Due to its high sodium content, sausage is unfortunately a food that many on a low sodium diet find themselves doing without. However, I’m pleased to let you know that with our Easy Low Sodium Sausage recipe, this doesn’t have to be the case!
Our recipe for Easy Low Sodium Sausage only contains 140mg sodium per serving! In addition, it is so flavorful and simple to make that you’ll want to enjoy it on a regular basis!
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Advantages of Homemade Low Sodium Sausage
The advantages to making your own low sodium sausage vs. store-bought sausage are many! In a nutshell, when you make it yourself, you have control over what goes into your sausage. Let’s break it down:
Cost Savings
Purchasing your own ground pork, turkey, chicken, or other preferred protein and adding your own spices is generally less expensive than purchasing a store-bought or prepared sausage from an on-line supplier.
Sodium Content
Of course, as the name implies, making your own low sodium sausage gives you control over its sodium content. Most store-bought sausage contains 650mg or more (often much more!) per ~ 2 oz serving.
In contrast, our recipe for Easy Low Sodium Sausage contains only 140 mg of sodium per serving. Our recipe does include a small amount of salt. If you choose to eliminate that altogether, this knocks the sodium per serving down to 43mg!
To put this in context, the American Heart Association, Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and National Kidney Foundation all recommend that adults limit their sodium intake to no more than 2300mg per day. Those with high blood pressure and some with kidney disease and other health conditions are often advised a sodium limit closer to 1500 mg/day.
No Phosphate Additives
Like most processed meats, sausage purchased at the supermarket frequently contains phosphate additives. This is significant to many with kidney disease who need to limit phosphorus in the diet. In contrast, homemade low sodium sausage contains no phosphate additives and is a safe option for those individuals.
No Potassium Additives
Similarly, some store-bought sausage contains potassium additives, such as potassium chloride. This can be dangerous for those with kidney problems because consuming too much potassium could lead to dangerously high blood potassium levels. (If you have kidney problems, be sure to follow the guidance on potassium intake from your doctor or registered dietitian.)
You Can Make It Your Own!
In addition to controlling the sodium content and added phosphorus and potassium, making your own low sodium sausage means that you can adjust other aspects to fit your needs and preferences. Examples of such adjustments include:
- Type of protein used: Ground pork, chicken or turkey or a combination can be used. No matter what type of protein is chosen, homemade low sodium sausage is a good source of protein.
This is especially helpful for those advised to increase protein in their diet, such as those with end stage kidney disease on dialysis! Our recipe for Easy Low Sodium Sausage contains 13g of protein per 2 oz portion (2 patties).
Those that have been advised to limit their protein intake, such as some with kidney disease not on dialysis, can simply enjoy a smaller portion. One patty (~ 1 oz) of our Easy Low Sodium Sausage contains ~7g of protein.
- Fat content: By choosing different fat/protein ratios in your ground meat or poultry, you can control the fat content. For example, ground turkey that is 97% lean/3% fat would be lower in fat than many other types of ground meat.
- Spices: you can adjust the spices to fit your preferences. Common spices that could be included in a homemade sausage recipe include: Garlic, onion powder, paprika, black pepper, cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, thyme, sage, parsley, rosemary, cloves, fennel seeds.
Our recipe for Easy Low Sodium Sausage includes a special combination of sage, thyme, garlic powder, and black pepper that is so tasty you won’t miss the salt! For more on how to use spices as well as other techniques to make great-tasting low sodium food, see our article: “10 Tips for a Tasty 2 Gram Sodium Diet”.
- Sweetness: You can choose add a touch of sweetness by adding sugar, brown sugar, maple syrup, honey, apples, etc., or choose none at all.
Benefits of Our Recipe for Easy Low Sodium Sausage
In addition to all of the benefits noted above, our recipe for Easy Low Sodium Sausage is unique because it:
- Contains only a few, common ingredients—In addition to ground pork and a small amount of brown sugar, our recipe includes salt plus 4 other common spices: Ground sage, dried thyme, garlic powder, and black pepper. That’s it!
- It’s quick and easy! — Keeping in line with The Everyday Kidney Cook’s mission for simple recipes that fit into our everyday lives, our recipe for Easy Low Sodium Sausage takes 15 minutes or less to prepare from start to finish!
- It’s versatile—Feel free to adjust the spices or eliminate the salt to fit your preferences and needs! We also include an option to use maple syrup instead of brown sugar for just a touch of sweetness!
Lower Sodium Store-bought/Prepared Sausage
A low sodium store-bought or prepared sausage just doesn’t exist. (Apart from perhaps a few locally-produced products that would not be available to most consumers). Believe me, I have done tons of research!
Below is a list of sausage that can be purchased either in the supermarket or on-line straight from the producer that contain less than 400 mg sodium per the standard 2 oz portion. Note that this is over twice as much, and in some cases almost three times as much, as our Easy Low Sodium Sausage recipe. All of the options listed below also do not contain potassium or phosphate additives.
Prepared Sausage Containing Less Than 400mg Sodium/2 oz Serving (& no phosphate or potassium additives)
- Purnell’s®️ “Old Folks” Sage Sausage (Medium) , “All Natural” Country Sage Sausage, Original Country Sausage (Medium), Country Sausage (Spicy-Medium), and Italian Sausage 300 mg
- Applegate Naturals®️ No Sugar Chicken & Herb Breakfast Sausage 310 mg
- Great Value®️ Fully Cooked Original Pork Sausage Patties 320mg
- Applegate Organics®️ Chicken & Maple Breakfast Sausage 340 mg
- Purnell’s®️ “Old Folks” Hot Country Sausage and Smokehouse Sausage 350 mg
- Jones Dairy Farm Original Sage Organic Chicken Sausage Links, No Antibiotics Ever Chicken Sausage Links 350 mg
- Applegate Naturals®️ Chicken & Apple Breakfast Sausage 360 mg
- Penderson Farms ®️ Spicy Breakfast Sausage 370 mg
- Jones Dairy Farm All Natural Golden Brown®️ Chicken Sausage Links 370mg
- Banquet®️ Brown ‘N Serve Turkey Sausage Links 380 mg
- Jones Dairy Farm All Natural Golden Brown®️ Sausage Links, Mild Pork Breakfast Sausage Links , and No Antibiotics Ever Pork Sausage Links 380 mg
- Applegate Naturals®️ Chicken & Maple Breakfast Sausage and Chicken & Sage Breakfast Sausage 390 mg
Low Sodium Sausage Spice Blends
If you’ve decided that purchasing a prepared sausage is not right for you due to high sodium content, cost, or another reason, a different option is to make a semi-homemade product using low or no sodium spice blends that you add to your own ground pork, poultry, or protein of choice. Below are some options:
- Marshall’s Creek Spice Co.®️-- Sausage Seasoning No Salt
- Dixie Pork Sausage Seasoning—No Salt
- Ken’s Breakfast Sausage Seasoning Blend without salt –must request custom blend
Conclusion
So, we’ve talked about the pros and cons of making homemade low sodium sausage from scratch, semi-homemade low sodium sausage using a spice blend mix, and purchasing store-bought sausage that is lower in sodium (but still not low sodium).
The advantages of making homemade low sodium sausage are many. Some of these include: control of the sodium content, no potassium or phosphate additives, being able to use your preferred spices, protein, and sweetener (if any), and cost-savings. If any of these appeal to you, we hope you will give our recipe for Easy Low Sodium Sausage a try!
Our Low Sodium Sausage goes great with The Ultimate Low Sodium Pancakes!
The number one goal of the Everyday Kidney Cook is to support you in your health journey!
Easy Low Sodium Sausage
Equipment
- Mixing bowl
- Measuring spoons
- Skillet
- Turner Spatula
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground pork —make sure it is only pork no salt or spices added
- ¼ teaspoon thyme
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground sage
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoon of brown sugar
Instructions
- Mix the spices and brown sugar together evenly. (This ensures the spice is dispersed evenly in the sausage).
- Mix the ground pork and spices together in a mixing bowl with your hands until the mixture is an even color throughout (meaning the spices are mixed in evenly).
- Shape the mixture into 12 small patties. Flatten.
- Fry in pre-heated pan over medium-high heat for 4-5 minutes on each side. The patties should be golden brown and internal temperature taken with a food thermometer should reach at least 165°F.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Lower protein diets: 2 patties of our sausage contain 13 grams (~ 2 ounces) of protein, which can be worked into a lower protein diet. Or, you may decrease your portion to only one patty, which is ~ 1 oz of protein.
- Feel free to use a different ground protein in this recipe such as chicken, turkey, or wild game. If very lean, you may need to add some cooking oil in the pan so the patties don’t stick. You may also mix 1-2 tablespoon of a healthy fat such as olive oil or avocado oil into the meat mixture before frying for a juicier product.
- For maple sausage, eliminate the brown sugar and add 1-2 tablespoon of maple syrup.
- For spicier sausage, add crushed red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper, and/or hot smoked paprika.
Tina M.
This is great!
Dawn Oliver
I can’t wait to try these recipes, esp the potatoes! Thank you!
Dawn
Beverly Garden - Registered Dietitian
Hi Dawn,
Thanks for the comment! So glad you've found us! Please let us know what you think when you try out a recipe!