16 Must-Try Tapioca Flour Recipes for Gluten-Free Cooking (2024)

Tapioca flour comes from South America and is made from cassava root. It's totally gluten-free, grain-free and paleo-friendly. To prove you how awesome it is, I've collected 16 outstanding tapioca flour recipes for you to try!

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New year - new post series on the blog! This time I'm going to travel the world in 50 exotic, and not so well known to the majority of us, ingredients. Every week I'll publish 1 post dedicated to one ingredient. You can visit the special page devoted to this project to check the progress. Let's do it!

The ingredient I would love to start these series with is Tapioca Flour. It is a grain-free / gluten-free and paleo-friendly flour made from cassava root, a woody shrub native to Brazil and the rest of South America. It can be also calledmandioca, manioc, or aipim in some countries.

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The flour is made by peeling, shredding, and pressing cassava root until starch appears. Then, the starch is either passed through a sieve getting tapioca pearls (I used them in Vietnamese Che Chuoi Pudding) or dried getting white powder / flour. So, basically, Tapioca Flour is a starch. That's why sometimes you'll see or hear it called Tapioca Starch or Cassava Starch. Not Cassava Flour, though! The latter is a different product and we won't talk about it in this post.

This white South American powder is usually used, as other starches are, as a thickener for sauces, soups, desserts, etc. Tapioca flour is the main ingredient for Pao De Queijo - Brazilian Cheese Puffs I published a year ago. It's also popular in baking, creating an interesting chewy texture. Mild, and slightly sweet, it's a favorite in gluten-free cooking.

Tapioca Flour is also low in calories making it a good choice for those watching their weight.

Interested? I made a selection of 16 outstanding recipes for you to enjoy this South American product!

1. Pao de Queijo – Brazilian Cheese Bread

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Crispy outside, yet super soft and chewy inside, these little guys make a perfect snack for any occasion!

Recipe by: Cooking The Globe

2. Bika Ambon (Indonesian Honey Comb Cake)

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Squishy and rich tasting cake with wonderful aroma from kaffir lime leaves. A delicacy treasured by many in Indonesia!

Recipe by: What To Cook Today

3. Mint Paleo Gluten Free Chocolate Cake

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Light and fluffy, naturally sweetened, Paleo Mint Chocolate Chip Cake with DARK, velvety smooth and RICHHH chocolate ganache.

Recipe by: Food Faith Fitness

4. Soft Gluten Free Tapioca Wraps

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These easy, cheesy grain free gluten free wraps are made with simple gluten free pantry ingredients—plus they stay flexible even when they’re cold and freeze beautifully

Recipe by: Gluten Free On A Shoestring

5. Grain Free Rosemary Garlic Flatbread

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Just a simple grain free flatbread with fresh rosemary and garlic. Drizzle some olive oil all over it and you are good to go!

Recipe by: Savory Lotus

6. Paleo Dim Sum

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This paleo dim sum recipe uses a paleo pasta filled with flavorful ginger and pork and is steamed to perfection to make these amazing Asian potstickers.

Recipe by: The Things We'll Make

7. 3 Ingredient Crispy Waffles

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These waffles are ridiculously easy to make and require only three ingredients. They’re sweet, light and of course, crispy. Drizzle some maple syrup on top and you’ve got the perfect treat!

Recipe by: My Heart Beets

8. Crispy Halibut Orange Ginger Bites

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Amazingly crispycoating holding succulent halibut with hints of orange and ginger coming through in every bite.

Recipe by: Sugar Love Spices

9. Paleo Dinner Rolls

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This paleo bread recipe is nut free as well as grain and gluten free. It tapioca flour as well as coconut flour and a few other, simple ingredients.

Recipe by: Paleo Spirit

10. Rustic Paleo Breakfast Pizza

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This breakfast pizza is made from tapioca flour. It’s easily digestible and provides good carbs to help keep you full.

Recipe by: Ancestral Nutrition

11. Melty Stretchy Gooey Vegan Mozzarella

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Ooey, gooey, stretchy, melty vegan mozzarella. Just dip some tortilla chips in this bad boy and welcome to heaven!

Recipe by: It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken

12. 3 Ingredient Paleo Naan (Indian bread)

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The three ingredients that make up this magical batter are: almond flour, tapioca flour and coconut milk!

Recipe by: My Heart Beets

13. Mango Chicken With Coconut Cauliflower Rice

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This mango chicken is served over coconut cauliflower rice for a quick, easy and healthy spin on take-out that is ready in 30 mins!

Recipe by: Food Faith Fitness

14. Kuih Bangkit (Tapioca Cookies)

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Light, airy, and fragrant Kuih Bangkit (Tapioca Cookies) are a Chinese New Year favorite in Malaysia and Singapore. Uses Only 5 ingredients required!

Recipe by: Malaysian Chinese Kitchen

16 Must-Try Tapioca Flour Recipes for Gluten-Free Cooking (2024)

FAQs

What does tapioca flour do in gluten-free baking? ›

Adding just the right amount of tapioca flour to your baked treats will create a light, airy, crispy and chewy texture. Perfect for adding to bread, cookies, brownies and pie crusts, tapioca flour is a great way to ensure that your ingredients bind together without using gluten!

What is tapioca flour best for? ›

Tapioca flour is one of the most popular flours in the world. It is highly prized as a South America and Caribbean baking staple for quick cheese bread. In addition, it can be used to thicken pie fillings, gravies, soups, and sauces. It's not quite as expected in the United States, but it is gaining popularity quickly.

Can celiacs eat tapioca flour? ›

Tapioca flour and tapioca starch are ingredients used in many gluten-free products. You can feel confident that as an ingredient in those products, it's safe for someone who has celiac disease or non-celiac gluten sensitivity.

Is tapioca anti-inflammatory? ›

Tapioca caused an increase in anti-inflammatory bacteria and a decreased in pathogenic bacteria when fed to an animal model. However, this growth in beneficial bacteria may still be too much for patients with IBD.

Is tapioca flour healthier than all-purpose flour? ›

Due to its lack of protein and nutrients, tapioca is nutritionally inferior to most grains and flours ( 1 ). In fact, tapioca can be considered a source of “empty” calories, since it provides energy but almost no essential nutrients.

What are the disadvantages of tapioca flour? ›

When taken by mouth: Tapioca is commonly consumed in foods. It is possibly safe when used in larger amounts as medicine, short-term. Side effects might include stomach pain, bloating, gas, and vomiting.

Why use tapioca flour instead of cornstarch? ›

“I have used tapioca flour in place of cornstarch for crisps, pie fillings, and cobblers,” Guas says. “The rough substitution is 2 tablespoons of tapioca flour for 1 tablespoon cornstarch.” Another significant benefit of tapioca is that it freezes well, keeping your baked goods the perfect consistency.

Is tapioca flour healthy? ›

It provides a few vitamins and minerals, like iron and potassium. Tapioca is entirely composed of carbohydrates and contains no fat or protein. Tapioca isn't a good source of many nutrients, but it does supply small amounts of minerals, such as calcium, iron, and potassium. It also has a bit of fiber.

When not to use tapioca? ›

For young children, it will cause anorexia and even heat in the mouth when a lot of sugar is added. Besides, when mixing tapioca flour with sugar (large quantity) and using it daily, there is a high risk of diabetes.

Is cornstarch or tapioca flour healthier? ›

The nutritional benefits of these starches are almost mediocre, with none of them being nutrition packed. However, among the three starches Tapioca starch contains more calcium and vitamin B-12 making it a better option. It is also low in calories and easy to digest, preferable to use in cereals.

Can I use tapioca flour instead of all-purpose flour? ›

If you're in a pinch, you can swap all-purpose flour evenly for tapioca flour in most recipes, but keep in mind that all-purpose flour contains gluten. The swap may affect the texture of baked goods slightly—they'll have a little less chew and be slightly more dense.

Is tapioca good for your stomach? ›

It's easy on your gut.

Tapioca starch is gluten-free, so it's a good choice if you have celiac disease. It's also easy to digest because it's low in FODMAPs (fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols), a type of carbohydrate that's hard for your gut to process.

Is tapioca good for your liver? ›

Benefits Of Tapioca Fiber

This is due to improved liver insulin resistance, improved serum lipid levels and reduced hepatic lipid deposition – which boosts fat metabolism (Hu F 2020).

Can celiacs have bubble tea? ›

Surprisingly tapioca, and thus boba pearls, is completely gluten-free, but with more unusual bubble tea add-ons the case might be different, so it is best to ask the boba barista to ensure that your toppings fit your diet. But, to answer the question in the title: yes, bubble tea itself is completely gluten-free.

What is the secret to gluten-free baking? ›

Gluten-free flours often contain fine starches, so they absorb more liquid than conventional flour. To address this, gluten-free recipes usually call for more liquid and produce looser batters. They may also call for a larger quantity of leavening, like baking powder, to help add volume and lighten the texture.

What is the Raising Agent for gluten-free baking? ›

2 teaspoons of baking powder per cup of gluten-free flour is necessary to ensure proper leavening. Baking soda and buttermilk can be used to leaven instead of baking powder, but 1-1/8 teaspoon of cream of tartar should be added for each 1/2 teaspoon baking soda used.

How much tapioca flour to add to gluten-free flour? ›

ingredients
  1. 2 cups rice flour or 1 cup of rice flour and 1 cup brown rice flour.
  2. 23 cup potato starch (also known as potato flour in some countries such as Australia)
  3. 13 cup tapioca flour or 1/3 cup arrowroot.

What is the secret of baking with gluten-free flour? ›

Use xanthan gum or guar gum: Gluten-free flours lack the elasticity and structure that gluten provides, so adding a binder like xanthan or guar gum can help to hold the ingredients together and give your baked goods a better texture.

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