Sauces can really make the difference between an okay dish and an amazing dish. Rich, luscious and full of flavour, a good sauce is a vital ingredient for everything from pasta to steak. But what should you do if your sauce is more runny than rich? Fear not we’ve got some tips to fix that watery mess.
1. Reduce, reduce, reduce
Sometimes less really is more and if you’ve got a runny sauce this is definitely the case. Reducing a sauce helps to evaporate the water content so that the sauce becomes thicker and the flavour more concentrated. Reducing a sauce is as simple as cooking it over a medium heat until the volume has reduced and the sauce is at the consistency you want. This is a great method for pasta sauces and pan sauces but should be avoided for sauces containing soy sauce or lots of salt as the flavour will become too salty.
2. Butter
Everything tastes better with butter, right? Adding butter at the end of cooking to your sauce will bring a beautiful glossiness to the sauce and a richness to the taste. It won’t dramatically alter the thickness but it will give your sauce a lift. Make sure you add the butter to the sauce off the heat otherwise it will split.
3. Flour
The classic method for thickening sauces and gravy, flour works a treat for making your soups, casseroles and gravies thicker. To avoid the taste of raw flour, you’ll need to cook it off and the best way of doing this is by maxing a roux. Melt butter in a saucepan over a medium heat and then whisk in an equal amount of flour. Cook until it is a golden brown colour and then add the roux to your sauce, whisking to incorporate.
4. Cornflour
If flour’s the classic then cornflour is the gold-standard in thickening agents. Why? Because it is flavourless so it won’t change the taste of your sauce, it’s translucent when heated so it won’t make your sauce cloudy and most importantly, it works. Add about 1 tablespoon of cornflour per cup of sauce but don’t dump it straight in or it will clump. Instead, make a mixture with equal parts cornflour and cold water and whisk this into your sauce. Make sure you heat the sauce once you’ve added the cornflour up to boiling or almost boiling because the starch in cornflour is activated by heat and this will ensure it thickens properly.
5. Egg Yolk
Egg yolks are the ideal addition to pasta sauces, salad dressings and custards that need thickening. The protein in egg yolks thicken when heated and they also add a richness to sauces. You’ll need to be careful when adding egg yolks to hot sauces because they can scramble the sauce. To avoid this, whisk a small amount of the hot sauce into the egg yolk and then add that back into the sauce. Experiment with how many egg yolks you need, but start with one or two and build up from there.
FAQs
Add about 1 tablespoon of cornflour per cup of sauce but don't dump it straight in or it will clump. Instead, make a mixture with equal parts cornflour and cold water and whisk this into your sauce.
How do you thicken up a sauce? ›
7 Ways to Thicken up a Sauce
- Flour. If being gluten-free isn't a concern, adding flour is a fantastic way to thicken dairy-based sauces, thick soups and gravies. ...
- Cornstarch or arrowroot. ...
- Tomato paste. ...
- Reduce the liquid. ...
- Swirl in a pat of butter. ...
- Add an egg yolk. ...
- Puree some vegetables.
The most readily available sauce-thickener is flour. For a too-thin sauce, try adding a slurry (equal parts flour and water, whisked together) or beurre manie (equal parts softened butter and flour, kneaded together to form a paste)—both are ideal thickeners for rich and creamy sauces, such as steak sauce recipes.
How to thicken up a liquid? ›
Soup broths and other flavored liquids can be thickened with household ingredients, such as:
- Baby cereal.
- Instant potato flakes.
- Pureed baby food.
- Blended fruit.
- Corn flour.
Make a Slurry: Mix equal parts flour and water or other liquid together. Stir a good amount of the mixture into simmering sauce; cook for a few minutes, then add more until you have your desired consistency.
How to thicken sauce without heat? ›
Instead, make a mixture with equal parts cornflour and cold water and whisk this into your sauce.
How to thicken up a sauce without cornstarch? ›
Here are five of the best cornstarch substitutes for all your thickening needs.
- All-Purpose Flour. Yep, that's right — all-purpose flour is a very stable thickener. ...
- Arrowroot Powder. ...
- Potato Starch. ...
- Rice Flour. ...
- Tapioca Starch.
Ways To Thicken Sauce
- Tomato Paste. If your soup or stew is watery, adding tomato paste may help! ...
- Arrowroot. You might prefer to avoid gluten in your recipes. ...
- Flour. ...
- Reduce Your Liquid. ...
- Puréed Vegetables. ...
- Egg Yolk. ...
- Yogurt. ...
- Rice.
When to Keep the Lid Off. Cooking a soup, stew, or sauce uncovered allows water to evaporate, so if your goal is to reduce a sauce or thicken a soup, skip the lid. The longer you cook your dish, the more water that will evaporate and the thicker the liquid becomes—that means the flavors become more concentrated, too.
How to make sauce thicker without flour or cornstarch? ›
Egg yolks, arrowroot, tomato paste or butter can thicken sauce in place of flour or cornstarch.
It means bringing the sauce to a boil, reducing the heat, and letting the sauce simmer gently until it reaches your desired consistency. That might be 20 minutes or an hour—perhaps even longer.
What can be used to thicken? ›
- Cornstarch. Cornstarch is the most common thickening agent used in the industry. ...
- Pre-gelatinized Starches. Pre-gelatinized starches are mixed with sugar and then added to the water or juice. ...
- Arrowroot. ...
- Agar-Agar. ...
- Algin (Sodium Alginate) ...
- Gelatin. ...
- Gum Arabic or Acacia. ...
- Gum Tragacanth.
Examples of polysaccharide thickeners include cornstarch, arrowroot, tapioca, guar gum, carrageenan, pectin and xantham gum. 3. Liquids thickened with roux (or other flour-based thickeners) or eggs produce opaque products.
What is the most commonly used thickening agent? ›
Cornstarch is the most common thickening agent used in the industry. It is mixed with water or juice and boiled to make fillings and to give a glossy semi-clear finish to products.
Does sauce need to cool to thicken? ›
Keep in mind, a sauce that might seem too thin in the pot after the first cook, will thicken up after a few minutes off the heat. So you might not need to thicken your sauce at all. Let it sit for 10 minutes and check it. If your sauce is still too thin, reduce it.
Is it better to thicken stew with flour or cornstarch? ›
Cornstarch has twice the thickening power of flour. When a gravy, sauce, soup or stew recipe calls for flour, use half as much cornstarch to thicken. To thicken hot liquids, first mix cornstarch with a little cold water until smooth. Gradually stir into hot liquid until blended.
How do you fix a sauce that is too thin? ›
Next time you encounter a runny pan sauce, add a pat of butter, a splash of heavy cream, or a dollop of sour cream to slow down its flow rate and give it some body.
How to make sauce less watery? ›
Combine equal parts cornstarch and cold water. Stir together until smooth. Pour into your sauce and cook over medium heat, stirring continually, until the sauce reaches your desired consistency. Test the sauce with a spoon.
Can you thicken sauce after cooking? ›
To thicken a sauce that's too thin, your best bet is simply to reduce it, which means letting it simmer uncovered to evaporate excess liquid. Keep in mind, a sauce that might seem too thin in the pot after the first cook, will thicken up after a few minutes off the heat.
How do you thicken watery sauce without flour? ›
Suitable options include using reduction, vegetable purees, dried mushrooms, egg yolks, cheese or cream, chia seeds, almond and coconut flour, flax meal, konjak powder, nut/seed butter, gelatin and xanthan gum.
