The longer you have been doing something, the more likely you are to do it on autopilot. When I was a manager, I used to have the second newest person train the newest person because she/he was the person that was most likely to still think about each step and remember to pass on ALL of the details. I was reminded of this recently when one of my children looked at my Egg Free Almond Cookies and said, “we have oat flour?” Well, technically no, we didn’t have oat flour. And then I realized that I forgot to share an important money saving tip!
Oat flour is expensive, but you can make your own very easily using old-fashioned (NOT quick cook) oatmeal. I use gluten-free whole grain oats, which allows me to create gluten-free oat flour, which is something I have never been able to find in our stores.
To make oat flour, add one cup at a time of old-fashioned or steel cut oats to your blender.
Pulse on high until it the oatmeal becomes the consistency of flour. If you don’t have a very powerful blender, let the blender come to a rest between pulsing it and use a spoon to stir the oats. I have a plain, 15 year old Osterizer blender and it takes me less than a minute to make oat flour:
- rolled oats, old-fashioned oatmeal, or steel cut oats
- Place 1 cup of rolled oats in a blender or food processor. Pulse on high until it the oatmeal becomes the consistency of flour, approximately 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Repeat until you have as much flour as you need.
Please tell me that I am not the only one to cook on autopilot!
More Creative Uses for Your Blender:
How to Use Your Blender as a “Smoothie Maker”
How to Use Your Blender as a Mini-food Processor
This post is linked to Kitchen Tip Tuesday and Frugal Tuesday Tip.
Julia says
Thanks for linking up to the Frugal Tuesday Tip!
~Sara says
Who woulda known? Awesome tip!
CrystalsCozyKitchen says
I've never tried to make oatmeal flour, you've just inspired me to try it!
Auntie T says
I do the same thing except I have a small coffee grinder that is dedicated just to making oat flour. I have even labeled it OAT FLOUR ONLY in my kitchen. Good tip.
MarieRoxanne says
I don’t plan on buying a high priced blender right now, maybe in the future. But I do have a coffee grinder and will be trying it out with that. Thanks for the tip Auntie T.
Shana says
I cook on autopilot but have never made any kind of flour lol.
Swathi says
I make most of special flours in home as they are expensive to buy and difficult to get.
Anonymous says
I love this idea. What kinds of recipes can you use your oat flour in? Does it work in savory dishes?
Donna says
I want to use for a gravy or sauce base instead of white flour or make a nut bread with it or muffins.
Nadine says
I was just browsing for quantities to make oat flour and ran across your site. I want to make an old favorite pizza dough recipe that my kids loved back in the ’70s. It uses 3/4 c oat flour, which I always made in the blender.
No! You are absolutely not the only person who runs on auto-pilot! LOL
Alea says
Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to leave a comment! I’m glad I’m not the only one on auto-pilot. 🙂
Sarah says
No you are not the only cook on autopilot! I do it all of the time.
Mona says
Thank you for telling us how to do something so simple. I live in a rural area and am so frustrated trying to find all the different flours every time I want to try something. I am new to this gluten free diet, but I use to love to bake. I hope that love comes back with a few people like you helping.
franr says
I am so glad to find this informtion I have a wheat allergy and am so tired of constantly having to clear my throat and blow my nose if I want a sandwich or other treat. I am eating oatmeal twice a day to bring my cholesterol down to a better number. I refuse to take statins.
Ladyliza says
So glad you decided to skip the statins. I am still suffering 2 years later after being on statins for just 3 months. When you get tired of eating so much oatmeal, try food-grade diatomateous earth. I bought mine on Amazon.
Veronica says
Why can’t you use the quick 1 minute oatmeal? That’s all I have. Aren’t the steel cut oats expensive too. In that case, wouldn’t I just buy the oat flour in the store? Just asking. Curious. Thank you for this info!
Alea says
One minute oatmeal has already been partially cooked, so the resulting flour will not work the same in recipes. You can find inexpensive whole oats like Quaker Oats old-fashioned oats or the equivalent store brand. I buy certified gluten-free oats, which happen to be steel cut and are more expensive than Quaker Oats, but still less expensive than oat flour.
Terri says
Thanks for doing this recipe for oat flour. I use a lot of it and was wondering if anyone knew how to do this. This is awesome.
Thanks again.
Alea says
My pleasure! It is easy to make oat flour and so much more frugal than buying it.
Lisa says
This is wonderful. My husband was taken off regular flour and this flour will work. Thank you.
Stephanie says
Thanks. I had a large container of oats and didn’t know what to do with them, but know thanks to you won’t waste a bag of oats.
Linda from NJ says
What an AH-HA moment at least for me. Something right in front of me yet I wouldn’t have thought to do this. Thank You!! for sharing such a great idea. I have no excuse not to do this.
kristy says
Glad I ran across your site, I am visiting my grandchildren. Although my kids eat healthy, I often see that the little ones would rather have more snacks than breakfast. I am trying to make up a healthy blueberry oatmeal cookie recipe without sugar or flour so my kids can feel good about giving them cookies if they don’t feel like breakfast. They do good without sugar. This oatmeal recipe will come in handy. I am always on auto pilot when I visit them. Can’t believe I had that much energy when I had kids. Good postings here.
Alea Milham says
What an awesome Grandma! Healthy breakfast cookies are a brilliant solution! You are right, find healthy ways to feed kids the things they want and call them by names that will make them want to eat them and you can get a lot more nutrients into their little bodies.
Donna K says
What is the difference between regular Old Fashioned oats and gluten free oats? Do some oats have gluten and others not? Also, do you think this flour would work all right in a pie crust? I make a wonderful pumpkin pie with whole wheat flour (pulverized very fine in my Magic Bullet) but I wanted to try gluten free this year.
Alea Milham says
The only difference between regular oats and certified gluten-free oats is the where they are grown. Gluten-free oats are not grown near any crops that contain gluten, so that the chance of wheat accidentally being included with the oats during the harvesting process (from wheat seeds that blow into an oat field and grow amongst the oats) is greatly reduced.
You can substitute oat flour for wheat flour, but I have never tried it when making a pie crust. I would recommend doing a trial run…now I want to try it! Let me know how it turns out.
Laura says
When substituting oat flour for regular, are the amounts the same?
THANK YOU says
Would this work in bread….I am eager to try.
Desiree says
I invested in my health and bought a Vitamix that pulverizes oats. I like to duplicate certain products that’s a little costly. I’ve found healthy alternatives to replace for the foods and desserts I love. This recipe is quick and simple and leaves room to experiment