Ground almonds have been a popular alternative to traditional flour in low-carb and keto baking for years. They're versatile, naturally gluten-free and work beautifully in many recipes.
But are ground almonds and Panda Flour really much the same thing?
Not quite. And the differences might surprise you.
Two very different ingredients
Ground almonds are simply almonds that have been finely ground. They're naturally rich in fats and can produce lovely cakes, biscuits and other bakes.
Panda Flour is different. Rather than relying on nuts or starches, we've developed a fibre-first flour blend using bamboo fibre, coconut flour and psyllium husks.
This means we can often use considerably less flour to create the structure we're looking for.
Let's compare a Chocolate Cake
Our ever popular Panda Chocolate Cake recipe uses just 60g of Original Panda Flour.
For comparison, let's consider an almond-based cake using 200g of ground almonds.
Here's how the two ingredients compare:
| Original Panda Flour | Ground Almonds | |
|---|---|---|
| Quantity | 60g | 200g |
| Calories | 91 kcal | 1,264 kcal |
| Carbohydrates | 5.5g | 13.8g |
| Fibre | 44.8g | 18.2g |
| Ingredient cost | £2.00 | £2.40 |
Figures relate to the flour or ground almonds only, not the complete cake. The almond quantity is an illustrative comparison, not a direct substitution in the Panda recipe. Nutritional values are approximate and depend on the product used.
The difference is significant, particularly when we look at calories and fibre.
And perhaps surprisingly, Panda works out slightly cheaper for this particular cake, even when using our smallest 300g bag at £9.99, including UK delivery. We've compared this with ground almonds costing £12 per kilogram.
It's not just about nutrition
The biggest difference is how these ingredients behave.
Ground almonds bring their own flavour, fat and texture to a recipe. Panda Flour is designed around fibre and hydration, allowing us to create everything from soft bread and pastry to wraps, cakes and pasta.
They're different ingredients doing different jobs, which is why you can't simply swap one for the other gram for gram.
Watch our comparison
In this short video, we look at the quantities, nutritional differences and cost of using these two ingredients.
So which should you use?
There's absolutely nothing wrong with baking with ground almonds. They're a useful ingredient and one we enjoy using ourselves.
But if you're looking for a fibre-first alternative that uses smaller quantities of flour and offers a different approach to everyday baking, Panda opens up some exciting possibilities.
Both have their place in the kitchen. They're just not all the same.
Happy baking,
Mark 🐼