What Is Lupin Flour

The First Question That Probably Comes To Your Mind Is What Exactly Is Lupin Flour?

Lupin flour is another healthy ingredient that you can substitute for several dishes. This is one of the Keto ingredients that bring a unique flavor that makes you want to try again.

Consider using Lupin Flour in your pizza dough.

For several years, Lupin has been used in the Mediterranean region as a snack, where it is usually eaten as a whole or pickled. Now, making it a nutritious flour from the lupin bean has become popular and useful in the different low carb recipes with people on a keto diet and is gaining in popularity over traditional wheat flour.

One thing you need to check is do you have a lupin allergy.

Let’s take a closer look to know more about Lupin Flour.

What is Lupin Flour?

Lupin Flour is purely made from Lupin or Lupina, which is a type of legume that comes from the Lupine plant that has conical purple, blue, or yellow flowers.

It comes from North Africa, Latin America, and the Mediterranean regions, particularly in Egypt which is originally eaten as a snack.

Sweet lupin and bitter lupin are the two varieties that you can find in the market. Sweet lupin is usually the ingredient of sweet lupin flour while bitter lupin is rarely used for cooking because of its high toxin alkaloids and is sometimes referred to as lupin flake if the flour is coarse. You can also consider using Teff Flour as an alternative.

To make the bitter lupin edible, it has to go through a long process of thorough soaking and rinsing to get rid of its bitter taste. 

Lupin Flour Donuts
Lupin Flour Donuts

What is Lupin Flour Made Of? (Nutritional Contents)

Lupin Flour has only one ingredient which is the sweet lupin bean and that is entirely made from plant protein; thus it is considered a vegan and keto recipe food. It is usually used as an alternative in making a keto-friendly recipe because of its nutritional content.

This kind of flour is very low in glycemic index, low in fat, low in starch, and is gluten-free. 

Is lupin flour keto friendly?

Yes it is see the nutritional facts

A 1/4 cup (30 gams) of lupin flour consists of this nutritional info:

  • 12g of carbohydrates
  • 2g of fats
  • 12g protein
  • 74 calories
  • 39% dietary fiber
  • 234mg Potassium
  • 1 g sugar

So that answers What is lupin flour and is it keto – it is good for keto and is a plant-based flour.

Is Lupin Flour Healthy?

Yes. In fact, the ScienceDirect, Journal of Functional Foods (Volume 18, Part A) stated that the addition of lupin protein in their experimented different models of hypercholesterolemia, such as rat, rabbit, hamster, and pig, induces decreases of total and non-HDL cholesterol. Meaning, lupin products reduce a significant number of the total LDL-cholesterol

Furthermore, the National Library of Medicine – National Center for Biotechnology Information stated in their Nutritional, Health, and Technological Functionality of Lupin Flour Addition to Bread and Other Baked Products: Benefits and Challenges article that wheat bread and other baked products that use lupin flour gives health benefits such as reducing the chronic risk markers due to the high protein and dietary fiber present in the product. 

Here are more of lupin flour’s health benefits:

  • Reduce the glycaemic load of carbohydrate-based foods
  • Reduce blood pressure
  • Improve bowel health
  • Improve glucose metabolism 
  • Very high sources of essential amino acids
  • Gluten-free and non-GMO
How can you use lupin flour in baking?
Use lupin flour in baking – with a sweetener

Are there any allergens in Lupin Flour?

Yes. It can trigger allergic reactions in the body since it is closely associated with peanuts and soybeans. Therefore, people who have soy or peanut allergy should think twice about consuming this product. Thus, you should carefully choose 100% lupin-made flour to prevent further complications.

Also, some are wondering if Lupin flour is inflammatory. Actually, the best way to know is to test your blood sugar and ketone levels and see if it causes inflammation after you consume such flour. 

Here are some lupin flours that are certified safe:

1. Carrington Farms’ Lupin Flour

This lupin flour from Carrington Farms is made without any animal products, including eggs, dairy, honey, and even seafood. It is also certified as non-GMO; hence you can safely use this in cooking or baking your favorite bread and pastries. Also, this is a gluten-free flour that contains 16g grams of protein, 15g of fiber, 16g of carbs, and only 1g of sugar. This contains more protein than quinoa and more fiber than your oatmeal.

2. Modern Mountains’ Lupin Flour

This Modern Mountains Lupin Flour is perfect for your keto-friendly waffles, pizza, and chips since it is gluten-free and low in glycemic index. It is intentionally made for keto dieters under their net carb targets and for those who are suffering from diabetes. This product contains 37g of dietary fiber, 26g of protein, 25g of folate, less than a gram of sugar, and only 3g of total fat.

3. Wholesome Provision’s Miracle Flour

Indeed, this is a miracle flour that gives a healthy alternative for starchy, high-carb flours that you usually use as the main ingredient for your baking. This time, it is a 100% non-GMO, all-natural, Kosher, and premium grade, gluten-free product that perfectly suits those who have blood pressure, diabetes, celiac disease, and autoimmune disease.  Aside from baking, this healthy food product can also be used for smoothies, shakes, and yogurts since it has very minimal starch and sugar. 

How Can I Use Lupin Flour?

Most of the time, lupin flour is used in baking. It is known the be high-digestible, which could be really nice in baking pastries to make it more healthy for your friends and family. Also, this is also used as a keto-friendly recipe with other dishes. Anything that you can make with all-purpose flour and almond flour can also be possible with Lupin flour. 

You can also use lupin flour as an alternative to tapioca flour.

This ingredient can also be used as a thickener in our favorite soups as well as a breading for frying your favorite chicken and porkchop. Moreover, we will give you the famous recipe that everyone has been making:

How To Store Lupin Flour
How To Store Lupin Flour

Keto Pancakes with Lupin Flour Recipe

Ingredients

  • 6 eggs
  • 120 ml heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup lupin flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon Himalayan Salt

See Our Guide On Waffles – you could also use lupin flour in this recipe.

Directions

1. Place the heavy cream into a bowl and beat it until it stiffs. Set aside.

2. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs until fluffy.

3. Combine the eggs into the heavy cream. Thoroughly mix.

4. Gradually combine the lupin flour into the heavy cream mixture.

5. Add the baking powder.

6. Beat on a low speed until it becomes smooth. Use a rubber spatula on scraping the side excess mixture. 

7. Prepare a skillet on medium heat. Grease a generous amount of butter for frying.

8. Pour a spoonful of pancake batter and wait until bubbles start to form on top. Fry until golden brown.

9. Turn over until thoroughly cooked.

10. Serve warm and enjoy. 

Related Questions

Does Lupin flour cause gas?

medical professionals warn that too much consumption of lupin can cause a shock to the system at first, hence will result in stomach pain, gas, and bloating. This is due to the high amount of protein and fiber than it is in carbohydrates. Also, the toxic alkaloid content in lupin flour must only be less than 0.02% otherwise, it can cause further allergic and toxicity reactions in the body.

Is Lupin flour low in carbs?

As stated above, a 1/4 cup (30g) of lupin flour only contains 12g of carbohydrates while an all-purpose flour contains 23g of carbohydrates. Therefore, lupin flour is lower in carbohydrates compared to the common flour used in cooking or baking.

is Lupin flour keto-friendly?

Yes. Lupin flour is made of lupin beans, which is a legume. Hence, it is a keto-friendly ingredient to be mixed in your favorite ketogenic meal. 

What does Lupin flour taste like?

It actually tastes a little bit more bitter than other kinds of flour. Some types of Lupin flour has a nutty taste, but rest easy this smell does NOT carry into baked goods or other recipes (often people will use a small amount of sweetener with lupine flour.

What Are Some Alternatives to Lupine Flour

  • Coconut flour
  • Oat Fiber