The slow cooker has to be one of my favourite kitchen gadgets and I usually use mine once or twice a week. I think the only thing that gets used more often is my air fryer! However, getting recipes to cook right in the slow cooker can take a bit of practice. In this post, I am going to take a look at a few ways you can thicken up stew in the slow cooker.

How To Thicken Up Stew In The Slow Cooker

One of the things I love about my slow cooker is how easy it makes life. I can chuck a load of ingredients or a joint of meat in it in the morning and come home to a hot and tasty dinner after being out all day.

It also works if my family are all coming home at different times of day as the food stays hot while the rest of us can go ahead and tuck in.

I must admit, though, even after years of slow cooker experience there I still times I don’t quite get things right. This may, in part, be due to the fact I’m not keen on following recipes and tend to be more of a ‘chuck it all in and hope for the best’ sort of a person.

There was a slow cooker curry in the run-up to Christmas that was particularly bad.

However, as someone that hates food waste, I do think it’s almost always possible to rescue a dish that hasn’t come out quite how you would expect.

In this case, I’m talking about stew. There are definitely occasions where a stew made in the slow cooker can come out a little bit runnier than you would expect. A combination of steam and water coming out of meat and vegetable can be responsible.

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Here are a  few ways you can thicken up a stew in the slow cooker.

How To Thicken Up Stew In The Slow Cooker

The good news is that to thicken up stew in the slow cooker isn’t too tricky and usually involves ingredients most people will have in their store cupboard.

As well as stews, some of these options will also work for soups too.

1. Corn Flour (Cornstarch)

One of the easiest ways to thicken up a stew that’s in the slow cooker is by adding some corn flour. Mix 1-2 Tablespoons of corn flour with some water and then pour into the stew. Give it a good stir and then leave to cook for another hour.

2. Gravy Granules

Add a couple of spoons of gravy granules to a slow cooker a stew is another great way to thicken it up a bit. As with the corn flour, I would advise adding the granules 1-2 hours before the end of cooking time to give them plenty of time to work their magic.

Sometimes a slow cooker stew might not be quite hot enough for the gravy granules to dissolve properly. If this is the case you may want to consider transferring the stew to a different dish and heating on the stovetop on high heat for a few minutes.

3. Gravy

Readymade gravy can also be used to thicken up a stew in the slow cooker, just consider how adding a lot of extra liquid might affect the flavour of the stew. My advice would be to reheat the gravy before adding to the stew. You could also remove some of the liquid from the stew and use that as the base for your gravy.

4. Potato Starch

Potato starch needs to be mixed with a little bit of water before adding it to a stew or soup. This will prevent it from going lumpy or large clumps from forming.

5. Chickpea Flour

I know fewer people are likely to have this in their store cupboard, but if you do, it can be used to thicken a slow-cooker stew. As with the other types of flour, mix with a little water before use.

6. Cooked Potatoes

f your stew contains potatoes you can remove a few and blend them with a little liquid (either water, stock or liquid from the stew) using a hand blender or food processor, before adding them back in. Give the stew a good mix and it should be thicker than before. You could also use a stick blender directly into the stew to blend a small amount and then stir through.

7. Cream

Another way to thicken a stew is using cream. Leave adding cream until right before serving.

8. Coconut Milk

Depending on the type of stew you’ve made, coconut milk could be another option for making it thicker.

I hope these suggestions help you next time you need to thicken up a slow cooker stew!