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    Home » Gluten Free » How to Make Sunflower Seed Flour

    Published: Dec 9, 2015 · Modified: Jul 29, 2022 by Carolyn

    How to Make Sunflower Seed Flour

    This post may contain Amazon or other affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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    Sunflower seed flour makes a wonderful low carb, nut-free replacement for almond flour. It’s easy to make your own at home and save money! Great for those with nut allergies.

    Top down photo of sunflower seed flour in a measuring cup on a white table.

    A lot of readers ask me for nut-free alternatives for many of my recipes. While some things can be made with coconut flour easily enough, other recipes cannot. What is a nut-free keto dieter to do?

    Sunflower seed flour to the rescue! I have found that it’s the best one-to-one replacement for almond flour, and it’s incredibly easy to make your own at home.

    All you need is a coffee grinder, a sieve, and some sunflower seeds. And about 5 minutes of your time. Yep it’s that easy!

    A cup of keto sunflower seed flour in front of a bowl of sunflower seeds

    Why make Sunflower Seed Flour at home?

    So many keto baked goods are based on almond flour. But many people who choose the keto diet have additional allergies and intolerances, and this leaves them with few good, healthy flour alternatives.

    While coconut flour can make some pretty great nut-free keto treats, it’s not always a great replacement for almond flour. They behave so differently that the whole recipe needs to be completely changed. More eggs, more oil, more liquid, etc. It isn’t an easy substitution and it may or may not work out very well.

    Whereas a seed meal like sunflower seed flour can be used as a direct replacement for almond flour in most recipes.

    I used to purchase Gerbs Sunflower Seed Meal on Amazon, but it’s on the pricy side and sometimes they don’t carry it. Whereas the seeds themselves are readily available and usually inexpensive. A 4-pack of Bob’s Red Mill sunflower seeds is only $11.39! Bob’s Red Mill Natural Raw Sunflower Seeds, 20-Ounce Packages (Pack of 4) I also bought some bulk organic sunflower seeds at Whole Foods the other day for only $3.99 per pound.

    When I made my favourite Rosemary Parmesan Keto Crackers, I saw how easy it was to get a fine grind with my coffee grinder. But the trick was to get out the bigger seed pieces so all that remains is the finely ground flour. A little sifting in a sieve with relatively large holes solved that. You don’t want too fine a sieve mesh, because the flour won’t go through, but something with a bit of a more open weave works beautifully.

    Close up shot of sunflower seed flour

    How to use Sunflower Seed Flour

    I do have some special tips for using this nut-free keto flour in place of almond flour.

    1. It can be a 1:1 replacement, but you may find you need a tiny bit more of it to get the right consistency. Keto batters are typically thicker than conventional batter, so just add a bit more of the nut-free flour until your batter is scoopable but not pourable.
    2. Sunflower seeds are a bit higher carb than almonds, so your flour will be as well. But not significantly so. I’d say each serving will be about 1g higher in carbohydrates than something made with almond flour.
    3. If you have severe nut allergies, please please please make sure that the sunflower seeds you purchase are not processed in a facility that also processes nuts.
    4. The funny green reaction: If you’ve never baked with sunflower seed meal before, you might be startled to see that some of your baked goods turn greenish as they cool. This is a reaction between the chlorophyll in sunflower seeds and your leavening agents (baking soda or baking powder). Not to worry, there are ways around this!
      • This reaction can be offset using some acid, such as lemon juice or apple cider vinegar. About 1 tablespoon will be enough for most recipes.
      • If you’re making something with chocolate, such as nut-free chocolate cupcakes, the dark brown of the cocoa or chocolate will cover the green, so no need to add any acid.

     

     

    Finely ground homemade sunflower seed flour
    See how finely ground this is?

    What to make with Sunflower Seed Flour

    So what do you do with all your newly ground sunflower seed flour? You get baking, of course! It makes a great allergen-free replacement for almond flour, and I have quite a few sunflower seed flour recipes already. Check out all these great recipe ideas!

    Keto Mini Chocolate Muffins (these are made with pumpkin seed meal but can easily be made with sunflower seed flour instead.

    Keto Chocolate Cereal

    Keto Chocolate Cream Cheese Muffins

    Keto English Muffins

    Sunbutter Chocolate Chip Cookies

    Close up shot of sunflower seed flour

    How to Make Sunflower Seed Flour

    Sunflower seed flour makes a low carb, nut-free replacement for almond flour. It's easy to make your own at home and save money! Great for those with nut allergies.
    5 from 8 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Side Dish
    Cuisine: Bread
    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Total Time: 10 minutes
    Servings: 1 ¼ cup flour
    Calories: 165kcal

    Ingredients

    • Raw sunflower seeds (I used Bob's Red Mill)

    You will also need:

    • Coffee Grinder
    • Open-mesh sieve the holes need to be big enough for the flour to fall through
    • Medium Bowl

    Instructions

    • Set an open mesh sieve over a medium bowl.
    • Pour 1 cup of sunflower seeds into your coffee grinder and grind for 10 to 20 seconds. Don't grind too long, or you may end up with sunflower seed butter.
    • Pour ground seeds into sieve and shake vigorously, then return remaining seed pieces back into coffee grinder. Repeat until almost all the sunflower seeds are finely ground.
    • 1 cup of seeds makes approximately 1 ¼ cups flour.
    • Store in an airtight bag or container in the fridge or freezer.

    Video

    Notes

    Make 5 servings. Each serving has 2.44 g NET CARBS.
    Food energy: 165kcal
    Total fat: 14.55g
    Calories from fat: 130
    Cholesterol: --
    Carbohydrate: 5.52g
    Total dietary fiber: 3.08g
    Protein: 4.61g
    Nutrition Facts
    How to Make Sunflower Seed Flour
    Amount Per Serving (1 g)
    Calories 165 Calories from Fat 131
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 14.55g22%
    Carbohydrates 5.52g2%
    Fiber 3.08g12%
    Protein 4.61g9%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
    2.9K shares

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    Nutritional Disclaimer

    Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.

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    1. Trudie says

      March 11, 2023 at 2:24 pm

      Is it on to used roasted sunflower seeds, or do they have to be raw?

      I can’t figure out if my coffee grinder is too fancy or if I have the wrong seeds. Even on super coarse setting, it would only come out as a butter paste.

      Reply
      • Carolyn says

        March 12, 2023 at 8:41 am

        It’s meant for raw sunflower seeds. If you’re using roasted, that might be the issue. They release their oils more easily…

        Reply
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