Mistakes happen—especially in the kitchen. As someone who enjoys experimenting with new sauce or soup recipes, there is one thing I try to be extra conscious of: sodium levels.

A diet too high in sodium can lead to conditions like high blood pressure and heart disease. But aside from the health factor, an abundance of salt can also turn a perfectly tasty meal into a briny, sour batch of metaphorical heartache. But don’t toss your dinner just yet! There are preventatives and tips designed to make something less salty.

In addition to ensuring your time and efforts in the kitchen are well spent, saving your too-salty meal rather than tossing it is an accidentally eco win. Over 70 billion pounds of food waste goes to landfills every year. As such, the more creative we can get with saving, regrowing, and upcycling food, the better!

Tips to Prevent Oversalting Food

There are certain steps you can take to help ensure that your food won’t need saving from salt.

First, avoid measuring salt over your pots, pans, or bowls to reduce your chances of spills. Also, make sure your salt lid is secure and read through your ingredients and spices to avoid adding too much salt in the prep stage or while cooking.

But if mistakes were made, worry not. The next time you feel defeated over an oversalted dish, take a breath and reclaim your meal with these helpful tips on how to make food less salty.

5 Ways to Make Something Less Salty

1. Add Water

In the case of soups or sauces, a bit of water can help to balance the salt ratio. Make sure to taste along the way, and don’t be afraid to add more ingredients to get your flavors on track. For pre-cooked items like poultry, simply rinse away the seasoning for a fresh start.

2. Potato to the Rescue

To absorb the salt of your dish, reach for a whole potato! The starch will soak up all the excess salt. Plus, once fished out, your potato hero can be used to make another dish.

3. Mask with Contrasting Flavors

To counter the sodium, add contrasting flavors that cancel out the saltiness of soups and salads. Vinegar or acids like lemon juice can help to balance the taste.

4. Counter with Sugar

There’s no better rival to salt than sugar. In an effort to counter the saltiness of your dish, add a pinch of sugar to sweeten your meal.

5. Add More Veggies!

If you’re cooking a veggie-centric dish, more produce can solve your salt problem. Be sure to taste along the way to ensure that the flavor profile remains a delicious one.