Cutting back on sodium doesn’t mean living on unseasoned chicken and sad salads.
Most whole, unprocessed foods are naturally low in sodium — the problem is almost always what gets added during processing, curing, or packaging.
I’ve spent a lot of time rebuilding a grocery list for a family member on a sodium-restricted diet, and the biggest lesson was this: shop the perimeter of the store, read labels on anything in a can or box, and lean hard on fresh herbs for flavor.
Below is a full low sodium foods list organized by category, plus what actually counts as ‘low sodium,’ how to build meals around it, and the snack and swap questions people ask most.
Key Takeaways
- Fresh, unprocessed meat, fish, produce, whole grains, and most herbs are naturally low in sodium — the salt gets added later.
- The FDA defines 'low sodium' as 140 mg or less per serving on a Nutrition Facts label.
- The biggest sodium jumps come from canned, cured, smoked, brined, or pre-seasoned foods, not fresh ingredients.
- A general low sodium diet target is under 2,300 mg per day, with many heart-health guidelines aiming closer to 1,500 mg.
- Frozen plain vegetables and fruit are just as low in sodium as fresh, and often more convenient.
What Counts as Low Sodium?
Use these FDA label definitions when you're standing in the grocery aisle deciding between two products.
| Label term | What it means per serving |
|---|---|
| Sodium-free | Less than 5 mg |
| Very low sodium | 35 mg or less |
| Low sodium | 140 mg or less |
| Reduced sodium | At least 25% less than the regular version |
| Unsalted / no salt added | No salt added during processing (may still contain natural sodium) |
Low Sodium Meat and Fish List
Fresh meat and fish are naturally low in sodium because salt is almost always added during processing, curing, or seasoning — not while the animal is alive.
Buying unprocessed cuts and seasoning them yourself is the single biggest lever you have for sodium control.
- Fresh chicken breast (unseasoned)
- Fresh turkey (whole or breast, not deli)
- Fresh beef (sirloin, ground beef, steak)
- Fresh pork loin or tenderloin
- Fresh salmon
- Fresh cod
- Fresh tuna (not canned in brine)
- Fresh tilapia
- Fresh shrimp (unbrined)
- Ground turkey, unseasoned
- Ground chicken, unseasoned
- Eggs
Skip anything cured, smoked, brined, or pre-marinated — deli turkey, bacon, ham, sausage, and pre-seasoned shrimp can carry 300-600+ mg of sodium per serving. If you want to build full meals around these proteins, our high protein foods list can help you plan portions.
| Food | Fresh/plain sodium | Processed version sodium |
|---|---|---|
| Chicken breast | ~50-70 mg (naturally occurring) | Deli chicken: ~450-700 mg per 2 oz |
| Tuna | ~40-50 mg fresh | Canned in brine: ~300-400 mg |
| Tomatoes | ~5-10 mg fresh | Canned/pasta sauce: ~400-600 mg |
| Rice | ~0-5 mg plain, cooked | Flavored instant packet: ~700-900 mg |
| Cucumber | ~2 mg fresh | Pickled: ~300+ mg per few slices |
Low Sodium Vegetables List
Nearly every fresh vegetable is naturally very low in sodium — this is where a low sodium diet gets easy.
Sodium climbs fast once vegetables are canned, pickled, or packed in brine, so fresh or plain frozen is the move.
- Spinach
- Lettuce (iceberg, romaine, butterhead, leaf)
- Kale
- Arugula
- Carrots
- Broccoli
- Cauliflower
- Bell peppers
- Cucumber
- Zucchini
- Green beans (fresh or frozen)
- Tomatoes
- Asparagus
- Eggplant
- Cabbage
- Sweet potatoes
- Mushrooms
- Onions and garlic
If you’re rinsing canned vegetables, know that it only reduces sodium by roughly 10%, per USDA guidance on rinsing canned foods — buying no-salt-added cans is far more effective. These pair well with the produce in our heart healthy foods list if you’re eating for blood pressure specifically.
Low Sodium Fruits List
Fresh fruit is essentially sodium-free across the board, which makes it one of the easiest wins on a low sodium diet.
The only fruit products to watch are canned fruit in syrup with preservatives, and some dried fruits with added sulfites or salt-based coatings.
- Apples
- Bananas
- Strawberries
- Blueberries
- Oranges
- Grapes
- Pineapple
- Peaches
- Pears
- Watermelon
- Cantaloupe
- Kiwi
- Mango
- Raspberries
- Blackberries
- Avocado
Fruit is also naturally rich in potassium, which the American Heart Association notes can help offset some of sodium’s effect on blood pressure. For a deeper dive on that mineral specifically, see our high potassium foods list.
Low Sodium Grains, Legumes, and Starches
Whole grains and dried legumes start out with essentially no sodium — it’s the instant, boxed, or canned versions that pile it on.
A packet of instant flavored rice can carry 700-900 mg of sodium, while the same amount of plain rice you cook yourself has close to zero.
- Brown rice, white rice, wild rice (plain)
- Quinoa
- Oats (plain, not instant flavored packets)
- Barley
- Dry lentils, cooked without added salt
- Dry beans (black, pinto, kidney), cooked from dry or rinsed low-sodium canned
- Plain whole wheat pasta
- Plain popcorn (air-popped)
- Potatoes and sweet potatoes
If you’re also watching carbs alongside sodium, cross-reference this with our low carb foods list to find the overlap.
Low Sodium Dairy and Eggs
Plain dairy is moderate in naturally occurring sodium, but the flavored and processed versions are where it spikes.
- Plain milk (dairy or unsweetened plant milk)
- Plain yogurt
- Fresh mozzarella (lower sodium than most aged cheeses)
- Ricotta (unsalted or low-sodium)
- Cottage cheese (look for low-sodium versions, since regular can run 300+ mg per half cup)
- Eggs
Most hard, aged cheeses — parmesan, feta, blue cheese — are naturally high in sodium because salt is part of the curing process, so treat them as a garnish rather than a base ingredient.
Herbs, Spices, and Sodium-Free Flavor Boosters
This is genuinely the most useful category if you’re trying to stop missing salt.
Nearly every single-ingredient herb and spice is naturally sodium-free — it’s blended seasoning mixes and bouillon that sneak salt back in.
- Basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, dill
- Cilantro, parsley, mint, chives
- Garlic powder and onion powder (not garlic salt or onion salt)
- Black pepper, cayenne, paprika, cumin
- Cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger
- Lemon juice, lime juice, vinegar
- Fresh chili peppers
- Salt-free spice blends
My go-to trick: acid (lemon, lime, vinegar) does a surprising amount of the work salt normally does, waking up a dish so you don’t reach for the shaker out of habit. Always check the ingredient label on blended seasonings specifically — ‘seasoning salt,’ ‘garlic salt,’ and most bouillon cubes are loaded with sodium even though they read as ‘spices.’
Low Sodium Snacks
Packaged snacks are usually the sneakiest source of sodium in a day, so this deserves its own answer.
- Unsalted nuts and seeds (almonds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds)
- Fresh fruit, sliced or whole
- Raw vegetables with unsalted or homemade dip
- Air-popped popcorn, no added salt
- Plain rice cakes
- Unsalted whole-grain crackers
- Plain yogurt with fresh berries
- Hard-boiled eggs
The catch with ‘healthy’ packaged snacks is that many trail mixes, flavored nuts, and pretzels are salted specifically to make you thirsty and reach for more — read the label rather than trusting the front-of-box marketing.
How to Build Low Sodium Meals
The easiest way to keep a meal low sodium is to build it almost entirely from the categories above and add salt only at the very end, if at all.
- Start with a fresh, unseasoned protein (chicken, fish, beans).
- Add two or more fresh or plain-frozen vegetables.
- Choose a whole grain or starch cooked from scratch, not a flavored packet.
- Season with herbs, spices, citrus, and vinegar instead of bouillon or seasoning salt.
- Check any sauce or condiment label — this is where sodium hides even in ‘healthy’ meals.
If you’re also trying to hit a specific eating pattern, our mediterranean diet foods list overlaps heavily with a low sodium approach, since it’s built on fresh produce, fish, and olive oil rather than processed staples.
Foods to Limit or Avoid on a Low Sodium Diet
These are the categories that quietly blow past a daily sodium target, even when portions look modest.
- Canned soups and broths (unless labeled low-sodium)
- Deli meats, bacon, sausage, and hot dogs
- Cheese, especially aged and processed varieties
- Soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, and most bottled marinades
- Frozen dinners and boxed mixes
- Pickles, olives, and other brined foods
- Bouillon cubes and stock concentrates
- Fast food and restaurant meals in general
According to the CDC on sodium and heart disease prevention, more than 70% of sodium in the typical US diet comes from packaged and restaurant foods, not the salt shaker at home — which is exactly why this list leans so heavily on fresh, whole ingredients.
What Is a Low Sodium Diet?
A low sodium diet generally means keeping total sodium intake under 2,300 mg per day, which is about one teaspoon of table salt.
For people managing high blood pressure or heart failure, a doctor may recommend a stricter target closer to 1,500 mg per day.
The NIH’s DASH eating plan is the most studied low-sodium approach and centers on the exact categories above: vegetables, fruit, whole grains, lean protein, and low-fat dairy.
If you’ve been told to follow this eating pattern for a medical condition, work with your healthcare provider or a registered dietitian to set the right daily target for you, since needs vary by kidney function, blood pressure, and other health factors.
What Foods Have Zero Sodium?
No whole food is truly guaranteed at exactly zero, but several come extremely close and are labeled ‘sodium-free’ under FDA rules (under 5 mg per serving).
- Fresh fruit (apples, berries, melon, citrus)
- Plain fresh vegetables (lettuce, cucumber, zucchini)
- Plain cooked rice or oats made from scratch
- Unsalted nuts and seeds
- Fresh herbs and most spices
- Plain water and unsweetened black coffee or tea
This answers a version of the common search ‘sodium free foods’ — the short list above is your safest go-to when a label isn’t available, like at a farmers market or salad bar.
The Bottom Line
Build meals around fresh meat and fish, fresh or plain-frozen produce, whole grains cooked from scratch, and herbs instead of salt, and you’ll land well under 2,300 mg of sodium a day without much effort.
The foods to actually watch are canned goods, deli meats, cheese, sauces, and anything labeled ‘instant’ or ‘flavored’ — that’s where sodium hides, not in the fresh aisle.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are four foods that are low in sodium?
Fresh chicken breast, spinach, apples, and plain rice are all naturally low in sodium, each containing well under the FDA’s 140 mg ‘low sodium’ threshold per serving when unprocessed and unseasoned.
What fruits and vegetables have the lowest sodium content?
Almost all fresh fruits and vegetables are very low in sodium, but cucumber, lettuce, watermelon, and berries are among the lowest, typically containing just a few milligrams per serving.
What should I eat if I have low sodium in my blood (hyponatremia)?
Low sodium in your blood, called hyponatremia, is a medical condition and is different from a low-sodium diet for blood pressure. If you’ve been diagnosed with hyponatremia, talk to your healthcare provider before changing your sodium or fluid intake, since the right approach depends on the underlying cause.
Are frozen vegetables low in sodium?
Yes, plain frozen vegetables with no added sauce or seasoning have about the same low sodium content as fresh, according to USDA FoodData Central records, making them a convenient low-sodium option.
What snacks are both low sodium and satisfying?
Unsalted nuts, fresh fruit, plain yogurt with berries, and air-popped popcorn are filling low-sodium snacks that avoid the salt load of chips, pretzels, and flavored trail mixes.