Salt can turn a dish from bland to flavorful, but it can also quickly go from delicious to inedible. If you've added too much salt to your beans, or any other dish, don't despair. Luckily, there are a few ways to fix salty beans so you can still enjoy your meal.
We've all been there. You're cooking a simple dish, like black beans, following a recipe to the letter (or at least close enough) when you suddenly realize you've added too much salt. The next thing you know, your whole pot of beans is ruined. It's a rookie mistake and one that we've all made at least once.
Yes, there's still hope! But before you write off your whole pot of beans or whatever else you were cooking, know there are ways to save it.
Here are a few ways to fix salty beans without sacrificing flavor. Read on to find out how.
But first, a note on why this happens.
Before we get into how to fix your salty dish, let's talk about why this happens in the first place. When it comes to cooking, salt enhances the flavor. Just a little can make a big difference in bringing out the natural flavors in food. Salt absorbs into food. But because salt is such a powerful flavor enhancer, you can overdo it. And once you've added too much, it isn't easy to fix. There's a reason for this.
So, what can you do?
How to fix salty beans
Before we proceed any further, it's important to note that the best way to avoid oversalting your beans is to start with unsalted water. This may seem like common sense, but it's worth mentioning nonetheless. There is no way to undo the damage when you oversalt your beans. The only way to fix it is to add more ingredients to balance out the saltiness.
There are a few things you can do to try to fix your dish. Here are a few of our favorite methods:
Option 1
Make another batch of beans
The best way to fix salty beans is to make another batch of beans that has no added salt and mix them together. It will help dilute the first batch of beans, thus reducing their saltiness.
How does it work?
The answer is simple: by diluting the sauce. Perhaps this seems like an obvious solution, yet many people overlook it and end up with an inedibly salty meal. If you find yourself in this situation, don't despair—simply make more of the same soup and mix it with the original batch of beans without adding more salt. Using this method, you will significantly reduce the saltiness of the dish.
What's the best way to do it:
If you choose to go this route, remove the original batch of beans from the heat immediately and cook a fresh batch. If not, the first batch will be too overcooked and too salty when the second batch is ready.
- When you make a new batch of beans, add twice as much water (or unsalted stock) as you did before, but be sure not to add salt. This will help to thin out the sauce and make the beans less salty.
- At the end of the cooking process, incorporate the old, salty batch into the new one. To add new beans to salty beans, you should use a ratio of 1:1, which means you should add new beans for every cup of salty beans.
I tried this before when I made chili, and it worked like a charm! This will help to take away some of the saltiness. Doing this will also help to add more volume to the dish, which can be helpful if you feed a large group of people.
If you don't have time to make a new batch of beans, you can rinse the salty beans in water. While this will remove some salt, it will not make them as delicious as fresh ones.
The best thing about this method is that it requires no additional effort or ingredients, and it ensures that you'll end up with a batch of delicious beans.
Read:
Option 2
Add cream or fat
If you still find the beans too salty after the first method, you can try masking the saltiness by adding some cream or fat. It is best to use unsalted butter, but you can also use cream, milk, or any other type of fat.
To balance the saltiness, add a dollop of sour cream, heavy cream, or full-fat yogurt, and then boost the dish's acidity with a splash of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice to cut through the fatty richness.
The neutral flavor of the dairy will help to mellow out the saltiness, while the acidity will brighten up the flavors of the dish as a whole.
You can usually mask the taste of overseasoned beans by adding another ingredient. This is why many people keep a few key ingredients on hand, like extra vinegar, lemon juice, and cream, to help fix overseasoned dishes.
If all else fails, you can always start from scratch.
Option 3
Add a starchy ingredient.
Well, it essentially works by absorbing the excess salt in the dish. So, if your beans are too salty, you can try adding some starch to help balance things. A good option is to add cooked rice or quinoa, which will help to absorb the excess salt. You can also add potatoes, bread crumbs, or even flour to help thicken the dish and absorb some of the salt. Just be sure to add these ingredients gradually, so you don't end up with a mushy mess.
1 Potato
One way to help balance out the saltiness of your dish is to add starch. Potatoes are a great option because they are absorbent and will help to soak up some of the excess salt. Peel the potatoes, add them to your dish, and let them cook until tender.
How does adding potatoes work to counter saltiness?
We've all heard about the magic trick of adding potatoes to a dish to make it less salty. But how exactly does this work?
Adding potatoes to a dish helps to counter saltiness because they are absorbent. Why is that? Potatoes contain a lot of starch, and starch is hydrophilic, meaning it attracts and holds water.
The potatoes do not draw salt out of anything; instead, they soak up water (and salt dissolved in it), and if that water is salty, the potatoes will absorb some of the saltiness. But they're not absorbing salt; they're just absorbing water that happens to be salty. This means potatoes are incapable of reverse osmosis and are more like a sponge than a filter.
Therefore, removing the potatoes from a dish after absorbing all the water (and salt) should result in a less salty dish. In reality, however, this is usually not practical because it would also make the dish quite mushy. It's better to add just enough potatoes to help balance out the saltiness.
Any starchy ingredient would work the same way as potatoes. However, other starch-rich foods (like rice or pasta) can make your dish gummier or clumpier, so it's best to stick with potatoes.
What's the best way to do it?
Peel some raw potatoes and add them to your dish and let them cook until tender. Remove potatoes immediately after the starchy tubers are fully saturated with salt and before they start fully cooked for about 30 minutes.
This way, you'll have effectively removed some saltiness from your dish without making it overly mushy.
Note:
Chopping the potatoes will increase the surface area, accelerating the cooking process. Yet simultaneously enabling the salty potatoes to meld with the dish instead of sitting on top like a sponge. Therefore, leaving them whole is better.
2 Adding rice
Another starchy ingredient that minimizes a dish's saltiness is rice. Cooked rice will absorb some of the salty broth and help to mellow out the flavors.
How does rice work to counter the saltiness?
As rice cooks, its starches expand, absorbing liquid. The starch granules absorb some salty broth, mellowing out the flavors in this case. Adding rice early in the cooking process is vital, so it has time to absorb the liquid and flavors. Because rice is bland, it won't change the flavor of your dish too much.
Rice is also hydrophilic, meaning it will absorb water from its surroundings. This means it can help balance out a too-salty dish by absorbing some excess salt.
Different ways that you can add rice to your dish:
- You can add uncooked rice to the pot if you're making a soup or stew. The rice will absorb some broth, so add extra liquid to compensate.
- You can also cook the rice separately and add it to your dish at the end. This is a good option if you're unsure how much rice you need to add.
- Another option is to cook the rice in the same pot as your dish. You can use this method to stretch a dish if you are feeding a large group.
Option 3
Pour in more liquid.
Adding more liquid will help reduce salt concentration since salt dissolves in liquid. You can add more of the same liquid that you used to cook the dish, or you can add water. If you're using water, slowly add it and taste to ensure you don't dilute the flavors.
1 Add water
This may seem like an obvious solution, but it's often the quickest and easiest way to fix salty beans. Pour more water into the pot and simmer for a few minutes. The extra water will help to dilute the saltiness of the beans.
How does it work?
Water is a universal solvent, meaning it can dissolve most substances. When you add water to a salty dish, the water molecules bind to the salt particles and effectively dilute them.
What's the best way to do it?
However, don't be hasty in adding multiple quarts of water, as this will also dilute the flavor of your dish- you don't want to end up with watery beans! Be sure to add water in increments; start with 1 cup or ½ cup of water, and taste as you go or until the saltiness is right.
Is the flavor of the beans affected by dilution?
If the beans are highly salty, it's best to start with new beans. Adding water will dilute the bean's flavor, but this is often the best way to fix salty beans. If you've already added other ingredients to the dish, you can try to offset the saltiness by adding more of those different flavors.
For example, add more diced tomatoes or tomato sauce if the dish contains tomatoes. If it has cheese, add more shredded cheese.
The extra water will help dilute the beans' saltiness, but it may also weaken the flavor of the beans. Like any other ingredient, beans can vary in taste and quality. If you're using higher-quality beans, they may be more flavorful and less likely to be affected by the extra water.
If you're looking to maintain the flavor of the beans, you may want to try one of the other methods below.
2 Squeeze some lemon juice or orange juice
Lemon juice or orange juice are other great options for adding acidity to a dish. The sour flavor of these juices will help cut through the beans' saltiness, giving them a new level of complexity.
How does it work?
The sourness of the lemon juice or orange juice will help to counteract the saltiness of the beans. We taste sourness more strongly than saltiness because our taste buds are more sensitive to it. As a result, adding acidity will help make the beans more palatable. As a result of the added acidity, the dish will also have a new dimension of flavor.
What's the best way to do it?
Simply squeeze some lemon juice or orange juice into the pot of beans. Start with a small amount, and then taste the beans to see if you need to add more. Remember, it's always easier to add more acidity than it is to take it away.
3 Add vinegar and sugar
Add vinegar if you want to add a slight acidity to help offset the saltiness. This will also help to enhance the flavors of the other ingredients in the dish.
How does acidity in vinegar work to counter saltiness?
Human tongues have taste buds that detect five tastes: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami. When you add vinegar to a dish, the acidity increases, hence making it taste less salty as our taste buds are more sensitive to sourness than saltiness.
A vinegar addition will also help to balance out the flavors. At the same time, acidity complements other flavors to counter the saltiness making them more palatable.
What's the best way to do it?
Pour a splash of vinegar into the pot of beans. Start with a small amount, and then taste the beans to see if you need to add more. Always start with a small amount because adding more vinegar is very easy but difficult to take away.
You can also add a bit of sugar to help balance out the vinegar. Use mild vinegar like apple cider vinegar or white vinegar to help mask the saltiness by distracting your taste buds with the vinegar's tangy flavor.
4 Add unsalted broth
Another way to add more liquid is to pour in some additional broth like unsalted chicken or vegetable broth. This will not only help to thin out the beans, but it will also add more flavor. Just be sure to use a low-sodium broth, or your dish will be even saltier.
How does adding broth work to counter saltiness?
Adding broth will help to thin out the beans and make them less salty. This is because the extra liquid will dilute the saltiness of the beans. The broth will also add more flavor to the dish, which can help offset the beans' saltiness.
What's the best way to do it?
Add a bit of low-sodium broth to the pot of beans. Adding small amounts at a time is the best way to control the level of saltiness. Simmer and taste the beans until they reach the desired level of salinity. This reduces the concentration of salt in the dish.
You can always add more broth if needed. As long as you start with a low-sodium broth, you should be able to avoid making the dish too salty.
Option 5
Rinse the beans and replace them with new water
Replacing the water can help you keep the liquid manageable while removing some salt. This method is best in cases where you don't need a large volume of water to cook the beans, which is ideal for thick bean soups or stews.
To do this, drain the beans and rinse them under fresh water. Then cook the beans in fresh water. This method will not remove all of the salt, but it can help reduce the dish's overall saltiness.
How does this work?
Rinsing the beans helps remove some of the salt clinging to the beans' surface. Due to salt's insoluble nature, water does not readily dissolve it. So, when you rinse the beans, some of the salt is left behind in the water.
Replacing the water also helps dilute the salt already in the beans. This is because the new water will have a lower salt concentration than the water in which you cooked the beans.
Here's how to do it:
1. Rinse the beans in a colander with cold, running water.
2. Place the rinsed beans in a pot and cover them with fresh water.
3. Bring the pot of water to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer.
4. Cook the beans until they are tender.
5. Drain the beans and discard the water.
6. Proceed with your recipe as usual.
Rinsing the beans will help to remove some of the salt that is already on the beans. Adding fresh water will also help to dilute the saltiness.
