Squash flour is a wonderful low carb flour that can be used for gluten-free, paleo, and keto baking! A perfect replacement for coconut flour! This gluten free flour can be made with any type of squash!
Yellow squash is prolific during the summer months, especially with the Back to Eden Gardening Method that we use! But there are only so many yellow squash recipes that I really want to make for the family, so I got a little creative.
Normally we use coconut flour for our baking needs, with an occasional almond flour recipe tossed in the mix.
But I decided to try my hand at making squash flour to see how it compared.
How to Make Squash Flour - A Low Carb Flour
Fortunately, my rabid curiosity paid off and the squash flour was a smashing success!
- First, you'll need about 5 pounds of yellow squash for each cup of finished squash flour.
- Shred the squash either with a cheese grater or a shredding attachment blade on your food processor (that's what I do).
- Lay the shredded squash on lined dehydrator trays and dehydrate at 135° until COMPLETELY dry.
- Take the completely dried squash and place it in a clean, dry food processor or blender. Run on high speed until squash is powder fine. This usually takes about 5-8 minutes.
- Once you think the squash flour is ready, leave the lid on for another few minutes (with the machine off) to allow the flour dust to settle. Otherwise you will end up with yellow cabinets!
✅ If you need a good dehydrator, here's the dehydrator we've been using for 20 years (and love)!
Once I finished the flour, I made this delicious chocolate cake!
5 pounds of squash for 1 cup of flour?!
Yes, it is a lot of squash! But keep in mind that you aren't going to be using it in the same quantities as wheat flour.
For each recipe, you will only use 1/2 a cup of squash flour, on average!
How to Store Squash Flour
Store the squash flour in an air tight container WITH a silica packet (this is a MUST) for up to 6 months.
The squash flour will pull moisture from the air and will end up molding in the jar if you don't include a silica pack. These are the ones we use and they work really well!
How to Use Squash Flour
When first contemplating the idea of squash flour, I did a small test batch to determine the absorbency rate of this flour compared to other paleo, GAPS gluten free flours such as almond flour and coconut flour.
I found that squash flour acted just like coconut flour, except that the squash flour didn't crumble the way coconut flour did. Instead, it had a wonderful bouncy texture to it, even though the absorption rate was the same.
So I tested it with several of my favorite GAPS recipes that used coconut flour and found that not only did the squash flour replace 1 for 1 with the coconut flour, but I much preferred the taste and texture of the squash flour!
Squash Flour FAQS
Does this work with other squash varieties as well?
I have tried it with zucchini and had the same results as with yellow squash! However, I have not tried it with the starchier squashes such as butternut and spaghetti squash.
Here is the zucchini flour!
Will this turn my food yellow?
As you can see in the photo, the finished product has a vary light color when fully blended. However, if you made this with zucchini (and then didn't add cacao or something to the recipe), this would give the finished food product a slight green tinge.
That doesn't bother me though!
How long will it last?
If you use an air tight container and a silica packet in every jar, it should last you about 6 months to a year, depending on the humidity of your climate.
In all honesty though, it's going to be gone long before that because this stuff is seriously delicious!
Squash Flour Nutrition
While there's not really a 100% accurate way to calculate the nutrition for the squash flour, each 1/2 cup is about 2.25 pounds of fresh yellow squash or zucchini.
So here are the nutrition facts for 2.25 pounds of squash! Keep in mind that you need to subtract the fiber to get the net carbs.
Also remember that each full batch of squash flour chocolate cake only uses 1/2 cup of flour! And since it makes about 9 LARGE pieces of cake, you're looking at about 2.4 net carbs (for the flour) for a delicious piece of low-carb chocolate cake!
More Ideas for Using Squash and Zucchini
Strawberry Zucchini Fruit Leather
Coconut Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies (perfect for squash flour!)
How to Make Squash Flour
Ingredients
- 20 pounds Yellow Squash or Zucchini
Instructions
- Wash the squash and cut the ends off. DO NOT de-seed.
- Shred the squash either with a cheese grater or a shredding attachment blade on your food processor (that’s what I do).
- Lay the shredded squash on lined dehydrator trays and dehydrate at 135° until COMPLETELY dry.
- Take the completely dried squash and place it in a clean, dry food processor or blender. Run on high speed until squash is powder fine. This usually takes about 5-8 minutes.
- Once you think the squash flour is ready, leave the lid on for another few minutes (with the machine off) to allow the flour dust to settle. Otherwise you will end up with yellow cabinets!
Nutrition
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Joanne Rhodes says
I made mine with zucchini and it smells like alfalfa. Will that smell go away when baked in the chocolate cake?
Victoria says
Hi Joanne! Yes, definitely. It has a strong smell with “raw”, but when you bake with it, you can’t taste or smell it (at least for us). Enjoy!
Hillary says
Super excited to try squash flour! What ratio do you substitute squash flour to regular flour in recipes? Other than silica, are there other ways to wick out moisture? Cheers!
Victoria says
Hi Hillary! No other methods that I have found to keep the moisture out. And then for the ratios, there’s not a way to replace regular flour with squash flour. However, you can use it in place of coconut flour in coconut flour recipes instead. Which are very easy to find! There are several recipes listed in the post above to get you started! :-)
Enjoy!
Sara says
Can you use spaghetti squash for this? Also, if you peeled your zucchini would that take care of the green colour?
Victoria says
Yes and yes! You can use any squash, and if you peel the zucchini it would not be green. I like to leave it on to get the full nutrient profile, but that’s up to you! I will add that once you bake with it, it’s not green :-) Enjoy!
L says
If drying by oven, how long and what temp would you recommend?
Victoria says
Hi L! It would need to be dried on the lowest temp your oven can be set to – and then it just needs to be all the way dry.
So, depending on the liquid content of the squash you use, the amount used, and the size of the pieces, it will take different times for each batch. I’m sorry I can’t be more exact than that!
Pam says
Will it still work if you accidentally did de-seed it? Oops!
Victoria says
Hi Pam! It will for sure!!