7 Best Tapioca Flour Substitutes if You Need an Easy Swap

This may seem obvious, but before you start looking for tapioca flour substitutes, check to see if you have any tapioca starch—they're the same thing! (The label just varies by brand.) The flour is made from the starchy pulp of the cassava and dried in order to extract as much starch as possible, which is why it’s often referred to as tapioca starch.

Cornstarch is probably something you have in your kitchen—and it's a great tapioca flour substitute if you're using it as a thickening agent. You only need to use half the amount of cornstarch in place of any tapioca flour called for in a recipe (cornstarch is a stronger thickener). Bonus: It’s also gluten-free!

You can usually use cassava flour in place of tapioca starch or tapioca flour—it will lend structure to baked goods and act as a thickener in watery dishes like soups and stews. Despite coming from the same root, cassava flour and tapioca flour are different: Cassava flour comes from the entire cassava root (tapioca flour comes just from the pulp). Cassava flour is higher in fiber, so you don’t need to combine it with other thickening agents. Replace tapioca flour with cassava flour in a 1:1 ratio, but leave out or reduce any additional thickeners, like other flours or gums. While mild in flavor, cassava flour does have a slightly nutty note to it, whereas tapioca flour is flavorless.

If you’re in a pinch, you can swap all-purpose flour evenly for tapioca flour in most recipes, but keep in mind that all-purpose flour contains gluten. The swap may affect the texture of baked goods slightly—they'll have a little less chew and be slightly more dense. If you're using all-purpose flour as a thickener, remember that it has raw taste that needs to be cooked off—you may need to cook sauces or gravies a little longer. The added cook time will also help to incorporate the powdery texture of all-purpose flour, as it’s a little thicker than tapioca flour. One other thing to note: If you’re using all-purpose flour, don’t expect your dish to have the same glossy finish as when you use tapioca flour.

Potato starch is another gluten-free alternative to tapioca flour. It’s a lot heavier, however, so the replacement ratio will vary depending on what you’re making: If you want to use a small amount to thicken a sauce or gravy, swap equal parts potato starch for tapioca flour. Baked goods will be much more dense if you use a 1:1 ratio, so you’ll want to use a mix of 25 to 50 percent potato starch plus another flour.

Another gluten-free substitute for tapioca flour is rice flour. It’s slightly stickier and thicker compared to tapioca flour, so use about half the amount of rice flour than the amount of tapioca flour in your recipe. If you're baking, you'll want to make up the difference with another flour.

Arrowroot can be labeled as a starch or flour—just like tapioca flour. Arrowroot is also gluten-free, it’s virtually flavorless and it has a similar texture to tapioca flour. You can do an even swap if you’re using it to thicken a dish like a stir-fry. However, you’ll want to use arrowroot with another flour or starch for baking—don't use it as a 1:1 substitution. If you use arrowroot alone, your baked goods will be too dense.