• Arrowroot is a white powder extracted from the Arrowroot plant, a herb native to the West Indies. It is used in cooking as a thickener for sauces, pie filling and glazes and has no discernible flavor of its own. Some recipes which call for arrowroot need to be thickened at a lower temperature than can be achieved by other additives; however, there are some similar ingredients which can be used as a substitute, which is useful if you find yourself all out of arrowroot.
  
  

Plain Flour

• Add flour instead of arrowroot to your recipe. You will need to add two times as much flour as you would arrowroot to achieve the desired effect. Flour, like arrowroot, acts as a thickener in many recipes.
  
  

Cornstarch

• Substitute cornstarch for arrowroot in your recipe. You can match the amount of cornstarch with the amount of arrowroot in the recipe. You can also use potato or rice starch in the same way. Cornstarch is a versatile thickening agent like arrowroot.
  
  

Tapioca

• Use tapioca instead of arrowroot for thickening at low temperatures. Slowly mix in tapioca to achieve the desired results. Tapioca is a better thickener at low temperatures than flour or cornstarch.