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• To step
• Method 1 of 2: Make the salsa less spicy
• Method 2 of 2: Make more salsa

Whether you forgot to remove the seeds from the peppers or used a tablespoon instead of a teaspoon of cayenne pepper, salsa can quickly become too spicy. However, there is no need to throw out your sauce if it tastes so spicy that the flames blow out of your ears. Try adding cooling ingredients such as citrus juice, fruit, or dairy products. If you'd rather not experiment, make another batch of salsa without spicy ingredients and mix both portions of sauce together. You will then have twice as much salsa as you intended, but you can easily pickle or freeze the remaining sauce.

To step

Method 1 of 2: Make the salsa less spicy

1. Add more tomatoes to red salsa. If you made tomato-based salsa, add some more chopped tomatoes. How much to add depends on how much salsa you have and how mild you want to make the sauce.
   • Try adding half a tomato to start, then add more to taste.
   • Have a glass of milk handy to extinguish the fire in your mouth after you taste the salsa.
2. Grab some citrus juice, sugar, or honey. Adding sour and sweet ingredients is a well-known way to make a dish less spicy. Try adding the juice of a quarter of a lime and half a teaspoon of sugar or honey.
   • Remember you can always add more, so keep adding small amounts of sour and sweet ingredients and taste your salsa in between.
3. Add a coriander and citrus juice puree. You've probably already used cilantro and citrus juice to make the salsa, so adding a little more can help soften your salsa without drastically altering the sauce. Remove the leaves from about a dozen sprigs of cilantro, chop them into large chunks and mix with the juice of a lime or orange.
   • Add a teaspoon of the puree at a time until your salsa is mild enough. You can use the rest of the puree to flavor tacos, sandwiches, eggs and stir-fries.
4. Try adding pieces of cucumber or avocado. Make your salsa as fresh as cucumber. By adding cucumber and avocado you can make your salsa less spicy. However, if you didn't use these ingredients to make the salsa, they can change the texture and taste of your salsa. If you want to experiment a bit, chop one or both of the ingredients to add to your salsa.
5. Make your salsa less spicy with pineapple, peach or melon. Just like with cucumber and avocado, adding sweet fruit will completely change your salsa, but you may be able to make it into something delicious. Try cutting fresh pineapple or canned pineapple, a ripe peach, a watermelon, a cantaloupe melon, or a honeydew melon. Add a small amount of fruit at a time and stop when the sauce has become mild enough.
6. Add a spoonful of sour cream. If you only have sour cream at home, you're in luck. Dairy works very well to neutralize spicy ingredients. You could serve your salsa with a spoonful of sour cream on top or with it. If you don't mind making a different kind of dipping sauce, mix sour cream with the salsa until your sauce is mild enough.

Method 2 of 2: Make more salsa

1. Make another batch of salsa, but don't use spicy ingredients. If you want to stick to the original recipe, it is best to make some more salsa, but without jalapeños, cayenne pepper and other spicy ingredients. Roast the tomatillos, dice the onions and tomatoes, chop the cilantro, squeeze the citrus fruits and do all the other things you need to do to prepare your salsa according to the recipe.
   • If you're serving salsa at a party, it's probably best to use a recipe you know. Adjusting your salsa by adding new ingredients is kind of an experiment, and you shouldn't use your guests as guinea pigs.
2. When you have to go to the store to buy ingredients, put your salsa in the fridge. You probably bought just enough ingredients to make one serving of salsa, so you may have to rush to the supermarket to buy more ingredients. If you have to go to the store, cover your salsa and put the sauce in the fridge.
   • The acid in the salsa will help prevent bacterial growth, but it is best not to leave your salsa outside of the refrigerator for more than a few hours.
3. Mix the two portions of salsa together. After you buy ingredients and prepare them for the second serving, add them to your very spicy salsa. If you used your largest mixing bowl to make the first batch of salsa, you may have to get creative.
   • If you have a large stainless steel frying pan or saucepan, pour in half of each portion. You should then have enough room in your mixing bowl to add the rest of the second serving.
   • Do not use aluminum cookware. Aluminum reacts with the acid in the salsa and gives your dish an unpleasant metallic taste.
   • You can also use the largest freezer bags you have at home to mix the servings.
4. Let leftover salsa simmer over low heat before adding the sauce preserves or freeze. By making a second portion of salsa you now have a very large amount of salsa. Whether you want to preserve or freeze the leftover salsa, you will need to simmer the sauce to reduce the amount of water in it and kill bacteria. This is important to do when you are canning a dish.
   • In a deep saucepan without a lid, let your salsa simmer over low heat, stirring regularly. Depending on the amount of water in your salsa, let the sauce simmer for up to 60 minutes or until it has thickened.
5. Make sure your salsa is suitable for canning. Salsa must be acidic enough to be safe for canning, but not all types of salsa have enough acidity. The recipe should state whether the salsa can be preserved. If you're not sure, freeze the sauce just in case. You can store frozen salsa for up to six months.
   • If you used twice the amount of all the ingredients (except the peppers) for a suitable salsa recipe, then the doubled amount of salsa should still be sour enough to hold. It is important to use exactly twice as much of the acidic ingredients without using too many of the non-acidic ingredients. If you're not sure how much you used, just freeze the leftover salsa.
6. Let your salsa thaw in the refrigerator. When it's time to thaw your salsa, it's best to do it in the fridge. Letting your salsa thaw slowly in the refrigerator will keep the sauce from becoming too watery. The salsa will probably still be a little too watery, but you can strain the sauce to get the excess moisture out.