Dried, defatted coconut meat ground fine. Extraordinarily absorbent - it drinks several times its own weight in liquid.
What it does in a recipe: High-fibre, grain-free bulk that must be used in small quantities with a great deal of liquid. Pick the swap that covers that job - the ratios below are written so you can act on them without doing any arithmetic.
2substitutes
In a pinchbest available
Flourscategory
Quick answer
Almond flour (with adjustment)
1/4 cup coconut flour = 1 cup almond flour (and remove roughly 3 of the recipe's eggs' worth of liquid)
All substitutes, best first
2 ways to replace coconut flour
Almond flour (with adjustment)
In a pinch
1/4 cup coconut flour = 1 cup almond flour (and remove roughly 3 of the recipe's eggs' worth of liquid)
Coconut flour absorbs about four times what almond flour does, so the quantities are nowhere near interchangeable. Recipes built on coconut flour carry huge amounts of egg and liquid specifically to feed it, and all of that has to come back out.
Trade-offThis is a substantial recipe rewrite rather than a swap. If you can find a recipe written for almond flour, use that instead.
Allergen checkOat fibre is not gluten-free unless certified. Check the packaging.
Worth knowing
Coconut flour is the least substitutable flour in common use, in either direction. Never swap it one-to-one for anything - a cup of coconut flour where a cup of wheat flour belonged will produce something closer to a sponge than a cake.
At a glance
Coconut flour in summary
Coconut flour at a glance: category, its job in a recipe, the diets it suits, the diets its substitutes can satisfy, and how many substitutes there are.
Can I use almond flour (with adjustment) instead of coconut flour?
1/4 cup coconut flour = 1 cup almond flour (and remove roughly 3 of the recipe's eggs' worth of liquid). Coconut flour absorbs about four times what almond flour does, so the quantities are nowhere near interchangeable. Recipes built on coconut flour carry huge amounts of egg and liquid specifically to feed it, and all of that has to come back out. This is a substantial recipe rewrite rather than a swap. If you can find a recipe written for almond flour, use that instead.
Can I use oat fibre or psyllium husk blend instead of coconut flour?
1/4 cup coconut flour = 2 tbsp psyllium husk powder + 2 tbsp oat fibre. Both are highly absorbent fibres that gel with water the way coconut flour does, which is the property the recipe is actually relying on. Gummier than coconut flour and without its faint sweetness.
Cooking around an allergy? Diet tags here describe the ingredient itself, not any particular brand. Processed products change formulation without notice and shared production lines are common, so read the label on everything you use. A severe allergy is a medical matter - confirm with the manufacturer or your clinician rather than relying on a substitution chart.