"Tapioca starch is a gluten-free flour that comes from the cassava plant. You can use it to thicken soups, stews, and gravies, or you can swap out wheat flour with tapioca for gluten-free baking. Tapioca starch, sometimes called tapioca flour, comes from the root of the cassava plant, also known as yuca, a tuberous root vegetable native to South America. Manufacturers wash the cassava root, pulverize it into a soft pulp, and then squeeze it to extract the liquid. When the liquid evaporates, the extra-fine, white powder that remains (which is pure starch) is known as tapioca flour. Tapioca starch is a neutral-tasting flour and is naturally gluten-free and vegan. This makes it a good substitute and gluten-free alternative to many other flours. It’s a common ingredient in gluten-free flour mixes, which typically contain a combination of cornstarch, potato starch, rice flour, almond flour, xanthan gum, and brown rice flour. You can usually find tapioca starch in the baking aisle of grocery stores."