Rice Flour: Nutrition, Benefits, Gluten-Free Baking & Recipes

Dr. Josh Axe · Free quiz

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Rice flour is finely milled rice, sold as white rice flour, whole-grain brown rice flour and sticky sweet (glutinous) rice flour, and because rice is naturally gluten-free, it can stand in for wheat flour in baking, thickening and coating.123 It's one of the naturally gluten-free flours on my list for anyone sensitive to gluten, and since organic or sprouted is best for grains and flours, brown or sprouted rice flour is the one to reach for first.4

If your gut reacts to gluten, the lasting fix starts at the root cause: take the irritant out so your gut lining has room to recover. What makes that change stick is having something good to put in its place, a lesson that came to me early, with my mom, before I was even in full-time practice.8 Rice flour is one of the easiest swaps you can make, because rice is naturally gluten-free3 and the flour thickens and coats much the way wheat flour does. With a starch and a binder beside it, it bakes your pancakes and bread, too.

With my patients, that meant handing over a swap list: no white flour, and coconut flour, almond flour and whole-grain flours in its place.8 Brown rice flour belongs on that kind of list as a whole-grain flour with no gluten, and when you pair it with oat, almond or buckwheat flour, the breads you bake from it digest more steadily, too.27 If your gut is where this starts for you, the protocol below shows you how to take gluten out and what to eat in its place.

Did you know?

• Glutinous rice is missing a working copy of the Waxy gene, the gene ordinary rice uses to make amylose, so its starch comes out sticky and essentially amylose-free, which is why it suits mochi and rice cakes so well.6

• In a meal test of 16 healthy adults, the antioxidant capacity of the blood rose after bread made with purple rice flour, while it fell after white rice flour bread and wheat bread.9

• Brown rice flour has about twice the fat of white rice flour, 2.78 grams per 100 grams against 1.42, because the bran and germ hold the grain's natural oils, which is why it keeps best in the fridge or freezer.21

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Is rice flour good for you?

In The Biblio Diet, the naturally gluten-free flours I recommend for anyone sensitive to gluten run from rice flour to oat flour, sorghum, millet, buckwheat, almond, coconut, chickpea flour, cassava flour, tapioca flour, arrowroot and sprouted corn flour.4 Gluten is one of the drivers of a leaky gut, which is why the first step of my Healing Leaky Gut Protocol takes it out completely for at least 30 days, and I suggest giving it 90.5 A flour that lets you keep making bread, pancakes, crackers and gravy is what makes those weeks feel like ordinary cooking instead of a list of foods you can't have.

That doesn't mean everyone has to give up gluten. Most people don't, and in my Anti-Inflammatory Reset, the first foods to go are sugar, fried food and processed food.10 If you tolerate gluten, the bread I'd point you to is real sourdough, which I rank as the best choice for breads.4

The blood sugar card below shows how the rice flour you choose, and what you blend it with, can keep your blood sugar steadier.

What is rice flour?

Every grain of rice grows inside a tough, inedible husk, and that comes off first, whichever flour the grain is headed for. Brown rice flour is ground from the whole kernel that's left, bran and germ included, while white rice flour is ground from rice that's had the bran and germ polished away, leaving mostly the starchy center.1221 That's why the two look and bake so differently: white rice flour is bright white, fine and neutral, and brown rice flour is a light tan with a mild, nutty taste.

Across Asia, rice flour has long been the base of everyday foods, from Japanese mochi and Chinese dumplings to rice noodles, Vietnamese rice paper and the rice flatbreads of southern India. In American kitchens, it's best known as one of the workhorse flours of gluten-free baking.

White vs. brown rice flour: which is healthier?

I've written that ancient grains such as quinoa, millet and rice are fundamentally different from modern processed grains, because they keep their bran and germ, and with them their fiber, minerals and phytochemicals.12 Brown rice flour is the form of rice flour that holds on to them. Per 100 grams, it carries 112 milligrams of magnesium against 35 in white rice flour, 4.01 milligrams of manganese against 1.2, and 4.6 grams of fiber against 2.4, along with about three times the zinc, phosphorus and thiamin.21

White rice flour still earns a place in your pantry. It's finer and lighter, it thickens a sauce without a nutty edge, and in a blend, it softens the texture of whole-grain and nut flours. Let brown or sprouted rice flour carry your everyday baking, and keep white rice flour for the jobs where its fine texture matters.

Sweet (glutinous) rice flour: what it is and how it's different

It isn't sugary, either, and it doesn't carry more starch than regular rice flour. Per 100 grams, uncooked glutinous rice has 370 calories and 81.7 grams of carbohydrate, about the same as white rice flour's 366 calories and 80.1 grams; USDA has no separate record for sweet rice flour, so those numbers are for the grain it's ground from.111 What sets it apart is the kind of starch. Ordinary rice carries some amylose, a straight-chain starch, while glutinous rice makes essentially none, and that's why it cooks up soft, chewy and stretchy.6

That same starch digests quickly. In a 1989 study of 8 adults with type 2 diabetes who ate two cooked rices and six kinds of noodles, glutinous rice raised blood sugar the most, and the more amylose a food carried, the less it raised blood sugar.13 So give sweet rice flour the jobs only it can do, the stretch of mochi and dumplings and the gloss of a smooth gravy, and let brown rice flour do your everyday baking. My matcha mochi cake and the holiday gravy in the recipes below both put it to work.14

Rice flour nutrition facts

Calculated from USDA FoodData Central, FDC ID 169714 (rice flour, white, unenriched) and FDC ID 168898 (rice flour, brown), at a quarter of the records' 158-gram cup. Percentages are of the FDA's daily values.12

A full cup (158 grams) of white rice flour has 578 calories, 127 grams of carbohydrate, 9.4 grams of protein and 3.8 grams of fiber, and a cup of brown rice flour has 574 calories, 121 grams of carbohydrate, 11.4 grams of protein and 7.3 grams of fiber.12 Like all rice, both are low in folate, with 4 micrograms per 100 grams in white rice flour and 16 in brown, and neither has any vitamin B12.12 Manganese is where brown rice flour stands out most.2

How rice flour works in your body

Your gut lining is a single layer of cells held together by tight seals, and those seals work a little like the seams of a raincoat: closed, they keep what's in your gut from slipping through into your bloodstream. Wheat gluten carries a protein fraction called gliadin, and barley and rye carry close relatives of it. In lab studies of gut cells and of intestinal tissue donated by people with and without celiac disease, one of them with tissue from 23 donors, gliadin loosened those seals, as the steps below show.1516 Rice has no gluten, so the bread, pancakes and gravy you make with rice flour bring no gliadin to your gut lining at all.3 For a gut that reacts to gluten, that's the whole idea behind the swap: take out what loosens the lining and give it a chance to heal.

Rice flour is mostly starch, and how fast that starch reaches your blood depends on the rice and on what you bake it with. Glutinous rice, the grain behind sweet rice flour, raised blood sugar the most in the 1989 study above.13 In a meal test, bread made with purple rice flour raised blood sugar less than white rice flour bread did, which the researchers credited to its starch and plant pigments, and in gluten-free breads, mostly tested in the lab, added fiber, psyllium, sourdough and resistant starch brought the glycemic index down.97 From the flour in your bowl to your gut, the swap works like this:

Rice flour benefits

Rice flour's benefits come from what it takes off your plate, what it lets you keep cooking and how gently rice sits with a struggling gut. In order of how much research in people stands behind each one:

Rice flour vs. wheat flour and other gluten-free flours

Per 100 grams, from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy and Foundation records).12212322

Each of these flours brings something different, and that's why a blend bakes better than any one of them alone. Almond flour adds protein for moist, tender cookies and cakes, buckwheat and oat flour add fiber and an earthy flavor, sorghum adds a mild sweetness, and starches such as tapioca flour, potato starch and arrowroot give a gluten-free dough the stretch and hold that gluten would have given it.22 Rice flour is the neutral base that pulls them all together.

When people go gluten-free, I'd recommend sweet potatoes, rice and oatmeal for carbohydrates, because they're gluten-free and great sources of carbohydrates.24

A gluten-free label doesn't make a packaged product healthy, though. A 2018 review found that gluten-free bakery products tend to give you less protein, fiber and minerals than foods made with gluten, and that a mix of rice and buckwheat flour, or a little egg white, showed promise for improving both their nutrition and their taste.25 A listener on my show asked how to eat gluten-free, and this was the heart of my answer:

How to bake and cook with rice flour

Rice flour has no gluten to stretch and trap air, so it behaves best when you give it partners. For thickening and coating, it works fine on its own, and for breads and cakes, it shines as the base of a blend:

• Thickening. Use it about the way you'd use wheat flour in soups, stews, sauces and gravy, whisked into fat for a roux or into cold liquid before it goes into the pot. Sweet rice flour gives the smoothest, glossiest result.

• Coating. Dredge fish, chicken or vegetables in it as you would in wheat flour, then bake them or pan-sear them in olive or avocado oil for a light, crisp crust.

• Cookies and shortbread. Brown rice flour can carry these on its own, with a crisp, sandy crumb.

• Breads, muffins and cakes. Build a blend: rice flour as the base, a starch such as tapioca, potato starch or arrowroot for lightness, a binder such as eggs, ground chia seeds or psyllium, and a fiber- or protein-rich flour such as oat, almond, buckwheat or sorghum.

• Let it rest. Give batters and doughs a few minutes before they go into the pan or oven, so the flour can soak up the liquid; it smooths out the slight grittiness rice flour can have.

Seeds and whole-grain flours do a loaf a lot of good. In a lab study of gluten-free breads made from rice flour and potato starch, adding up to 14% whole chia flour barely changed the loaf's volume, softness or moisture while raising its protein, fat, minerals and fiber. Tasters rated the 5%, 10% and 14% chia breads 8.7, 8.1 and 7.9 out of 10, close to a white gluten-free bread and a wheat bread.26 So fold a spoonful of ground chia into your rice flour bread, or swap a handful of the rice flour for oat or buckwheat flour, and you'll get more fiber in every slice.

How to use rice flour

Rice flour is one of the most useful flours in a gluten-free kitchen, and these are the places it does its best work:

How to make rice flour at home

1. Rinse if you like, then dry it completely. Spread rinsed rice on a towel-lined tray until it's bone dry, because damp rice gums up the blades, or grind it straight from the bag.

2. Grind in small batches. Work with about a cup at a time, in short bursts, so the flour doesn't heat up.

3. Sift. Shake the flour through a fine-mesh sieve and regrind the coarse bits for a smoother texture.

4. Store it. Keep white rice flour in an airtight jar in the pantry and brown rice flour in the fridge or freezer.

Sprouting takes brown rice flour one step further, and as I've said on my show, historically almost all grains were either sprouted or fermented, because that helped break down and destroy the phytic acid, which then allowed people to fully absorb the grain's nutrients.27 Phytic acid is one of the antinutrients in a grain's bran. A 2019 review of sprouted grains cites research in which sprouting brown rice for 12 to 72 hours cut its phytate by 60%, and in lab soaking tests, brown rice soaked at 122°F (50°C) lost half its phytic acid within 24 to 36 hours.2829 To make sprouted brown rice flour, soak organic brown rice overnight in warm water, drain and rinse it, and keep it damp in a covered jar or sieve for a day or two, rinsing it twice a day, until tiny white tips appear. Then dry it completely in a dehydrator or a low oven and grind it the same way.

Rice flour recipes

The first two recipes are my own, from Ancient Remedies, and for the holidays, there's a smooth gluten-free gravy for your turkey, too. The sweet ones are celebration foods, so cut them small and enjoy every bite.

Matcha mochi cake

This is my mochi cake, a soft, chewy cake made with sweet rice flour, coconut milk, raw honey and matcha, with no butter or cow's milk.14

Rice noodles with miso pesto

Rice noodles are made from rice, so they turn pasta night gluten-free, and this is my recipe for them, tossed in a bright pesto of baby kale, cilantro and miso.14

Crispy curry cauliflower bites

These cauliflower bites are one of the easiest ways to put brown rice flour to work: the egg and flour give cauliflower a crisp, golden coat in a hot oven, with curry and turmeric for warmth and nutritional yeast for a savory, cheesy note.

Brown rice flour pancakes

Brown rice flour makes tender pancakes with a mild, nutty flavor, and a spoonful of tapioca keeps them light. Serve them with eggs on the side, so the protein steadies the carbohydrate.

Fudgy brown rice flour brownies

These fudgy brownies are made with brown rice flour, cacao and coconut oil, sweetened with raw honey.

Gluten-free holiday gravy

For Thanksgiving or any holiday roast, sweet rice flour makes a smooth, glossy gravy with no gluten, so everyone at the table can have some. Pan drippings and homemade bone broth give it the richest flavor, and if you like a heartier gravy, our giblet gravy makes good use of the bird's giblets.

Rice flour side effects: arsenic and other cautions

For most people, rice flour fits easily into everyday cooking, and the one thing worth managing is the arsenic that all rice carries.

Arsenic. Rice takes up arsenic from the soil and water it grows in more readily than many other plants, and the arsenic collects in the grain's outer layers, so brown rice averages 80% more inorganic arsenic than white rice of the same type.3031 Inorganic arsenic is classified as a Group 1 carcinogen,32 and as I've written, arsenic is found in contaminated groundwater, rice and rice-based products, fruit juices and wine.12

Because rice flour is the main base of commercial gluten-free products, people who eat gluten-free every day can take in more of it.33 In two analyses of U.S. national survey data, one of 7,471 people and one of 11,354, people on gluten-free diets had higher arsenic and mercury levels than other people. In one of them, their urinary arsenic (leaving out the harmless forms from seafood) was about 1.9 times higher and their blood mercury 1.7 times higher, though snapshots like these can't show that rice was the cause.3334 A 2023 review described those levels as higher but far from toxic.35 Cooking rice in plenty of water lowers its arsenic, but flour can't be drained, so for rice flour, these are the steps that work:

• Blend and vary. Bake with rice flour alongside low-arsenic gluten-free grains: amaranth, buckwheat and millet had negligible inorganic arsenic in Consumer Reports' tests,30 and oat, sorghum and almond flour make good partners, too.
• Start with basmati if you grind your own. In the same testing, white basmati from California, India or Pakistan had about half the inorganic arsenic of most other rices, and brown basmati from those places about a third less than other brown rices.30
• Vary grains for babies and toddlers. Don't make rice cereal, rice snacks or other rice products a little one's main grain. In 2020, the FDA set an action level, its guidance to manufacturers, for inorganic arsenic in infant rice cereal.3630 Our guide to arsenic in rice covers it in more depth.

Gluten cross-contact. Naturally gluten-free flours can pick up gluten in fields, mills and bins. In a U.S. pilot study, 7 of 22 grains, seeds and flours not labeled gluten-free carried 20 parts per million of gluten or more, and in a Health Canada survey of 640 naturally gluten-free flours and starches, 61 were over 20 parts per million, but only 3 of the 268 labeled gluten-free were.3738 With celiac disease, buy rice flour labeled certified gluten-free, and if you think you might have celiac disease, ask your doctor about testing before you take gluten out.

Blood sugar. With diabetes or insulin resistance, bake with brown rice flour or a blend, eat baked goods alongside protein and healthy fat, and keep sweets small; the blood sugar card above shows why.

Rice allergy. A rice allergy is rare. In an Italian study of 148 people allergic to peaches, 10 also reacted to rice, and a food test in which neither they nor the researchers knew whether they were eating rice or a placebo confirmed it in 8 of them; the reactions traced to a lipid transfer protein in rice much like one in peaches.39 If your mouth itches or swells after eating rice, stop eating it, and treat throat swelling or trouble breathing as an emergency.

Interaction check: Low. None is documented at food amounts.

The bottom line

Rice flour: frequently asked questions

References

1. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central: Rice flour, white, unenriched. FDC ID 169714 (SR Legacy, NDB 20061; per 100 g; 1 cup = 158 g). Accessed November 4, 2026.
2. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central: Rice flour, brown. FDC ID 168898 (SR Legacy, NDB 20090; per 100 g; 1 cup = 158 g). Accessed November 4, 2026.
3. Rubio-Tapia A, Hill ID, Semrad C, Kelly CP, Greer KB, Limketkai BN, et al. American College of Gastroenterology Guidelines Update: Diagnosis and Management of Celiac Disease. Am J Gastroenterol. 2023;118(1):59-76. doi:10.14309/ajg.0000000000002075
4. Axe J, Rubin J. The Biblio Diet. Hachette Book Group; 2025. ISBN 9781546008439 (flours section after the einkorn entry, ebook p. 92: "If you are sensitive to gluten, try these naturally gluten-free flours", including rice flour; bread chapter, ebook p. 94, on white and "unbleached" flour; food lists, "organic/sprouted is best for grains and flours").
5. Axe J. Healing Leaky Gut Protocol: The 30-Day System. DrAxe.com; 2026 (Phase 1 "Remove": gluten out completely for at least 30 days; troubleshooting: hidden gluten sources, "Try 90 days").
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7. Romão B, Falcomer AL, Palos G, Cavalcante S, Botelho RBA, Nakano EY, et al. Glycemic Index of Gluten-Free Bread and Their Main Ingredients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Foods. 2021;10(3):506. doi:10.3390/foods10030506
8. Axe J. The Cancer Protocol She Wishes She Had Known Sooner | Liana Werner-Gray. The Dr. Josh Axe Show. 2026 (Dr. Axe at 48:19-48:47; YouTube aEt_D26JR9w).
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10. Axe J. The Anti-Inflammatory Reset. DrAxe.com; 2026 (FAQ: "Do I have to give up gluten or dairy? Not necessarily. Remove sugar, fried food and processed food first.").
11. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central: Rice, white, glutinous, unenriched, uncooked. FDC ID 168883 (SR Legacy, NDB 20054; per 100 g). Accessed November 4, 2026.
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14. Axe J. Ancient Remedies: Secrets to Healing with Herbs, Essential Oils, CBD, and the Most Powerful Natural Medicine in History. Little, Brown Spark (Hachette Book Group); 2021 ("Recipes for Ancient Nutrition": Rice Noodles with Miso Pesto, Main Dishes, pp. 343-344; Mochi Cake, Desserts, pp. 367-368; gut chapter on rice, congee and other gluten-free grains).
15. Drago S, El Asmar R, Di Pierro M, Grazia Clemente M, Tripathi A, Sapone A, et al. Gliadin, zonulin and gut permeability: Effects on celiac and non-celiac intestinal mucosa and intestinal cell lines. Scand J Gastroenterol. 2006;41(4):408-19. doi:10.1080/00365520500235334
16. Hollon J, Puppa EL, Greenwald B, Goldberg E, Guerrerio A, Fasano A. Effect of gliadin on permeability of intestinal biopsy explants from celiac disease patients and patients with non-celiac gluten sensitivity. Nutrients. 2015;7(3):1565-76. doi:10.3390/nu7031565
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19. Axe J. How to Heal Your Gut in 30 Days. The Dr. Josh Axe Show. 2025 (Dr. Axe at 42:45-43:15 and 48:11-48:33; YouTube ehASjzDVW5Y).
20. Axe J. SIBO Protocol: The 60-Day Healing Protocol. DrAxe.com; 2026 (p. 22, "Top 10 SIBO-friendly foods": rice, ½ to 1 cup, "A low-fermentation starch most people tolerate well").
21. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central: Wheat flour, white, all-purpose, enriched, bleached. FDC ID 168894 (SR Legacy, NDB 20081; per 100 g: 364 kcal, 10.3 g protein, 2.7 g fiber, 22 mg magnesium). Accessed November 4, 2026.
22. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central flour records used for the gluten-free comparisons (per 100 g: protein, total dietary fiber, magnesium): Flour, almond (Foundation, FDC 2261420; 26.2 g, 9.3 g, 251 mg); Flour, oat, whole grain (Foundation, FDC 2261421; 13.2 g, 10.5 g, 125 mg); Buckwheat flour, whole-groat (SR Legacy, FDC 170687; 12.6 g, 10.0 g, 251 mg); Flour, sorghum (Foundation, FDC 2512373; 8.27 g, 6.0 g, 116 mg). Accessed November 4, 2026.
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24. Axe J. Heavy Metals, Sugar Cravings, & Natural Flavors | Q&A. The Dr. Josh Axe Show. 2024 (Dr. Axe at 20:59-21:13, 21:53-22:05 and 22:35-23:12; YouTube MnYj3zCU4ek).
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27. Axe J. 10 Signs You Have an Iron Deficiency (How to Boost Iron Naturally). The Dr. Josh Axe Show. 2024 (Dr. Axe at 22:43-23:00; YouTube JjlsPil8ZSE).
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29. Fukushima A, Uchino G, Akabane T, Aiseki A, Perera I, Hirotsu N. Phytic Acid in Brown Rice Can Be Reduced by Increasing Soaking Temperature. Foods. 2020;10(1):23. doi:10.3390/foods10010023
30. Consumer Reports. How much arsenic is in your rice? Consumer Reports' new data and guidelines are important for everyone but especially for gluten avoiders. Published November 2014 (also in the January 2015 issue).
31. Meharg AA, Lombi E, Williams PN, Scheckel KG, Feldmann J, Raab A, et al. Speciation and localization of arsenic in white and brown rice grains. Environ Sci Technol. 2008;42(4):1051-7. doi:10.1021/es702212p
32. International Agency for Research on Cancer. Arsenic, Metals, Fibres, and Dusts. IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans, Volume 100C. Lyon: IARC; 2012 (arsenic and inorganic arsenic compounds: Group 1).
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35. Bascuñán KA, Orosteguí C, Rodríguez JM, Roncoroni L, Doneda L, Elli L, et al. Heavy Metal and Rice in Gluten-Free Diets: Are They a Risk? Nutrients. 2023;15(13):2975. doi:10.3390/nu15132975
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38. Koerner TB, Cleroux C, Poirier C, Cantin I, La Vieille S, Hayward S, et al. Gluten contamination of naturally gluten-free flours and starches used by Canadians with celiac disease. Food Addit Contam Part A Chem Anal Control Expo Risk Assess. 2013;30(12):2017-21. doi:10.1080/19440049.2013.840744
39. Pastorello EA, Scibilia J, Farioli L, Primavesi L, Giuffrida MG, Mascheri A, et al. Rice allergy demonstrated by double-blind placebo-controlled food challenge in peach-allergic patients is related to lipid transfer protein reactivity. Int Arch Allergy Immunol. 2013;161(3):265-73. doi:10.1159/000345974
40. DrAxe.com. Keto Diet: Benefits, Food List, 7-Day Meal Plan & How to Start. 2026 (net carbs about 20 to 50 g a day).
41. De Paepe K, Hachem JP, Vanpee E, Roseeuw D, Rogiers V. Effect of rice starch as a bath additive on the barrier function of healthy but SLS-damaged skin and skin of atopic patients. Acta Derm Venereol. 2002;82(3):184-6. doi:10.1080/00015550260132460

Dr. Josh Axe, DC, DNM, CNS

Doctor of Natural Medicine · Founder, DrAxe.com

Dr. Axe is a certified doctor of natural medicine, clinical nutritionist, and multiple New York Times bestselling author. He has spent 20+ years in clinical practice helping people heal at the root cause and founded one of the most-visited natural-health platforms in the world.

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