If you want to use almond meal or almond flour in recipes, it is best to make your own. This is because of Phytic Acid & Enzyme Inhibitors which lock up the nutrients within the nuts and make them harder to digest. So the nuts must first be “Soaked and then Dried” before processing into flour. Prepackaged or commercially available nut flours are not processed in this manner, therefore I do not recommend them.
But making your own almond meal or flour is simple. First let’s talk about the difference between almond meal and almond flour, then we’ll get into the how-to.
What is the Difference Between Almond Meal & Almond Flour?
Almond Meal
Almond Meal is a coarser grind of either raw almonds (with the skin) or blanched almonds (without the skin, meaning less fiber).
Almond Flour
Almond Flour is typically made with blanched (skinless) almonds, and is a finer grind. This works really well in baked goods, like cakes and muffins.
Equipment & Method for Grinding
Food Processor
One way to grind your own almond meal is to use a food processor. This works well at making almond meal (the coarser type), but not so well for the finer type (almond flour). As it tends to turn into paste, or almond butter if you grind too much.
Vita-Mix (Dry Container)
This is by far the best piece of equipment I have found for making your own almond meal, or almond flour. As you can grind as much as you need to get the consistency you want.
How to Make Almond Meal / Flour
Have the amount of soaked & dried almonds ready that you wish to grind. If you want to make almond “flour”, you should also have blanched your almonds before as well.
- Place almonds in container of either a food processor or dry Vita-Mix container.
- Process until desired consistency, being careful not to grind too much or you will make almond butter.
- If not using all right away, it is beneficial to store the nut meal/flour in the refrigerator or freezer to keep it from going rancid quickly.
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Hello.
I am very glad I stumbled up on your website while trying to find out what went wrong with my almond butter. I have vitamix 750, and I used raw almonds to make almond butter with the wet container that came with the machine, but ended up with almond meal instead, and very finely chopped I may add. what did I do wrong? thank you!!
Shelly, the main issue is the raw almonds. Raw almonds do not have the oils released to make proper almond butter. You would have to roast them in the oven, over a low heat until lightly toasted. Then grind them in the wet container of the vita-mix. You may or may not have to add a little oil to the vita-mix as well when grinding to get them to churn correctly.
I was wondering if the almonds should be blanched first or soaked first when making almond FLOUR, or if it even matters? Also, I have had my Vita Mix for over 10 years and it took me 10 years to decide to invest in one. I wish I had done it sooner! The only comment I have about grinding is an echo and restatement: stirring is important. The contents get compacted in the corners (square container), and the results are uneven.
Soaking the almonds first is best to unlock the nutrition and make them easier to digest. If you blanch the almonds it will loosen the skin so that it can be removed (though this is very time consuming). The blanched/peeled almonds will make a finer flour that will give you softer baked goods that are less crumbly. Though in many items you wouldn’t really notice a big difference between the two.
I am looking for softer and less crumbly… So, to be clear, your instructions are to soaking for the recommended period of time, then blanching and peeling, then drying, then grinding, correct?
Yes if softer is what you are looking for that is correct.
You’ve made some good points there. I checked on the internet to learn more about the issue
and found most people will go along with your views on this web site.
I make almond milk every week. I would put the almond pulp in the oven for 1 hour at 175 F. After the pulp is dry, I will grind it into almond meal/flour. Can you please advise if the almond meal/flour I produce from the byproduct of making almond milk is the same quality of that that is produced using your recipe above?
thank you.
Gisela, the pulp left over after making almond milk cannot be made to use like almond flour. This pulp is diminished in nutrients and much of the moisture has been removed… this will not make a good almond flour substitute.
Actually you are wrong- if you dry the almond mix -after making the almond milk- in the oven on 200 for about 2 hours it does turn into a nice flour that once mixed in a mixer is a great flour. And it is useable in recipes- done it and its great. The “flour” many people uses has no real value but this almond flour, even after being used for almond milk, still have value.
Dawn, thanks for your comment. I know this is a time when we try to make things do the most and recycle as much as possible. When we first made almond milk I too wanted to use the remaining pulp and not throw it away. After drying it in the dehydrator to preserve as many of the nutrients left after the milk extraction we ground the pulp into flour. I must say we were very disappointed with the results, but not surprised. The flour tasted very lacking, flat and bland, when compared to almond flour made directly from almonds. This is understandable since we removed the quality nutrients when making the almond milk and are left with just pulp. Our bodies need the best nutrition that they can be given, to stay healthy. That is why we discard the almond pulp remaining after making almond milk.
If you have a dog, this less flavorful/nutritious flour can be used to make a grain free dog biscuit. Our dog was actually the first one to go grain free. Then there is still no waste and everyone is happy.
Tabitha, I would be cautious in giving a dog almonds since they can have issues digesting them, even almond flour. It can cause intestinal duress.
I was reading the article on almond flour and you said that using a vitamix was the best machine to grind your own flour from soaked and blanched almonds. I don’t have a vitamix but I do have a thermomix machine, would that be ok to use to get a really fine almond flour and not almond butter? I live in NSW Australia not America.
Regards and blessings
Susan Ball
Susan, The thermomix machine is not a big item here. From what I looked at on their website it looks like it will do the job of making almond flour. Give it a shot and let us know how it works out. 🙂
I have the Vita-Mix 5000. I bought it when my baby was 4, and now she is 19…it has been used pretty much everyday. We make green monster smoothies every morning and a salad dressing in the evening. It grinds my flours, makes nut butter, crunches up ice, makes my daughters frappuchinos. It has never shown any wear and tear. I paid $450 for it and will definitely buy another without even thinking about it
I was wondering what vitamix do you have? My cheap black and decker broke yesterday while trying to make coconut milk…guess the water was too hot for the glass. Today my hamilton beach food processor broke. (Less than 60 days old). We are considering buying a vitamix but it is so costly. Is it really worth the big bucks? We currently are paying 6.18/lb for bob’s red mill almond flour. We love to bake and go through about 20-30 dollars worth every two weeks. We have 5 kids and muffins and desserts just don’t go far but we love to bake. Thank you for any advise on the vitamix model or any info you can share. Also, do you know of a good food processor that will withstand daily use?
Robin, we love our Vitamix and wouldn’t want to ever be without it 🙂 We’ve had it for over 3 years, never had and issue with it, and think it is well worth the money. We have the Vitamix 5200 with the standard “wet” container and the “dry” container. The dry container can be used to grind spices, nuts for flour, and other grains for flour as well. I use it for all of these things and couldn’t be happier.
As far as the food processor, I have a Cuisinart Food Processor
that I really love. But I only use it a 3-5 times a month, so I really can’t help you there.
If you can somehow swing the Vitamix into your budget I would highly recommend it. It is a very well made and versatile machine that should last you for many years.
I am having no luck making almond flour with my vitamix. I’ve tried both the wet and dry container. The dry container turned the almonds into butter in no time. The wet container actually did a little better. I had my best result with my cheap mini kitchen aid food processor. What the heck am I doing wrong with the vitamix?
Susan, the Vita-mix is so powerful that it can sometimes be tricky to get it to do what you want. I would suggest trying to grind a very small amount at a time and not let it run for too long.
Hi Shannon, thank you for writing the article. I was wondering if you have any details on what speed and duration per batch you would recommend on the Vitamix? Like Susan mentioned the wet container works pretty well but I think I need to know the best speed/time combination to prevent over grinding/buttering effect. Any guidance on right speed and timing would be appreciated. I have the patience just not the correct technique 🙂
Andrei, I have only used the dry container on the Vita-mix when grinding my almond flour. And then I start always on low speed, slowly increasing to high/turbo, and leaving it there for maybe 30 seconds to a minute. It’s hard to really give an exact timing, as I just watch and see till the grind looks as fine as I’d like. You may need to stop the grinding and sort of stir or “fluff” the partially ground almonds around some… this would be to avoid it turning the almond butter in the bottom of the container. Then continue with the grinding until it’s how you like. Keep in mind it may never get as fine and uniformly textured as the commercially made almond flours out there. But it sure does save a lot of money!