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What thickener will add least calories to soups and stews, producing effects similar to "regular" thickeners? All the ones I know are either pretty high-calorie, or produce results that are quite off "regular".

  • roux - lots of fat and carbs
  • flour + sour cream - same.
  • potato starch / mashed potatoes / instant potato puree - lots of carbs.
  • mashed beans - high protein content
  • xanthan gum - weird texture (shear-thinning liquid).
  • gelatin - very temperature dependent, almost no thickening effect on hot meals.

What are my other options?

Cindy
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SF.
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6 Answers6

5

Take one or two scoops of your soup (prefer the solid parts), put it into a blender, blitz until smooth and put it back into your soup.

You'll get zero additional calories and zero awful stuff your grandma wouldn't identify as food.

This obviously only works if we're not talking about a broth.

eckes
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4

You could use a corn starch and water slurry. Less corn starch is needed as compared to flour and no oil. Thickens quite well.

CMB92
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4

I would suggest Arrowroot powder; it is a powerful thickener, has no real flavor of its own, and can be used at lower temperatures. It is a bit more expensive, but if you can afford it, I would say it is probably the best overall option with the most flexibility.

Incorporeal Logic
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I have good success with either instant Masa powder (nixtamalized and dried corn flour) or powdered dried mushrooms. Both suck up water quite well.

Wayfaring Stranger
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Eggplant. I often fooled my kids into thinking the Alfredo sauce was classic, but it was just pureed cooked eggplant and cheese. I often thickened my soups this way. It was a way to get vegetables into their tummies without whining. Eggplant has very little taste on its own once peeled.

donna crews
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I like rolled oats to thicken a broth soup, potato flakes for a cream soup, and for my jalapeno broccoli asiago, I just blend some of the broccoli.

I really like the dried mushroom idea. I had never heard of that.

KoTerlingua
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