Easy Low Sodium Meatballs (Beef or Turkey)

These Easy Low Sodium Meatballs are simple yet satisfying! You'll make them with just three main ingredients plus a simple blend of flavorful spices. And, whether you choose to use turkey or beef, they’re juicy, tender, & packed with taste—all without excess salt!

Serve them with your favorite low sodium sauce, pasta, as a hearty appetizer or more!  Or, enjoy them “as is” along with your favorite sides! Whatever you choose, the whole family is sure to love them!

Jump to:

• What’s special about our Low Sodium Meatballs?
• Sodium in regular meatballs vs our Low Sodium Meatballs
• Ingredients in our Low Sodium Meatballs
• Serving Suggestions
• How long can these meatballs be kept in the fridge?
• Can I freeze these Low Sodium Meatballs?
• Enjoy!
• Easy Low Sodium Meatballs (Beef or Turkey)

What’s special about our Low Sodium Meatballs?

These meatballs aren’t just low sodium and delicious!  They have a lot of other things going for them, too!  Here’s the stats!

• Quick & easy to make.  From start to finish, you'll make these meatballs in less than 30 minutes!
• Use only a few common ingredients—You'll use only 3 main ingredients for the base of this recipe. Then, you’ll mix in a few ordinary spices, carefully selected to provide optimal flavor without the salt!  That’s it!
• Choose your protein—You can use a variety of different types of ground protein in your low sodium meatballs.  We tested the recipe with lean ground beef and turkey.  However, I’m willing to bet that ground pork or chicken would taste great too! 
• Spices can be adjusted.  Although we give suggested spices in the recipe, of course you may adjust them to suit your individual preferences.    
• Low Sodium—Of course!  One serving, or 3 meatballs, contains just 105 mg of sodium.
• Kidney-Friendly – In addition to being low sodium (which is a big part of a kidney-friendly diet), these meatballs contain 318 mg potassium and 190 mg of phosphorus.  Both of these amounts are appropriate for those needing to watch their potassium and phosphorus intake as well.
• Heart-healthy (especially the turkey version)- As mentioned above, we have the low sodium part of a heart-healthy diet covered.  In addition, using lean ground beef or especially lean ground turkey, in particular, means a lower saturated fat content than the typical homemade meatball.  Finally, this recipe does not include some of the higher saturated fat ingredients that are found in many meatball recipes, such as cheese.

Sodium in regular meatballs vs our Low Sodium Meatballs

Now I’d like to zone in on the “low sodium” characteristic of the meatballs! 

Sodium intake recommendations for adults from the American Heart Association, Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and National Kidney Foundation encourage healthy adults to limit sodium intake to no more than 2300mg per day.  However, a limit of 1500 mg per day may be recommended if you have high blood pressure, kidney disease or another health concern . 

How do our meatballs compare to these recommendations?  As mentioned above, our meatballs contain only 105 mg of sodium per ~3 oz serving (3 meatballs).  This is only 4% of the recommended sodium intake for healthy adults and 6.5% for those needing a lower daily sodium limit of 1500 mg. 

In contrast, the same size portion of Italian style frozen meatballs contains a whopping 566 mg of sodium!  That’s over 5x the sodium that is in our Low Sodium Meatballs and over one-third the recommended daily limit for those on a 1500 mg per day sodium limit.

If you’re wondering how the typical homemade meatball recipe stacks up, a review of online recipes showed a sodium content ranging from from ~ 500-800 mg per 3 oz serving.   That’s 5-8x the amount that’s in our Low Sodium Meatballs!

Ingredients in our Low Sodium Meatballs

Below are the simple ingredients:

Ground Beef or Turkey

As mentioned earlier, this recipe was tested with both ground beef and lean ground turkey—90% lean /10% fat ground beef and 95% lean/5% fat ground turkey, to be specific.

However, you can choose to use whatever lean to fat ratio that you prefer.  They’ll all have a similar sodium content, providing no salt is added in processing (Be sure to check those labels!).

However, if you’re watching your saturated fat content, using the 95/5 ground turkey is a great choice!  Note: Turkey meatballs will be little drier than those made with the ground beef.  If desired, you can mitigate this by mixing in 1 Tablespoon of a heart-healthy oil such as avocado oil or olive oil.

Note:  The nutrition information listed for this recipe is based on using 90/10 ground beef.

Egg

This is pretty self-explanatory.  This recipe uses 1 whole large egg.

Unseasoned Panko Bread Crumbs

Unseasoned panko bread crumbs have a much lower sodium content than other bread crumbs, such as Italian-seasoned or even the typical homemade bread crumbs.  Be sure the panko bread crumbs are unseasoned because the seasoned varieties usually contain more salt!

Spices

This recipe contains no added salt (other than the small amount in the panko bread crumbs).  However, the combination of common spices below gives them tons of flavor! Of course, these are only suggested spices.  Feel free to change it up to suit your tastes!

• Garlic Powder
• Italian Seasoning
• Onion Powder
• Pepper

Serving Suggestions

There’s a ton of ways you can enjoy these meatballs!

• Kidney-Friendly Meatballs & Sauce w/ Pasta: If you're in need of a lower potassium and phosphorus dish, simmer these meatballs in our Easy Kidney Friendly Pasta Sauce (Slow Cooker Recipe) and serve over pasta.
• Low Sodium Meatballs with Low Sodium Tomato Sauce: If potassium isn’t a concern, these Low Sodium Meatballs taste great in a low sodium tomato-based sauce, either by themselves or over pasta.
• Meatball Subs: Place your meatballs in a sub roll and top with either our Easy Kidney-Friendly Pasta Sauce mentioned above or your favorite low sodium tomato sauce (if you don’t need to watch the potassium).  Sprinkle with a little Parmesan cheese, if desired.
• BBQ Meatballs: Simmer the meatballs in our 1-Minute Low Salt BBQ Sauce (Kidney-Friendly) (in the slow-cooker or stove top) for a tasty appetizer!
• Hawaiian Meatballs: Take the BBQ meatballs one step further and make Hawaiian Meatballs!  In addition to our Low Sodium Meatballs, add the following to a slow cooker or sauce pan: 1 c of our 1-Minute Low Salt BBQ Sauce, 1 can of crushed or chunked pineapple and 1 chopped red or yellow bell pepper.  Simmer until the peppers are cooked and enjoy!. 
• Meatball & Veggie Soup: Make a hearty soup using your low sodium meatballs, veggies, low sodium broth, a starch and spices!  Find out how to do so in the slow cooker using our guide: Build a Low Sodium, Low Potassium Soup.  (Simply use the meatballs in the step that calls for the cooked protein).
• Swedish Meatballs: Used these meatballs in a swedish meatball recipe that is modified to be lower sodium.
• Taco Meatballs: In place of the seasonings above, add 2 tablespoon of our Low Sodium Taco Seasoningfor meatballs with a Mexican flair!
• All by themself: To be honest, these meatballs are tasty enough that they can be enjoyed plain as the main entrée along with your favorite sides for a satisfying meal!

How long can these meatballs be kept in the fridge?

You can keep these meatballs fresh in the fridge for up to 4 days if kept in an air-tight container.

Can I freeze these Low Sodium Meatballs?

Our Low Sodium Meatballs freeze wonderfully!  For an easy meal at a later date, bake the meatballs as directed and freeze in an air-tight container for up to 3 months. 

Then, when you’re ready to use the meatballs, simply remove from the freezer and heat the meatballs in the microwave or simmer in a pot of sauce, soup or other liquid!

Enjoy!

These Low Sodium Meatballs are simple, delicious and contain just a fraction of the sodium of the typical meatballs!  In addition, because you can enjoy them in a wide variety of ways—from pasta, sandwiches, appetizers, soups and more--you’ll be able to enjoy these meatballs often without tiring of them!

Give these Low Sodium Meatballs a try a let us know how YOU like them best!