Salad on a renal diet

What makes this salad recipe kidney friendly? It is low in sodium, low in potassium, high fiber, and utilizes plant protein. It can be enjoyed as a side dish, or you can add to it to make it a meal 🙂

The recipe uses red bell pepper instead of tomatoes to help keep the potassium lower. Chickpeas are also a great lower potassium legume. By keeping feta out of the recipe we are able to keep it much lower in sodium than traditional Greek Salad recipes.

What to add to the salad

Since this Greek Salad recipe is low in potassium (298 mg per serving) there is plenty of room to bulk it up to make it a meal. Here are some ideas:

1. Serve it over a leafy green. Arugula, kale, romaine, and cabbage are all lower potassium options. Spinach will be higher in potassium.
2. Add a higher fiber grain. Barley, farro, and bulgur would all be great options. If you need a gluten free grain, try brown rice, wild rice, quinoa, or millet.
3. If you have higher protein needs, try adding roasted tofu or tempeh. If you eat animal protein, you can add a small amount of grilled chicken or fish to it or on the side.
4. Or you can simply eat a bigger portion of the salad!

Additional resources

If you’re looking for other kidney protective foods to include in your renal diet, check out my Top Healthy Kidney Foods!

For tasty tofu and tempeh recipes, check out the blog, It Doesn’t Taste Like Chicken. You will need to adjust the sodium in the recipes, but there are TONS of options!

Remember, eating a kidney friendly diet doesn’t need to be bland and boring! For more ways to flavor your food without adding tons of sodium, check out my article, 5 Ways To Add Flavor To The Renal Diet!

Print Recipe

Kidney Friendly Greek Salad

Enjoy this kidney friendly version of a Greek Salad as a side dish or main meal. By using red bell pepper instead of tomato and omitting feta cheese, this salad is plant based, low sodium, and low potassium!

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Course: Salad

Keyword: CKD, Plant Based, renal diet, vegetables

Servings: 3

Ingredients

• 1 cup red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 cup cucumber, chopped
• 1/4 cup red onion, chopped
• 10 each green olives, pitted don't used stuffed green olives
• 1 can low sodium garbanzo beans equivalent to 1.5 cups cooked chickpeas

Dressing

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/8 tsp garlic powder
• black pepper to taste

Instructions

• Chop vegetables, including olives, and add to a large bowl.
• Drain and rinse the canned garbanzo beans and add to the bowl with the veggies.
• Make dressing, pour over salad and toss together.
• Refrigerate for 1 hour prior to serving (optional).

Notes

Nutrition Facts Per Serving (1 heaping cup): 198 calories, 7 g protein, 25 g carbohydrate, 7 g fiber, 97 mg sodium, 298 mg potassium, 99 mg phosphorus, -0.9 PRAL

The sodium content may vary based on the green olives that you use. If you can’t find low sodium green olives, make sure to drain and rinse the olives before adding to your salad.

You can serve this salad over leafy greens (arugula, romaine, and kale are all low potassium options.

If you need it to be higher in protein, you can add roasted tofu (or another protein).