How to Use Bean Flours

Jul 9th, 2008 by Mary Frances

I broach this topic knowing three things:

1. Most Americans would shudder at the idea of eating beans on a regular basis and thus, do not know how to cook beans.

2. Beans have a bad reputation and are oft involved in third-grade humor.

3. Beans can taste really good and are really good for us.

In my mind, the third fact outweighs the first two so I will proceed.

Three Ways to Use Bean Flours:

Just a guess, but I bet there’s not much demand for bean flours outside of the gluten free community. Unfortunately, that also means that there is not a tremendous amount of information on the internet about how to use bean flours. I’ve spent a few hours wandering the web and have compiled this information for your reference and mine. I haven’t tested all of these ideas; this is just a jumping off point. A place to start experimenting. If you’ve been cooking and baking with bean flours, please feel free to share your knowledge in the comments!

Baking: Use up to 25% bean flour in you gluten free flour mix to add protein, fiber, and iron. I just checked some of the flours that I have in the refrigerator and for each 1/4 c. serving garbanzo/fava flour has 3.5 g more protein and 4 g. more fiber than sorghum flour. The garbanzo/fava flour also provides 10% of the RDA for iron, while the sorghum flour provides 0%.

Thickener: Use bean flour to thicken or cream soups and stews. This is a great way to reduce the fat content of creamy soups. White bean flour has a neutral taste and a creamy flavor that could replace some of the heavy cream in vegetable soups. You can also use bean flour to make white sauce, as long as you use a mild-flavored flour.

Dip or Filling: Reconstitute the bean flours to make creamy dips and fillings for other recipes. I have used a white bean puree for a dairy-free lasagna filling, and I’ve seen many recipes around the blogosphere for black bean dip and bean purees that look divine.

Some Suggested Uses: To get you started, here are a few thoughts on how you might use some of these bean flours

Black Bean Flour: Use as part of your baking mix for chocolate cakes and brownies; try adding a small amount to bread recipes to get that dark whole-wheat look; the Bob’s Red Mill site has recipes for a black bean dip and black bean tortillas

Fava Four: I haven’t been able to find any recipes that use fava flour by itself, but it is commonly used in gluten free flour mixes along with other bean and grain flours.

Garbanzo Flour:Garbanzo beans are also known as besan, gram, chana, and chickpeas. Garbanzo flour is frequently used in Indian and Southern European cuisines and does not have to be combined with other flours (although it can). Try a French socca, and Indian Besan Puda, or a Sicilian panelle.

Garfava Flour: A mixture of garbanzo and fava flour, garfava flour frequently appears in gluten free baking mixes. I often substitute it for the soy flour in my all-purpose mix. (The light bean flour in the Bette Hagman cookbooks is garfava flour)

Green Pea Flour: Add reconstituted grean pea flour to guacamole to lower the fat content and add extra nutriens; use as part of your baking mix for chocolate cakes and brownies; use to thicken soups and stews.

Soy Flour: Soy flour is one of my favorite flours for baking mainly because it is so inexpensive.

White Bean Flour: The mild-flavor of white beans makes this flour ideal for sauces and gravies. It can also be used to thicken soups. Add herbs and spices to reconstituted white bean flour for a flavorful white bean puree.

Beans Are Good For You:

Beans are a great source of dietary fiber, protein, iron, and many other essential nutrients. Since our family eats a vegetarian and gluten free diet, I use bean flours in my all purpose flour mix to add an additional source of iron to our diet. However, not every bean provides the same mix of nutrients. If you have particular dietary concerns, check out the nutritional information below to see which bean flour best meets your needs. (The serving size for this data is 1/4 cup.)

Black Bean Flour: 120 calories, 0 g fat, 22 g carbohydrates, 5 g dietary fiber, 1 g sugar, 8 g protein

Fava Four: 110 calories, 0.5 g fat, 19 g carbohydrates, 8 g dietary fiber, 1 g sugar, 9 g protein

Garbanzo Flour :110 calories, 2 g fat, 5 g sodium, 18 g carbohydrates, 5 g dietary fiber, 3 g sugar, 6 g protein

Garfava Flour: 110 calories, 1.5 g fat, 5 g sodium, 18 g carbohydrates, 6 g dietary fiber, 3 g sugar, 6 g protein
Green Pea Flour: 50 calories, 0 g fat, 2 g sodium, 9 g carbohydrates, 4 g dietary fiber, 1 g sugar, 4 g protein
Soy Flour: 120calories, 6 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 0g sodium, 8 g carbohydrates, 3 g dietary fiber, 2 g sugar, 10 g protein
White Bean Flour: 110 calories, 0 g fat, 20 g carbohydrates, 8 g dietary fiber, 2 g sugar, 7 g protein

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25 Responses to “How to Use Bean Flours”

on 09 Jul 2008 at 8:39 am1Natalie

Last week I made a loaf of bread using garfava flour for the reasons stated above. I used 2/3 of a cup (out of 4 cups) and it was way too much bean flour for me. I tolerated it fine and it tasted fine, but there was that whole “I am the girl that cooks with bean flour” thing that just killed it for me. LOL I think I am going to try backing it off a little and adding more flavorings. I really like the texture of bean flour vs brown rice flour. Anyway, amusing post and it captured beautifully what I felt last week!
on 09 Jul 2008 at 9:54 am2Nellie

I’m a big fan of using bean flours (I’ve never really understood that common gf-complaint of things tasting “beany”) and adding beans to about everything. They’re a great inexpensive protein! I’ll have to try using white bean puree for a gfcf lasagne, great idea!
on 09 Jul 2008 at 10:34 am3Kristi

Thanks for this entry. You are right on the money that there’s not much info on the various flours availible to us… every little bit of info helps me and other Celiacs perfect our Rocket Science like baking.
on 09 Jul 2008 at 6:10 pm4Mary Frances

@Natalie: I used to hate garfava flour but now I don’t really mind it. I’m not sure if my taste has changed or if I’ve just improved my recipes in general =) Or maybe now that we eat a vegetarian diet we’re just more comfortable with the idea of consuming beans.
on 09 Jul 2008 at 6:38 pm5carol

I used garbanzo bean flour all the time for “regular” bread using the following recipe. The texture is so much better than breads with lots of rice flours.

http://www.celiac.com/articles/909/1/Celiac-Light-Bread-Gluten-Free/Page1.html
on 09 Jul 2008 at 8:01 pm6jen

i LOVE beans.
never used bean flour, though.
this will definitely help if i ever try it!
on 09 Jul 2008 at 8:20 pm7Mary Frances

These comments are all so positive! I can’t believe I haven’t gotten any grief for suggesting that you put black bean flour in chocolate cake =)
on 10 Jul 2008 at 11:06 am8Natalie

Mary Frances- I think you got it right- sometimes the taste of a flour takes some getting used to for some people- I am not done trying it out!
on 11 Jul 2008 at 11:25 am9Black Olive Hummus: A Quick, Frugal Gluten Free Snack | Gluten Free [Cooking School]

[...] Comments « How to Use Bean Flours [...]
on 15 Jul 2008 at 10:43 am10rhoni

Do you make your own bean flours? If not, where can you buy them?
on 15 Jul 2008 at 8:12 pm11Mary Frances

@rhoni: I buy Bob’s Red Mill bean flour. Sometimes I get it at our local grocery store, sometimes at Whole Foods, sometimes through Amazon (in bulk) and sometimes through the Bob’s Red Mill website.
on 20 Jul 2008 at 10:25 pm12tr3n1ty

I can’t tolerate garbanzo beans, so I sub white bean flour for garbanzo. One benefit is that it really seems to reduce the “beany” aftertaste that is often associated with the bean flour - like Bette Hagman’s - mixtures.
(It’s a big bummer that I can’t have garbanzo beans anymore, I LOVE them.)
on 21 Jul 2008 at 5:47 pm13Mary Frances

@tr3n1ty: I’ll have to try the white bean flour soon. I love garbanzos but am not crazy about how the flour tastes, especially in raw cookie dough. What’s the point of making chocolate chip cookies if you can’t eat the dough?
on 11 Oct 2008 at 10:24 am14Judy Shoe

I am interested in using bean flours to add more iron to my teenage daughter’s diet. She suffers from a bit of anemia. I see impressive iron content in the bean flours. But does anyone know how much the baking or cooking process affects the iron content?
on 11 Oct 2008 at 12:44 pm15Mary Frances

@Judy Shoe: I’ve never read anything about iron content decreasing when foods are cooked, and a quick Google search didn’t turn up any relevant information. Good luck to your daughter on getting her iron levels back up. Gluten Free Mommy has a great article about beating anemia that you might find interesting.
on 11 Oct 2008 at 3:52 pm16JudyShoe

Thanks, Mary Frances for that helpful reply! In the Gluten Free Mommy article they suggested a liquid iron supplement which I have never considered before, but liquids generally have better absorption. So that was a good idea I may also look at.
on 23 Nov 2008 at 3:54 pm17Jenn

I saw a recipe for white bean flour bread to increase protein content and could hardly wait to try it, so I am in the process of baking my first loaf. So far the smell of the dough is a turn off I am hoping the taste is better. any suggestions about “hiding” it better in bread so others can’t tell its there?
on 23 Nov 2008 at 4:22 pm18Mary Frances

@Jenn: I’ve found that most gluten free batters do not taste great raw, but are usually fine once they are baked. If you can still taste it in the bread, then start gradually decreasing the bean flour and increasing the grain flours in your next batches.
on 01 Dec 2008 at 12:54 pm19Jenn

The loaf of bread dough that didn’t “smell good”, tasted excellent!! I am now baking my 6th batch of bread with white bean flour (I am using 1/3 bean flour to reg flour). So far my husband, parents, in-laws and a handful of nephews and neices couldn’t even tell they were eating “bean bread”. I am looking forward to trying white bean flour in soup as a thickener. Mary thanks for the website and ideas.
on 14 Jan 2009 at 7:59 pm20Carla

Thanks for all the great ideas for bean flours. I am always looking for new ideas. We started eating more beans to help with my mom’s diabetes. There are so many things you can do!

I had bought a few of the available flours (I recommend barryfarms.com), but found it more cost effective to mill my own flours. I have a cast iron hand cranked mill, but they also have electric ones. Now I can make whatever kind of bean flour I want in just the amount I need.
on 02 May 2009 at 9:07 pm21Chris

I have tried cooking with garbazo bean flour and it comes out tasting pretty awful. I am wondering if it is the brand I am using that might be the issue, other ingredients I need to include with it or if it just my cooking. I buy garbanzo bean cookies at a local ethnic grocery store and they are very yummy. In fact, some of my non-gluten sensitive co-workers are addicted to them.
So, is it the flour brand, is it something that I need to add to the recipe to offset the taste, or is it just my cooking? I’d appreciate any thoughts on the matter!
on 30 May 2009 at 8:51 pm22Sue

I’ve had very good luck by pre-toasting my garbanzo or garfava bean flours in a 300 degree oven just until that raw bean taste disappears. Then I let it cool and use it in recipes. Can’t even taste that beany after flavor!
on 13 Jun 2009 at 11:54 pm23Iris

Hello, I am looking for a tortilla recipe that uses bean flour,does anyone have one??? Thanks
on 20 Jun 2009 at 3:55 am24Mark

I like the articles on the site. Thanks for posting them.

I have a suggestion when it comes to bean flour (and rice, too, for that matter). Take some hints from Asian cooking (bread isn’t the only choice). They make great noodles from both beans and rice. In fact, I thought the bean noodles were rice noodles when I first saw them (I haven’t tried them yet, but they look great). I think they call them flour stick noodles (with bean flour, though—be sure not to get the wheat flour stick). I’m not sure what they call rice noodles.

I would love to see some recipes for home-made noodles with rice, bean and other gluten-free flours.

I wonder if you can make nice noodles with a bean and rice flours mixed (to get a complete protein and all). That would be cool.

Asian stores often have some gluten-free things at lower prices than traditional stores, due to how often they actually do use them in their cultures (whether or not they end up mixing something with gluten in the recipe).
on 20 Jun 2009 at 4:01 am25Mark

Ah, I just found the official English names for the noodles I meant in my last comment:
• Cellophane noodles (made with mung beans and/or other things that aren’t grains and thus probably don’t have gluten in them)
• Rice vermicelli (rice noodles / rice sticks)

There are Wikipedia articles for them.