The Simplest Way To Fix Your Overly Salty Soup

Oversalting a dish is one of the easiest mistakes to make in cooking, and it can feel like a disaster you can't recover from. If a soup you're making suddenly tastes way too sodium-saturated for human consumption, is all hope lost? Do you need to just throw it out and start over? Fortunately, the answer to that question is no. There are ways to redeem an over-salted soup!

Adding too much salt is a common mistake when making soup — in other words, almost everyone has done it. If you fall victim to this culinary trap, the easiest fix is to incorporate more liquid into your pot to dilute the saltiness. You can add water, additional stock (as long as the stock itself isn't salty), or even a dairy component like milk, sour cream, or plain yogurt. For cream-based soups, extra cream mixed with water can also help tame the saltiness. Plant-based dairy substitutes work just as well.

Make sure you're incorporating just a small amount of extra liquid at a time, and tasting along the way. You don't want to create the opposite problem and over-dilute the salt content. If you find your dish is getting too thin texturally, you can introduce a thickener to remedy the issue, which will also help absorb some of the extra salinity you're trying to eliminate. Adding more liquid may also mean you'll need to reintroduce other seasonings to restore lost flavor — but wait to do that until the saltiness is under control.

Another method for saving comforting soup recipes from over-seasoning is simply increasing the quantity of soup you're making. Along with adding more liquid, include extra portions of the other ingredients to create a bigger pot of hearty goodness — even a double batch if necessary. This approach not only resolves excess saltiness, but also leaves you with more delicious soup to enjoy. If your household is small and you're concerned about waste, you can always share your extra soup with a neighbor or friend.

Some cooks swear that you can reduce a soup's saltiness by peeling a whole, raw potato and placing it into your mixture to absorb some of the salt. Wolfgang Puck suggests placing the spud in your pot for about 30 minutes, and removing it before it cooks completely.

Of course, salting your creation properly to begin with is preferable to launching an emergency rescue mission. To avoid repeating the problem with a future batch of soup, add salt gradually and taste frequently. Also, be mindful of ingredients you're using that already contain salt, which can unintentionally increase the sodium content. Broths and canned vegetables can be sneaky sources, so consider using low-sodium or salt-free products. Draining and rinsing canned goods is another step to always consider before adding beans or other tinned items to recipes, as it reduces their salt content.