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.
More macaron recipes for you:
easy macaron recipe
|
Macaron trouble-shooting & FAQ
|
nut free macarons
|
orange choc macarons
|
 macaron ice cream sandwich |
SEE ALL RECIPES |
chocolate macarons
|
fun with macarons
|
Salted Caramel Macarons
|
My Cookbook
Stores that sell my book listed by country:
http://bit.ly/ARcookbook
All recipe quantities in the book are in grams, ounces and cups.
we respect your email privacy
I didn’t like this recipe because my egg whites didn’t wip… I used an electric mixer and the right measurements..
I got so inpatient that I threw my batter away I wasn’t happy at all! -_-
Hi Imogen, egg whites will not whip if you get some egg yolks in them. Otherwise just keep whipping and they will go light and fluffy. Give it another go as whipping egg whites is something used in a lot of recipes.
Hi. What brand of white chocolate do you recommend?
Hi Michelle, I use Cadbury white chocolate
Mine baked well but they didn’t develop feet – do these need to sit before going into the oven?
Hi Megan, no they do not need to sit, no feet is can be from over / under mixing
Hey! I’m about to try this recipe, been looking for one with no nuts for a while now, since I have a nut allergy but have always wanted to try one. Wish me luck, and thanks for the recipe! 🙂
I was so excited to try this recipe! Having a nut allergy but always wanted to try macarons. Unfortunately mine fell completely flat and were hollow on the inside. Do you know where I went wrong?
Hi Katy, was your meringue sitff enough?
Hi Katy,
Check out these tips: https://www.howtocookthat.net/public_html/macaron-recipe-faq-troubleshooting/. Could be over/undermixing. As stated in the post the nut free ones are a little hollow.
Is white chocolate a must? can I replace with something else?
Hi Sara, You can leave out the white chocolate if you use almond meal or other nut meals, see this recipe https://www.howtocookthat.net/public_html/salted-caramel-macaron-recipe/
I’ve tried this with both milk and dark chocolate. Milk chocolate formed a dome, but cracked and had no foot. Dark chocolate turned out flat and cracked — rather like an ordinary chocolate cookie, now that I think of it. Both yummy, but not pretty macarons. So… if there’s a way to adapt this recipe for milk and dark chocolate, there’ll have to be other tweaks made.
Played with dark chocolate modifications and here’s what I’ve got: Increase the number of egg whites to five and add an additional 4 tsp sugar into the meringue. Whip the meringue into soft peaks. Keep the rest of the recipe the same, but cover remaining batter with plastic wrap until ready to use.
This is what is working (so far at least!) for me and the dark chocolate I’m using (Baker’s Premium Dark Chocolate). I think the dark chocolate makes the batter dry, hence the extra egg white, the soft-peaked meringue, and the plastic wrap covering. I’ve got nice domes and a little foot.
Hi SweetFanworks, It is all about the balance of ingredients. White chcolate works best as it allows for the macarons to be coloured most easily.
Awesome I love it when people do experiments and figure out new recipes ?
Amazing recipe I’m using them for my schools bake of sice it’s nut free!
Hi Ann. Someone asked if you could make macarons without eggs. You can make meringues (slightly different consistency) using chickpea brine – the water in a can of chick peas. I have not tried it myself, but thought you might experiment.
Thanks Dani, I have tried that recipe before, and have been meaning to make a video about it, one day.
I try his recipe 3 time and all times it turned in to a glob of mess . If there is any thing I can do please tell me
Hi Corina, It is purely a guess since we can’t see what you did. Most people have challenges getting the egg white right. You must use fresh, non-pasturised egg whites and caster or superfine sugar. They must be the right consistency before you add the other ingredients
This did not work . The sugar and egg mixture was runny after 5 minutes , 10 minutes , 15 minutes , and still runny after 20 minutes of blending
Hi Richard, This sounds like you may have got yolk in your egg whites or used pre-packaged pasteurised egg whites. I usually find it takes under 10 minutes to get the whites to a good consistency. Sometimes it may take a little longer. As long as the egg whites are fresh, they will begin to turn white and stiff with continued beating.
Then learn how to beat some damn egg whites before attempting any kind of baking.
Hey. I’m trying to make these macarons but the chocolate keeps melting when I try to grate it. How could I keep this from happening? Or do I just have to deal with it?
Hi Jordan, Try popping it and a plate or bowl in the freezer for an hour before trying to grate it. Then grate lightly onto the cold plate/bowl. It should keep it stable.
Thank you so much 🙂
How much woyld I need for say 60 macarons
Hi AwesomeN, as stated in the recipe this will make approximately 20 filled macarons. Results will vary depending on how large you make them.
I love your videos so much, it would be amazing if I had a shout out if you don’t mind.
Hey Ann, I love your videos and blog posts, they’re great! I can’t get hold of almond meal so I think I might make my own. When I ground the almonds, do they need to be skin free blanched almonds, or can I just use unsalted almonds you buy for a snack at the shops? I want to make macaroons tomorrow, so please reply as quick as possible.
Thanks,
Cyan
Hi Cyan, Usually you would use unsalted, blanched, skin free almonds. You would need to grind the meal quite fine to work.
instead of using white chocolate, I replaced it with cocoa. it turned out the same.
Did you use cocoa powder or some other type of chocolate?
I just tried the white chocolate recipe for the macarons, I used melting wafers. They were runny, but delicious. Thanks for the recipes & tips on this little desert.
can you switch out the white chocolate for milk chocolate?
Hi Emily, Ann hasn’t tried it but how well it will work will depend on the delicate balance of protein and fat in the recipe. If you give it a go, let us know how it turns out.
how long do they last? x
Ususally they get eaten straight away at our place! Unfilled shells stored in an airtight container will last 3-5 days. Once filled you need to consume them as the filling will make the shells soften.
The nut free macaroons was so amazing.?
That is great to hear Macaroon love!
Can I use milk chocolate powder instead of white chocolate?
Hi Autumn, Is the powder actually chcolate or is it a chcolate drink mix? Ann created this recipe to work with white chcolate so the results will not be the same with other chocolate. If you decide to experiment, then let us know how it goes.