Pulse Flours (Lentil, Pea & Fava): Nutrients, What Research Shows and Safety

Pulse flours are made by grinding dried lentils, dried peas or dried fava (broad) beans into a powder. They show up in gluten-free breads and pasta, pancakes, baby foods, snack bars and "high-protein" baking mixes, and they can be sold on their own. People choose them for plant protein and fiber. This page covers lentil, pea and fava flour as foods. It keeps them apart from isolated protein powders (see pea protein), from chickpea flour (see chickpea flour) and from hype.

Read this first

• Fava flour is a problem for people with G6PD deficiency. Fava beans can set off hemolytic anemia (red blood cells breaking down) in people with this inherited condition, [10] [11] Fava flour is made from the same beans, so check blends for it.
• Cook the flour. The CDC says most flour is not treated to kill germs, and baking or cooking is what kills them. [12] Official lectin advice for legumes covers whole beans; we found no official guidance that raw pulse flour is safe to eat. [8] [9]
• Evidence in one line: in one small 2025 study, pea and lentil flours raised blood sugar more than the same pulses eaten whole, and all pulse meals were lower than a glucose drink. [3] We found no long-term trial of pulse flours as a food.
• Allergy: lentil and pea allergy are the most common legume allergies in one 2026 children's study, and most children reacted to several legumes. [13] For trouble breathing or swelling of the face or throat after any food, call 911 (or your local emergency number). [14]
• No USDA entry. USDA has no item for these flours in the files we used, so the nutrition table below uses the dry whole seeds the flours are milled from, and says so.

What is in it (USDA values for the dry seed)

USDA FoodData Central has no item for lentil, pea or fava flour in the files we used. The table gives the dry (raw) whole lentils (item 172420, SR Legacy) [1] and dry (raw) fava beans (item 175205, SR Legacy) [2] per 100 g. A flour made from the whole dried seed has the same starting material, but flour from dehulled seeds or milled in other ways can differ, and the table is not a measurement of any flour. A 2020 data set milled dried lentils and fava beans into whole-meal flour for analysis, but the numbers were in files we could not read. [17] The last two columns scale the lentil numbers to 30 g, a stated amount we chose because USDA lists no flour portion. A pea flour value is not in the table because we did not have a USDA entry for dry peas in our file.

% Daily Value uses the FDA 2016 Daily Values (per 30 g this is the 100 g percentage scaled by 0.3). USDA lists no Daily Value for energy or sugars. Values vary with variety, growing place and processing. Protein-enriched flours made by air classification or wet extraction are concentrates, not whole-seed flours: one 2025 study of fava, chickpea and red lentil fractions reported 58 to 84 g protein per 100 g in the wet-extracted fractions. [4]

Plant compounds: legumes contain resistant starch and oligosaccharides that ferment in the colon. [15] Raw legumes also contain antinutrients such as phytates, tannins and trypsin inhibitors, which bind minerals or block digestive enzymes; a 2026 scoping review of lab studies reports that fermentation can break down much of them. [7] That is lab and food-science evidence, not a trial in people.

What research says

Eaten as flour in food vs. whole pulses or protein isolates. Most health research on pulses is on whole cooked beans and lentils. The only human study of flours we read was small and short, and it found the flours worked less well for blood sugar than the whole seeds. [3] Processing steps such as heating, germination and fermentation change flour properties. [6]

How much is a normal serving

We did not find an official serving size for pulse flours. USDA lists no flour portion, so the table scales to a stated 30 g. In the 2025 blood sugar study, each flour meal supplied 50 g of available carbohydrate; that describes the study, not advice. [3] Whole cooked pulses have an NHS portion guide and a USDA household portion; see the sibling pages lentils and fava beans. This page gives information, not a prescription.

Safety, allergy and medicines

• Fava flour and G6PD deficiency. MedlinePlus Genetics says roughly 400 million people worldwide have G6PD deficiency and that fava beans can trigger hemolytic anemia in affected people, as can breathing the plant's pollen. [10] A 2023 review of favism case reports found severity highest in pregnant women and infants, most cases resolved without lasting effects, and hospitalization and transfusion were often needed. [11] We did not read a source on how much fava flour is safe or whether processing removes the risk. See fava beans.
• Raw or undercooked legumes. Health Canada says lectins occur in many legumes including soybeans, lentils and lima beans, with dry red kidney beans the main concern. [9] Ireland's FSAI says a low but steady number of illnesses in the EU are tied to raw or uncooked beans, and that legumes such as lentils and peas have the most lectins. [8] Neither page mentions flour. We found no source on raw pea or lentil flour; cook it. See lectins in beans.
• Raw flour hygiene. The CDC says baking or cooking is what kills germs in flour and advises against raw dough or batter. [12] We did not find a microbe survey of pulse flours.
• Allergy. In a 2026 Italian study of 55 children with legume allergy, pea (70.9%) and lentil (69.1%) were the most common, 74.5% reacted to more than one legume, and 25.5% also had peanut allergy. [13] Some "gluten-free" or "high-protein" products contain pulse flours, so read ingredient lists. MedlinePlus lists peanut and soy among major food allergens and says anaphylaxis is an emergency (call 911). [14] See food allergy basics and emergency signs.
• Digestion. Oligosaccharides and resistant starch can cause gas, bloating and cramps in some people. [15] See beans, gas, FODMAP and digestion.
• Kidney disease, medicines, pregnancy, children: USDA lists 677 mg of potassium (lentils) and 1062 mg (fava) in 100 g of the dry seeds. [1] [2] We did not read a source with limits for pulse flours, or on medicines or pregnancy. See foods, kidney disease, potassium and oxalates, food and medicine interactions and foods in pregnancy, and ask a clinician.

Choosing, storing and food safety

• Read the ingredient list. Look for fava, lupin, peanut or soy in blends if you have an allergy or G6PD deficiency.
• Cook all dishes fully. Only cooking or baking kills germs in flour. [12]
• Flavor. A 2025 study of pulses and pulse flours found that cultivar, harvest year and processing (boiling, roasting, milling) change the volatile compounds, which are linked to off-flavors. [18]
• Store flour dry and sealed; we did not read a source on pulse flour shelf life.

Related pages

• Chickpea flour (besan)
• Lentils
• Fava beans
• Pea protein
• Mesquite pod flour
• Lectins in beans: cooking dried beans safely
• Food allergy basics and emergency signs