The Best Way To Thicken Hot Sauce Using One Added Ingredient

Whether you're staring down a homemade hot sauce experiment that has gone awry, picked up a disappointingly thin bottle of premade sauce from the store, or are faced with a store-bought hot sauce that has been sitting in your kitchen for some time, there are ways to beef up that condiment before tossing it into the bin. We spoke to Noah Chaimberg, the founder and CEO of Heatonist, for some of the best strategies to add muscle to a wimpy hot sauce without impacting the flavor in a less-than-ideal fashion. 

"There are a few different ways to thicken hot sauce," Chaimberg instructs. He recognizes that your approach will differ depending on which sauce you are starting out with and what exactly you are trying to achieve with the addition. "With super splashy sauces that contain a good amount of vinegar, adding butter can create a richer texture," he suggests. Though butter may not be the go-to inclusion you'd instinctually reach for when hot sauce is in hand, adding a creamy, oily ingredient can amplify the flavor profile in the sauce you're hoping to fatten up. Not only can a bit of butter tone down some of the louder elements of spice in that sauce, the creamy dairy product can add smooth richness to lift your hot sauce with minimal effort on your part.

Should you want a different approach to your hot-sauce saving attempts, Noah Chaimberg has other ideas to gussy up runny hot sauce in need of a makeover. "Another option is to add an ingredient like honey or agave if you're looking to achieve a glaze-like consistency," he adds. Drizzles of either honey or agave syrup can add a dimension of sweetness to a zippier sauce, like a homemade sriracha in need of a bit more texture and a more balanced flavor. 

Should your attempts to thicken up a dish of hot sauce get a bit too overzealous (it happens), you can always thin out hot sauce by straining it through cheesecloth if you desire a thinner consistency. As with any recipe modifications, taste as you go and incorporate new ingredients conservatively so that you can adjust as necessary without having to worry about fixing overcorrections as you work to get dinner on the table.