This low sodium chicken breast recipe uses simple ingredients and it is so easy to make that you won’t have to spend a huge amount of your precious time for cooking. It requires simple ingredients, like meat and seasonings, olive oil and apple cider vinegar.
Making low sodium chicken recipes for dinner from scratch is a big plus because the sodium quantity will be reduced. Many already-made seasoning mixes contain a high amount of sodium and you may not be aware of it unless you read the nutritional information on the label.
Chicken breast is a common ingredient and can be prepared in a large variety of ways. It tastes delicious and is suitable for many types of diets. You can enjoy it if you want to lose weight, if you want to gain weight, if you are following a paleo, vegan, or keto diet, if you eat anti-inflammatory foods, if you want to eat less fat or if you want to eat more fat and keep the skin on. Basically, if you are not vegetarian or vegan chicken breast is a great option for lunch or dinner. We don’t need to stick to the stereotype that chicken breast is a tasteless food. Don't believe us? Try this smoked chicken breast recipe.
There are a lot of ways to make it taste divine, starting with herbs and seasonings and going on with marinades and the way you cook it.
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Why A Low Sodium Chicken Breast Recipe?
Sodium is a mineral vital for the body functioning. It helps in keeping the fluid and electrolyte balance at a normal level and is involved in cellular function. Since it is critical to life, our bodies empowered the kidneys to regulate the sodium levels based on the concentration of body fluids.
Table salt’s main component is sodium. The daily recommendation of sodium is 2300 mg per day. Most foods contain it naturally. Nonetheless, whole foods such as fruits, vegetables and poultry have a lower amount of sodium. All animal-based foods (for example, meats and dairy products) contain a lower amount of sodium than plant-based foods. Most concentrated quantities of sodium are to be found in processed foods like frozen dinners, fast food meals, chips, broth mixes, MSG, Chinese food, sauces (like barbecue or teriyaki), bacon bits, croutons. Even homemade products such as pickles may contain a high amount of sodium.
A low-sodium diet is recommended for certain people in order to fight some health conditions.
Heart diseases
Lowering your sodium intake prevents heart failure symptoms and future heart problems. Heart conditions can make the kidneys’ activity decrease further leading to sodium and water retention. Too much sodium in the body contributes to fluid overload. This extra fluid will make the heart work harder, increase the blood pressure and even bring critical complications, like shortness of breath. People with severe heart failure should decrease their sodium intake below 2000 mg per day.
Kidney diseases
When kidneys are having problems, they can’t remove the extra sodium or fluids from the body. This may lead to kidney failure when fluid and sodium levels are too high. Also the blood will be experiencing high pressure and the protein levels in urine (one of the markers of kidney damage) will increase.
High Blood Pressure
Medical community considers blood pressure a risk for multiple conditions, including strokes and heart diseases. As previously said, a high sodium intake may lead to high blood pressure.
Therefore, low sodium diets are prescribed as natural treatments for people who have high blood pressure.
How to limit the sodium intake?
- First of all, it is mandatory for everybody to learn to read the labels. We will be able to spot not only the high sodium quantity but also unhealthy saturated fats, additives and other ingredients which shouldn’t be present in food.
- Avoid already made seasoning mixes and use fresh or dried herbs, different types of pepper and spices instead. A mix of dried herbs and freshly ground pepper is ideal to season low sodium chicken breast. Also check the spices blends with no salt added. Also works well with this Oven-pan Baked Chicken and Potatoes Recipe.
- Use lemon, orange, lime or pineapple juice, wine or apple cider vinegar as a base for your marinades.
- Avoid canned foods like vegetables, soups, rice and pasta mixes, gravy sauces, instant cereal or frozen dinners.
- Try to keep to a minimum the fast food you eat as it contains a lot of salt and also many other unhealthy ingredients.
- Look for low-sodium soups, fresh or frozen vegetables.
- There are some salt substitutes on the store shelves but don’t use them until you check with your dietitian because they can have a potential nutrient or drug interaction.
I know all of these are possible when you cook at home but you should know that you can also keep the sodium intake low even when going out for dinner.
- Make sure the restaurant you choose offer dishes prepared by request and is open to replacing certain ingredients.
- Order food a la carte which will be cooked after placing the order. Most likely, dishes already made contain salt.
- If you still want to eat something that contains much salt, make sure the size of the portion is small.
Is low sodium chicken breast recipe appropriate for weight loss?
Chicken breast is ideal for any diet (except for the vegan and vegetarian one of course) so you can definitely prepare weight watchers chicken recipes. Make sure you remove the skin first to reduce the fat quantity.
How to Prep for This Low Sodium Chicken Breast Recipe
First of all, you will need to gather your ingredients.
The main ingredient is, of course, chicken breast. When buying chicken, keep in mind some general guidelines.
- Check the “best by” date. If you are meal planning and know you will use the meat later, look for a package which will last for more days.
- The expiration date is a great marker but keep in mind that if the meat wasn’t handled in proper conditions it might not be as fresh as it should. Color is of help too because as the chicken spoils, it won’t look pink anymore but slight gray. So go for the packages which contain only pink meat with no trace of gray.
- In case you want to cook the breast with the skin on, check the amount of skin on the meat cuts so you will get a crispy and delicious dish.
You will also need to prepare a marinade. Olive oil, apple cider vinegar and herbs will help you create a concoction which will tenderize the chicken breast. This type of marinade also works for weight watchers chicken recipes is using only a teaspoon of olive oil.
How to make the chicken more tender?
Whether you plan to cook the meat in a crock pot or make low sodium baked chicken, you will need some seasonings. To tenderize the breast, it is advisable to prepare a low sodium chicken marinade. The base for this will be a combination of vinegar and oil. The acetic acid in vinegar will make the meat tender and easy to chew.
This salt free chicken recipe requires for dried herbs such as thyme, fresh rosemary and minced garlic.
Another way to make the chicken more tender is to use some buttermilk instead of vinegar and oil. It also contains acetic acid. Lemon juice works just fine as well.
How to make low sodium chicken marinade?
As I said before, you should start by whisking together the oil and apple cider/wine vinegar (or lemon juice, whatever you prefer) in a bowl. Add the seasonings and herbs using and stir again. Place the chicken breast in the bowl and toss to coat.
An equally good idea is to place the oil, vinegar and herbs in a ziplock bag. Shake it well. Insert the meat and shake again. Seal and put it into the refrigerator. Let the chicken marinate for at least one hour to prepare the salt free chicken recipe.
In case you want to use buttermilk, you may omit the oil and mix it only with herbs and freshly ground pepper. Utilizing buttermilk is perfect for the weight watchers chicken recipes as you reduce the number of calories by decreasing the fat quantity.
How to make low sodium chicken breast in crock pot?
When using a crock pot for low salt chicken recipes, things tend to get easier. Due to the higher amount of cooking time, you won’t need to marinate the chicken. Basically, the low sodium chicken marinade will be poured over the breast and the meat will have enough time to tenderize while cooking.
Slow cooker is a perfect way of preparing low sodium chicken recipes for dinner.
How to store low sodium chicken breast?
If you have some leftovers, make sure you refrigerate all the remaining bits as soon as possible. Cooked low sodium chicken recipes for dinner should be kept at room temperature for no more than two hours. Let it first cool completely and then wrap it tightly and take it to the fridge.
If you are not planning to use the low sodium chicken within four days of cooking, you should consider freezing it. Place it in freezer bags, label them (write down the date of cooking) and consume the chicken within three to four months.
Consider these other recipes that complement: 21 frying pan meals and giant chocolate chip cookie.
Low Sodium Chicken Breast Recipe
This low sodium baked chicken is delicious even if it doesn’t contain any salt added. The meat is tender and juicy and can be served with a lot of sautéed veggies, mashed potatoes or rice. The recipe is easy and quick. It successfully falls into the category of the most delicious low salt chicken recipes.
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Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 18 minutes minutes
Resting time: 1 hour hour
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Breast, Chicken, Low Sodium
Servings: 2
Calories: 334kcal
Equipment
Bowl
small whisk
sharp knife
grill pan
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts, skin off
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- ½ tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
- ½ tsp freshly ground pepper
- 1 garlic clove, minced
Instructions
Take the skin off the chicken breasts. Slice the meat using a sharp knife. Thinner cuts of meat become more tender after marinating and need a shorter resting time.
Whisk together the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, dried thyme, rosemary, pepper and garlic in a bowl. Bring in the chicken breast and toss to coat well. Cover and transfer the bowl to the refrigerator. Alternatively, place all the ingredients, except for the meat, in a ziplock bag. Shake it well so all the flavors combine. Add the meat and shake again so that everything is covered in the marinade. Place the meat in the refrigerator to marinate for at least one hour.
Slightly grease a griddled pan or an electric grill with a little bit of oil or unsalted butter. Set the heat to high and wait until the surface is hot. This step is essential in the preparation of this salt free chicken recipe. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375F (190C).
When the pan or electric grill is hot, use tongs to place the chicken inside. Resist the urge of flipping it over or moving it in any way for exactly 90 seconds. After that, turn it on the other side. Grill for 90 additional seconds.
If your pan is heat-proof, transfer it to the oven. Otherwise, place the chicken into a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Bake for about 10 minutes or until golden brown on top.
Let it cool a little bit before serving.
Enjoy!
Notes
The result of low salt chicken recipes is an appetizing main course which can be served with various side dishes.
Baked potatoes with rosemary and butter would be my first choice.
But we can consider plenty of other ideas:
- sautéed broccoli and cauliflower;
- mashed potatoes;
- veggie mix, sautéed in butter;
- roasted veggies (beets, parsnip, carrots);
- basmati rice;
- curried rice;
- zucchini fritters;
- a huge vegetables salad.
Any of these side dishes could work and if you have other preferred food, just go for it.
Nutrition
Calories: 334kcal | Carbohydrates: 1.5g | Protein: 40.7g | Fat: 17.5g
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About the author
Jesse Spitzer
Jesse is a father of two and an aspiring chef. He has worked in the kitchen for over 7 years. He loves cooking and is passionate about finding ways to cook easier and more efficient. When he's not in the kitchen, Jesse can be found on on the golf course, reading a productivity book or sipping a glass of nice pinot.
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