Kidney friendly bean salad for a renal diet!
Old school renal diet thinking would have you believe that beans aren’t allowed on a renal diet….this is entirely false for so many reasons!
Beans are an excellent source of fiber and plant protein. They contain varying potassium levels so there are plenty of options for people with Chronic Kidney Disease to choose from. The phosphorus in beans is not a concern because of the lower bioavailability of plant sources of phosphorus.
This recipe includes lower potassium veggies (like bell pepper and cucumber) to keep the overall potassium content moderate. AND this recipe is negative PRAL (potential renal acid load).
How to make it
It’s pretty simple…
- Drain and rinse the canned, low sodium beans. This removes about 50% more of the sodium (there is < 140 mg sodium/serving in low sodium canned beans).
- Chop your veggies (green onion, bell pepper, cucumber). The veggies come out to ~3-4 cups of chopped veggies. You can swap other veggies of choice if you prefer.
- Make your dressing in a little bowl. The red chili flakes don’t add much heat. You can leave them out if you don’t like any spice, or add more if you like things spicy!
- Combine everything in a bowl and refrigerate for at least an hour prior to serving.
How much can you eat?
This will depend on your individual nutrient needs. If you are eating this Black Bean Chickpea Salad as a side dish, a standard serving would be a one cup portion. If this is a full meal for you (great idea if you’re packing a lunch or need to utilize leftovers for a quick meal), then the serving size would likely be a two cup portion.
Since all people with Chronic Kidney Disease have different nutrient needs, I provide the kidney specific nutrition information at the bottom of the recipe. You can choose how much to consume based on how much protein and potassium you need in your diet 🙂
If you’re not sure how much you should be eating, check out my Ultimate Plant Based Kidney Diet E-Guide. This guide will teach you how to estimate your kidney specific nutrient needs and how to eat to meet those needs!
Low Sodium Black Bean Chickpea Salad
Ingredients
Bean Salad
- 1 14 oz can low sodium black beans drained and rinsed
- 1 14 oz can low sodium chickpeas drained and rinsed
- 2 cups diced cucumber ~ 1 medium cucumber
- 1 large bell pepper any color of choice
- 4 each thinly sliced green onions
Dressing
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar or other vinegar
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1/2 tsp red chili flakes
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
- 1/8 tsp salt
Instructions
- Add the bean salad ingredients to a large mixing bowl or Pyrex that has a lid.
- Combine dressing ingredients in a separate small bowl.
- Pour dressing over the bean salad and toss.
- Store in the fridge for at least 1 hour prior to serving.
This is such a delicious and easy recipe! Chop, dump, and eat is my kind of cooking. My husband loved it and he does not have CKD. We ate it as a side dish and we also ate it as a lunch. Very inexpensive and so yummy! This is a great dish to bring to a party. I will be making this again!
So good. Love it and thank you.
Yay so glad you enjoyed it! 🙂