Ingredient Guides

How To Make Almond Flour

By Samira Kazan

updated April 11, 2025

A quick and easy guide on how to make almond flour using just one ingredient and a few minutes, including a variety of uses and recipe suggestions.

Learning how to make almond flour is super simple. All you need is a single ingredient, a high-speed blender, and a few minutes of your time. The resulting blanched almond flour can be used in tons of recipes and fits a variety of dietary needs. This includes being naturally gluten-free, paleo, and keto.

Plus, making this ingredient at home can work out far more cost-effective than purchasing store-bought almond flour repeatedly. I also find that it tastes fresher too!

Want to save this recipe?

• What is almond flour & is almond flour gluten-free
• Is almond meal the same as almond flour
• How to make almond flour
• Recipes & uses
• How To Make Almond Flour (Cheaper than store bought) Recipe

What is almond flour & is almond flour gluten-free

Almond flour can be made in a couple of ways. However, it is usually blanched almonds that are ground down into a fine flour-like powder. This flour is gluten-free, Paleo, Keto, Whole30, and low-carb – so super dietary restriction friendly. In stores, it’s often labeled in a variety of ways, including almond flour, ground almonds, almond powder, almond meal (although we’ll discuss how that’s different below).

As an all-purpose flour substitute, almond flour can’t be used at a 1:1 ratio in all circumstances – this is something you’ll have to experiment with over time if recipes don’t state sub amounts. However, it is still an excellent flour alternative, making for moist, slightly denser, and nutty baked goods. It is also the base of a number of popular desserts, including macarons, cherry Bakewell tarts, and more.

Is almond meal the same as almond flour

I touch on this in my Almond Meal DIY – the answer is no. While they are both made from the same ingredient and practically the same process, the almond meal uses raw almonds (unpeeled). The resulting powdery substance has a different color and slightly different texture.

Almond flour is the most refined of the flour vs. meal vs. pulp (leftovers from the homemade almond milk process) and best used for baked goods where you want it to blend in more, be refined, and not have any ‘gritty’ almond texture.

How to make almond flour

The process for making almond flour is almost identical to almond meal. However, the main difference is that before you grind the almonds, they need to be blanched and peeled as we don’t want the almond skins for this DIY.

You can also buy already blanched almonds. However, this will once again bump up the price. It’s a super simple process to do this at home so, why not.

You can follow the simple process of blanching almonds here.

Once ready, the almonds just need to be placed into a high-speed blender and ground into a fine powder.

There’s a little more to it than that, though, so read the recipe card below for the full details and notes. I’ve also included notes on making this with a coffee grinder too. The key is to pulse the mixture, so you don’t end up with almond butter.

Recipes & uses

I have a variety of almond flour recipes here on the blog, including;

For crusts: As well as using it as a gluten-free alternative for regular pie crusts, I have a variety of tarts using a raw vegan tart base.

For Cookies & Cakes: There are tons and tons of ways to include this ingredient in your cookies and cakes. I have a few options here on the blog, including these Almond Pistachio Thumbprint Cookies Recipe , and Simple Gluten-Free Banana Bread Recipe .

Candy Bars: For example, in these vegan versions of popular candy bars. i.e., these Homemade snickers Bars (Vegan) and Vegan Twix Bars .

As I mentioned above, almond flour can also be used for classic dishes, including french macarons and cherry Bakewell tarts. It can also be used in place of bread crumbs as a topping and binder, i.e., for these Mushroom & Lentil Meatballs .

Equipment

• Grain grinder

Ingredients1x2x3x

• ▢ 1.5 cup blanched almonds

Instructions

• Use blanched almonds (according to these instructions ) and put them in a grinder/food processor. I’ve found that the blanched almonds to almond flour ratio is just under 1.5:1 i.e. 1.5 cups of almonds will make just under 1 Cup of almond flour.
• Pulse the almonds for 10-15 seconds at a time. In between pulses, shake up the blender to make sure the nuts are close to the blade again, then continue to pulse and pause/shake until the flour is ready. *
• Sieve the powder to collect any larger bits which you can then blend/grind again.
• Transfer into an air-tight jar/container. You can store this in the fridge for 1 month or the freezer for 3 months.

Video

Notes

Nutrition

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Recipes › Desserts

Almond Pistachio Thumbprint Cookies Recipe

By Samira Kazan

updated September 21, 2020

Delicious gluten-free, vegan bite-size almond & pistachio thumbprint cookies. Not only are they easy to make- they can either be baked or kept as a no-bake cookie recipe!

These almond pistachio thumbprint cookies are a delicious vegan and gluten-free cookies recipe using almond flour and pistachio butter. Unlike your generic shortbread thumbprint cookies, these vegan bite-size snacks have a delightful crumbly almond base and can be cooked or kept as a no-bake cookie recipe.

Depending on whether you want these as raw snacks or baked cookies, they are delicious. However, it’s worth noting that there will be some textural difference.

For the raw version, these pistachio thumbprint cookies are a little more gooey and moist. In comparison, when baked, these cookies are more crumbly.

I always love to switch up classic recipes and decided that rather than using the usual choice of jam filling for this thumbprint cookie recipe, I used some homemade pistachio butter .

Pistachio butter is one of the most delicious, decadent version of all nut butters and yet can be made at home with just pistachios, salt and a blender or food processor. Plus the pistachio flavour compliments the flavour of the gluten-free almond cookies.

These cookies are then an excellent healthier cookie snack option. They can also be displayed in mini cupcake cakes, in a gift box, for a delicious homemade edible gift at Christmas (or any time of the year!).

If you’ve been following me on Instagram, you’ll know that I’ve been cooking up a storm this festive period, with a new recipe posted every day. Honestly, I couldn’t wait for the day to share these pistachio thumbprint cookies though because they are one of my favourite treats so far.

I’ve very recently compiled a post for the ultimate guide to homemade nut & seed butters, so I have spent a LOT of time this year in the kitchen blending up delicious nut butters and nut butter recipes. As much as I have a soft spot for good old almond butter, pistachio butter has taken my heart.

While it’s not a nut butter you’d want to eat by the spoonful every day (or rather you would – but your hips wouldn’t like it!), pistachio butter has an incredible luxury element that works well in so many different recipes. Check out my pistachio butter post for some inspiration.

Want to save this recipe?

• Variations on these thumbprint cookies
• How To Make The Thumbprint Cookies
• Other great snack recipes you may like
• Pistachio Almond Cookies Recipe

Variations on these thumbprint cookies

Obviously, my filling of choice is my homemade pistachio butter. However, you can experiment with various fillings including a delicious vegan homemade Nutella , the classic choice of jam, or even some vegan chocolate chips (that will melt from the heat and be heavenly!).

For a sweeter pistachio creme style filling, melt some white chocolate in a heatproof bowl then mix in some pistachio butter with a dash of homemade vanilla powder .

You can also make a delicious chocolate version of these pistachio thumbprint cookies by adding some cocoa powder into the base almond cookies recipe. If the biscuit mix feels too crumbly after adding the powder, add another tsp of coconut oil to offset the powder.

Plus, you can experiment with additional toppings for the pistachio thumbprint cookies. For example, a drizzle of melted white chocolate is a lovely dessert-like touch.

Note* For vegan cookies use dairy-free white chocolate and chocolate chips.

How To Make The Thumbprint Cookies

This pistachio thumbprint cookies recipe is super simple and can be made in just five minutes if you’re keeping them raw. Or around 20 minutes, if baking- which means they’re an excellent option for a last-minute edible gift idea or to whip up on busy days when you don’t have much time to spare.

The almond cookies base is made up of almond flour, coconut oil, maple syrup, coconut flour and cardamon.

Don’t fret if you don’t have almond flour to hand though as this can be whizzed up in a couple of minutes. Blitz some raw almonds in a high-speed food processor for a couple of minutes and you’ll get homemade almond flour, which is a great gluten-free flour to have to hand at all times.

This recipe is also a great way to use leftover almond pulp after making homemade almond milk . Simply allow the pulp to dry out, and it’s ready to use as almond flour.

Note* For this particular recipe the ground almonds don’t have to be too fine, which is why any of the above options will work fine for the almond cookies recipe.

The method

To begin, mix the almond flour with the other base ingredients and then form small, one bite-sized cookies. If you want you can measure these out and use around 1tbsp per cookie. However, I eyeballed it and made 14 of them.

To make them into thumbprint cookies, the process is precisely what it says. Roll each piece of dough into a ball, and then you can use a finger/ thumb to make the indentations. You could also use the rounded back of a spoon. In fact, I used a small 1/2 tsp measuring spoon for an even indentation in each cookie.

If you’re in a hurry to enjoy these delicious cookies, then you can have these as a no-bake cookie recipe by simply adding some pistachio butter to them now and decorating with some pomegranate seeds and chopped pistachios.

Note* Due to the gluten-free nature of these cookies and the lack of dairy, these cookies are more crumbly than general cookie dough so cracking around the edges when pressing your indentation is perfectly normal.

However, if you want to bake the cookies, then you can now bake them in the oven either in mini cupcake cups or on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.

These only take ten minutes to bake in the oven and will turn a lovely golden colour around the edges.

If you want to use some chocolate chips as a filling, you’ll want to add these to the cookies while they’re still warm, so they melt into the thumbprint.

For the pistachio butter-filled cookies, allow the cookies to cool down a bit before filling them.

Again you can decorate the pistachio cookies with pomegranate seeds and ground pistachios or even a sprinkle of desiccated coconut. Also, feel free to experiment with other fillings and toppings of your choice.

For a sweeter, dessert-like version you can drizzle some white chocolate over the cookies at the end. Or, for a chocolate thumbprint cookie version, you can add some cocoa powder into the base almond cookie recipe.

Other great snack recipes you may like

For another delicious no-bake snack recipe, you may like these healthy cacao & almond protein balls or these coconut bliss balls . These 4-Ingredient Stuffed Dates: with home-made almond butter & Chocolate are always a winner too!

IngredientsUS CustomaryMetric1x2x3x

• ▢ 2 cups almond flour
• ▢ 3 tBsp coconut oil
• ▢ 1 tsp ground cardamom powder
• ▢ 2 tBsp maple syrup
• ▢ 2 tBsp coconut flour
• ▢ 1/4 cup pistachio butter

Toppings (optional)

• ▢ ground pistachios
• ▢ pomegranate seeds

Instructions

• To begin, mix the almond flour* with the other base ingredients and then form small, one bite-sized cookies. If you want you can measure these out and use around 1tbsp per cookie. However, I eyeballed it and made 14 of them.
• To make them into thumbprint cookies, the process is precisely what it says. Roll each piece of dough into a ball, and then you can use a finger/ thumb to make the indentations. You could also use the rounded back of a spoon. In fact, I used a small 1/2 tsp measuring spoon for an even indentation in each cookie.**
• If you’re in a hurry to enjoy these delicious cookies, then you can have these as a no-bake cookie recipe by simply adding some pistachio butter to them now and decorating with some pomegranate seeds and chopped pistachios.
• However, if you want to bake the cookies, then you can now bake them in the oven either in mini cupcake cups or on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
• These only take ten minutes to bake in the oven at 160ºC (fan-assisted) and will turn a lovely golden colour around the edges.
• Once cooled down, add the pistachio butter and decorate.***

Video

Notes

Nutrition

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

How To Make Almond Flour (Cheaper than store bought)

Equipment

• Grain grinder

Ingredients

• 1.5 cup blanched almonds

Instructions

• Use blanched almonds (according to these instructions ) and put them in a grinder/food processor. I’ve found that the blanched almonds to almond flour ratio is just under 1.5:1 i.e. 1.5 cups of almonds will make just under 1 Cup of almond flour.
• Pulse the almonds for 10-15 seconds at a time. In between pulses, shake up the blender to make sure the nuts are close to the blade again, then continue to pulse and pause/shake until the flour is ready. *
• Sieve the powder to collect any larger bits which you can then blend/grind again.
• Transfer into an air-tight jar/container. You can store this in the fridge for 1 month or the freezer for 3 months.

Video

Notes

Nutrition

Recipe on Alphafoodie: https://www.alphafoodie.com/how-to-make-almond-flour/