How to fix a BBQ sauce that’s too spicy

by | Last updated Jun 21, 2022 | recipes

If your barbecue sauce is too spicy, whether it’s a homemade sauce or one from a bottle, you can do a few things to lower its heat. There are basically two methods to try. Start with the first one, and if that doesn’t work, then try the second method.

  1. Add small amounts of a sweetener and an acid. Taste as you go. Combine a little brown sugar or honey with a little bit of vinegar or lemon juice or lime juice. Go through several rounds of this, tasting as you go. This usually works.
  2. Add more of the sauce’s base, sweet, and sour ingredients. For most BBQ sauces, your base is a tomato sauce like tomato paste or even ketchup. This method will dilute the spicy ingredients by scaling up the other ingredients.