How To Thicken A Tomato Soup? (easy 8 Way’s)

Do you know How To Thicken A Tomato Soup? Nothing like a warm bowl of tomato soup on a cold day. Thick and satisfying, it’s the perfect comfort food. But sometimes, the soup can be a little too thin.

If you want to thicken your tomato soup without adding extra ingredients, there are a few ways. Keep reading for tips on how to make your soup thicker and more delicious than ever!

In a large pot, heat your favorite tomato soup. Stir in the basil and let it simmer for a few minutes. Salt to taste and enjoy!

How To Thicken A Tomato Soup
How To Thicken A Tomato Soup

Table of Contents

What is Thicken a Tomato Soup?

A thickening agent is any food or ingredient that can thicken a liquid. There are three thickening agents: starch, flour or cornstarch, and slurry, made by combining water and other elements to create a paste-like mixture.

And gelatin. Gelatin will be the best choice if you have not used these ingredients in your soup before because it is less likely to impart an off-flavor.

Starch-based thickeners include flour (baking soda) and cornstarch (cornflour). Flour is often used to make custards since it will not curdle milk like egg yolks. Cornstarch is suitable for thicker sauces because it is not gritty. Slurry-based thickeners are made by mixing a liquid and other ingredients that can turn into a paste to thicken the soup.

These thickeners include cornstarch (cornflour), arrowroot, pectin, and potato flour. They are not very strong thickeners and tend to be used in sauces rather than soups because they do not withstand much heat. Gelatin-based thickening agents include unflavored gelatin, powdered gelatin, and agar powder.

How To Thicken A Tomato Soup?

1. Reduce The Liquid:

If you want to thicken a soup or sauce, the first thing to do is reduce its liquid. There are two methods for reducing liquid. Heat the saucepan and pour off any fat that rises to the top while boiling the soup.

Or, bring the soup to a boil, set it aside from the heat, and continue simmering until half of the liquid has evaporated. Observe so that your soup does not burn or scorch!

2. Add Thickening Agent:

Next, add a thickening agent, then stir thoroughly to blend in. If you use flour or cornstarch as a thickener, mix with a pinch of salt and add to the hot soup. Let the flour cook in the soup for about five minutes before stirring.

You want to make sure that the soup is completely absorbed before serving! If you are using slurry-based thickeners, you may use them immediately or save them until the end of your recipe.

3. Gelatin:

Alternatively, use gelatin to thicken your tomato soup. Gelatin will not affect the flavor of the finished dish, but you need to ensure that it is completely dissolved before serving! You can dissolve unflavored gelatin in cold water for 10 minutes before adding it to your heated soup.

Powdered gelatin requires rehydrating in a small amount of cold water for approximately five minutes. After rehydrating, add the gelatin to a small amount of boiling liquid from the soup and stir until it is melted. Then add to the rest of the soup.

4. Strain:

If your tomato soup is too thick, you may need to strain it so that it is a more familiar consistency. Use cheesecloth over a fine-mesh strainer, or pour the soup through a sieve into another pot. Make sure that the soup is completely cooled before placing it over heat to avoid burning yourself!

5. Reduce The Amount Of Thickening Agent:

If you do not want a thick tomato soup, you can instead add less thickening agent until it is the consistency that you like.

This will take careful stirring and watching so your soup does not scorch or burn. For example, add a pinch of salt or arrowroot for a thicker soup after the cooked soup has cooled. For a thinner soup, use a less thickening agent. You may also want to reduce the amount of liquid that you add.

6. Alternatives:

If you still do not want to use a thickening agent, you can add any other ingredient that will thicken your tomato soup. For example, if your soup has a taste that you do not like, try adding chicken stock to make it less salty.

Add some minced mushrooms or ground meat if your tomato soup is too thin and flavorless. Another option is to add vegetables such as carrots or peas. A pinch of sugar can also be added for sweetness if needed.

7. Set The Soup Aside:

The final step to thicken a tomato soup is to set it for an hour or so after cooking before serving. Otherwise, the sizzling sound will be too tempting! Leave the soup simmering on very low heat for this time and benefit from there.

8. Blend and Serve:

Finally, you can thicken your tomato soup by blending it until smooth and creamy! This is the easiest method if you can wait for your sauce to thicken before serving.

Tips & Suggestions:

  1. If your soup is too thick, use a less thickening agent.
  2. Reduce the amount of the thickening agent if you do not want a thick soup.
  3. For a thicker extract, replace the water with chicken broth or beef stock.
  4. Add vegetables such as carrots or peas to your tomato soup for extra flavor and thickness.
  5. If your tomato soup is too thin, stir in arrowroot for thickness or cornstarch for a specific flavor or texture adjustments (e.g., potato flour if you do not like the taste of cornstarch).
  6. For both a thicker and thinner soup, add more liquid or less thickening agent to your soup until you get the desired texture.
  7. If your soup is too thick, strain it to make it thinner before serving.
  8. Use a blender or food processor to blend the soup until smooth and creamy before serving.

5 Ways to Thicken Tomato Soup – All You Need to Know

1. Reduce the liquid: Some tomato soup recipes call for a lot of liquid, especially if it is made of fresh tomatoes. You can reduce the amount of juice so that your soup becomes thicker and creamier with time.

2. Use starch: While some tomato soups do not need any thickeners, if you are going to use starch to thicken up your sauce, cornstarch will be the best choice because it is less likely to impart an off-flavor.

3. Use gelatin: In addition to the tomato, you can also use gelatin for thickeners. Just dissolve it in a small amount of cold water before adding it to your hot soup. Be sure to remove any clumps that form before stirring the dissolved gelatin into your soup.

4. Add cream or milk: Although not necessarily as healthy or economical as other thickening methods, this is probably the most common way of thickening tomato soups and sauces.

5. Use a blender:  If you are concerned about the taste of thickeners and still want to add them to your tomato soup, you can blend them until you get the desired consistency. This works exceptionally well with soups that contain cream or milk, as the blender will help strengthen the sauce without imparting an off-flavor.

How to Prevent Watery Tomato Soup?

Watery tomato soup is the problem that many of us encounter when preparing this classic dish. This is mainly because tomatoes are made up of 97% water, and very little is actually in their solid state.

Therefore, to prevent watery tomato soup, one must first remove as much as possible without compromising nutrients and flavor. Here are a few tips on how to do this:

1. Rinse: Always rinse your canned tomatoes in water until you have removed all the thick liquid from their flesh. This can be done by ensuring that the cap is firmly secured after opening the jar. If you do not do this, watery soup is likely.

2. Blanch and Cool: After rinsing tomatoes, you need to blanch them and cool them in cold water for about 5 minutes before peeling them off. This will allow some of the water to evaporate, preventing your sauce from being too diluted with water.

3. Drain: Blanching tomatoes require a lot of time and are not practical for mass consumption. To solve this problem, drain the water off your tomatoes or ensure they are completely cooled before adding them to the bowl. Once in your bowl, use a spoon to get most of the water out before mixing any other ingredients.

4. Remove Cream: For tomato soup that still tastes delicious, you have to separate the liquid from the solid parts of it. The best way to do this is to turn down your heat and let the can warm up. Once the mixture heats up, one of the liquids inside the tomatoes will rise and float on top of the soup. You can remove this liquid by carefully lifting it with your spoon and discarding it.

5. Remove Dried Tomato Pieces: Another way of getting rid of excess watery liquid is to add a handful of large tomatoes now and then so that they continue cooking and eventually become dry enough. Once they are dry, you can leave them aside for a couple of hours. Once you serve your tomato soup, you can chop and add them back to the soup to reduce the amount of watery liquid even more.

What Is the Healthiest Way To Thicken Tomato Soup?

When dealing with the issue of watery tomato soup, you can either opt for thickening it with thickeners or reducing the amount of liquid in your sauce. Both are great tricks and very easy to do.

However, when you choose thickeners instead of reducing liquid, you must ensure that the thickeners are natural and healthy. Otherwise, your soup can be compromised by added sugars or artificial ingredients.

The best choice, therefore, is to thicken it naturally. This can be achieved by opting for arrowroot, gelatin, cornstarch, potatoes, and tomatoes. All of these are natural ingredients, and none of them has any harmful additives or contents.

When it comes to reducing the amount of liquid in your sauce, the best advice is to do so as much as possible before you open the can and take out its contents using a spoon. This way, you will not have to worry about watery tomato soup in the first place.

Will Cooking Tomato Soup Longer Thicken It?

Cooking tomato soup for longer will thicken it up. However, this does not mean it will be the healthiest way to make your soup thicker.

The best way to thicken tomato soup is by using a thickener like arrowroot, gelatin, or potatoes. Adding these ingredients to the stove while your soup is still hot should make your sauce thicker.

Thickeners like cream and milk may impart an off-flavor and are therefore less preferable than starches and vegetables.

There are also other ways in which you can thicken tomato soup. You can choose between putting your pot into a microwave and heating it gradually or boiling the sauce until you can’t put any more water in. The latter method will require you to bring the sauce to a boil, then lower the temperature. This will help the thickening process to take place by causing some of the liquid to evaporate.

Conclusion

Tomato soup is one of the most popular tomato recipes, and if you want to know more about it, you should check out this article. We gave you all the information you need to thicken your sauce and make it thicker. Do not hesitate and go ahead and start improving your culinary experience.

The information provided in this article is for educational purposes; it is not intended to replace medical advice. Always consult your physician with any questions regarding a medical condition.

Although most of the information offered here is focused on making tomato soup thicker, you will find some other tips and tricks geared toward making your tomato sauce thicker.

This article contains such recommendations, but we also have several other pieces to offer, including ones that will help you produce the perfect spaghetti sauce and ensure that your pasta sauce is nutritionally excellent. I hope this article on how to thicken tomato soup has been helpful.

My name is Shayon Mondal, and I am the proud owner of Foodsvision, a vibrant and delicious food blog. At Foodsvision, we believe in the power of food to bring people together and create memorable experiences. Join us on this culinary journey as we explore diverse flavors, share mouthwatering recipes, and celebrate the joy of cooking. Get ready to tantalize your taste buds and embark on a delightful adventure with Foodsvision! And more info page https://foodsvision.com/about-shayon-mondal/

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