How-To: Make Homemade Almond Flour

This is going to save you so much money while Paleo-ing! I am super excited for you! It is so easy; you will probably never ever buy already packaged almond flour again…ever!

A regular Bob’s Red Mill almond meal/flour at the store costs you $11 a pound, a pound! That is a lot of money, considering you use 1.5 cups of almond meal/flour for 4 small waffles. I’d say that 1 bag of Bob’s Red Mill has around 3 cups worth of flour. So basically, you’re paying $11 just for the flour of 8 waffles…when you add the rest of the ingredients you need to make your waffles with, you find yourself paying as much as you would if you went out to eat breakfast at a 5-star restaurant and took your hubby and two kids along with you. Crazy, right!? At my household, I go through almond meal flour extremely fast. I bake galore. I just love my Paleo baked goods. That’s why I HAD to find an alternative solution to buying almond flour.

Guess what? I found my solution. Check out how I make my own almond flour:

First, I go to the bulk section of the grocery store and find my beloved-slivered almonds (these are almonds that don’t have the little brown skin around them and have been slivered already). 

[I have a special thing for this little ingredient. I eat it in the morning with my breakfast (no way I’d skip!), I combine it with other nuts and chocolate chips for a preferred movie snack (a healthy version of trail mix), I convert it into flour for our muffins/waffles/pancakes/burgers/breads, I put it on top of my homemade coconut yogurt or on my homemade ice-cream, etc., etc.  Let’s just put it this way…it’s probably the first thing I get when grocery shopping…a CRUCIAL ingredient]

Second, I go to the bulk section and fill up the biggest bulk-section-plastic-bag I can find.

Third, I get home and pour all the almonds into a ziploc baggie. Ziploc bags are way stronger than the store’s plastic bag, this helps me avoid a broken bag and a kitchen floor full of almonds, they also keep the nuts fresher.

How to Make Homemade Almond Flour!

Fourth, I get my food processor (great wedding gift, thanks Mary Kay!) and I plug it in.

How to Make Homemade Almond Flour!

Fifth, I fill my food processor up with the almonds, put the top on to seal the food processor, and press the “on” button.

How to Make Homemade Almond Flour!

You want to make sure you watch the food processing process closely. You want the slivered almonds to convert to flour, not butter. If you let the food processor run a bit longer than say 20 seconds, you will no longer get almond flour…you will start seeing your almonds convert to butter. And honestly, for almond butter I recommend you use whole almonds instead of slivered ones. Whole almonds make the butter taste richer and its consistency is better. So watch out and make sure you get a floury consistency; 15-20 seconds of food processing the slivered almonds should do the trick. Use your best judgment.

How to Make Homemade Almond Flour!

Boom! You’ve now saved your family tons of money and successfully made homemade almond flour.  Feel free to let loose and get creative with your almond flour based treats…no more worrying about that nice, moist Paleo loaf of bread costing you an arm and a leg. Hooray for the bulk section.

By Mariel Lewis

I'm an avid blogger passionate about health, fitness, and food! I love cooking with natural ingredients. This passion drives me to dream up fun culinary creations that not only nourish the body but taste great! Eating healthy doesn't have to be a drag, try some of my Amazing Foodie recipes and let me know what you think! :)

52 comments

  1. My husband just dropped the bomb on me that we wanted to go Paleo, and I had no idea what to cook anymore. Your site is really inspiring me to get creative and I am so excited that I can still bake! Thank you.

    1. Hey Julie! That is so good to hear! I am thrilled to know that my recipes are helping you and your husband out. Paleo is so much fun! You will see that when you’re limited to certain ingredients, you get even more creative in the kitchen. I am in love with Paleo and I think you will be too! Feel free to post any questions or recipe suggestions on the forum!

  2. ooh, what chocolate chips do you use for you’re trail mix??

    And thank you for the easy tip! I don’t have a food processor but I’m going to try my blender.

    1. A high power blender should work just fine! Let me know how it goes :). I usually buy dark chocolate chips from the bulk section, but a great option is Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips (which are dairy, ut and soy free!).

  3. I just discovered your page here!!!!!! THANK YOU! All of your information is so helpful! Awesome!!!! You should have a facebook page! :O)

  4. I made this and LOVE IT thank you! How long will it last if I store it in the fridge? Thanks!!

    1. Hi Audrey! I’m glad you liked this easy tutorial. I usually keep mine for a little over a month (I go through it rather quickly!) and it stays very fresh 🙂

  5. I am guessing that you can substiute Almond flour for any other type of flour? Also, would the measured portions be the same?

    1. Hey Tina! Great question. Substituting one flour for another in a recipe, requires extra attention. You can’t necessarily substitute in the same amounts, and most of the time the other ingredients you use have the vary as well.If you don’t want to use almond flour I would use 3/4 tapioca and 1/4 coconut (of the total amount of almond flour required) and see how it goes. Coconut flour absorbs lots of liquid, so you have to either combine it with other flours or use 6 eggs for every 1/2 cup of flour. Hope this helps!

  6. I wish my supermarket had a bulk section where I could find slivered almonds! The only ones I find are little packages and they’re expensive! 🙁 Which grocery store do you go to if you don’t mind my asking?

    1. Hi Cheryl! Of course not, I love it when you guys ask questions! 🙂 I get mine either at Fred Meyer’s, WinCo Foods, Grocery Outlet, or our city’s Co-Op. If your city has a Whole Foods, I’d recommend trying there!

    1. Hi Claude! Great question.
      Ok, so when I make almond flour from using 1 lb of slivered almonds, I usually get 1 lb of almond flour back.
      Which means that if I buy 1 lb of slivered almonds (1 lb is going for $6.95) and convert it into 1 lb of almond flour (1 lb is going for $9.49), I would be saving around $2.54/lb, give or take.
      Its quite a bit of savings! It is so easy to make too!

      1. Almond flour in my area (I live in Michigan) runs about $14.99 for a small bag of Bob’s Red Mill. it ends up costing almost $60 for a whole month of flour for my family. If this recipe really works I have a store that sells bulk nuts. I haven’t checked for the slivered almonds but if this works I can save money in flour AND in almond butter which can cost up to $7 a jar!

  7. You mentioned that you put this on your homemade coconut yogurt, I can’t find the recipe on here, is it here? If not, would you mind posting it when you get a chance?

  8. I love your site and really appreciate all you recipes and posts. I am wondering if I can make almond flour from whole almonds. I always soak and dry my almonds before using so using the slivered ones won’t work. I am thinking I can take the skins off, dehydrate and then blend? What do you think?

  9. Hi Mariel, I have a nearby grocery outlet that has a lot of gluten-free and natural items including almond flour. Lucky, I know! Otherwise I’d have to start looking for organic slivered almonds….

    1. Oh that’s great, Mary! You’re a lucky gal…here in Boise almond flour can get sort of spendy 😉

  10. What a treasure trove of recipes and info! Thank you, Mariel! I’m so excited to delve into this resource. May I ask what consistency your almond flour comes out? I have used Bob’s Red Mill in the past in baking and had recipes flop because its texture is coarser than other brands. I haven’t yet made my own almond flour out of fear it wouldn’t turn out fine enough. Would you say your flour is about the same texture as Bob’s? Have you had any problems? Any ideas you have would be greatly appreciated, I’m pretty new to this kind of baking. Thanks much!!

    1. Hi Alaina! My almond flour is coarser than Bob’s Red Mill. I haven’t had any issues while baking with it…works really well for me. 🙂

  11. Hi Mariel-
    Love this! I usually buy the bulk bag of raw almonds at Costco, but they have the skin on then. Is it necessary to buy slivered almonds or will raw ones work?
    Thanks!

    1. Hi Caitlin! You can use either whole raw almonds or blanched slivered almonds to make almond flour. I personally prefer to use blanched slivered almonds since the flour turns out a bit finer. It’s up to you though! You should test both ways and then decide what works best for you. 🙂

  12. Go to Blue Diamond for those who have peanut allergies!! You can buy your almonds in bulk to make your own here & not worry about the cross-contamination in those bulk-bins at the store. They have almond flour for about $11 for two pounds (before shipping). As a Paleo Parent with a child who has a life-threatening peanut allergy, I’ve had to do extra research on the ingredients for baking to ensure my child is safe – and it’s been well worth it!!

  13. Hi Mariel,
    One of my good friends (who is also like a personal trainer/sister) decided to put me on the paleo lifestyle. I’m so excited to start, but I’m such a picky eater that it’s hard for me to eat half of what is all in the recipes. Do you have any suggestions that I could use? I want to be able to do this fully but I’m kind of having trouble.

    1. Hi Shelby. Welcome to the Paleo Diet and welcome to Amazing Paleo.
      My advice to you is simple…just go for it! Don’t be picky ;)…you’ll see what a wonderful world of possibilities opens up when you give stuff a try! Enjoy all these awesome natural foods that God has provided us and be thankful for each one of them. 🙂

  14. I am so excited about this site. I’m very into making my own stuff as much as possible. I was wondering what the difference is between almond flour and almond meal? Thanks so much.

    1. The main difference is that almond flour is more finely ground, tan almond meal. However, they are basically the same thing and can be used interchangeably.

  15. Hi! I’ve tried this several times in a food processor and two different blenders, and no matter how long I stand there pushing the pulse button, only about half of the almonds become flour. Half of it just stays course and pebbly. Have you ever had this problem?

    1. Hi there! No, I’ve never had this problem. Are you using blanched slivered almonds? Or regular almonds? I ALWAYS use blanched slivered almonds for this and it works like a charm!

  16. Wonderful site. Plenty of useful info here. I’m sending it to several friends ans additionally sharing in delicious. And obviously, thank you in your effort!

  17. Do you suggest not using whole almonds for this? It’s all I have on-hand…

    Thanks! This is awesome!

    1. Hi Sami! If whole almonds is all you have, then yeah, go ahead and use those! They should work. 🙂

  18. Are the almonds you use raw or pasteurized? I am supposed to consume raw nuts and seeds, from what I understand.

  19. Question. I am just starting the Paleo and organic foods can be costly for my budget. Do they have to be organic almonds in order for it to be paleo? Sorry for my ignorance. newbie here 🙂

    1. Hey Jessica. That’s a great question! If people’s budget allows them to buy organic, then great. However, if you just go to any store’s bulk section and buy regular unsalted/unsweetened almonds (basically altogether unprocessed and without any additives), you’re totally ok! 🙂 No need to spend a million dollars to be Paleo 😉

  20. What a great idea! I’ve almost always got almonds on hand, and if I run out of almond flour, this is what I’ll do!! 🙂 Thanks for sharing!!

  21. Hello;

    I purchase bulk raw almonds and then roast them in the oven. I place them on a large cookie sheet lined with alum foil. Set the temp to 350 and flip the almonds when they start to smoke. I continue this process until I hear or see the almonds popping, splitting, and cracking open and the nuts are browned.

    I let the nuts cool to room temp. They are awesome tasting so I am wondering if using roasted almonds would make creating flour that much easier and tastier than using slivered almonds?

  22. Just wondering if you have any recipes that use ONLY real food? No gum, or other things, not found in our mothers (for example) kitchens.
    We live in a very small town and it’s almost impsible to find these types of ingredients.
    I do have the same processor, so I could make the almond flour, but I’m not sure if they sell the sliced almonds.

    Thank you for your help.

    1. Hi there! Try blanching regular almonds yourself and then add them to the food processor. Or…if you don’t want to use blanched almonds, just use regular almonds…the flour turns out phenomenal this way as well. 😉

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