How to Thicken Soup If You're on a Low Carb Diet Plan

A cup of hearty soup fresh from the crockpot can a satisfying treat on a cold winter day. If you make your own homemade soups, you may find, at times, that your soup comes out too thin in texture which can make it less hearty. Many of the conventional ways to thicken soups use high carb ingredients such as white flour. If you're on a low carb diet plan, you may want to avoid adding white flour to thicken your soups. What are the alternatives? Fortunately, there are ways to add texture and body to a soup without adding significant carbs:

How to thicken soup: Use the power of reduction

One of the simplest but most time consuming ways to thicken a pot of soup without adding carbs is to allow the soup to simmer with the top off the crockpot until a portion of the liquid evaporates away. You'll be left with a thicker, hardier soup without adding a thing.

How to thicken soup: Guar gum

Guar gum is an effective thickening agent that has more than seven times the thickening power of corn starch without the carbs. The problem with using guar gum is that it tends clump when added to a liquid. If you use it, add small amounts very slowly allowing it to completely dissolve before adding more. You'll want to avoid adding more than is necessary as it can add add an unusual taste and slimy texture to the soup if added in excess.

How to thicken soup: Add cream

Cream not only will give a thicker texture to soup, it will also add a creamy lusciousness to the finished recipe. It may not be the best choice if you're restricting fat, but it'll work if you're on a low carb diet plan.

How to thicken soup: Pureed vegetables

One of the quickest ways to thicken a pot of soup is to remove some of the vegetables from the crockpot and puree them in the blender. Once they're pureed, stir them back into the soup. Pureed cauliflower or zucchini make excellent thickening agents since they're healthy and low in carbs.

How to thicken soup: Egg yolks