Easy Homemade Blanched Almond Flour/Meal

This post may include affiliate links, which means I may make a commission on purchases made through these links at no additional cost to you. 

When I was taking restaurant entrepreneurship classes in college, one of my professors loved emphasizing the importance of overlapping ingredients that go into multiple recipes. Not only do overlapping ingredients simplify purchases and storage, but they can also help you cut costs/save money. That's why I started making my own almond flour instead of buying it!

Once you see how easy it is to make your own blanched almond flour at home, I bet you'll never buy almond flour again!

You can generally get a pound of almonds cheaper than a pound of almond flour, and grinding your own blanched almond flour also allows you greater flexibility.

I buy my almonds whole, and then make small batches of almond flour as needed.

It's quick, easy, and doesn't even require an expensive high-powered blenders! I hope you enjoy this recipe for homemade almond flour!

How to make blanched almond flour

While I typically use whole almonds and blanche them myself, you can use pre-blanched almonds or almond slivers. I've never tried to blanche slices that still have attached skin, but I think it would be very difficult and not worth the effort.

Blanching whole almonds to remove their skin is incredibly easy.

If you only have a small food processor, work one cup at a time. For years I used a small food processor to make almond flour and it worked just fine.

If you have a larger food processor or powerful blender, just scale up to meet your almond flour needs! We've had a Ninja Pro blender for several years now and use it every day. It is absolutely one of our best purchases ever.

If you're using slivers, just skip ahead to the second part of the recipe. =)

Sale

Ninja BL660 Professional Compact Smoothie & Food Processing Blender,...

• ULTIMATE POWER: 1100-watt motor powers through the toughest ingredients and pulverizes ice to snow in seconds for creamy frozen drinks, smoothies,...
• VERSITILE FUNCTIONS: Professional performance with 3 manual speeds, pulse, and the single serve function for to-go cups. Stainless steel design...
• XL CAPACITY: 72-oz. Total Crushing Pitcher is perfect for creating creamy frozen drinks and smoothies for the whole family, or entertaining guests. 64...

Check current price

Do you have to blanche almonds for almond flour?

I've had some comments from people wondering if you have to blanche almonds to make almond flour. The answer is...not really, but I recommend it. Blanching the almonds will give you a finer almond flour that's more like commercially ground flour. You can make unbalanced almond flour, but it will have a coarser texture. Your baked goods will be lighter/fluffier if you use blanched almond flour.

How to blanche almonds

Blanching the almonds is simply a matter of loosening the skins in boiling water for one minute. I always set a timer because boiling them longer can result in mushy, slightly-cooked almonds! After they've been boiled, they will look something like this:

The almonds will be kind of wrinkly and weird looking! All you have to do is gently squeeze them out of their skins. If you're feeling silly not careful, the almonds can shoot out of their skins, so make sure you're pointing your almonds in a safe direction! You can compost the skins or put them in smoothies.

After your almonds are blanched and dry again, all you have to do is grind them up in your food processor or blender and sift the mixture through a fine mesh strainer.

Sifting is technically optional, but it will remove any larger pieces and make a finer almond flour that's more similar to commercially ground almond flour.

You can check out slightly more detailed instructions in the recipe box below.

Blanched Almond Flour/Meal

Print

Ingredients

• 1 cup of raw almonds

Instructions

To blanche the almonds

1. Add two or three cups of water to a small cooking pot (the exact amount doesn't matter - it just needs to be enough to cover the almonds).
2. Cover the pot and bring the water to a boil.
3. Once the water is boiling, add the cup of almonds and allow them to boil for 1 minute. I always set a timer so I don't overcook the almonds!
4. Drain the almonds in a colander and run cold tap water over the almonds until they're cool to the touch.
5. The almond skins will look wrinkeled - simply squeeze the almonds out of their skins and you have blanched almonds! Watch out, though, you can "accidentally" send the almonds shooting off in amusing directions while removing the skins.
6. Spread the almonds out on paper towels and allow them to dry fully.

To make the almond flour

1. Add the dried almonds to your blender or food processor.
2. Blend or pulse until you achieve your desired texture. You can make a course meal or a finder flour, depending on how long you run your food processor. Because the bottom layer tends to become much more finely ground, I recommend stopping the processor periodically and mixing the ground almonds by hand. The exact amount of time required will depend on your blender or food processor, but you should blend for somewhere between 20 and 60 seconds total.
3. Store in an air tight container and use as desired!

That's all there is to it! You just made your own almond flour, and probably saved a chunk of change, too.

If you enjoy baking with almond flour, stop by this recipe for Paleo pistachio muffins!

What will you bake with your almond flour?