Cornstarch Substitute Guide: What to Use Instead of Cornstarch (With a Ratio Chart)

The best cornstarch substitute for sauces and gravy is all-purpose flour. Use 2 tablespoons of flour for every 1 tablespoon of cornstarch, and whisk it into cold liquid first so it doesn't clump. For a glossy, gluten-free finish, use arrowroot at 1 to 1.

If you've ever reached for the cornstarch and found an empty box, dinner is still on.

Something in your pantry will do the same job.

Cornstarch Substitute Ratio Chart

Cornstarch is a thickener. Its starch swells in hot liquid and turns it thick and glossy.

It also softens baked goods and gives fried food a crisp coating.

Each swap below replaces 1 tablespoon of cornstarch.

The arrowroot, tapioca starch, potato starch, and rice flour numbers come from Bob's Red Mill's guide to starches.

The flour and quick-cooking tapioca amounts are from the NDSU Extension substitution chart.

Bob's Red Mill says sweet white rice flour replaces wheat flour 1 to 1 for thickening. So use it like flour: 2 tablespoons per tablespoon of cornstarch.

Flour Instead of Cornstarch

Flour is the swap almost everyone has, and it's my pick for anything savory.

Use 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour for every 1 tablespoon cornstarch.

You need double because cornstarch is a much stronger thickener. Bob's Red Mill puts it the other way: use half as much cornstarch when a recipe calls for flour.

• Expect a cloudy look. Flour turns sauces opaque instead of clear and shiny.
• Give it a few minutes. Simmer after it thickens so it doesn't taste like raw flour.
• Skip it for gluten-free cooking. Wheat flour has gluten, so reach for a starch instead.

Best Swaps for Sauces and Gravy

Match the swap to the sauce.

• Gravy and pan sauces: Flour, 2 to 1. Gravy is supposed to be opaque, so the cloudy finish doesn't matter, like the gravy on my Salisbury steak with mushroom gravy.
• Fruit sauces, glazes, and stir-fry sauces: Arrowroot, 1 to 1. It's glossy and works well with acidic ingredients, which cornstarch doesn't.
• Creamy, milk-based sauces: Flour or potato starch. Bob's Red Mill says arrowroot can curdle milk-based cream sauces.
• Soups headed for the freezer: Flour. Bob's Red Mill notes cornstarch loses its thickening power in long, hot cooking or freezing.

Here's how the main thickeners handle tricky sauces, per Bob's Red Mill.

I keep this section short on purpose.

Slurries, roux, reductions, and every other fix live in my guide on how to thicken a sauce.

Best Swaps for Baking

In baking, cornstarch usually has one of two jobs.

It thickens a filling, or it softens a crumb.

Pie and Fruit Fillings

Quick-cooking tapioca is made for this. NDSU uses 4 to 6 teaspoons per tablespoon of cornstarch.

Tapioca starch (4 tablespoons per 3 of cornstarch) and arrowroot (1 to 1) also set clear and glossy.

Your cherry or blueberry pie still looks bright.

Flour works at 2 to 1, but the filling turns a little cloudy.

Puddings and Pastry Cream

Flour at 2 to 1 is your best bet.

Skip arrowroot here, since it can curdle milk.

Cookies, Cakes, and Pancakes

A spoonful of cornstarch in a dough makes the crumb softer. Bob's Red Mill says it adds softness to pancakes and muffins.

If you're out, use the same amount of flour. Your cookies will be a touch less tender, but they'll still bake up great.

Potato starch and arrowroot are the closest gluten-free stand-ins. Tapioca starch adds chew, so it changes the texture more.

Best Swaps for Frying and Coating

Cornstarch gives fried food a thin, crisp shell.

Bob's Red Mill notes starches can coat food for frying in place of wheat flour. My Dave's hot chicken breading uses cornstarch for a crunchy crust, and potato starch works the same way there.

• Potato starch: Swap 1 to 1 for dredging. It fries up light and crisp.
• Rice flour: Swap 1 to 1 for a crunchy crust.
• All-purpose flour: It works, but the crust is softer and more bready.

Since you're coating, not thickening, there's no need to double anything.

Use just enough for a thin, even layer, and shake off the extra.

Try potato starch the next time you make fried chicken.

Stacie's Tricks & Tips

• Start With a Cold Slurry: Bob's Red Mill mixes starch with an equal amount of cool water before it goes into anything hot. I thicken my copycat Wendy's chili this way. Dry starch in a hot pot makes lumps.
• Add a Little at a Time: It's easy to add more and hard to take it back out.
• Add It Late: Arrowroot and potato starch break down with long, high heat, and the sauce thins out again.
• Be Patient With Flour: It thickens more slowly, so give it a few minutes before adding more.
• Don't Use Baking Powder: It's a leavener, not a thickener. Baking powder makes sauces fizzy, not thick.

Key Takeaway

Keep flour and one gluten-free starch in the pantry, and you'll never stall on an empty cornstarch box again.

Put your swap to work in a bubbling chicken pot pie.

It's the cozy dinner the whole family will love.