Pizza is one of my favorite foods and I’m betting it’s one of yours too! But it can be really high in sodium especially if you order out at various pizza chains. Certainly not great for our kidneys or other health related conditions that need to follow a low sodium diet.
Good news! I have a kidney healthy low sodium pizza dough recipe you can make at home so you can enjoy your favorite Italian cuisine.
Table of Contents
Why Low Sodium Pizza
According the the FDA, pizza is one of the top foods that contribute to high sodium intake. Pizza can absolutely be a part of a kidney friendly diet. Sodium is everywhere in pizza from the dough, sauce, and toppings. That’s why you need to be smart about what you add to your pizza to keep your kidneys healthy.
Dough
Pizza can have as much as 200 mg of sodium per 1/4 portion. A low sodium food has 140 mg of sodium per serving. Hence portion size is key here. If you need a quick low sodium ready to eat crust Golden Home is a great choice.
Or you can make your own homemade crust using this recipe I’m about to share with you!
Sauce
You can save yourself a significant amount of sodium by choosing a low sodium tomato sauce, making homemade sauce, or simply use olive oil and italian seasoning.
Toppings
Pepperoni, sausage, ham, olives, and cheese are all high sodium toppings you may want to limit if you’re on a low sodium diet.
Make pizza kidney friendly by adding lots of veggies. Top your pizza with kidney healthy choices such as peppers, mushrooms, spinach, broccoli, artichokes, onions, pineapple. Go easy on the mozzarella cheese and make the toppings the feature of the pizza.
Ingredients for Low Sodium Pizza Dough
- Flour: I use a mix of all purpose and whole wheat for a nutty heartier dough.
- Instant dry yeast: makes the process much faster. It absorbs liquid quickly and doesn’t need any proofing before mixing into the flour.
- Sugar: used for the purpose of tenderizing the dough and makes it more extensible.
- Seasonings: garlic powder and italian seasoning adds the classic italian flavor to the dough.
Other low sodium recipes
Here’s another low sodium item to top your pizza. Try this Low Sodium Sausage instead of using premade.
Low Sodium Pizza Dough
Equipment
- 1 Mixer with paddle attachment
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1 tbsp instant dry yeast
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 cup water warm
- 3/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp italian seasoning
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl add warm water, yeast, and sugar. Let sit for 5 minutes until it starts to bubble.
- Add olive oil, garlic powder, and italian seasoning to the bowl. Then add flour 1 cup at a time until mixed evenly and ball starts to form. You may need help with an electric mixer with paddle attachment.
- Turn out the dough on a non stick or floured surface and knead for 5 minutes until all ingredients are incorporated and dough is soft.
- Store dough in a bowl with a damp cloth over the top for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 425. Roll dough out until desired thickness. Bake for 6 minutes. Add toppings and bake for another 8 minutes until toppings are cooked through.