6 Ways to Fix Food That's Too Salty

Oops! That pinch of salt turned into a small pile, and now your dinner is too salty to eat. What can you do? Don't panic or toss the entire dish. There are actually several ways to fix over-salted food.

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Here are some options to consider for reducing the taste of salt in your food, plus how to avoid over-salting next time.

Water to the Rescue!

How to use water to rescue overly salty soups and sauces: Soup, stew, or sauce too salty? Simply add a bit of water or no-salt-added broth or stock and stir or whisk to combine. Start with a small amount, then taste the results and add more until you get it right. You might need to add more solid foods or thicken it with a slurry or a beurre manié to get the soup or sauce back to the desired consistency.

How to use water to fix over-salted meats: Cooked meat, fish, and other proteins that have too much salt on the exterior from a rub or simply from too liberal salting can also be rescued with water. Just give them a quick rinse under running water, and pat them dry with a paper towel before serving.

How to use water to fix too-salty bacon: You can also use water to leach the salt out of salt pork, bacon, and other cured meats, but you'll need to do this before cooking the meat, so this solution only works for your second batch onward. Simply soak the bacon or other cured meat fully submerged in water in a container in the refrigerator for at least two hours before you cook it.

Just Add Acid

Use an acidic ingredient, like vinegar, lemon juice, lime juice, or fresh tomatoes or unsalted tomato sauce, to cut the saltiness of soups, sauces, meat dishes, pastas, salads, and more. A splash should be all it takes to dial back the taste of saltiness. As with the water, add a small amount, taste, and then add more as needed. And try to match the flavor of the acid you choose to the flavor profile of the dish you are trying to tone down. When in doubt, use a relatively neutral acid, like white wine vinegar.

Counteract It With Sweetness

Counteract all of that saltiness by stirring a pinch of sugar into soups, sauces, dressings or other liquids. Consider brown sugar for darker sauces and dishes where a caramel-y flavor would be welcome (think barbecue sauce and chili). Other sweeteners like maple syrup and honey work too!

Add Bulk to the Dish

Toss in extra veggies, noodles, rice, or other grains to bulk out a recipe, so it no longer tastes too salty to eat. You'll have extra food, but as long as you eat (or freeze) it all eventually you won't be wasting money. You can even take a dish intended as a side and turn it into a main by adding an unsalted starch such as pasta, potatoes, or grains.

Bonus Tip: Add Dairy...Cautiously

The creamy taste of rich dairy such as heavy cream or sour cream can help counteract the perception of saltiness in a dish as well. Creamy dairy products also have some sweetness that will help tone down the salty taste, plus liquid to dilute the saltiness, and they coat the mouth, which can cut down on the perception of saltiness. So turn that over-salted plain tomato sauce into a tomato cream sauce with a splash of heavy cream or add a dollop of sour cream to your tacos or borscht. Just be sure not to choose a salty dairy product, such as Parmesan cheese or cottage cheese. Non-dairy milks, such as oat milk, can also work for toning down the salty taste.

The Potato Fix: Fact or Fiction?

Adding a single whole potato to a dish has long been touted as a way to remove excess salt from brothy dishes like soups and stews. But there's a lot of debate in cooking circles about whether ii actually works. However, if all else fails and, the potato trick is definitely worth trying. Simply place a whole potato―skin and all―into your soup or stew and finish cooking as normal. Remove it before serving.

Tips for Preventing Food From Getting Too Salty

It's always easier to prevent overly salty foods than it is to fix them. Keep these tips in mind when cooking, and you may be able to avoid a repeat of the problem in the future.

• Know your salt: Some salts are much saltier tasting by volume than others, so be mindful of the kind of salt you're reaching for as well as what the recipe calls for—for example table salt vs. sea salt vs. kosher salt. Also be aware of how salty different fish sauces, soy sauces, and other salty seasonings are.
• Never measure salt (or any spice) directly over pots, pans, or bowls that you're cooking in. If too much pours out, it'll end up in your food.
• Check the salt shaker lid every time! It's a good idea to make sure that the lid is tight before each use.
• Under season while cooking, and perfect it at the end. Good cooks quickly realize that it's best to add seasonings slowly. Salt intensifies in soups and other dishes as liquids cook off, so wait until the end to taste your dish and add any finishing touches.
• Taste, adjust; taste, adjust. It's perfectly fine to keep adjusting your recipe as it cooks.
• Watch for ingredients that contain sodium. Many canned foods, such as beans and tomatoes, contain salt, as do many bread crumbs, bottled dressings, packaged sauces, and spice blends. And, of course, ingredients like olives, capers, anchovies, and cheeses like Parmesan and feta have a lot of salt. So when cooking with high sodium ingredients, skip the added salt even if your recipe calls for it until you've tasted the dish.
  
• Swap the salt in a recipe for a shaker on the table. Another way to keep salt in check is to avoid adding salt while cooking and keep a shaker on the table. This will allow everyone to customize the dish to their tastes or dietary needs.