How To Thicken Chili? Learn Six Easy Methods

You can sprinkle a tablespoon of cornmeal to thicken chilis. Even masa harina or polenta can do the trick:

• Adding any of these three ingredients to a hot pot of chili can allow the latter to absorb and thicken the liquid. 
• Let the chili simmer for around 10 minutes before you serve it.

Some people don’t like this method because it gives chili a slightly grainy texture. But I’d say that it’s no different from crushing cornbread into chili.

If you haven’t noticed, tortilla soup recipes use tortilla chips to thicken the soup. That’s why you can also add tortilla chips to thicken chili.

Like in the previous method, this is pretty simple and straightforward: 

• Simply tear up some tortillas into bite-sized pieces. 
• Add these into the chili and let the latter simmer for 10 minutes.
• Stir again before serving the thickened chili.

Making cornstarch slurries and adding it to chili is another method that people resort to in thickening chili. What I love about cornstarch is that it won’t change the taste or flavor of the chili dish. 

Just make sure not to add a lot of slurry if you don’t want to eat a toned-down version of chili.

This is also very simple to do:

• Simply combine a tablespoon of cornstarch with a tablespoon of water in a bowl. 
• Stir well before adding to the chili placed over medium heat so that there won’t be any lumps.
• Once you have added the cornstarch slurry to the chili, increase the heat to high until you see bubbles in the dish. The chili should thicken after a few minutes.
• You can add more of the slurry if you find the dish not thick enough. When you do so, let the dish stand for an extra two minutes after it thickens. This should allow the cornstarch to separate entirely.

Arrowroot is widely used in thickening soups and stews. 

Not surprisingly, you can also use it to thicken chili:

• Just add a teaspoon of arrowroot with a teaspoon of cold water to chili - no need to mix it in a separate bowl. 
• Within 10 minutes, you will notice that the chili will thicken.

Like most starches, arrowroot will add a minimal sheen to the dish.

Here’s another way to thicken your chili with a very simple ingredient - blending tomato paste. 

What I like about this method is that it won’t introduce a new flavor to the dish. It will only improve the taste of chili:

• I usually add a teaspoon of granulated sugar to offset the sharpness of the tomato paste. It can also add a bit of sweetness to the dish.
• Add the tomato paste gradually into the dish.
• Start with a third of a can then blending the paste well with the chili. You’d be able to gauge the thickness of the chili this way so that you won’t be able to over-thicken the dish.

Finally, home-cooked or canned beans can be used too in thickening chili. Crushing beans can further thicken the chili:

• I usually add white kidney beans to chili to make the latter thick. 
• I smash the beans against the side of the pot before stirring them with the dish.

But what if the chili dish has beans?

• Well, you can strain out about half a glass of it then re-broil. 
• You can also puree the beans. Put the beans back into the chili and let it cook for a few minutes.
• Mix it well until the dish has become hot.