How to Thicken Chili? – 7 Best Ways

If you are learning to cook and mistakenly made a bowl of chili a little bit soupy, and wondering how to thicken chili, you’ve come to the right place. There are many recipes available that can add up some texture and thickness to your chili.

This article will help you to find new recipes and ways to bring back the thick composition of chili by adding various items to that bowl of chili. We have included various methods – 7 to be precise. Those include thickening chili with flour, potato masher, slow cooker, etc.

How to Thicken Chili?

how-to-thicken-chili

Using Potato Masher

You can take a potato masher and smash some of the beans and vegetables so it will release the natural starches in it. Don’t crush all the beans because that way, the preparation will become soupier. If you want to have an authentic taste of your chili, then this way you can thicken up chili without adding anything.

How to thicken up chili with cornmeal?

When it comes to making soups thick, everyone believes in adding various flours in it. It can thicken up your soup, but experts don’t recommend this method. The cornmeal can be the best alternative to thicken up your bowl of chili. If you are querying how to thicken chili with cornmeal, follow the instructions to quickly fix-up your meal. There are two ways to add cornmeal into the chili, it’s either you can add directly into the chili or add some water with it. Beware about the taste of cornmeal because it does adds small graininess to your whole eating experience.

Using Flour To Thicken Chilli

The easiest method to stiffen your chili bowl is to thicken chili with flour. Don’t add directly into a bowl. It will create lumps in your delicious meal. If you are wondering how to thicken chili with flour. What can be the best method not to get lumps in your meal? Take an empty bowl, add 2 tablespoons of flour, and a cup of hot liquid from the chili bowl. Mix this until it becomes combined. Add this mixture into chili and stir, it’ll probably take 20 minutes to thicken the chili.

Add Tortilla Chips

People love the combination of chili and tortillas and think it does contain the better than eating one individually. Tortilla chips can break easily in the bowl of chili and absorb the extra soupy effect of your preparation.

To thicken your chili, crush tortilla chips with the palm and add it to the cooking meal. Don’t try to overdo it, a small number of crushed tortilla chips is considerably for your chili to thicken.

How to thicken chili with masa?

People don’t know more about masa dough. Corn is the main element in this dough. Moreover, it is used for making crunchy corn tortillas, tamales, and various other dishes of Native Americans. You would be familiar with Masa Harina, it is nothing but the powdered form of masa dough. If you are questioning how to thicken chili with masa. Add 1-3 tablespoons of masa in your chili and let it cook for 6-8 minutes and test if it’s ready to serve or not. It adds up the flavor of corn in it, so don’t overuse it to thicken the chili.

Adding Cornstarch To Thicken Chili

Cornstarch and flour are very different things, and it will generate different effects after adding into your meal. People tend to use the flour when the liquid is hot wherever you have to use cornstarch when soup’s liquid is cold to thicken the soup. If you are wondering how to thicken chili with cornstarch. Basically, we are going to make a batter of cornstarch slurry by mixing water in the cornstarch. Add this batter slowly into your chili bowl and let it cool for some time. If you are hungry and asking yourself how much cornstarch to thicken chili, it will take 5-10 minutes to get the result of thickness.

Making Chili In Slow Cooker

If you have enough time and want to eat healthily, a slow cooker might be the best option you have ever chosen. Sure, it does take time to ready your meal, but it doesn’t change the authentic taste of chili. If you are wondering how to thicken up chili in a slow cooker, then this slow cooker will help you to drain most of the water elements from the chili. Add your chili preparation and cook on the low heat for 4-5 hours, don’t forget to close the lid. 

Check various bacon aioli recipes while you’re at it.

We hope this article will help you to answer your question about how to thicken up the chili, how to thicken chili in a slow cooker, flour, and other recipes. Feel free to ask more about your queries in the comment section below.

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