Using flour instead of protein powder is something many people consider when trying to increase their protein intake or use up ingredients they have on hand. While flour does contain some protein, there are a few important things to consider before substituting flour for protein powder in recipes or shakes.
The Pros and Cons of Using Flour Instead of Protein Powder
Here is a quick overview of the main pros and cons of using flour instead of protein powder:
Pros:
- Flour is generally cheaper and more accessible than protein powder
- All-purpose flour contains about 10-13 grams of protein per 100 grams
- Flour can add texture and thickness to smoothies or baked goods
Cons:
- Flour has significantly less protein than most protein powders – around 75% less
- Flour contains more carbs than protein powders
- The protein in flour is not as easily digested or absorbed as isolated proteins
- Flour changes the texture and flavor of recipes
Nutritional Profile Comparison
Looking specifically at the nutritional profiles of flour versus whey and casein protein powders shows the major differences:
| Nutrition Facts | All-Purpose Flour | Whey Protein Powder | Casein Protein Powder |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calories | 364 per 100g | 120 per 30g serving | 110 per 30g serving |
| Protein | 10-13g per 100g | 25g per 30g serving | 24g per 30g serving |
| Carbohydrates | 73g per 100g | 3g per 30g serving | 2g per 30g serving |
As you can see, flour has significantly fewer grams of protein per serving compared to protein powder. It also contains far more carbohydrates. This means that simply substituting flour for protein powder will change the protein and macros of your recipes.
How Much Protein is in Flour?
The exact amount of protein in flour depends on the type of flour:
- All-purpose flour: 10-12g protein per 100g flour
- Whole wheat flour: 13-15g protein per 100g flour
- High gluten flour: 14-15g protein per 100g flour
In comparison, most protein powders contain 20-30g of protein per 30 gram serving. To match a 30g serving of a typical protein powder, you would need to use around 250-300g of flour.
Digestibility of Flour Protein vs Protein Powder
Another key difference is that the protein in flour is not as easily digested or absorbed as protein from high quality powders. This is because flour contains gluten proteins that are harder for our bodies to break down compared to isolated whey or casein protein.
Studies show that only around 80-85% of protein from wheat-based foods is digestible, versus over 90% digestibility for most protein powders. So even if you consume the same absolute amount of protein from flour versus powder, your body is able to utilize more of the protein from the powder.
Using Flour in Baking and Cooking
While flour doesn’t work well as a complete substitute for protein powder, you can use flour to add a protein boost to baked goods like muffins, breads, and cookies. Some options include:
- Replacing up to 25% of regular flour with high protein flour
- Adding a few tablespoons of high protein flour into the batter or dough
- Sprinkling extra flour on top of breads or muffins before baking
You can also stir a few tablespoons of flour into oatmeal, smoothies, or sauces to increase the nutrition. Just keep in mind this will also add more carbs and affect the texture.
Flour in Protein Shakes and Smoothies
Adding flour to protein shakes or smoothies is not recommended. Even just a couple tablespoons of flour will make your drinks thick and gritty compared to using protein powders. The texture and mouthfeel will be significantly altered.
If you want to thicken a shake or smoothie, opt for ingredients like frozen bananas, avocado, Greek yogurt, nut butters, chia seeds, or psyllium husk powder instead of flour.
Potential Downsides of Using Flour
Aside from the lower protein content, here are some other potential downsides of using flour instead of protein powder:
- More carbs and calories compared to protein powder
- Can change the texture and consistency of recipes
- Less protein digestibility compared to isolated proteins
- Typically more expensive per gram of protein
- Contains gluten which some people prefer to avoid
- Higher potential for allergies or intolerances
Best Uses for Flour as a Protein Source
The best uses for flour to add some extra protein include:
- Stirring into oatmeal or yogurt
- Adding to muffin, bread, or cookie batters
- Mixing into meatloaf or burger patties
- Breading chicken or fish
- Thickening sauces, soups, and stews
In these types of recipes, the flour blends in seamlessly while boosting the nutrition. Shake and smoothie recipes are really the only items that don’t take well to flour instead of protein powder.
What About Using Other Grains and Flours?
While wheat-based flours like all-purpose and whole wheat contain the most protein, other grains and flours also provide protein:
| Flour/Grain | Grams of Protein Per 100g |
|---|---|
| Oat Flour | 17g |
| Rye Flour | 9g |
| Spelt Flour | 14g |
| Kamut Flour | 14g |
| Barley Flour | 9g |
| Chickpea Flour | 20g |
| Quinoa | 14g |
| Buckwheat | 13g |
While these contain more protein than all-purpose flour, they still have significantly less than most protein powders. Oat and chickpea flours are your best options if you want to use a flour higher in protein.
Is There Any Situation Where Flour Has More Protein?
The only scenario where flour may end up providing more protein than protein powder is if you use a significantly larger quantity of flour.
For example, 2 cups of whole wheat flour has around 50 grams of protein. To get 50 grams of protein from a typical whey protein powder, you would need around 2 scoops or 60 grams of powder.
However, that 2 cups of flour also contains over 300 grams of carbohydrates and over 1,000 calories. So it’s not recommending eating large amounts of flour solely for increasing protein intake, as the carb and calorie content increases rapidly.
Should You Use Flour to Replace Protein Powder When Baking?
Using flour instead of protein powder in baking recipes is not recommended. Protein powder is added to recipes like protein muffins, cookies, and breads specifically to increase the protein content and improve the nutritional profile.
Substituting flour negates those intended benefits. While it adds texture, using flour instead of protein powder gives you a standard baked good rather than a high protein one.
Additionally, the moisture content and binding properties of flour versus protein powder differ. This means swapping flour into a recipe designed for protein powder will likely result in poor texture, density, and flavor.
Does it Matter What Type of Protein Powder?
The type of protein powder – whey, casein, plant-based etc – does not change the analysis when comparing to flour. Even though their exact protein contents vary, all types of protein powders contain significantly more protein per serving than flour.
Using flour instead of whey, casein, egg, beef, plant-based or any other protein powder will result in a far lower protein product.
The Bottom Line
Here is a summary of the key points when deciding whether to use flour instead of protein powder:
- Flour contains 10-15g protein per 100g serving versus 20-30g per serving of protein powder
- Flour has more carbs and calories than protein powder
- The protein in flour is not as easily digested or absorbed
- Flour changes the texture, flavor, and consistency in recipes
- Flour can add nutrition when mixed into some foods in small amounts
- Flour is not a suitable substitute for protein powder in shakes or baking recipes
Conclusion
While flour contains some protein, its low concentration, high carb content, and different baking properties make it a poor substitute for protein powder. Using flour instead of protein powder significantly lowers the protein value and affects the taste, texture, and nutrition of recipes.
The best options are to use flour sparingly to add protein to recipes like oatmeal and muffins, while relying on actual protein powder when you need a higher dose of protein with less carbs and calories. Or, purchase more protein powder so you have it on hand when a recipe calls for it specifically.