How to Make Hazelnut Flour: 8 Ways to Use the Nutty Flour

Hazelnut flour, also known as hazelnut meal, is a nut flour made from finely ground hazelnuts. This alternative flour is a good source of dietary fiber and monounsaturated fats that’s also vegan and low in carbohydrates, making it a suitable option for those with dietary restrictions. The nutty flour has a sweet, buttery flavor that you can use in sweet and savory applications. Unlike wheat flour, hazelnut flour is gluten-free, so bakers cannot use it as a 1:1 substitute for all-purpose flour. Hazelnut flour adds tenderness to baked goods and works as a substitute for breadcrumbs in meatball recipes or AP flour in pot pie recipes. When making homemade hazelnut flour, adding a small amount of sugar into the mixture prevents the nuts from turning into hazelnut butter during the grinding process.

Here are some ways that you can use homemade hazelnut flour:

1. 1. Breading: Use a combination of hazelnut flour and coarse-ground oat flour as a substitute for breadcrumbs anytime you need a gluten-free crispy coating.
2. 2. Pesto: Hazelnuts are abundant in northern Italy, where these tree nuts are used in both sweet and savory dishes. Omit the sugar from your hazelnut flour and use it in place of pine nuts to make basil pesto.
3. 3. Chocolate chip cookies: Replace up to half of the all-purpose flour in your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe for a hazelnutty twist.
4. 4. Pie crust: You can make a simple gluten-free, press-in pie crust by combining hazelnut flour with egg whites. It's the perfect base for a chocolate sea salt tart.
5. 5. Muffins and cupcakes: Substitute hazelnut flour for one-third of the all-purpose flour in any muffin or cupcake recipe for baked goods that are light, tender, and nutty.
6. 6. Waffles and pancakes: Use hazelnut flour with another gluten-free flour, such as coconut flour or brown rice flour, to make gluten-free pancakes. The baking powder keeps the dough airy, and the hazelnut flavor pairs perfectly with maple syrup.
7. 7. Hazelnut brownies and cookies: You can make dark chocolate hazelnut cookies with brown sugar, hazelnut flour, cocoa powder, and bittersweet chocolate. You can also swap the AP flour for low-carb hazelnut flour in your favorite brownie recipe. The brownies will be extra tender and full of nutty hazelnut flavor.
8. 8. Macarons: Macarons are gluten-free almond meringue cookies sandwiched together with a creamy filling of ganache, buttercream, or jam. Swap hazelnut flour for almond flour in this classic French cookie recipe for a subtle change in flavor.

Hazelnut flour and almond flour are both grain-free nut flours. The main differences between the two types of flour are that almond flour is more widely available and is made with ground almonds, while hazelnut flour is harder to find and made with hazelnuts. You can use these two gluten-free flours as substitutes for each other in most recipes. Learn more about the types of flours in our complete culinary guide.