The Best Xanthan Gum Substitutes

Xanthan gum has been critical to my ability to develop gluten free recipes since 2005— but I've been searching for a proper xanthan gum substitute for a long time. If you're looking for a way to replace xanthan gum in your baking, I can help!

Here are 4 worthy substitutes. I've tested the first 3 in my recipe for gluten free chocolate chip cookies. The 4th is only for yeast bread:

• Cellulose, or “Perfect Gluten Replacement” (replaced xanthan gum nearly 1:1)
• Guar Gum (about 2.5 times as much as xanthan gum)
• Konjac Powder (a bit more than xanthan gum by volume)
• Psyllium husk (in yeast breads, with varying results)

What is xanthan gum & why do we use it?

Xanthan gum is a complex sugar that is created through the fermentation of sugar by naturally-occurring bacteria, which is then dried and ground into a powder. It's a hydrocolloid (that is, creates a gel with water) that has been FDA-approved for use in foods in the U.S. since 1969.

Xanthan gum acts to bind food ingredients together, retain moisture, and add elasticity. It's activated at any temperature and remains stable in very high heat and over long periods of time, making it ideal for replacing some of the properties of gluten in gluten free baking.

Why should you replace it?

In recipes that call for xanthan gum, you should only replace xanthan gum if you don't like it or just don't want to use it. Maybe you're sensitive to it even in the relatively very small amounts it appears in food (usually less than 0.4% of the total weight of the ingredients in a recipe). Or maybe you've just heard that psyllium husk is much better in yeasted gluten free bread than xanthan gum.

In recipes that already call for a gluten free flour blend without xanthan gum, like gluten free pancakes, gluten free crepes, and as the base for a roux for gluten free gravy, you don't need to replace xanthan gum. But in gluten free baking that calls for xanthan gum as a gluten replacement, if you want to avoid it, I'm here to help.

How can you replace it?

To replace xanthan gum in cookies, cakes, muffins, and pastries, I recommend guar gum, konjac powder and cellulose powder for binding, thickening and elasticity. For yeast breads, I also recommend psyllium husk.

There's no magical formula where I can tell you exactly how much of each of these binders to use in place of xanthan gum in absolutely any recipe. Like the ideal amount of xanthan gum to use in any particular recipe varies, so does the amount of each of these substitutes. As a point of reference, xanthan gum weighs about 3 grams per teaspoon.

Guar gum

Guar isn't as good at retaining moisture, so it's not ideal for yeast breads, which are baked at higher temperatures for longer periods of time. I used about 2.5 times as much guar gum in the cookies as I would have xanthan gum. Guar gum weights about 2.6 grams per teaspoon.

Konjac powder

Derived from the tuber of the konjac plant, it's high in glucomannan, a dietary fiber that is known for gelling and thickening properties. I used about 1.5 times more konjac by weight, and about the same amount by volume, as xanthan gum. Konjac weights about 3.2 grams per teaspoon.

Cellulose

Sold by Modernist Pantry as “Perfect Gluten Replacement,” this “modified cellulose” product is a dietary fiber derived from the cell walls of plants. I used quite a bit more cellulose by volume and nearly 2.5 times the weight of xanthan gum. Cellulose weighs about 1.4 grams per teaspoon.

Psyllium husk

A dietary fiber derived from the plantago ovata plant, psyllium husk is sold as the “whole husk” or ground into powder. It turns into a gel in water that resembles hydrated flax, and adds binding, elasticity and makes raw gluten free baked goods easier to handle. It starts to break down at relatively low baking temperatures. Whole psyllium husk weighs about 5 grams per tablespoon.

Baking cookies with a xanthan gum substitute

I tested cellulose, guar gum, and konjac powder in my perfect, thick and chewy gluten free chocolate chip cookies recipe. I eliminated psyllium husk from this round of testing because I only like it as a binder in yeast bread.

The testing process

I researched how much of each binder to use in drop cookies like these, and kept every single other ingredient constant as directed in the recipe. I used eggs and butter from the same batches, at the same temperature, in exactly the same amounts. I was meticulous in avoiding cross-contamination of the binders. No cheating!

For the flour blend, I used Vitacost Multi-Blend Gluten Free Flour, which is gum-free, super inexpensive and excellent for drop cookies. I couldn't use Better Batter's classic blend or Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1, which already contain xanthan gum. I didn't want to use Nicole's Best, since it tends to bind somewhat well even without xanthan gum.

I made a half-batch of the cookies, weighed out 50 grams raw dough for each cookie, and let the dough chill for 12 hours exactly before baking according to the recipe instructions.

I used the following exact amount in each 1/2 batch of cookie dough:

• 2 teaspoons guar gum (about 5 grams) (or 1.2 % of total recipe weight)
• 1 teaspoon konjac powder (about 3 grams) (or 0.7 % of total recipe weight)
• 2 1/2 teaspoons cellulose (about 3.7 grams) (or 0.85 % of total recipe weight)

Test results

In making classic drop-style gluten free chocolate chip cookies, here's how guar gum, konjac powder, and cellulose powder performed when I used them in place of xanthan gum in the amounts listed above:

Guar gum

The cookies held their shape beautifully, and the results were nearly identical to what I expect from xanthan gum. No notes!

Konjac powder

The cookies didn't hold their shape quite as well, but I think it might require more for an ideal result. I really liked this in gluten free biscuits without xanthan gum, so I remain really hopeful about it.

Cellulose

This was my favorite binder of the bunch, outperforming even guar gum. The cookies held their shape even as they cooled just like ones made with xanthan gum, without feathering on the edges.

Here's a photo of all of the cookies from all 4 batches, finally able to mingle together. Can you spot which is which? I definitely can't any more!

Psyllium husk in gluten free baking

Xanthan gum doesn't break down even at high oven temperatures over long periods of time, so it works beautifully for the long baking times that are often necessary to bake good gluten free bread. But it produces a somewhat boring crumb, and I know that yeast bread with psyllium is easier to handle and even knead (making a stand mixer less important), so I started testing months ago.

General use principles

Be sure to use higher purity “blond” husk, which is a light tan color from which the outermost layer of the husk is removed, or your baked goods may turn a harmless but unsightly blue/purple color. I like NaturaleBio brand whole husk from Amazon, but if it's out of stock, I would buy Yupik brand.

I prefer to use the whole husk, as opposed to psyllium husk powder. If you prefer to use the powder, use about 15% less by weight in a recipe that calls for the whole husk.

Baking a loaf of bread with psyllium

When I used psyllium husk in place of any xanthan gum in my gluten free artisan bread, made in a Dutch oven, I was completely unsuccessful. Without the supportive structure of a loaf pan, the high sides of a Pyrex bowl, or any xanthan gum or substitute, it didn't hold its shape as it cooled.

When I added psyllium in place of xanthan in my classic white gluten free bread recipe, using the Vitacost Multi-Blend Gluten Free Flour, the dough rise quite high but also slumped a bit as it cooled. It was also very damp inside even after cooling for 2 hours. Psyllium gel starts to break down around 180°F, so it requires the right kind of additional support in the form of enough starches, egg whites, and/or ideally some xanthan gum to support the rise as it cools.

Next, I added 20 grams of psyllium husk and 1 extra tablespoon of lukewarm water to my gluten free bread recipe, using Better Batter's classic blend which already contains xanthan gum. It was one of the best gluten free loaf breads of my life, with a crisp crust, a tender inside that was moist but not wet, and a lot of bready taste and aroma. It also had a longer shelf-life.

You can see below how it rose really high and has a pleasantly irregular crumb thanks to the psyllium husk, and held its shape beautifully after rising very high thanks to the egg whites—and the xanthan gum. Xanthan gum alone tends to yield a very regular, uniform crumb, but this was a more gluten-like crumb.

Baking shaped bread with psyllium

So far, I have not liked using psyllium husk in place of xanthan gum entirely in shaped gluten free bread made with an all purpose gluten free flour blend. I've tried gluten free bagels and gluten free cinnamon rolls, but they didn't hold their shape.

I do really love the combination of xanthan gum and psyllium husk in shaped gluten free breads, though, made in my usual style.

In my recipe for gluten free cinnamon rolls, I used the Vitacost gum-free blend, but added xanthan gum and psyllium husk with great success. The rise was even and controlled, with tons of oven spring, and the rolls were chewy and even held the filling better.

Psyllium husk + a xanthan gum substitute in breads

Next, I plan to test these yeasted gluten free bread recipes using either konjac powder or cellulose in place of xanthan gum plus psyllium husk. I expect really good results. I won't try guar gum, since I expect it won't retain moisture over the long baking time.

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