Coleslaw is a popular side dish, but pre-made coleslaws tend to be high in sodium making it a less than desirable choice. This kidney friendly coleslaw recipe contains a lot of flavor, but not a lot of sodium – plus it’s a simple way to get more veggies into your kidney diet!
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Kidney Friendly Coleslaw Ingredients:
- Coleslaw mix – Although you could buy heads of cabbage and shred them at home, buying the pre-shredded coleslaw mixes will make this recipe a lot easier. Cabbage is great for your kidneys. It is high in vitamin C and Vitamin K and is relatively low in potassium if you need to be on a potassium restriction.
- Lower sodium taco seasoning mix – To give this low sodium kidney friendly coleslaw recipe some flavor, we are going to use taco seasoning, but make sure you buy the lower sodium kind. If you find multiple options, I recommend reading the food label (don’t go based on the marketing terms on the front!). For example, I had these two options to choose from:
If you just go based on the front packaging, you would probably think that the McCormick seasoning is lower in sodium because it has “30% less sodium” compared to the “25% less sodium”. But you need to read the food label!
The Old El Paso taco seasoning was actually lower in sodium! Only 220mg per serving compared to the McCormick’s 250mg per serving (and the serving sizes are the same!). For this recipe, I went with the yellow package from Old El Paso.
- Mrs. Dash Extra Spicy – In addition to the taco seasoning (and I forgot to picture it in my ingredients picture), I am going to use some Mrs. Dash Extra Spicy to add more flavor without adding more sodium.
- Black Beans – beans are a higher protein food, so if you have Chronic Kidney Disease, you don’t want to eat too much protein. However, if you’re following a plant-based diet, then including some beans into your day is a smart idea. Not only are they high in fiber, but they also contain important amino acids that you can’t get in large quantities from other plant-based foods. For this recipe, I am using canned beans with no salt added. Always buy beans with no salt added.
- Corn – corn is a whole grain, which is great. In this kidney friendly coleslaw recipe, we are going to blacken the corn to add some depth of flavor. If you prefer a simpler, no-cooking recipe, you can buy canned corn with no salt added and use that instead.
- Red Bell Pepper – bell peppers are also a great vegetable option for people with kidney disease. They are low in potassium and high in vitamin C. They also add some great flavor and a pop of color to recipes.
- Jalapeno pepper – jalapenos add some great flavor to recipes – especially if you enjoy spicy foods. Be sure to wash your hands thoroughly after handling jalapenos. Their spicy oils can linger on your hands and we don’t want to be touching sensitive areas like our eyes or nose with jalapeno hands!
- Cilantro – our last vegetable is the herb cilantro. This adds some great green color as well as flavor.
- Mayonnaise – mayonnaise is the base of our coleslaw dressing. Be sure to buy a full fat mayonnaise and check the ingredients to make sure there are no phosphorus additives. Mayo helps add calories and fat to our low sodium coleslaw recipe with adding a lot of protein or salt. Check out our Best Mayonnaise for Kidney Patients to find some kidney friendly options.
- Sour cream – again, be sure to buy the full fat version of sour cream and check the labels to be sure there are no phosphorus additives!
Kidney Friendly Mexican Coleslaw
Nutrition:
Nutrition:
4
servings30
minutes10
minutesIngredients
2 ears yellow corn
14 oz bagged coleslaw mix
1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped
1 can no salt added black beans, rinsed and drained
1 jalapeno, seeds removed and minced
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
- Coleslaw Dressing
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream
1 T lower sodium taco seasoning
1 T Mrs. Dash Extra Spicy
2 T lime juice
Directions
- Broil corn for approximately 8 minutes, turning 2-3 times to blacken on all sides. You can also grill the corn if you prefer!
- Prepare coleslaw dressing by mixing mayonnaise, sour cream, taco seasoning, Mrs. Dash, and lime juice in a small bowl.
- Once corn has cooled, use a knife to cut blackened kernels off the cob.
- Combine corn, black beans, coleslaw mix, jalapeno, bell pepper, and cilantro in a large bowl. Add coleslaw dressing and toss to evenly coat and mix ingredients.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- This is a higher potassium recipe. If you need a potassium restriction, consider eating a smaller portion.
- If you need to reduce your protein further, consider reducing the amount of black beans used in the recipe.
A kidney diet that limits or avoids phosphorus additives and keeps sodium less than 2300 mg per day is recommended.
