Consuming too much sodium can lead to high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, and other health problems. Chicken is a common source of sodium in many people’s diets. In this comprehensive guide, I will provide tips and strategies to help you reduce sodium in chicken without sacrificing flavor.
Why Reducing Sodium in Chicken is Important
The average American consumes over 3,400 mg of sodium per day, exceeding the recommended limit of 2,300 mg. High sodium intake is linked to high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, and kidney disease. Chicken can be a significant source of sodium. Deli meats, frozen dinners, canned soups with chicken, and restaurant chicken dishes often contain high amounts of sodium. Reducing sodium in chicken is important for maintaining good health and preventing chronic diseases.
Ways to Reduce Sodium in Chicken
Here are some effective ways to reduce sodium in chicken
Use Fresh or Frozen Chicken
Fresh or frozen raw chicken contains less sodium than processed and pre-seasoned chicken products Opt for plain chicken breasts, thighs, legs, wings, etc rather than seasoned frozen chicken, canned chicken, chicken lunch meats, or pre-marinated chicken.
Avoid Adding Salt When Cooking
Avoid directly seasoning chicken with salt or high-sodium seasonings. Instead use herbs spices, pepper, garlic, citrus juice, vinegar, wine, mustard, etc. to add flavor.
Use Low-Sodium Broths and Stocks
When making chicken soups, stews, braises, or gravies, use low-sodium or sodium-free chicken broth. This can significantly cut down on sodium.
Rinse Canned Chicken
Rinsing canned chicken under running water can help remove some of the sodium it absorbs during canning.
Use Low-Sodium Marinades
Marinate chicken in herb-infused olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, wine, pureed fruits, garlic, mustard, etc. instead of salty marinades.
Cook Without Adding Liquid
Cooking chicken using dry heat methods like baking, grilling, roasting allows you to control sodium rather than relying on canned or packaged stocks and broths.
Use Spices and Herbs
Flavor chicken with spices like garlic, paprika, cumin, thyme, rosemary, oregano instead of salt. Fresh herbs like parsley, basil, cilantro also add flavor.
Read Labels
Compare sodium content on labels and choose low-sodium versions of condiments, dressings, sauces, etc. Watch for hidden sodium in ingredients.
Soak in Buttermilk
Soaking raw chicken in buttermilk before cooking can help draw out excess salt from brined chicken.
Tips for Meals with Chicken
Here are some tips to reduce sodium in common chicken dishes and meals:
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For chicken soup, use low-sodium broth and lots of onions, carrots, celery, mushrooms, herbs for flavor instead of salt.
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For chicken salad, use fresh herbs, lemon juice, mustard, pepper instead of canned chicken, salty dressings or soy sauce.
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For chicken stir fries, opt for fresh ginger, garlic, soy sauce, rice vinegar, chili peppers instead of oyster sauce or salt.
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For casseroles or pasta bakes with chicken, layer on flavor with tomatoes, spinach, mushrooms, skip salty cream soups or cans of soup.
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For grilled or baked chicken, rub with a mix of paprika, garlic powder, pepper, cumin instead of salt. Add fresh lime before serving.
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For curries or stews with chicken, use garlic, onions, spices like turmeric, curry powder, cumin instead of salt for flavor.
Reducing sodium in chicken is an important step to improve overall health. With some simple substitutions and cooking adjustments, you can decrease sodium substantially without sacrificing taste. Focus on using more herbs, spices, citrus, vinegar, mustard and low-sodium condiments and broths. With a bit of creativity in the kitchen, you can create delicious low-sodium chicken recipes. Your taste buds and your health will thank you!
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Kate L. | Group Calls with Jill
Can I rinse my food to remove sodium?
Listener Voicemail: Hi, Jill. My name is Jean. I’m from Crumpman, Indiana and I was diagnosed with kidney stones. I have a question for you. If something has a lot of sodium in it, say you buy chicken breasts that are already grilled and they’re in strips, what if you were to rinse your food to remove some of the sodium? Does it actually reduce the sodium count in your food when you rinse your food that has high sodium? Just curious. Appreciate the feedback! Thanks. Love you, bye.
Jill Harris: Jean, I love you, too, first of all, because we all need more love in the world. I feel so lucky a lot of people say that to me and I always say it right back because the world could use some extra love. I love it, myself. So, Jean, thank you for that. I appreciate you. I also appreciate everybody that calls in. You don’t have to do this. It’s part of your day, you’re taking up time, so the fact that you dialed those numbers and asked us this question is pretty remarkable. So, Jean in Indiana, yeah, sure. If you boil some food, the salt’s going to come out in the water. If you rinsed out a can of tuna–I do that when I’m having a can of tuna–if you bought storebought chicken, you know, you could probably get the salt on the top of it out.
If you boiled it for a while, yes, you are going to reduce the sodium in it. You will. I don’t know how much. It would depend on how long you were rinsing it. Would it be worth you doing at that point? Is it going to take away some of the flavor? Obviously, yes. Is it going to ruin the feel of that already made chicken breast? It may. Here’s some things. Instead of going through all that, you certainly can because it will reduce, you’re just not going to know exactly how much it’s going to reduce it by. Here’s other things I would say. Instead of putting yourself through that, something that’s already cooked, I would say–and Jean’s probably going to be like, “Well, I get it, girl, but I don’t want to have to cook the chicken. That’s why I’m getting a premade.”
Four Ways to Make Food Less Salty
FAQ
How to remove sodium from chicken?
How to make chicken less salty?
Can I eat chicken on a low sodium diet?
Lean protein sources: Lean protein sources such as skinless chicken, turkey, fish, tofu, and legumes are good options for low sodium meals. When preparing these foods, use herbs and spices for flavor instead of salt.
Why is chicken breast so high in sodium?
Sodium keeps it juicy and makes it taste good for chicken breast.