In This ArticleView AllIn This ArticleWhat Is Sweet Potato Flour?Sweet Potato Flour NutritionIs Sweet Potato Flour Healthy?Tips for Using Sweet Potato FlourFAQs
In This ArticleView All
View All
In This Article
What Is Sweet Potato Flour?
Sweet Potato Flour Nutrition
Is Sweet Potato Flour Healthy?
Tips for Using Sweet Potato Flour
FAQs
One of the newest additions to the category is sweet potato flour. Ahead, learn more about this recently launched baking staple, including sweet potato flour nutrition, how to use it and who might want to consider adding it to their carts.
Nearly as versatile as cauliflower, sweet potatoes can now be found on shelves transformed into tortilla chips, crackers, french fries, mashes, soups, vegetable noodles, gnocchi, rice … and now, flour.
Scientists just developed anovel way to turn sweet potatoes into flour, and a few companies already have products available commercially.
Compared to fresh sweet potatoes, sweet potato flour has a longershelf life, and it may be easier to incorporate into other and more foods, addsRoxana Ehsani, M.S., RD, CSSD, a Miami-based board-certified sports dietitian.
Since it’s so new to the market and involves quite a few steps to produce, “sweet potato flour does come at a premium. You could pay two to four times as much money for the sweet potato flour compared to other healthy flours on the market,” Stewart says. “This is something to take into consideration as you weigh the cost and benefit for your specific health needs.”
For reference, a 1-pound bag of sweet potato flour is currently going for about $7 to $13; about on par with a 3-pound bag of measure-for-measure gluten-free flour blend and twice to three times as much as a 5-pound bag of all-purpose flour.
For reference, here’s the stats for a ¼-cup serving of all-purpose flour, per theUSDA:
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There’s no one set definition of “healthy,” but it’s helpful to note that compared to all-purpose flour, sweet potato flour has slightly more sodium, carbs and calories. That said, the dietitians we spoke to noted several factors about the benefits of incorporating some sweet potato flour into your diet.
It’s a good source of fiber.
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According to the2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, women should try to consume 25 grams or more of fiber daily, and men should aim for 31 grams or more. Since sweet potatoes have more fiber than wheat, sweet potato flour has triple the fiber of all-purpose flour (4 grams versus 1 gram in a ¼-cup serving).
ICYMI, “Fiber is a powerful nutrient to consume daily to support our digestion, gut health, weight maintenance and prevent conditions like heart disease and type 2 diabetes,” Stewart says. (Those are just a few of the manyhealth benefits of eating more fiber.)
It might have less of an impact on your blood sugar than all-purpose flour.
This special kind of fermentable fiber is especially good at slowing down the rise in blood sugar and absorption rate after eating, so you may notice less of an energy spike (then crash) after eating recipes made with sweet potato flour compared to all-purpose flour.
It delivers a dose of vitamin A.
Sweet potatoes are an excellent source of beta carotene, which our body converts into vitamin A. (Sweet potatoes rank second, just after beef liver, on the list of top food sources of vitamin A, according to theNational Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements.)
So it stands to reason that sweet potato flour is a strong source as well; Zocalo Gourmet reports that ¼ cup provides 240% of this micronutrient that plays an important role inimmune functionand eye health.
It’s naturally sweet.
Just like the root vegetable it’s made from, sweet potato flour lends a little natural sweetness to any recipe you add it to. As a result, “you may be able to use less sugar in recipes when using sweet potato flour, which can support your overall health and help keep your blood sugar in check,” according to Ehsani.
It’s a good gluten-free alternative.
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Those who have researched cooking and baking with sweet potato flour report that you’ll have the best results if you substitute about 10% to 25% of all-purpose flour with sweet potato flour. For savory uses, try sweet potato flour in homemade pasta recipes, to thicken pan sauces or as breading for chicken, pork or fish. On the sweet side, since sweet potato flour is fairly low in protein, it can help lend a tender texture to cakes, pancakes, brownies, biscuits and some cookie recipes.
“Sweet potato flour is starchy and does not contain gluten, which can result in a dense, heavy product,” explainsCaroline Thomason, RD, CDCES, a Warrenton, Virginia-based registered dietitian who helps women stop dieting and find confidence with food. “Considering the fact that gluten is the ‘glue’ that holds bread together and allows it to develop an airy crumb, and we know sweet potato flour does not have the same ratio of gluten, it’s possible that baked goods made with sweet potato flour will not rise in the same way. While this could be a baking disaster for some recipes, it could be an advantage to others.”
Although you might not get the same outcome, taste or texture if you try to use a lot of sweet potato in place of regular flour in some recipes, for certain baked goods, you may be able to get away with using a higher proportion of sweet potato flour than 25%, Ehsani says.
For baking recipes that need more structure, “you may need to adjust the recipe and add more leavening agents, thickeners or liquid,” Stewart says.
Since sweet potato flours are fairly new to the market, we expect that more recipes will be on the horizon soon exhibiting exactly how to use it—and how much to use—for certain dishes.
The Bottom Line
Sweet potato flour can offer several health benefits, including more vitamin A, fiber and resistant starch than all-purpose flour. And for those who need gluten-free flour substitutes and prefer them to be nut- and seed-free, it’s a fantastic new option.
“Sweet potato flour is a great alternative for folks who need to be gluten-free, or have other food restrictions,” Thomason says, but she cautions not to assume it has magical powers. “It’s not necessarily healthier just because it’s the new kid on the block.”
Frequently Asked QuestionsSweet potato flour is made of peeled, sliced, dried and ground sweet potatoes, and can be used as a gluten-free flour alternative in sweet and savory recipes.Sweet potato flour falls somewhere in the middle of flour carb levels (27 grams per ¼-cup serving); it has slightly more carbs thanall-purposeandwhole-wheat flour, but less thanbrown rice flourandpotato flour.Yes, but be aware that this will rarely be a straight one-for-one swap. You’ll have the best results if you replace no more than 25% of the all-purpose flour called for in a recipe with sweet potato flour.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sweet potato flour is made of peeled, sliced, dried and ground sweet potatoes, and can be used as a gluten-free flour alternative in sweet and savory recipes.
Sweet potato flour falls somewhere in the middle of flour carb levels (27 grams per ¼-cup serving); it has slightly more carbs thanall-purposeandwhole-wheat flour, but less thanbrown rice flourandpotato flour.
Yes, but be aware that this will rarely be a straight one-for-one swap. You’ll have the best results if you replace no more than 25% of the all-purpose flour called for in a recipe with sweet potato flour.
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