15 Effective Substitutes For Cornstarch

“Depending on the recipe, you may be able to achieve a thickening effect by simply pureeing in plant-based ingredients,”

1. Wheat flour

   If you're trying to avoid cornstarch (or have simply run low on your supplies) and you're trying to emulate its thickening power, wheat flour may be a great substitute. Wheat flour thickens sauces and stews for the same reason that cornstarch works for this purpose — it's high starch content. When starch molecules come into contact with heat, they expand, burst, and combine with the water in a dish, and the successful blending of the two results in a thicker, lump-free sauce, explains BBC Science Focus. It's important not to just throw your flour in and hope for the best, though. For the smoothest results, mix your flour with a little bit of cold water beforehand, and pour it slowly into whatever you're making while stirring constantly. Ensure you're not doing this just before you finish cooking, as the flour needs to heat up to both thicken the food properly

2. Potato starch

   With cornstarch's popularity as a thickening agent, it's easy to forget about potato starch. But if you're looking for a cornstarch substitute, look no further. Potato starch can be used in most situations that call for cornstarch without any significant changes to the finished food, as Bob's Red Mill explains. This powder is an especially good substitute for meals that call for higher temperatures, as it's a little stronger than cornstarch and holds up better, although food that's too hot will stop the potato starch from thickening it effectively. And before you ask, no, it doesn't taste like potato and is pretty much flavorless (via Dr. Axe ). Potato starch is also an excellent way to thicken sauces and stews without cornstarch while remaining gluten-free, and quality potato starch will often be formulated to be accessible for individuals with other food allergies as

3. Arrowroot

   You may not be as familiar with arrowroot as you are with cornstarch, but trust us when we tell you it's a great choice for your food. Created by drying and grinding Maranta arundinacea tubers, arrowroot is a neutral-tasting, odorless white starch, and can be used in pretty much the same way as cornstarch. Arrowroot is a particularly good substitute in spreads like jam or marmalade, as these have a higher acidity, which arrowroot is more equipped to handle without breaking down. And it's pretty much a straight swap for cornstarch amount-wise, so no complicated measurements are required. Like cornstarch, when you're adding arrowroot into food, ensure that you're mixing it with a little water first to ensure that it doesn't create lumps and thicken ineffectively. Where arrowroot may be less successful than cornstarch is if you're using it at higher tem

4. Egg yolks

   Although it's common to replace a powder-based thickening agent with another powder-based thickening agent, there are plenty of other ways to add substance to a dish. And one of these is by using good old-fashioned egg yolks. Using egg yolks is a particularly good way of thickening sauces, stews, or soups without boosting their carbohydrate content, and their high-fat, low-carb nature makes them an ideal choice for people following the keto diet (via Mark's Daily Apple ). You'll also give your food a good boost of protein, amp up your vitamin and mineral content, and give your food an even richer flavor (per Medical News Today ). Those are all positives in our book, folks. When using egg yolks to thicken food, though, your technique is everything. Simply dumping your egg yolks straight into the hot pot will leave you with cooked lumps of egg. Instead, reduc

5. Beans

   Cornstarch is a pantry staple. But another pantry staple may help you add bulk to your food while also giving it a serious nutritional boost. "Depending on the recipe, you may be able to achieve a thickening effect by simply pureeing in plant-based ingredients," states "The Clean & Simple Diabetes Cookbook" author and registered dietitian Jackie Newgent to Women's Health Magazine. One such ingredient that could be useful, says Newgent, is white beans, which can be blitzed and thrown into an array of sauces. One of the best things about using white beans to thicken food is their protein content. By throwing half a cup of pureed cooked white beans into your sauce or stew, you'll give it eight additional grams of protein, according to My Food Data. The added fiber content you'll get is also exceptional, with over nine grams of fiber per half-cup of cooked small white

6. Tapioca

   If you're looking for a cornstarch replacement, look no further than tapioca. Although you may be more familiar with tapioca in its ball form, bobbing luxuriantly at the bottom of a bubble tea, it also comes in a cornstarch-like powder. Like other starches on the market, tapioca is created by processing a plant (in this case, the root of the cassava plant) into fine flour. The powder that comes out the other end works much like cornstarch in its thickening capabilities and can be substituted pretty seamlessly (per Healthline ). Coming from the cassava root, tapioca is naturally gluten-free, and can be a great replacement for cornstarch for people who have a gluten intolerance or celiac disease. While it's commonly added to sweeter dishes like puddings, thanks to its fairly neutral flavor, it can be used in pretty much anything you care to throw it into (

7. Rice flour

   Most of us are way more familiar with rice as a grain than in its flour form. But people looking to replace cornstarch would be wise to pick up a bag of rice flour at the store. Like the grain, rice flour comes in white and brown varieties, with glutinous rice flour also available. The qualities of a given rice flour will be similar to the grain when cooked. Brown rice flour, for example, will have a little more bite to it, thanks to being milled using whole rice grain, while white rice flour will be smoother and more starchy, and glutinous rice flour is much chewier (via Masterclass ). All of them, though, can be used as thickening agents, with white rice flour also being a great choice to make batters that call for cornstarch. Glutinous rice flour can be a particularly good addition to cakes and desserts, giving them a candy-like consistency (if you've ever trie

8. Xanthan gum

   While you may not have cooked with xanthan gum before, you've probably come across it. The powder, created as a byproduct of fermenting foods with the Xanthomonas campestris bacteria, is a common additive to store-bought desserts and dressings, giving them additional bulk. It's also frequently found in non-food items like cosmetic products (per BBC Good Food ). But just because you may not have used it in your kitchen doesn't mean you should write it off. When used correctly, xanthan gum is an excellent substitute for cornstarch and can be used in a lot of situations that call for the corn-derived ingredient. It could also be an addition to your food that has come gastrointestinal benefits, as in some cases it may help your body move food through the gut with greater ease, encouraging healthy digestion. Xanthan gum is handy for baking recipes and can serve t

9. Butter

   You may be more used to adding butter to your food to give it a richer flavor (which we, of course, heartily approve of). But putting a pat of butter in meals doesn't just give them an added taste. Placing butter in food toward the end of a cooking process, especially for sauces or stews, can have a binding effect, with the fats in the butter reacting with the other elements in a dish to thicken things slightly. And as a bonus, your food will take on an enviable gloss. Butter is an especially good choice for people who are looking to keep the carb amount in their food low, and unlike powdered starches, it will add primarily fat and not carbohydrates. To use butter to maximum effect, though, you need to time it right. Use a cold knob of solid butter, not butter that's been already melted, as Pure Wow explains, and only add it once your food is off the heat and almo

10. Ground flaxseeds

    Flaxseeds are pretty much always a good addition to food on the nutrition front. Rich in omega-3 and fiber, these potent little seeds can provide a powerful health boost, as WebMD explains. But on a pure culinary level, there's one key reason to add flaxseeds, which is their thickening capabilities. Ground flaxseeds, in particular, are excellent substitutes for cornstarch, as when you add them to a meal, they absorb water quickly and form a gum-like mass that can then be evenly distributed through the food (via Healthline ). The mass is provided by their fiber, making them a great way to boost your daily fiber intake. However, it's worth noting that using fiber instead of starch to thicken a meal will result in it having a different consistency, with ground flaxseed being a little mealier. Additionally, ground flaxseed has a gentle nuttiness to its flavor that

11. Guar gum

    Guar gum may sound like it's been beamed down from space, but this entirely earth-bound ingredient is only out of this world in one sense: The way it can act as a cornstarch substitute. Made by processing and grinding guar beans into a fine powder, according to the International Food Additives Council, guar gum is an excellent gluten-free addition to food, and like xanthan gum can be used effectively in gluten-free bakes, as well as sauces and soups. Unlike cornstarch, guar gum thickens things up through its soluble fiber content, and adding it to food can bring you a few health bonuses, such as a boost to your digestive system and gut bacteria, and the potential to help control blood sugar (via Healthline ). One particular perk of using guar gum to thicken food is that where other starch-based additives can lose their structure at high temperatures, resulting in y

12. Glucomannan

    If you haven't cooked with glucomannan before, we wouldn't judge you for it. This lesser-known ingredient is not nearly as popular as cornstarch when it comes to thickening agents, but rest assured that it's just as powerful. Similar to guar gum, glucomannan is a product that gets its thickening capacities from soluble fiber content, derived from the konjac plant. When soluble fiber comes into contact with water, it turns into a gel and creates bulk, as Mount Sinai explains. When this happens in our digestive system, it helps to keep us full, but when it's put into food, we cut out the middleman of our stomach and add volume then and there. Glucomannan has no carbohydrates at all, and as such, using it instead of cornstarch can be a good choice for people following a keto diet (per Healthline ). The high dose of fiber you're adding to your meal could also brin

13. All-purpose flour

    There are some cornstarch alternatives out there that might be harder to find, but we can pretty much guarantee you won't have trouble finding all-purpose flour. As cornstarch substitutes go, all-purpose flour is one of the easiest to use and operates pretty much identically to wheat flour or other flour varieties. One of the bonuses of all-purpose flour, though, is that due to its production process, which removes the bran entirely, it can last for much longer than other flours -– so you can buy it, stick it on your pantry, and months later it'll still be good to go. As with wheat flour, you can't swap in all-purpose flour for cornstarch in the same quantity. Instead, you'll need to put in roughly two times the amount of all-purpose flour as you would cornstarch to get the same effect, as Bake It With Love explains. Remember, too, that adding in flour takes a litt

14. Psyllium husk

    Once you venture beyond using different types of starch and flour as substitutes for cornstarch, you'll find there's a world of alternatives that could work just as well to add bulk to food. And psyllium husks are one such ingredient. Psyllium husk, unlike cornstarch, thickens food through its near-pure fiber content, as One Green Planet states. As well as being very effective at adding immediate density to liquid-heavy meals like stews or sauces, psyllium husk is also a great way to bind dry foods in the same way cornstarch would, in bread and cake recipes (via Ceres Organics). Using psyllium husks is also a great way to sneak some additional health benefits into your food. The hit of fiber you receive when consuming psyllium may help to add necessary bulk to your stools, helping you avoid both constipation and diarrhea and manage cholesterol levels, according

15. Almond flour

    A lot of chefs are used to using cornstarch as a thickener for liquid-based meals, but that's not its only function. It's a common ingredient when baking and making desserts. But now and again, even the most traditional of bakers wants to try something different, and almond flour could fit the bill. Almond flour can provide your baked goods with bulk and bind them together effectively, and is especially good in sweeter items like muffins. Additionally, almond flour is almost carb-free, and as such makes a great keto alternative to cornstarch and other flours, explains Healthline. Although almond flour can also be used, like cornstarch, to coat a food, it's worth noting that it can burn very quickly and may leave your meal with a bitter taste, as Love to Know states. This can also be a problem if you're baking with it, so it's important to adjust accordingly. It may b