Cornflour (cornstarch) can be swapped with several common starches or flours, but the best substitute depends on whether you are thickening a sauce, frying something crispy, or baking.

Quick Scoop

  • For sauces and gravies, the closest match is potato starch or arrowroot , both giving a smooth, glossy finish similar to cornflour.
  • For gluten-free baking, sorghum flour, millet flour, or a gluten-free flour blend work well in place of cornflour in many recipes.
  • For breading and frying, wheat flour, rice flour, chickpea flour, or spelt flour can stand in and still give you a crisp coating.

Best 1:1 Thickening Swaps

When a recipe uses cornflour to thicken soups, sauces, or custards:

  • Potato starch (1:1 by volume): Neutral taste, very similar thickening power; it gels at a slightly lower temperature, so do not overcook once thick.
  • Arrowroot starch (about 1:1): Great in clear sauces and glossy stir-fry sauces; avoid prolonged boiling or it can thin out again.
  • Tapioca starch/flour (about 1:1): Good for pie fillings and glossy sauces, slightly chewier texture if overused.

How to swap in a sauce

  1. Make a slurry with cold water (same way as cornflour).
  1. Stir into hot liquid off the boil, then gently cook until thickened.
  1. Stop cooking as soon as it reaches the texture you want, especially with potato or arrowroot starch.

If You’re Baking

If cornflour is part of a flour mix (e.g., in cakes, cookies, or gluten-free recipes), it often lightens the texture rather than just thickening. Good options:

  • Sorghum flour: Mild flavor, similar consistency to cornflour, works 1:1 in many gluten-free baking recipes.
  • Millet flour: Soft, slightly nutty, also usually 1:1; helps mimic cornflour’s tender crumb.
  • Quinoa flour: Light and nutty; you may need a bit less liquid because it holds moisture well.
  • Gluten-free flour blend: Often designed to replace flours like cornflour directly and can usually be swapped 1:1.

If you are not gluten-free:

  • Plain wheat flour or whole wheat flour can replace cornflour in some cakes or biscuits but will make them denser and less “melt-in-the-mouth.”

For Frying and Crispy Coatings

When cornflour is used to get a light, crisp coating on foods:

  • Rice flour: Very crisp and light, excellent for tempura-style batters.
  • Wheat flour or spelt flour: Easy to find, give a more “battered” bite than super light crispness.
  • Chickpea flour: Adds a nutty flavor and great crunch, especially in savory recipes.

Tips for crispiness:

  • Pat food dry, dredge in your chosen flour, then fry in hot oil without crowding the pan.
  • For extra crunch, mix rice flour with a little wheat or chickpea flour.

Quick HTML Table of Substitutes

Substitute Best Use Approx. Ratio vs. Cornflour Gluten-Free?
Potato starch Soups, sauces, gravies 1:1 Yes
Arrowroot starch Clear sauces, stir- fries 1:1 Yes
Tapioca starch Pie fillings, glossy sauces 1:1 Yes
Rice flour Frying, light batters About 1:1 Yes
Wheat flour Frying, some baking About 2:1 (wheat:cornflour) to match thickness No
Sorghum flour Gluten-free baking 1:1 Yes
Millet flour Gluten-free baking 1:1 Yes
Chickpea flour Savory batters, flatbreads About 1:1 Yes

Little “Forum-Style” Note

If your recipe is British and says “cornflour,” that usually means what Americans label cornstarch , so any direct substitute should be another pure starch (like potato, arrowroot, or tapioca), not a regular cornmeal or corn flour blend meant for baking.

TL;DR

  • For sauces: use potato starch, arrowroot, or tapioca starch.
  • For baking: use sorghum, millet, quinoa, or a gluten-free blend in similar amounts.
  • For frying: use rice flour, wheat flour, chickpea, or spelt flour for a crisp coating.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.