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Looking for the best substitute for cornflour? Run out, and need an alternative QUICK? You’re in the right place! Whether it’s for thickening a sauce or adding to baked goods, this article will help you decide what the best cornflour replacement is for your needs. Keep reading to learn more!
What is cornflour?
Cornflour is a finely powdered starch extracted from maize (the corn kernels to be precise). It has many purposes in a kitchen, but is most commonly used as a thickening agent in sauces, soups and custards. It’s also regularly used in baking.
How to use cornflour
When used in cooking to thicken a sauce or soup, you would usually add a small amount of cornflour to a pot or bowl. Then add a liquid (sometimes water, sometimes whatever you’re using in your recipe), and mix until the cornflour is dissolved. This would then be added into your sauce or soup, and heated while stirring contiuously. The sauce will then thicken as a result. Much like when you make homemade custard.
You can’t just put the cornflour straight into your hot sauce though. It needs dissolving in a cold liquid first. Otherwise it will turn lumpy and won’t blend into your sauce.
When baked goods are made using corn flour, it is usually to give a lighter, smooth texture. Often with a more melt in the mouth feel to them. This is particularly apparent in bakes such as shortbread biscuits and chewy meringues. But cornflour is rarely used on it’s own due to it being gluten free. Baked goods generally require gluten for a good textural structure. Hence why cornflour is usually paired with other flours, such as plain flour or self raising flour.
That being said, it’s a very common ingredient in gluten free cooking and baking.
Cornflour vs corn starch
When looking for UK recipes on the internet, you will frequently come across US recipes that take your fancy. But this can cause some confusion as, what we call cornflour, they call cornstarch.
Although they are almost the same thing, and apply very similar properties in cooking, they are made slightly differently. But for all intents and purposes, you can use them the same way in the kitchen.
Cornmeal vs corn flour
Cornflour is a super fine powder, whereas cornmeal is quite coarse and gritty. Cornmeal is most commonly used to make mexican foods and breads. But also to prevent breads and pizza from sticking to their pans/baking stones. I wouldn’t use it as a corn flour replacement, just as I wouldn’t use cornflour as a replacement for cornmeal.
What can I use instead of cornflour?
This depends on what you are making. If you need to thicken a sauce, starch is better than flour. So arrowroot powder would be a good alternative, but plain flour would do the job in a pinch. If you are baking biscuits or cake, you could use rice flour. Or, again, arrowroot powder.
There are some slight differences between these, and a few other possibilities – which we’ll explore in more detail further on in this post.
Substitute for cornflour for thickening
What’s the best alternative to cornflour for thickening? It depends. The majority of flours will thicken sauces, but may give different flavours or textures, and others may do it more efficiently. Plain/all purpose flour is one of the most readily available cornflour substitutes, as most people tend to have this in their kitchen cupboard. But there are a few things to note (more on this later).
Some less common alternatives are rice flour, oat flour and arrowroot flour.
What can I use instead of corn flour for frying?
Plain (all purpose) flour is a perfectly good alternative to corn flour for breading and frying things. The main difference between the two is that plain flour contains gluten and cornflour doesn’t. Gluten is required to develop structure in baked goods, but this doesn’t really apply when you’re simply coating to make crispy fried foods.
Can I use flour instead of cornflour?
With this question I’m referring to wheat flour, such as plain (all purpose) flour and self raising flour. So can you use plain flour instead of cornflour? Yes, you can. If it’s for baking, the texture won’t be quite as soft or melt in the mouth, but it will still work. Don’t substitute for self raising flour (unless your recipe is already using it), as the added raising agents could upset the balance of ingredients.
If it’s for thickening, it will certainly get the job done. It just might take a little longer than cornflour, and it could taste a little chalky if you don’t cook it out.
Plain flour is an ingredient that most households in the UK will have in their cupboards. So it’s a good all rounder to fall back on when you don’t have the real deal.
Can I replace cornflour with baking powder?
Absolutely not. Cornflour and baking powder are two very different things. Cornflour is a starch that is used for thickening sauces and softening textures. Baking powder is a raising agent commonly used in cake making.
While baking powder may contain small traces of cornflour or rice flour, it cannot be used to replace cornflour.
Can I use arrowroot powder as a substitute cornflower?
Arrowroot is a starch, just like cornflour. Although, unlike corn flour, arrowroot creates a clear liquid. Making it great for things like thickening jelly. Although it can be slightly more temperamental than cornflour when heated.
That being said, you can use arrowroot powder as a substitute for thickening. But you will need less, as arrowroot is more effective than cornflour. Avoid using it when baking or cooking with dairy, as it can result in a slimy texture.
Other, less common corn flour alternatives
Yes, there are certain flours that most of us will have in the cupboard. And there are others that we will have bought for 1 recipe and never used again. There will also be flours that you have never even heard of!
Less common replacements for cornflour are tapioca flour (tapioca starch), potato flour (potato starch), brown rice flour, oat flour and coconut flour. You are less likely to find these in a supermarket. But again, it depends on the use as to whether these will work. Check out the quick glance guide below for the essential information.
Substitute for cornflour – quick guide
We’ve learnt a lot about cornflour up to this point. But if you’re in a hurry, you may not have time to absorb all of that bountiful information! So, in summary, if you are going to substitute cornflour – the best alternative depends on what you are making. Here’s all the key points at a quick glance.
Please note that, while you can use these individual ingredients to thicken sauces and add to baked goods in their own right, this table is specifically referring to whether they can be used as an alternative for cornflour in a recipe.
| Substitute | Starch or flour? | Source | vs Cornflour | to thicken | in baking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plain flour | flour | wheat grain | more dense and coarse, slightly chalky flavour | Y | Y |
| Self raising flour | flour | wheat grain | more dense and coarse, slightly chalky flavour, contains raising agents | Y | N |
| Strong bread flour | flour | wheat grain | more dense and coarse, slightly chalky flavour | Y | N |
| Wholemeal flour | flour | wheat grain | more dense and coarse, ‘healthier’ flavour, | Y | N |
| Rice flour | flour | ground rice | gluten free, neutral flavour, fine texture | Y | Y |
| Brown rice flour | flour | ground brown rice | gluten free, more coarse texture, stronger flavour | Y | N |
| Oat flour | flour | ground oats | gluten free, sweet nutty flavour, more dense and coarse | Y | Y |
| Arrowroot flour | starch | arrowroot plant | gluten free, more fine and smooth, | Y | N |
| Coconut flour | flour | coconuts | gluten free, tastes like coconut, fine texture, starch free | Y | N |
| Tapioca flour | starch | cassava plant | gluten free, neutral flavour, smooth texture | Y | Y |
| Potato flour | starch | potatoes | gluten free, neutral flavour, similar texture | Y | Y |
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About Emma Mason
Emma is a professional blogger. Utilising over 20 years of cooking experience, she’s passionate about making your life easier, one recipe at a time! Drawing on her 12+ year background in recipe research and development, photography, copy writing and marketing, Emma has turned kitchenmason.com into a successful career. Known as ‘the organisation queen’ among friends, she is passionate about creating easy to follow recipes that anyone can follow and enjoy. She lives in Nottingham (UK) with her husband, daughter and 2 naughty cats. In her spare time she can be found reading a good book, training at the dojo preparing for her black belt grading, or dreaming up the next crazy colour combo for her hair!