Are you looking for a way to shake up your diet? Making healthy swaps when you’re cooking is a smart move. One popular option is cassava flour. There’s so much to love about this gluten-free alternative, which is why you have to try it. Plus, there are many nutrient-packed cassava flour recipes out there too!
Whether you suffer from gluten intolerance or simply want a healthy alternative to standard white flour, cassava flour could be the answer. Made from cassava root (or yuca), this health-centric option is high in carbohydrates and starch. When it’s in flour form, you should find that it works well in many of the recipes you already know and love.
What’s more, as an added bonus, this new-age ingredient is also nut-free and grain-free. You can easily work it into a vegan, vegetarian, or plant-based diet. Boasting dietary fiber, this flour is a low-fat alternative to standard flour. Let’s take a look at some recipes.
You’ve Got to Try These 3 Cassava Flour Recipes
Are you completely new to using cassava flour? Well, then you might not know where to start. This healthful ingredient is as versatile as it is interesting. If the idea of trying something new intrigues you, here are three exciting cassava flour recipes you have to try.
1. Cassava Flour Olive Bread
Bread is more than a mere side dish. It ought to be a celebration of flavor. When you’re cutting back gluten, that doesn’t mean you have to give up fancy loaves of bread as well. Believe it or not, there are some ingenious cassava flour recipes you can give a go. Don’t merely stick to plain and simple bread. Why not mix things up and add some olives and herbs? Here’s a creative cassava flour olive bread recipe.
Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 35 minutes | Serves: 4
Calories per serving: 380 kcal
Equipment: Large bowl, large spoon, medium bread tin
Ingredients
- 3 eggs
- 2 egg whites
- 1/3 cup coconut oil
- 1/4 cup almond milk
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 cup cassava flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 10g rosemary
- 10 olives
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F.
- In a large bowl, mix the coconut oil, almond milk, eggs (and egg whites), and honey. Stir well until you have a smooth consistency.
- Fold in the cassava flour, salt, baking soda, and apple cider vinegar. Mix well.
- Tear the olives into small pieces. Wash and break up the rosemary. Add them both to the mixture and fold them in.
- Pour the mixture into a medium-sized bread tin.
- Bake for around 35 minutes (or until the loaf has risen).
2. Cassava Flour Pizza Dough Recipe
There are few things as delicious and satisfying as a pizza! When the weekend comes around, treating yourself to this meal is a great way to celebrate. However, the truth of the matter is that this snack is less-than-healthy, at the best of times. What if there were guilt-free alternatives you could enjoy instead?
Luckily, you’ve come to the right place. Here’s one of the most straightforward cassava flour recipes that’s also a healthy one. Making your own dough using gluten-free flour means that the freshly baked pizza is a little better for your waistline.
Bonus: Mixing your own dough takes ten minutes or less.
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 15 minutes | Serves: 2
Calories per serving: 307 kcal
Equipment: Large bowl, parchment paper, large baking tray, rolling pin
Ingredients
- 1 cup cassava flour
- 1/4 cup tapioca
- 1 tbsp ground flax seed
- 1 tablespoon coconut sugar
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp Himalayan sea salt
- 1/4 tsp avocado oil
- 1/2 cup almond milk
Optional pizza toppings
- Tomato puree
- Dairy-free or low-fat cheese
- Chopped onions
- Chopped peppers
- Paprika
- Chopped tomatoes
- Oregano
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F.
- Put all of the ingredients into a large bowl and knead until you have a dough-like consistency. (Note: You may need to add a splash of warm water to get this right!)
- Roll out the dough and divide into two portions. The thinner you can roll out the dough, the better the result will be when you bake it.
- Place the two pizza bases on separate pieces of parchment paper on a baking tray and put in the preheated oven. Bake for around 10 minutes or until golden.
- Take the bases out of the oven and add pizza toppings of your choice. Then bake for a further five minutes.
3. Cassava Flour Tortillas
Tortillas (or wraps) are a versatile product. Whether you love Tex-Mex inspired food or want to make a healthy vegetarian wrap, there are many ways in which you can use these things in your day-to-day meals. However, if you’re trying to eat healthily, you might want to cut back on the gluten. Luckily, there’s a simple alternative you can make at home.
Cassava flour tortillas don’t take long to cook for yourself and could be a healthy option when you’re trying to lose weight or just cut back. You don’t need to be a pro cook to get this gluten-free tortilla recipe right. Here’s everything you need to know to get started.
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 10 minutes | Serves: 6
Calories per serving: 95 kcal
Equipment: Large bowl, large spoon, griddle pan, rolling pin
Ingredients
- 1 cup cassava flour
- Pinch of salt
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp white vinegar
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- Warm water
Directions
- In a large bowl, combine the cassava flour, a pinch of salt, baking soda, and white vinegar. Mix well for around a minute.
- Add the oil into the bowl and knead with your hands. Make sure that the mixture is still dry but has a crumb-like texture.
- Add the warm water into the mixture and continue to knead for a further two minutes. By the end of this process, the dough should be soft and slightly gooey.
- Cut the dough into six equal portions. Roll out each portion. You can make the tortillas as thin as you want.
- Put a griddle pan on medium heat for a minute. Place each dough tortilla flat on the pan one at a time. Cook each side for one minute. Make sure that the tortillas are cooking all the way through before serving.
Pro Tip: If you’d like to make sure that your tortillas are extra thin, rolling them out may not do the trick. Investing in a tortilla press could be the key to your success. This piece of equipment is easy to use and makes ultra-thin dough bases.
Cassava Flour Tortillas for Sandwiches and More
As we’ve covered, gluten-free tortillas aren’t all that difficult to make. But what can you do with them? If you’re looking for some foodie inspiration, you’ve come to the right place. Here are some ideas of how you can turn your cassava flour tortillas into a full meal.
Homemade Quesadillas
Do you love Mexican-style food? Using your cassava flour tortillas, you can make your own homemade quesadillas. Simply chop up some onions, tomatoes, and cilantro. Grate cheese (or vegan cheese!) of your choice. Place the ingredients between two tortillas and pop them on a preheated skillet. Cook for a minute each on each side then slice to serve.
Cassava Flour Tortilla Wrap Fillings
Once you have mastered these cassava flour recipes, you might want to think about what to put inside your tortilla wraps. The good news is that there are loads of nutritious options from which to choose. Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Onions and peppers
- Tuna salad
- Rice and beans
- Avocado
- Chickpeas
Wrapping up these fillings can make a perfect lunch-on-the-go. Why not experiment and see which ones suit your taste buds? If you adore that extra crisp crunch, put the wrapped cassava flour tortillas back in the oven for a few minutes.
Tortilla Chips and Dip
After you’ve made your cassava flour tortilla chips, you might want to go one step further. Why not go ahead and make some tortilla chips? The process takes just minutes. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cut your cassava flour tortillas into wedges and spray them with olive oil. Place them on a large baking tray and bake for around five minutes.
When you’ve baked your tortilla chips, you can serve them with a healthful dip. For example, you could make an egg-free mayonnaise or even a homemade guacamole. If possible, try to steer clear of store-bought sauces and dips as you can never be 100% certain of the ingredients they contain and how natural they are.
A Unique Vanilla Cassava Cake Recipe
Whipping up a cassava cake recipe is far easier than many imagine. In fact, when it comes to cassava flour recipes, you can use this alternative flour in much the same way you would regular flour. So, if you already have a favorite cake you adore baking, making this healthy, gluten-free cake recipe could be the way to go.
If you’re new to the world of baking, it doesn’t have to be difficult. We have a simple and unique cassava cake recipe that you have to try for yourself. The entire process takes around 30-35 minutes which means that it’s the ideal introduction to baking. Here’s what you need to know and how to perfect it the first time around.
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 20-25 minutes
Serves: 4 | Calories per serving: 385 kcal
Equipment: Cake tin, large bowl, medium bowl, large spoon
Ingredients
- 3 eggs
- ½ cup coconut milk
- 3 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups cassava flour
- ½ tbsp baking soda
- ¼ cup agave syrup
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- Dash lemon juice
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F.
- Use a pat of butter to grease the bottom and sides of your cake tin.
- Whisk the eggs in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Then add the coconut milk, agave, lemon juice, and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth.
- Use the medium bowl to gently combine the baking soda, cassava flour, and baking powder.
- Pour the dry mixture into the large bowl. Combine the wet and dry mixture.
- Fill the cake tin with the mixture. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes.
How to Make Cassava Flour Pancakes
It’s the perfect breakfast treat! Whether you top them with honey, lemon, or a savory alternative, you simply can’t go wrong with a stack of pancakes. Sadly, when you’re following a grain-free diet, you may think that you have to cut these treats out altogether. That’s not the case. You can make your own gluten-free pancake mix using one of many cassava flour recipes. Here’s one that you might want to try for yourself.
Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cook Time: 10 minutes
Serves: 8 | Calories per serving: 170 kcal
Equipment: large bowl, whisk, large bowl, medium skillet, large ladle
Ingredients
- 3 eggs
- ¾ cup cassava flour
- ½ cup olive oil
- 1 tbsp honey (or agave syrup)
- ¼ cup coconut milk
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ cup blueberries (or other berries)
Optional toppings
- Honey
- Lemon juice
- Berries
- Sliced banana
Directions
- To a large bowl, add the eggs, coconut milk, half the olive oil, and honey or syrup. Mix well until you have a smooth, silky consistency.
- Add the salt, cassava flour, and baking soda. Stir well until smooth.
- Fold the blueberries into the pancake mix.
- Heat the other half of the olive oil in a medium skillet on medium temperature.
- Use a large ladle to pour ¼ cup measurements into the skillet.
- Cook each pancake for a minute on each side (or until golden brown).
- Serve with the toppings of your yummy choice.
Tips For Baking With Cassava Flour
Ready to start baking? Wait just a minute. When you’re attempting your first cassava flour recipes, you need to get things right the first time around. Remember, while it’s guilt-free alternative, cassava flour is not exactly the same as the flour you’ll be used to using. To help you along the way, here are a few handy little tips.
1. Be careful when mixing the flour
Are you a messy baker? You might want to take extra care when it comes to using cassava flour. This gluten-free alternative is a little finer than the flour you will be used to. For that reason, you need to make sure that you’re gentle with it when mixing so that it doesn’t end up all over your kitchen.
2. Use slightly less cassava flour than regular flour
Since cassava flour makes an excellent gluten-free alternative to regular flour, you might think that you can swap it quantity for quantity. However, using a little less of this flour than you would any other is the way to go. Cassava flour tends to be dense and soak up more liquid than other types of flour.
3. Flavor your baked goods heavily
Cassava flour recipes usually contain more flavorsome ingredients than you might expect. The reason for this is that the cassava root can have a strong taste. You don’t want it to overpower the rest of your recipe, which is why you need equally strong ingredients.
Conclusion
Now that you have these cassava flour recipes, what are you waiting for? When you try these recipes for yourself, you will see that they are relatively straightforward. Try experimenting by adding new ingredients and seeing what flavorsome combinations you can create. Ready, steady, start cooking!