Instant Pot Vegetable Soup - The Recipe Rebel (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret ingredient to thicken soup? ›

Add Flour Or Cornstarch

Instead, ladle a small amount of broth into a separate bowl and let it cool. Add a few tablespoons of flour or cornstarch to the bowl and whisk until it's blended smooth. Next, bring the soup to a simmer and add the mixture back to the pot. Pro tip: Don't dump in the entire mixture at once.

Locate the soup setting on your Instant Pot control panel. It is usually labeled with a soup icon or the word “soup”. Press the button to activate the setting. The Instant Pot will automatically adjust the time and temperature for cooking soup.

Citrus juices are just so refreshing, enlivening and brightens up the soups. You can opt for lime, lemon, grapefruit, and other citrus fruits. Oh yeah! You can go with a bit of orange juice to give a unique flavor to your regular instant soup.

Cornstarch is a great option as it is a natural thickening agent, but you'll want to be careful about how much you use. Start with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch whisked together with cold water to create a slurry. Then, gradually add the slurry to the soup, letting it boil for one to two minutes before adding more.

Substituting Cornstarch for Flour as a Gluten-Free Alternative. If you have someone in the family with an allergy restriction, you may need a gluten-free thickener for your soup recipe. It's important to note that cornstarch has twice the thickening power of flour.

Dried herbs and seasonings: homemade seasoned salt, black pepper, Italian seasoning, and dried bay leaves lend flavor to the soup.

For clear, brothy soups, stock is your most important ingredient. If you want to make a good soup, you need to use an excellently flavored stock — otherwise, the entire pot could be tasteless.

Smoked paprika: this vibrant spice helps to add smokiness, a subtle sweetness, and depth of flavor. Black Pepper or Cayenne pepper: spicy spices help to add a kick to your soup, but they also excite your tastebuds and make all of the other flavors more pronounced – even if you only add a pinch!

How do you fix bland vegetable soup? ›

Add a little bit of vinegar or lemon juice to your soup to make it taste better. Use a high-quality broth or stock as a base for your soup. Roast or caramelize your vegetables before adding them to your soup to bring out their natural sweetness.

Garlic, ginger, and green onion are the true stars when it comes to dressing up your instant soups. You can infuse soups with much needed flavor by simply sautéing some chopped aromatics for a few minutes. Stir them into hot soup, and you'll be surprised by just how much flavor you've created.

Corn Starch

This completely versatile starch is used in savory and sweet dishes alike: gelatinizing fruit pie fillings or thickening your hefty, stick-to-your-bones soups.

Add Flour, Cornstarch, or Other Thickener: Starches thicken soup and give it body. Whisk a few tablespoons of starch into a little of the broth in a separate bowl before whisking it into the main pot. This prevents the starch from clumping and helps it dissolve into the soup evenly.

In other words, if you don't heat your cornstarch to a high enough temperature, your mixture will never thicken. But once your liquid has boiled, lower the heat and don't return it to a simmer—you'll risk destroying the starch molecules and ending up with a thin mixture yet again.

The most classic and surefire way to thicken a broth-based soup is with a cornstarch slurry. Whisk together equal parts cornstarch (or arrowroot) and water or broth, then whisk it into the pot of soup. A good ratio to get to a pleasant thickness without your soup tasting goopy or heavy is one tablespoon.