986 thickener recipes

Slow cooker Burgundy beef stew simmered all day in red wine and crushed tomatoes with potatoes, carrots, and peas. Tapioca thickens the broth into a rich, spoonable sauce.

Sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips, and onions slow-baked in white grape juice until tender, then thickened into a glossy stew with arrowroot. A hearty vegetarian fall side dish.

Lima bean cheese bake with cheddar, ketchup, and milk in a bubbly casserole thickened with wheat flour. A six-ingredient vegetarian baked bean dish with a cheesy top.

Texas-style no-bean chili with ground beef chuck, pork, and cubed beef simmered in beer with bold spices and thickened with masa harina for competition-worthy flavor.

Pasta salad with chopped spinach, daikon, red grapes, and a guar-gum-thickened raspberry-honey-mustard dressing. A fat-free dressing that coats like oil without the calories.

Double-crust blackberry pie with a flaky shortening pastry and a simple sugar-and-flour-thickened filling. The kind of late-summer fruit pie that lets the berries do the talking.

Pasta e fagioli: Italian bean and pasta soup with white kidney beans, canned tomatoes, sun-dried tomato, basil, and oregano. A rustic vegetarian one-pot that thickens into a hearty meal.

Simple Hungarian cold cherry soup with just 6 ingredients. Fresh or canned cherries simmered with lemon, thickened with sour cream and cornstarch. Traditional chilled summer dish in 20 minutes.

A deeply flavored beef stew braised in Burgundy wine and rich stock with carrots, potatoes, rutabaga, mushrooms, and caramelized tomato paste. Thickened with a dark roux for velvety body.

This Sri Lankan kakuluwo simmers blanched crab in a spiced coconut gravy thickened with grated coconut and ground rice. Fenugreek, curry leaves, and lime make it unmistakably island-style.

Cuban black bean stew with ham, rum, and oregano served over rice. Dried beans soaked overnight and simmered until creamy, thickened by mashing a cup of beans back in.

Fresh pear salad with halved pears on lettuce, filled with cottage cheese and topped with a chilled pear-orange fruit dressing thickened with cornstarch. A vintage composed fruit salad.

Pasta e fagioli with pinto beans, pork chops, elbow macaroni, and tomatoes in beef broth. Half the beans get pureed to thicken the broth into a hearty Italian soup.

Vegan garlicky chili made with TVP (texturized vegetable protein) instead of ground beef. Five cloves of garlic, two ounces of chili powder, and masa for thickening deliver hearty, meaty character.

Homemade cranberry orange sauce studded with dried apricots and raisins. This fruity, jewel-toned holiday condiment can be made up to 4 days ahead and thickens beautifully as it chills.

Beanless ground beef chili spiked with cocoa powder and cinnamon for a rich, earthy depth. Thickened with masa harina and loaded with cumin, oregano, and five tablespoons of chili powder.