Q&A for How to Thicken Soup

One of the best ways to do it is to make a roux, which involves combining flour and melted butter. The butter will help prevent the flour from clumping up and turning into dough when you put it in the soup.

Allowing your soup to simmer can help it thicken, since it will help some of the liquid evaporate away. This will work better if you’ve added a thickening agent, such as cornstarch.

Yes. It works best if you combine the flour with melted butter to make a roux, so that the flour won’t clump up in the soup.

If you want a creamy soup, just blend it. There's enough starch in both vegetables to make it thick and creamy.

Use 5 tablespoons of cold water and 1 tablespoon of cornstarch, mix well then whisk into hot soup. If it's still not thick enough, repeat.

Puree some of the veggies until they are a thick liquid, then add back to the soup.

No. Milk is mostly water with some fat and other natural chemicals. Potato soup is probably going to be thicker than milk, so trying it would be counterproductive. Sour cream should work much better.

If your soup maker has a removable measuring cup in the top, pour or spoon it through this, then reattach the cup. This is what I do with mine. Otherwise, I recommend you add a spoonful of guar gum (available at health food stores if not in your supermarket health-food aisle) and add it to your soup maker after the soup has cooked; use the blender function to mix it in the hot soup until you obtain the desired consistency. This is what you can do with any kind of soup maker, especially the kettle-type ones with the mixing wand extending down from the top.

Use a blender to smooth the soup, and then reheat for about five minutes.

Yes, you can thicken soups slightly by cooking the pasta directly in the soup.

Yes, as some of the liquid will evaporate, making a thicker soup.