmond flourCalories180180Carbs6 grams6 gramsFiber3 grams2 gramsProtein6 grams6 gramsFat16 grams16 gramsIron6% of the Daily Value (DV)3% of the DVCalcium6% of the DV3% of the DV

As you can see, they provide almost the same calorie and macronutrient content.

However, almond meal has a slightly higher fiber and mineral content due to the presence of almond skin.

The skin also provides almond meal with a higher antioxidant content — namely flavonoids, phenolic acids, and tannins (3).

Antioxidants are molecules that help fight the damaging effects of free radicals in your body, which may lead to premature aging and the onset of some chronic and degenerative diseases (4).

Research also suggests that the plant compounds in almond skin may have some antibacterial and antiviral activities and even help protect the oxidation of LDL (bad) cholesterol, thus helping lower your heart disease risk (3, 5, 6, 7).

Summary

Almond meal and flour have virtually the same nutritional profile. However, because almond meal contains almond skin, it has a higher fiber, mineral, and antioxidant content.

Culinary applications

You can use almond meal and flour interchangeably in most recipes.

However, almond meal is usually used as a bread crumb substitute or coating element due to its physical characteristics. In contrast, almond flour is typically preferred for baked goods.

For instance, almond flour’s rather pale tone resembles wheat flour more closely, so it’s preferred when looking for a smooth and uniform finish.

Similarly, due to their different textures, almond flour works best when you’re working with delicate recipes or aiming for a fluffier result, such as for macaroons or a loaf of bread, as almond meal’s coarse grains may weigh your ingredients down.

Also, due to the potentially bitter flavor of almond meal, it’s often used for savory dishes. In contrast, almond flour works best for sweet ones.

Nevertheless, you can make your own almond meal and flour at home, which would enable you to control the grain size.

Summary

You can use almond meal and almond flour interchangeably in most recipes. Still, almond meal is typically preferred as a bread crumb substitute or coating element, while almond flour is preferred for baking.

How to make homemade almond meal and flour

All you need to make almond meal is 1 cup (157 grams) of raw, unsalted almonds. Next, simply follow these steps:

Add the almonds to a food processor or powerful blender.

Pulse in 1-second intervals until you reach your desired grain size. If you blend your almonds continuously, you’ll end up with almond butter.

Clean the sides of the food processor or blender with a spatula to ensure all the nuts get processed.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature or in the fridge.

If making almond flour, all you need to do is blanch the almonds before processing them.

To blanch the almonds, add them to boiling water and soak them for a minute. Then, drain and dry them, and remove the skin by pinching them.

If you prefer a store-bought almond meal or flour, be sure to check the ingredient list and opt for one with almonds listed as the single ingredient.

Summary

You can use almond meal and flour interchangeably. However, almond flour may make a better choice for sweet and delicate recipes, while almond meal works best in savory dishes.

The bottom line

Almond meal and flour are both made from ground almonds. However, almond meal is made from unpeeled almonds, while the flour is made from blanched ones.

The main differences between the two are the grain size, as well as that almond skin is present in almond meal.

This leads to variations in texture, color, taste, and culinary uses. It’s also the reason why almond meal has a higher fiber, mineral, and antioxidant content than almond flour.

You may find both products in most supermarkets and online stores, or you can easily make them at home.

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