How To Thicken Soups: Tips And Techniques (2024)

FAQs

How To Thicken Soups: Tips And Techniques? ›

Add Flour Or Cornstarch

You can thicken soup by adding flour, cornstarch, or another starchy substitute.

Add Flour Or Cornstarch

You can thicken soup by adding flour, cornstarch, or another starchy substitute.

It's important to note that cornstarch has twice the thickening power of flour. If you need to substitute cornstarch to thicken liquid in a recipe that calls for ¼ cup (four tablespoons) flour, you only need two tablespoons cornstarch.

Soup Thickening Method: Cornstarch Slurry

Cornstarch is flavorless, easy to mix up, and versatile, which makes it a go-to pantry ingredient. I made a classic slurry by whisking cornstarch and hot broth until smooth in a small bowl.

Add more liquid: The simplest solution is to add more liquid, such as water, broth, or milk. Start by adding a small amount and gradually add more until you reach the desired consistency. Use a blender: If you have a blender, you can puree the soup in batches, adding more liquid as needed.

Cornstarch is the most common thickening agent used in the industry. It is mixed with water or juice and boiled to make fillings and to give a glossy semi-clear finish to products.

A handful of uncooked rice. That's all folks, just a handful of white rice. Any kind will do: jasmine, basmati, short grain, long grain. When added to a brothy (or watery, even) soup, and left to simmer for 20-30 minutes, the rice breaks down, releasing its starch and thickening the liquid that it's cooking in.

Add a slurry at the end.

A slurry is a mixture of flour and water, whisked together until smooth and added towards the end of cooking; it's a super-simple way to thicken any soup. For slow cooker soups, add your slurry with at least 30 minutes of cook time left so that the raw flour can cook and thicken the soup.

How much cornstarch to thicken 4 cups of soup? ›

Whisk together equal parts cornstarch (or arrowroot) and water or broth, then whisk it into the pot of soup. A good ratio to get to a pleasant thickness without your soup tasting goopy or heavy is one tablespoon. slurry to 4 cups of soup.

Remember that some soups will thicken on their own as they sit and cool; the ingredients may continue to absorb liquid, so yours might just need another day to reach perfect consistency.

Much like French food, which relies on a roux for a perfect bechamel sauce or beef bourguignon and involves butter cooked with flour, Chinese and Cantonese cuisines use cornstarch to thicken sauces. However, it's predominantly added at the end of the cooking process rather than at the start.

You don't need to use commercial thickeners for foods, since soup and other foods can be easily thickened with powdered potatoes (used for instant mashed potatoes), rice cereal, tapioca, or Jell-O, for example.

What are Thick Soups? Thick soups are soups that are thickened using flour, corn-starch, cream, vegetables, gelatines and other ingredients. Depending on how you thicken a soup, you can get different textures and flavours. For example, a potage of boiled meat and vegetables results in a thick, mushy soup.

Aside from rice, you can also use bread, potatoes or beans, according to Breana Lai Killeen, M.P.H., RD. Killeen says, "When stirred into soup, stale bread, mashed beans and mashed potatoes cook down to create a creamy, rich texture, all without adding cream.

Occasionally, a soup recipe will call for beaten eggs as a thickening agent. Both whole eggs and yolks can be used. To avoid curdling the eggs, start by drizzling about ½ cup of the hot broth into the eggs, stirring vigorously while you pour. Then add the egg mixture to the soup and cook until thickened.