Kitchen rescueSeasoning and flavourUsually saveable

How to fix food that's too spicy

Dilute it by adding more of the dish's milder base ingredients, or stir in something creamy such as yoghurt, cream or coconut milk. Serving it with rice, bread or yoghurt also helps.

How you can tell

  • A burning heat that drowns out the other flavours
  • The heat builds with every mouthful
  • Your eyes water or you need a drink after each bite

Why it happens

Most of the heat in chillies comes from a compound called capsaicin. Capsaicin dissolves in fat rather than water, which is why water does little to cool your mouth but dairy and other fatty foods do. You can't remove capsaicin from a dish once it's in, so the fixes work by diluting it, coating it with fat, or balancing it with other flavours so the heat seems less fierce.

How to fix it

Option 1Dilute the dish

  1. Add more of the main ingredients without chilli, such as tinned tomatoes, stock, beans, lentils or vegetables
  2. Simmer to blend the flavours, then taste
  3. Adjust the salt and other seasonings to match

Option 2Add dairy or coconut

  1. Stir in natural yoghurt, double cream, soured cream or coconut milk off the heat
  2. Add a spoonful at a time and taste as you go

Option 3Balance and serve

  1. Add a little sugar, honey or a squeeze of lemon or lime juice to balance the heat
  2. Serve with plain rice, bread, potatoes or a bowl of yoghurt on the side

Next time

  • Add chilli gradually and taste as the dish cooks
  • Remove the seeds and pale membrane from fresh chillies for a milder heat
  • Check how hot a chilli variety or powder is before using it
  • Take whole chillies out when the dish is hot enough, as they keep releasing heat while they sit in it
General kitchen guidance, not food-safety advice. If food may be unsafe, for example undercooked meat or anything left out too long, follow the Food Standards Agency and throw it away if in doubt.