White Rice Flour vs. Brown Rice Flour

We have all heard it – brown rice is better for you than white rice, right?

One cup of cooked long-grain brown rice clocks in at 216 calories with 5 grams of protein and 4 grams of fiber.

One cup of cooked long-grain white rice clocks in at 205 calories with 4 grams of protein and 1 gram of fiber.

Above data according to nutritiondata.com.

So, yes, we will call brown rice the winner here. But what about brown rice and white rice flours? So much of our gluten-free and allergen-free food contains these ingredients and I like to know what I’m eating!

Is brown rice flour healthier than white rice flour? Let’s compare using some popular brands:

Authentic Foods brown rice superfine flour has 140 calories in a ¼ cup serving, with 3 grams of protein and 1 gram of fiber.

Authentic Foods white rice superfine flour has 150 calories in ¼ cup, with 2 grams of protein and 1 gram of fiber.

Bob’s Red Mill gluten free brown rice flour also has 140 calories in a ¼ cup serving with 3 grams of protein, but it has 2 grams of fiber.

Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free white rice flour has a similar profile to Authentic Foods, clocking in at 150 calories with 2 grams of protein and 1 gram of fiber.

To compare King Arthur Flour’s gluten free brown rice flour, I needed to normalize the serving size by grams (because this flour is lighter than the others). Here, a serving size is 1/3 cup, with 146 grams, with 2.5 grams of protein and 1.3 grams of fiber.

It appears that the gap between white rice and brown has narrowed considerably when talking flour – enough that I would call it a draw. There is a greater variance by brand than by variety.

What flours do you use to add more protein to a gluten-free flour blend?