Instant Mashed Potatoes Are Jacques Pépin's Secret To Banishing Watery Soups

Heeding advice from a French chef, culinary educator and longtime television personality should be a no-brainer, so when Jacques Pépin says you can save time by using instant mashed potatoes to thicken a watery soup, you should definitely take note. Along with teaching audiences how to chop an onion or truss a turkey, Pépin has seemingly hundreds of tips on how to prepare nourishing, healthful meals both efficiently and quickly. 

"Jacques Pépin: More Fast Food My Way" was one of several cooking shows the famed chef hosted on the San Francisco Bay Area public broadcasting station KQED. In episode 219, titled "Special Dinner Party," Pépin quickly prepares a leek and mushroom soup by sweating the vegetables over high heat with a little peanut oil, adding a quart of chicken stock, and, after it comes to a boil, working his thickening magic. "I'm using an instant mashed potato here, and those are potato flakes that you put directly in there and it gives you the thickening, the richness of it, and that's what you want." (via YouTube)    

Traditionally, a too-thin or watery soup might be thickened using a slurry of all-purpose flour or cornstarch and water. You can even add an extra dollop of richness by adding cold butter at the end, a luxurious technique called monter au beurre. But if you have a box of instant mashed potatoes in the cupboard, why not take advantage of the spuds' inherent starchiness. Using instant mashed potatoes or potato flakes is a simple solution to thicken soups that's also, depending upon the brand, gluten-free.

Adding thickeners to any soup or stew is almost always a matter of preference. Near the end of your simmering time, simply add a couple of tablespoons of instant mashed potatoes, stir it into the pot well and let it simmer for an additional five minutes. Taste it and if you want it thicker, add another tablespoon. Obviously, there are soups you want to thicken and ones you don't. For instance, you may want to add some more heft to your vegan vegetable noodle soup without adding animal by-products; perhaps you added a little too much water to your chowder (which is different from bisque); or maybe you want to kick up the heartiness of cheesy cauliflower soup to keep you full on a cold, winter's day.  On the other hand, there are lots of soups that should definitely remain brothy, such as Vietnamese pho, Italian wedding soup, or consommé.

Flavor-wise, plain instant mashed potatoes, like the ones favored by Jacques Pépin, add a mild earthy taste to your soup, but if you're creative, they can add much more. Just consider all of the varieties the convenient spuds come in, from butter and roasted garlic to sour cream and chives or smoked bacon. Each will impart their flavor into your soup and, as with many cooking endeavors, the possibilities are endless.