5 Tips For Salvaging Too-Spicy Foods (2024)

Heavy handed with the hot chile peppers? That's cool. Here are 5 flawless ways to neutralize the white-hot heat.

By

Carl Hanson

5 Tips For Salvaging Too-Spicy Foods (1)

Carl Hanson is a Senior Editor at Allrecipes who has been writing about food and wine for nearly 20 years. He enjoys creating content that informs, entertains, and assists busy home cooks get nourishing meals on the table for their families.

Updated on June 21, 2023

If you can't stand the heat, stay in the kitchen — and let's fix this thing by toning down the spiciness. Yes, it is possible to mellow the heat of a dish that turned out spicier than planned. It all comes down to incorporating ingredients that neutralize and balance spicy flavors. And you may just find that by the time you're finished, your modified recipe is even tastier than the original plan.

How to Make Food Less Spicy

5 Tips For Salvaging Too-Spicy Foods (2)

Go Nuts on It

For some dishes, such as stir-fries, curries, chilis, and stews, adding a scoop of peanut butter will help smother the flames. (Who knows, you might even end up liking the extra flavor and creamy texture.) Also try cashew or almond butter. Tahini is another option.

5 Tips For Salvaging Too-Spicy Foods (3)

Lengthen and Un-strengthen

If you have more of the recipe's ingredients on hand, toss 'em in. Or improvise, and add an additional ingredient that will play well with the recipe while neutralizing the spiciness. Good candidates might include broth, canned beans, potatoes, tomatoes, corn, avocados, coconut milk, and cooked rice.

5 Tips For Salvaging Too-Spicy Foods (4)

Do the Dairy

Now here's some news you can use. Turns out, the fiery chemical in hot chilis, capsaicin, likes to bind itself onto a compound in milk, which neutralizes the burn. Add a generous dollop of sour cream, creme fraiche, or yogurt to scorching hot chili or stews, or even a touch of milk or cream. For best results, though, go with full-fat dairy. For tomato sauces and stews that don't want dairy, try shredding some cheese on top.

Sweet Defeats Heat

Adding something sweet to a too-spicy dish is another great way to reduce spiciness. A sprinkle of sugar or honey should do the trick. Or add a touch of sweet ketchup. If it's a tomato-based sauce, stir in a little more tomato sauce and maybe a touch of sugar.

5 Tips For Salvaging Too-Spicy Foods (6)

Add Some Acid

Add a squeeze of lemon or lime. Bonus Benefit: A little lemon juice can also brighten up flavors. If it's a tomato-based sauce, adding more tomato sauce can help. Also effective, a dash of vinegar.

Related:

Plus, check out our collections of Chile Pepper Recipes — and don't miss some of our Spiciest Appetizers.

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5 Tips For Salvaging Too-Spicy Foods (2024)

FAQs

5 Tips For Salvaging Too-Spicy Foods? ›

Balancing it with an acid can help neutralize the molecule's activity. This means drinking or eating something acidic — such as lemonade, limeade, orange juice or a tomato-based food item or drink — may also help cool your mouth down. (Milk is also acidic, by the way.) DO down some carbs.

What neutralizes extremely spicy food? ›

Balancing it with an acid can help neutralize the molecule's activity. This means drinking or eating something acidic — such as lemonade, limeade, orange juice or a tomato-based food item or drink — may also help cool your mouth down. (Milk is also acidic, by the way.) DO down some carbs.

What breaks down spicy food? ›

Peanut, almond, or cashew butter are all rich in fat and can help dissolve capsaicin and mitigate some of the heat from chiles. If you're hesitant to add fat, you can also dilute the heat of a curry or stew by adding more water.

What cancels out spicy? ›

Sweet Defeats Heat

Adding something sweet to a too-spicy dish is another great way to reduce spiciness. A sprinkle of sugar or honey should do the trick. Or add a touch of sweet ketchup. If it's a tomato-based sauce, stir in a little more tomato sauce and maybe a touch of sugar.

How do you fix food that is too spicy? ›

Milk and dairy products contain a protein called casein that is able to bind with capsaicin before it reaches our tongue, so it can reach fewer receptors, and lessens the sensation of spice. If your dish is too spicy, try adding heavy cream, yogurt, sour cream or butter to help mellow it out.

What to drink to calm down spicy food? ›

Balancing it with an acid can help neutralize the capsaicin. This means that drinking or eating something acidic can give you some temporary relief from the burning sensations. Things such as lemonade or orange juice are great options. You can also try a tomato-based item.

What fights spicy food? ›

In general, the most effective way to fight off capsaicin is by having casein-containing milk with the highest fat content you can find.

How do you flush spicy food? ›

There are a few ways to neutralize spicy food in your stomach:
  1. Drink milk or eat dairy products. ...
  2. Eat something starchy. ...
  3. Drink water or fruit juice. ...
  4. Eat something sweet. ...
  5. Take an over-the-counter antacid.
Feb 10, 2021

What to do if you have too much spicy food? ›

What helps settle your stomach after eating spicy food? Ice cream, milk, cottage cheese, and bread or another starchy food might help settle your stomach after eating spicy food. 4 A small amount of peppermint oil may help reduce inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract.

Who has the highest spice tolerance? ›

A recent “Flavor Trend Category Report” by Technomic concludes that Asian people have the highest tolerance for spicy foods, while Caucasians have the least. While it's easy to joke about various cultures' spice tolerances (or lack thereof!), it's difficult to have a truly universal understanding of spice tolerance.

Can I build my spice tolerance? ›

“People can try to desensitise themselves to the burning sensations caused by spicy food by slowly and gradually introducing spicy foods into their diet over a period of time,” says Yang. “This repeated exposure could increase tolerance slowly and people will start to enjoy hot food.”

What suppresses spicy food? ›

Sugar, whether in a refined form or a natural form, like honey, can help neutralize spiciness. After you've eaten something spicy, sprinkle enough sugar or drizzle enough honey to cover your tongue so that the capsaicin can be absorbed. This will also put a nice, sweet taste in your mouth.

How do you get spicy food out of your system fast? ›

To stop the cascade of reactions to the fiery chemicals, reach for milk— which contains a protein called casein that clings to fatty molecules like the oily capsaicin and carries them away. A 10 percent solution of sugar water also works by harnessing capsaicin's chemical reaction with sucrose.

What to do after eating too spicy food? ›

What helps settle your stomach after eating spicy food? Ice cream, milk, cottage cheese, and bread or another starchy food might help settle your stomach after eating spicy food. 4 A small amount of peppermint oil may help reduce inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract.

What drinks neutralize spicy food? ›

This means that drinking or eating something acidic can give you some temporary relief from the burning sensations. Things such as lemonade or orange juice are great options. You can also try a tomato-based item. And if you're a milk lover, you'll be happy to know that milk is also acidic!

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