Learn how to make cashew flour in just 5 minutes! It’s cheaper than storebought flour, as well as totally gluten-free and vegan too.
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What is Cashew Flour?
Cashew flour, also known as cashew meal or cashew powder, is basically cashew nuts that have been processed into a very fine powder-like flour.
Cashew flour has become a staple that I enjoy very much, because it has a nutty flavor and gives baked goods a lighter color and is easy to work with.
It’s a great alternative to other nut flours (such as almond flour).
Is Cashew Flour Gluten-Free?
Since cashew flour is made from cashews, and cashews are naturally gluten-free, yes, cashew flour is free from gluten!
Why Make Your Own Cashew Flour?
While you can easily buy cashew flour at most supermarkets and natural food stores, I like making my own homemade nut flour for the following reasons:
- Cost-Effective: If you use quite a bit of cashew flour or simply use it frequently, purchasing whole cashews in bulk and making your own cashew powder will be cheaper compared to pre-packaged cashew flour. I recommending choosing affordable bulk cashews to reduce overall costs.
- Freshness: Homemade cashew nut meal allows you to control the quality and freshness of the product. Grinding cashews at home ensures that the flour is made from recently processed nuts, preserving their natural flavors and nutritional content.
- Customization: Making your own cashew flour gives you the freedom to customize how fine or coarse of a flour you make based on your specific recipe requirements. Plus, you can use raw cashews for a lighter off white flour, or roasted cashews for a darker browner flour.
- Avoid Additives and Preservatives: Store-bought cashew flours may contain additives or preservatives to prolong shelf life. By making your own cashew meal, you know you’re getting additive-free cashew flour!
Why This Recipe Works:
- Just ONE Ingredient: All you need is one simple ingredient that’s available in your local grocery stores – raw unsalted cashews! I recommend using high-quality cashews and you can either buy whole nuts or chopped cashews, anything works!
- Super Easy: With the help of a high-speed blender or food processor, and a fine-mesh sieve, making your own cashew meal cannot get any easier! Plus, it’s ready in just 5 minutes!
- Totally Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free & Vegan: The best part is that cashew flour is 100% gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan, which means that even those with Celiac disease or gluten or lactose intolerances, or those simply on a gluten-free diet or vegan diet can enjoy it without issues!
How to Make Cashew Flour (Step by Step):
1. Process Cashews
Place raw cashews in the bowl of your high-speed blender or food processor and process until you get a fine cashew meal, scraping down the sides of the blender as necessary.
2. Sift to Get Rid of Large Bits
Sift the processed cashew meal through a fine-mesh sieve to filter out any large bits.
3. Process Again
Return the large bits of cashews back to the blender or food processor and process them until fine enough to pass through the fine-mesh sieve.
4. Use or Store
You can either use the homemade cashew flour straightaway or store it in an airtight container in the freezer until ready to use.
Dish by Dish Tips/Tricks:
- Make Sure to Sift: To get a uniformly even flour, make sure to filter the cashew flour through a fine-mesh sieve so as to get rid of any large uneven bits.
- Prevent Overheating the Appliance: Continuous grinding in a food processor or blender can generate heat, potentially leading to overheating and affecting the texture of the cashew flour. To prevent this, grind the cashews in short bursts, allowing the appliance to cool between intervals.
- Double the Recipe as Needed: Note that 1 cup of raw cashews generally makes 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups of cashew flour. So you can make more if you need.
Other Homemade Gluten-Free Flours
- Homemade Brown Rice Flour (Gluten-Free, Vegan)
- Homemade Buckwheat Flour (Gluten-Free, Vegan)
- Homemade Chickpea Flour (Gluten-Free, Vegan)
- Homemade Millet Flour (Gluten-Free, Vegan)
- Homemade Almond Meal (Gluten-Free, Vegan)
Other Gluten-Free Cashew Recipes to Love:
- Homemade Cashew Milk (Gluten-Free, Vegan)
- Easy Cashew Chicken (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)
- Cashew Butter Cookies (Gluten-Free, Vegan)
- Cashew Nut Cookies (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)
Homemade Basics You’ll Love:
Homemade Cashew Flour
- Total Time: 5 mins
- Yield: 3 cups 1x
Description
Learn how to make cashew flour in just 5 minutes! It’s cheaper than storebought flour, as well as totally gluten-free and vegan too.
Instructions
- Process Cashews: Place raw cashews in the bowl of your high-speed blender or food processor and process until you get a fine cashew meal, scraping down the sides as necessary.
- Sift to Get Rid of Large Bits: Sift the processed cashew meal through a fine-mesh sieve to filter out any large bits.
- Process Again: Return the large bits of cashews back to the blender or food processor and process them until fine enough to pass through the fine-mesh sieve.
- Use or Store: You can either use the homemade cashew flour straightaway or store it in an airtight container in the freezer until ready to use.
Notes
Cashews: Make sure to use raw unsalted cashew nuts for the best results. Raw cashews are paler than toasted cashews, so you will get a more uniform and lighter colored cashew powder.
Storing: To store, place the homemade cashew meal in an airtight container and store at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in a freezer-safe container in the freezer for up to 2 months.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Category: Gluten-free Flours
Emily says
Hi there! For a lot of cashew-based recipes, it’s recommended to soak the cashews before doing anything with them. Do you recommend soaking the cashews, drying them out then processing them into a powder?
Felicia Lim says
Hi Emily! For cashew milk, I recommend soaking the cashews, but for cashew flour I normally blend them directly into a flour. If you prefer to soak them beforehand though, you could soak them overnight and then roast them slightly in the oven to dry them out before processing them into cashew flour. Although it may be a little darker brown in color.
Jasline says
May I know if you grind 2kg; 100g cashew will you get exactly 100g cashew flour?
Felicia Lim says
Hi Jasline, yes, 100g of cashews will get you 100g of flour. The weight will remain the same, but the volume will be more in flour than in whole cashews.
Connie Toschlog says
My cashews were frozen and not getting powdery and I fear they’ll go straight to cashew butter! if I keep processing! Perhaps I should have let them come to room temperature first. Any comments?
Connie
Felicia Lim says
Hi Connie! I’ve never used frozen cashews to make cashew flour before.. but I’m guessing it must be the ice crystals (and hence humidity) that formed while they were frozen that caused them to become more of a paste instead of a powdery flour. Maybe try with cashews that haven’t been frozen?
Connie Toschlog says
Actually, I decided to try drying them in the oven on a very low temperature, so we will see if it works.
Connie
Felicia Lim says
That sounds like a very smart decision! Bear in mind that toasting them in the oven may make the cashews a little browner, so you might get a darker colored flour, but equally tasty! 😉 Would love to hear how that goes later, Connie!
Felicia Lim says
Oh and if the cashews do turn into cashew butter, you can make these cashew butter cookies: https://www.dishbydish.net/cashew-butter-chocolate-chunk-cookies-gluten-free-vegan/
Kent says
Welcome back =) We’ve missed you.
felicia | Dish by Dish says
Thanks Kent!! Appreciate it very much! 🙂 My goal for 2020 is to be more consistent in updating the blog, so keep a watch out for those posts 🙂 And thanks so much for reading 🙂
Grace Lim says
Hi Felicia,
I thank God for your ingenuity and creativity to be the resourceful person that you are today.
Keep the creative juice flowing….
With love,
Mum
felicia | Dish by Dish says
Thank you mummy for your continuous love and support and for being my number 1 fan!! I love you!!