Nut Free Macaron Recipe | substitute almond flour
This is a golden macaron. It is special because it contains no nuts. That’s right not a hint of almond meal or any other ground nuts or seeds. Many people have nut allergies and some just can not get hold of almond meal so they asked ‘ Can I substitute almond meal for wheat flour?‘ To which I would answer, ‘Almond meal is high in fat and protein and low in carbs, wheat flour is high in complex carbs, low fat and low protein so the substitution would not work’. But that got me thinking what else could we use.
I have read other recipes that use ground pumpkin seeds. I don’t grind my own almonds, I buy them as almond meal or flour so the thought of buying seeds and grinding them seemed like too much hard work. If you want to try that method, swap in equal quantities for the almond meal.
At first the only other things I could think of that were high protein and fat were also full of water, like egg yolks, which wouldn’t help. Then white chocolate came to mind – high fat, high protein and high sugar. Perhaps if I reduced the sugar in the recipe I could get the nutritional composition of the white chocolate to match the almond meal and it will work – may be!
A couple of trial runs and adjusting ingredient quantities and we have nut free macarons. Now let me warn you they look and taste great but they are not perfect they are a little hollow. If you are after perfect macarons then almond meal is the best way to go.
Nut Free Macaron Ingredients
140g (4.94 ounces) or 4 egg whites
72g (2.54 ounces) or 1/3 cup caster sugar
240g (8.47 ounces) finely grated white chocolate
120g (4.23 ounces) or 1 cup icing sugar sifted
Nut Free Macarons Directions
Whisk together your egg whites and sugar until stiff, add colour if desired and whisk through. Egg whites should be stiff enough that you can turn your bowl upside down and it will not spill out of the bowl.
Gently fold in your icing sugar and white chocolate. Once it is just combined continue to fold some more until some mixture dropped into the bowl very slowly melds down into the rest of the mixture. You do not want a runny mixture or your macarons will be flat. See the video for a visual example of what you are looking for.
Pour the mixture into a piping bag or ziploc bag with the corner cut off and pipe circles onto non-stick baking paper.
Bake at 150C (302 degrees Fahrenheit) for approximately 20 minutes. I like to bake on the top shelf for 15 and then move down for the last 5 – 10 as needed. Leave to cool on the paper and then carefully peel off.
Pair similarly sized macrons and fill with ganache. The recipe should make about 20 macarons.
Chocolate Ganache Recipe
150g (5.29 ounces) dark chocolate chopped
50g (1.76 ounces) or 31/2 tablespoons cream (35% fat)
Place chocolate in a bowl. Bring the cream to the boil and pour over the chocolate. Wait approximately 3 minutes for the chocolate to melt and then stir until smooth. Place in a ziplock bag in the fridge until firm enough to pipe – it thickens as it cools.
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I really want to make these! Do the shells taste like a chocolate macaron? If they don’t taste like chocolate, could I use this recipe to make chocolate macarons? Thanks!
Hi Lauren, yes you can use milk or dark chocolate to make them chocolate flavoured.
OMG! These are amazing! I just have a quick question. Do you know those candy melt things? Can I use that for the white chocolate if I use the white color?
Hi Eloise, you would need to test them, they should be OK
Finally, nut free macaroons! Thank youuuu so much for posting this. In my country almond is soooo expensive, wanna try making one but cant afford the nuts. Im going to try this recipe. Wish me luck 🙂
Ooo i’ll definitely be trying this! i’ve been looking for a recipe without almond! Do you know what would happen if I grated in regular milk chocolate rather than white chocolate? Thanks!
Hi Jenny, that should be fine too, I just used white in case people wanted to colour them
I don’t know what you mean by grated.. Can I just put chocolate chips in a food processor and make it fine?
Hi Marian, I get a lot of qu’s about this so beggining to think it is a term we use in Australia. Take a cheese grater (see here for a picture http://www.123rf.com/photo_4452327_cheese-grater-on-white-background.html ) and use the fine side and rub the chocolate on it. If you use a food processor it may be too fast and heat up the chocolate, let me know if it works.
I don’t get what do you mean by finely grated white chocolate
Is it the bar chocolate that we used to eat ? And how do you make the choco finely grated ?
Thanks in advance
Hi Lily, yes the normal bar chocolate grated using a fine cheese grater. If you do not have a grater you could very finely chop instead.
Hi. I was thrilled to find this nut free macaron recipe and would like to know how long dp they keep with or without filling in them as I need to cook in advance for a birthday party.
Hi Kathy, you could make the shells ahead unfilled and store in an airtight container in a single layer (for up to a week) and then fill they day before or day of the party.
Hi! I can’t find grated white choc here. I was wondering, would it be better if i chopped the white choc chips or if i melted it?
Hi Amira, I buy a block of white chocolate and fine cheese grater and grate it myself. If you do not have a grater then you could chop very finely, no do not melt.
Hello! I’m from Singapore and this will be my first time baking anything related to cake. I want it to turn out nice on my first try because my family loves cake and I’ve been wanting to work on Macarons for them. I’m wondering if there is any specific things that I should look out for while I make them? Like, if there is a specific type of cream(for ganache) or chocolate that is recommended to use. Also, is the ganache filling already chocolate flavored or do I have to add more things if I want it to be flavored? Thank you so much for posting different variations of Macarons/cakes on this site! I’m looking forward to coming back here to look for more recipes! 🙂
Hi AMira, the ganache taste of chocolate but you can flavour it, if you see these posts:
ginger ganache https://www.howtocookthat.net/public_html/chocolate-macaron-recipe-macaroons-with-ginger-ganache/
orange ganache https://www.howtocookthat.net/public_html/chocolate-orange-macarons-macaroons-recipe/
you can create your own flavour using the same techniques.
I am allergic to both nuts and dairy so white chocolate is out for me. Can I substitute dark chocolate alone or would I have to add something else for the protein content?
Hi Julie the dark chocolate we have hear has milk solids in it so would not be suitable with dairy allergy. If you have a different type of dark chocolate then the only way to see if it works is to try it out, I suggest making a 1/4 of the recipe as an experiment.
Hello, i was wondering if instead of white chocolate it you could use dark chocolate? Please answer as quickly ad you can
HI! thank you so much for the recipe!! im on a low fat diet and the nuts contain lots of fat!! i was wondering if there was a good substitute for the chocolate? even if there was not i would still make these!! thanks again!!
Hi talia, you are right nuts and chocolate are both high in fat, the fat content is needed for the macaron to work. You could try plain meringues instead they are low fat, but high sugar.
oh my gosh. i am so glad i stumbled upon this. i’m highly allergic to nuts and coconut – the most common substitute – so i thought i would never be able to taste something close to a macaron. now i can make my own beautiful substitutes! THANK YOU so much. you have no idea how happy i am.
I am glad that you found the recipe Leanne, enjoy them
Hi, I was wondering what does the macaroons taste like? Are they plain because those with the almond taste plain and they use food flavouring but you dont? Thanks from London
Hi Annie, I use flavoured fillings like chocolate ginger or orange. If you leave the macarons overnight once filled the flavour infuses throughout the whole thing. I do like the plain as well though. That is the beauty of making them yourself, you can make them just how you like them.
Is the consistency same as a regular macaron? I find regular macarons from a shop a little chewy.. is it the same as this recipe?
Hi tiffany they should be almost cakey inside with a crisp thin shell. I made some once and had to do something with one of the kids when the macarons were not quite done so i turned the oven off and left them in, they turned out hard on top and chewy inside and not nice at all.
I don’t have white chocolate. Can I use milk chocolate
Yes you can : )
Thank you very much for this recipe. And thanks for all your blog. Kiss from Madrid.
Thanks for leaving such a lovely comment Sary
Hello, Im glad that i finally found nut free macaron ! Thanks for the recipe !
I made this today and it came out super hollow and crispy , just a little chewy inside.
I use a toaster oven. By the way and i live in tropical country.
I put the first tray on the low shelf and second tray on the top shelf
The low shelf turn out nice but no feet at all
The top shelf turn out mostly cracked but started form a little feet.
Is there any tips from you to fix them?
Sorry for the bad grammar.
Best regards !
Hi there, love the recipe but im allergic to chocolate aswell as nuts, any further baking hints for the nut free macaroon recipe please
Hi Jacalyn, I have seen then made successfully with different types of seeds such as sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds… basically add them to the sugar and pulse in a food processor until they are powdered.
Thank you for posting this! I love macarons, but have developed a nut allergy in the last 4 years. I will be trying this very soon!
Hi Kristi, glad you can make these, so sorry to hear that you have developed an allergy to nuts.
How many macrons does this recipe make?
Hi josh se, It makes 20 whole, 40 shells in the size that I piped them but you can obviously make them smaller if you want.
Does anyone know how many macaroons this makes?
20 full or 40 halves in the size shown 🙂