How to Reduce The Acidity in Your Tomato Sauce: 8 Simple and Natural Methods

Sauce is a cornerstone of American cooking, essential in kitchens across the country for preparing everything from classic pasta with Bolognese sauce and lasagna to more creative and unique dishes. Whether it's served as a sauce, puree, gravy, or pulp, one thing is certain: it’s always delicious. From hearty meat sauces to rich gravies, sauces play a key role in American comfort food and everyday meals.

Despite its goodness, however, sauce can be a real enemy of digestion: it's the tomatoes' fault, which contain a very high level of acidity that can cause annoying stomach problems (especially if you use canned tomatoes or tomato sauce) or in general ruin the taste of the sauce by making it too acidic.

Don't worry, you don't have to give up eating this delicious preparation, you just have to learn a few tricks to sweeten the sauce so as to make it tastier and easier to digest. We suggest some natural and very simple methods, which will change your relationship with sauce forever!

1. Remove the Peel and Seeds

The first useful tip to reduce the acidity of the sauce, if you want to prepare your own sauce at home, is to remove the outer layer of skin and the internal seeds from the tomatoes: these are the two elements that contain most of the acids and therefore eliminating both will help reduce the acidity of the sauce. The operation is simple: you have to dip the tomatoes in boiling water for a few minutes, then drain them, cool them with water to stop the cooking and at this point peel them. Once the skin is removed, cut the tomatoes in half and with a sharp knife remove the seeds, being careful not to remove the pulp. Your spaghetti with tomato sauce will have a completely different flavor!

2. Choose a Sweeter Type Like Datterini

Another great option for a sweeter sauce is to use a particular tomato, the datterino. This small, oval-shaped variety is in fact the least acidic tomato type, known for its particularly sweet flavor despite its very small size similar to that of a date (hence the name). You can use datterini both to prepare the sauce and to season spaghetti with fresh tomato sauce, such as creamy paccheri with datterini, an easy and delicious preparation.

3. Reduce Cooking Times

A little-known but very useful trick to reduce the acidity of tomatoes is to reduce cooking times. Not everyone knows, in fact, that the more tomatoes cook, the more acidic they become. So if you are preparing a sauce with tomatoes that remain partially whole, remember to add them last to the other ingredients, so as to cook them for less time and obtain a sauce with a low level of acidity.

4. Use Baking Soda

Among the first methods to sweeten the sauce that involve adding some ingredients to the sauce, you should know about the one with baking soda: it is the grandmother's remedy par excellence, the most well-known and used, and also one of the most effective. While the sauce is cooking, you just need to add a pinch of bicarbonate – be careful not to overdo it: ¼ teaspoon for every 6-7 tomatoes will be enough – and the mixture will act on the tomato, reducing the acidity. To be sure it is working, check if small bubbles form on the surface of the sauce: this is a sign that the baking soda is absorbing the acidity.

5. Add Potatoes or Carrots to The Puree

Another very useful “grandmother's” remedy to know, but which is only valid if you are cooking a tomato puree, is to use vegetables to tone down the acidity of the sauce, or rather two vegetables in particular: potatoes or carrots. Both of these foods, in fact, have the power to absorb the acidity of the sauce making its flavor much sweeter and without altering it. You have to wash and peel the potato or carrot, cut it in half or in any case in large pieces and let it boil together with the sauce until the end of cooking.

6. Add Some Vegetable Broth

Another easy way to sweeten the sauce, valid only if you are using tomato puree, is to add vegetable broth to the sauce. Half a glass will be enough and the result will be guaranteed: the broth, in fact, not only contrasts the acidity but also enriches the flavor of your sauce. If you do not have broth on hand, you can also use stock cubes, dissolving them directly in the sauce, stirring frequently until they are completely blended.

7. Use Spices if You Cook Peeled Tomatoes

The last methods we suggested are valid for purees, but there are some useful tricks even if you are using peeled tomatoes, whether canned or bottled: even this type, despite having a lower acidity than the sauce, can create some problems. To avoid the acid component, in this case, the secret ingredient is spices, in particular cinnamon, nutmeg and turmeric. All three are perfect allies against acidity, but be careful to use them sparingly so as not to alter the flavor: choose the one you prefer and add only half a teaspoon for every 900 grams of peeled tomatoes.

8. Adjust the Flavor With Sugar, Milk or Cream

We conclude our suggestions with the most controversial trick: adding a sweet element to the sauce that can be sugar, milk or cream. Surely you are turning up your nose, yet each of these three elements, dosed in minimal quantities, is able to modify your sauce, and if you are still skeptical, know that even the original recipe for Bolognese ragù requires the addition of milk. Remember however that, unlike the cases previously illustrated, you are only going to correct the sauce in terms of flavor and you are not going to really contrast the acidity of the tomato. The sugar will give the sauce a sweet and sour touch, the milk or cream instead will not only make it sweeter but also creamier and softer on the palate. If you use sugar to sweeten the sauce remember that the quantity is no more than half a teaspoon, while if you want to use milk or cream the advice is to never exceed the dosage of a teaspoon.