What Is Tapioca flour and How Can I Use It?
Tapioca flour is easier to cook with than it looks. Here's how to choose, use, and store it, what to substitute, and 12 recipes to get you started.
Key Points
- Cassava starch sold as either tapioca flour or tapioca starch; the two names mean the same thing.
- Thickens clear and glossy, tolerates acid, and survives freezing without weeping, unlike cornstarch.
- Slurry with cold water and add late; overdoing it in sauce turns the texture ropy.
- Adds chew and stretch to gluten-free blends and crisps fried snacks like yam puffs.
- Swap cornstarch at about half to two-thirds the amount, or arrowroot one-for-one.
What is tapioca flour?
Tapioca flour is the starch extracted from the cassava root, dried into a light, silky white powder. Tapioca flour and tapioca starch are two names for the same thing, so do not let the labels confuse you.
It is a thickener and a texture-builder, not a baking flour on its own. Cooks reach for it when they want chew and a high-gloss finish, the same starch behind the bounce in boba pearls and the stretch in Brazilian cheese bread.
It lives among the starches on the flour hub, not the wheat flours.
How to Use It
As a thickener, slurry it with a little cold water first, then stir it into the hot liquid near the end of cooking. It thickens fast at a low temperature and sets up clear and glossy, which makes it a favorite for fruit pie fillings and glazes.
It tolerates acid well and survives the freezer better than cornstarch, so a fruit pie thickened with tapioca will not weep after it thaws.
In gluten-free baking it does the chewy work. A few spoonfuls in a flour blend add stretch and a crisp-then-tender bite, as in these Gluten-Free Buns and Gluten Free Muffins Quick & Easy.
Pairing and Mistakes
Tapioca leans sweet and neutral, so it pairs easily with fruit and coconut, and with the rice and bean flours in gluten-free mixes. It also crisps fried snacks like Fried Yam Puffs - Epok-Epok Keladi.
The classic mistake is overdoing it in a sauce, which turns the texture stringy and slick, almost ropy. Start with less than you think.
The other trap is boiling it hard for too long. Like other root starches it thickens, then thins if you hold it at a rolling boil, so add it late and ease off the heat.
Substitutes
Cornstarch is the everyday stand-in for thickening, used at roughly half to two-thirds the amount of tapioca since it thickens a bit more strongly. Expect a cloudier set and less chew.
Arrowroot is the closest match for clarity and acid tolerance, swapped about one-for-one.
For the chewy texture in gluten-free baking, nothing copies tapioca exactly; sweet rice flour comes nearest, though the bite is softer.
Buying and Storing
Buy it as either tapioca flour or tapioca starch, whichever the shelf calls it. Check that it is pure with nothing blended in. The powder should feel fine and a little squeaky.
Kept dry in a sealed container away from heat and humidity, it lasts for years, since pure starch has no oils to go rancid. Damp is its only enemy, so a tight lid is all it really needs.
Quick facts
- In Chinese
- 木薯粉
- British (UK) term
- Tapioca flour
- en français
- farine de tapioca
- en español
- harina de tapioca
Recipes using tapioca flour
There are 12 recipes that contain this ingredient.
Coconut Curried Butternut Squash Soup
Coconut curried butternut squash soup: sweet squash simmered with coconut milk, ginger, garlic, and curry paste, then blended silky-smooth. A creamy, dairy-free, paleo-friendly bowl.
Fried Yam Puffs - Epok-Epok Keladi
Crispy fried yam puffs (epok-epok keladi) with a savory prawn and meat stuffing. A popular Malaysian snack with a mashed yam dough shell that fries up golden and light.
Lucy's Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies
Gluten-free old fashioned sugar cookies made with rice flour, potato starch, tapioca flour, and cornstarch. Egg yolks and butter-flavored canola oil give them a tender, melt-in-your-mouth texture.
Szechuan Shrimp
Authentic Szechuan shrimp: jumbo shrimp marinated in egg, sesame oil, and rice wine, then velveted in peanut oil and wok-tossed with hot bean paste, ginger, garlic, and ketchup. Glossy, spicy, and restaurant-quality.
Szechuan Shrimp
Authentic Szechuan shrimp: jumbo shrimp marinated in egg, sesame oil, and rice wine, then velveted in peanut oil and wok-tossed with hot bean paste, ginger, garlic, and ketchup. Glossy, spicy, and restaurant-quality.
Thai-Style, Spicy Eggplant-Mushroom Sauce
Eggplant, mushrooms, asparagus, and red bell pepper simmered in a spicy Thai chili paste and rice milk sauce with fresh basil. A hearty vegan stew for rice or grilled polenta.
Quinoa Corn Pasta
Quinoa corn pasta blends quinoa flour, cornmeal, and tapioca flour into a gluten-free fresh pasta dough. Roll into thicker shapes like fettuccine for the best texture.
Homemade Wraps
These delicious homemade wraps are made with egg whites, corn flour and a bit of tapioca flour.
Pumpkin Tapioca Pudding
Dairy-free pumpkin tapioca pudding made with rice milk, tapioca flour, and canned pumpkin. Vegan, gluten-free, and ready in under 20 minutes. Optional licorice root adds a unique twist.
Gluten Free Muffins Quick & Easy
It's quite easy to make your own gluten-free muffins using these instructions for a gluten-free flour mix.
Basic Rice Bread (Bread machine)
Looking for a gluten free bread recipe? Use this basic rice bread recipe to make a delicious loaf.
