A method has been discovered to produce a resistant starch product that retains the same cooking quality as found in untreated rice starch or flour, but has a higher percentage of starch resistant to .alpha.-amylase digestion. This method uses a debranching enzyme, e.g., pullulanase, to digest the starch, but does not require pre-treating the starch source prior to enzymatic treatment. This method produced resistant starch from low amylose starches, rice starch (24%) and rice flour (20%). Surprisingly the resistant starch product formed by this method retained the pasting characteristics of the untreated flour or starch, and was heat stable. This method may also be used to produce resistant starch from other botanical sources, e.g., corn, wheat, potato, oat, barley, tapioca, sago, and arrowroot. Resistant starch produced by this method has a variety of uses in food products.