The Best Low Sodium Cornbread Recipe

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This simple recipe for low sodium cornbread has all the classic cornbread goodness and perfect texture like traditional cornbread recipes without the added sodium. It’s an easy recipe to make on busy weeknights and uses staple pantry items.

Make this once and you’ll be adding this to your favorite recipes!

Many low sodium cornbread recipes use no salt baking powder. This helps reduce the salt content, but it contains added phosphorus which will need to be limited on a kidney-friendly diet.

In this recipe I use baking soda and white vinegar to make a baking powder replacement without the phosphorus additives while still having very little sodium.

Why Low Sodium Cornbread?

You may be limiting sodium in your diet if you have high blood pressure, heart disease, or chronic kidney disease. If you’re following a low sodium diet, you may need to rethink the store bought boxed cornbread mix.

Most store bought cornbread mixes have more than 500 mg of sodium per serving! This low sodium recipe has only 136 mg of sodium per serving.

The average American consumes 3,400mg of sodium per day! Too much sodium causes high blood pressure, shortness of breath, increased thirst, fluid retention, and swelling.

The American Heart Association recommends reducing sodium intake to 1,500-2,300mg per day if you have high blood pressure, heart disease, or chronic kidney disease. 

Most of our sodium intake doesn’t necessarily come from table salt. 

The top food sources of high sodium content according the the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are:

• Breads
• Pizza
• Sandwiches
• Cured meats
• Soups
• Tacos
• Savory snacks
• Seasoned Chicken 
• Cheese

Other high sodium boxed mix breads are:

• Pancakes
• Waffles
• Muffin Mix

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Potassium and Phosphorus in Low Sodium Cornbread

If you are on a kidney-friendly diet, you will also need to consider if the low sodium cornbread recipe use ingredients that have added potassium and phosphorus.

Many low sodium cornbread recipes use no salt baking powder, however, this product has added phosphorus which will need to be limited in a kidney-friendly/renal diet. 

In this recipe I use baking soda and vinegar to make a baking powder replacement without the phosphorus additives while still keeping the sodium content low.

You may be wondering if you could just use a salt substitute like No Salt to replace salt in recipes. I advise against using No Salt or any salt substitutes to replace salt if you have kidney disease and need to limit potassium in your diet.

These salt substitutes contain added potassium such as potassium bitartrate and potassium chloride which you will want to avoid with chronic kidney disease especially if you are receiving dialysis treatments.

Another product that is used in baking to replace sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) to reduce the amount of sodium is potassium bicarbonate. I use baking soda in this recipe because the total amount used will still has quit a bit less sodium than the standard box cornbread mix. 

Where do you find if a product contains these additives? Nutritional information is found on the nutrition facts label. Right below that is a list of ingredients the product contains This is where you’ll find if any of the products you are using contains added potassium or phosphorus.

Low Sodium Cornbread Ingredients

This is a great recipe if you are following a low sodium diet and want to enjoy a slice of sweet cornbread without all the extra salt and additives.

All purpose flour or you can use white whole wheat flour.

Corn meal

Sugar provides the moist texture in the cornbread and adds a bit of sweetness

Baking Soda and White Vinegar. Instead of using no salt baking powder or regular baking powder, I use these ingredients to make a phosphorus free leavener. This results the same rise when using baking powder without the added phosphorus. Be sure to save this trick for all your other baking recipes!

Almond milk. I use Silk Almond milk because it doesn’t contain any added phosphorus, but you can use regular milk. I suggest using skim or 1% milk instead of whole milk to keep the saturated fat low. Some traditional recipes use buttermilk, but this adds more sodium to the recipe.

Olive Oil. Instead of using unsalted butter or coconut oil like some recipes, I use olive oil to make this recipe heart healthy. By replacing the saturated fat found in butter and coconut oil with the unsaturated fats found in the olive oil. Because what is good for the heart is good for the kidneys!

Egg

How To Make

1. First thing is to preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 
2. Lightly grease or spray an 8×8 baking dish with cooking spray or oil.
3. In a large bowl, whisk flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt, and baking soda.
4. In a separate bowl mix together the egg, milk, vinegar, and olive oil.
5. Slowly pour the wet ingredients  into the dry ingredients and combine flour mixture.
6. Stir together until well combined. Pour batter into the prepared pan.
7. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick is inserted and the cornbread is golden brown. Serve warm with butter and honey if desired. 

​What to serve with low sodium cornbread?

This cornbread recipe makes a great side dish to various meals such as:

• BBQ
• Stews
• Soups
• Beans and Rice
• Roasted brussel sprouts
• Creamed spinach
• Chili
• Chicken drumsticks
• Low Sodium Sausage
• Or served by itself with butter, honey or jam

Other low sodium recipes

If you are looking for more low sodium bread recipes be sure to check out Easy Low Sodium Biscuits recipe, Low Sodium Pizza Dough, and Low Sodium Winter Bread made in a bread machine.

Confused about what bread to buy at the store. Be sure to check out  Top 5 Best Breads for Kidney Disease. This one also applies for those following a low sodium diet. 

Condiments contribute to salt intake. These recipes offer simple alternative low sodium versions without sacrificing flavor- Low Sodium Salsa, Low Sodium BBQ sauce, Low Sodium Spaghetti Sauce, and Low Sodium Taco Seasoning. 

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