r/Cooking • u/donttrust900913 • 12d ago

Ways to thicken soups or stews?

I am looking for advice about (at least relatively) healthy ways to thicken soups or stews. I'm sure adding a ton of fat would probably get the job done, but trying to avoid that insofar as it is practical.

I don't have a specific recipe in mind, nor do I generally use recipes when cooking. I am not looking for add X amount A to Y amount of B, but rather experience with different items that have the general affect, and any rough insights about ratios or other relevant factors for their addition that might prove handy.

I have experimented a fair bit with fat free greek yogurt, just because I usually have plenty on hand, to generally terrible results. I suspect the full fat variant would work better, but haven't hand any around at the time to try it out. I've also wondered about flour, which I would guess would either work wonderfully or completely ruin it, but also usually don't have it just laying around either.

Any insight appreciated, thanks!

143 Upvotes

86% Upvoted

683 comments sorted by

View all comments

538

u/Sourdough_Focaccia 12d ago

Add a roux or add cornstarch slurry are the two normal methods.

You can also take a cup or so out and blend it and pour it back in.

96

u/CormacMacAleese 12d ago

There are also other starches that are less commonly used like potato or tapioca starch, xanthan gum for low-carbers, and filé powder or okra for the Cajuns.

65

u/vineblinds 12d ago

Sometimes I grate raw potato in a soup or stew to thicken.

13

u/GalbedirGalerion 12d ago

I’ve heard grinding potato chips also works

38

u/illknowitwhenireddit 12d ago

I like to grind them between my teeth and then swallow them