How to Cut Too Much Pepper in Tomato Sauce

Written By
Athena Hessong
Athena Hessong
Published: Jul 30, 2011
Updated: Dec 13, 2021
1 minute read
How to Cut Too Much Pepper in Tomato Sauce

Stop before throwing out homemade tomato sauce to which you accidentally added too much pepper. You can save the sauce by balancing out the spiciness of the pepper with other flavors and diluting it slightly. Tomato sauces are some of the easiest sauces to fix because the tomatoes have natural acidity and sweetness for creating a balance of flavors.

Stir the skinned, seeded and chopped tomatoes into the tomato sauce. Taste the dish for spiciness, and if it still has too heavy a pepper flavor, continue with more additions.

Add a cup of no-salt tomato sauce to the main container of sauce.

Taste the dish. If it tastes too mild, cook at a simmer over medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes to reduce it slightly and concentrate the flavors. Do not add more pepper or seasonings.

Remove the sauce from the heat. If it still tastes too spicy from excess pepper, whisk butter, milk or cream into the sauce by 1-tbsp. amounts. Taste the sauce after each spoonful until the sauce reaches the desired level of spiciness.

Athena Hessong

Athena Hessong began her freelance writing career in 2004. She draws upon experiences and knowledge gained from teaching all high-school subjects for seven years. Hessong earned a Bachelor in Arts in history from the University of Houston.

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