This Fish or Salmon Dinner for Two is something I’ve been excited to share for awhile! In fact, the idea for this recipe came to me when The Everyday Kidney Cook was just in the brainstorming phase.
If I’m being honest, I can’t even take credit for this recipe at all! Its inspiration came from a former patient of mine (let’s call her “Chloe”).
I know you’re not supposed to have favorites, but I have to admit that Chloe was one of mine. Not only was she sweet as pie and a joy to talk to, but she had such a positive attitude! Chloe always tried to do what was best to take care of her health.
One day when visiting with Chloe, she told me about the “easiest salmon recipe ever!”. She explained that the salmon was made in the microwave! (I know what you’re thinking, but stay with me!)
Chloe excitedly shared how, in a few easy steps and just a handful of minutes, she was able to get a complete salmon dinner on the table. But the best part is that the salmon is flaky, moist and super-tasty!
As I listened to her tell me about this recipe, it was a lightbulb moment for me. I knew this was EXACTLY the type of recipe I wanted to feature on The Everyday Kidney Cook website!
A recipe that is simple and yummy and also low sodium and kidney-friendly. In other words, one that would fit perfectly with the mission: “Kidney-Friendly Eating Made Simple”.
Jump to:
What’s special about our Fish or Salmon Dinner for Two Recipe?
We’ve already highlighted some great things about this recipe. Let’s expand.
Super quick and super easy!
This dinner consists of 3 components:
- Fish or salmon
- Rice
- Green beans
As mentioned above, the complete dinner for two is made entirely in the microwave. What could be easier than that?! From start to finish it takes about 7 minutes!
Uses only a handful of ingredients
We’ll get into the specifics later, but including the sides and seasoning, this recipe only uses 5 ingredients! For the entire dinner! Conveniently, these ingredients can be found at any grocery store.
Versatile
Maybe you’re not a salmon-lover. (Not everyone is). Great news! You can swap in your favorite white fish for the salmon and the recipe turns out just as great!
In addition, by using different seasonings and mixing up the side dishes, you can make tons of different versions of this fish or salmon dinner! So, you can totally tailor it to your tastes! We’ll talk more about some variations a few sections down.
Low Sodium
The Fish or Salmon Dinner recipe for two as written below only contains 53 mg sodium for one whole dinner! The secret to it’s robust flavor without the salt is in the salt-free lemon pepper seasoning!
In fact, Sunkist conducted the S’alternative®️ study which demonstrated how using lemon in a recipe can allow for significant reductions in salt without sacrificing taste.
This article offers a handy chart on how to use lemon juice and zest to replace part of the salt in/on different types of foods. In the article, they suggest that if the substitutions are made according to the chart, one can't tell the difference between their version and the full salt version!
However, if you do want to use a little salt, this recipe is low enough in sodium that you could add a small amount and still have a low sodium dinner. Be sure to keep in mind that ⅛th teaspoon of table salt contains 291 mg of sodium.
To learn more about adding flavor to food without added salt, check out our article: 10 Tips for a Tasty 2 Gram Sodium Diet (From a Dietitian).
Kidney-friendly
A huge component of a kidney-friendly diet for any stage of kidney disease is the low sodium component. As mentioned above, we’ve got that covered!
In addition, some people with kidney disease also need to be mindful of their potassium and phosphorus intake. At The Everyday Kidney Cook, we want our recipes to be safe for anyone with kidney problems. Therefore, all of our recipes can also fit into a low phosphorus and low potassium diet.
Note: Please consult your doctor or dietitian for your individualized nutrition recommendations.
- Potassium: If you use salmon in this recipe, one complete dinner will contain 583 mg of potassium. (If you use fish instead of salmon, subtract ~ 40-70 mg). At first consideration this may seem a little high. And admittedly, salmon is higher in natural potassium than many other protein sources. However, this amount is less than ⅓ of the typical daily potassium restriction of 2000 mg. Totally doable!
- Phosphorus: This recipe contains no phosphate additives. One meal contains 326 mg of naturally occurring phosphorus. This is also less than ⅓ of a typical phosphorus restriction of 1000 mg. Also, totally doable!
Note: If you’re prescribed phosphate binders, be sure to take them with your salmon dinner!
Diabetes-Friendly
This is a low carbohydrate meal.
- The fish or salmon contain no carbohydrate.
- The green beans contain ~ 4.5 g of carbohydrate per serving and are generally considered a “free food” when counting carbohydrates.
- The Ben’s Original ™️ Ready Rice contains ~ 21 g of carbohydrate per serving, which is ~ 1 ½ carbohydrate exchanges.
Heart-healthy & other benefits
As noted above, whether you choose to use fish or salmon, this recipe is low in sodium. It’s also low in saturated fat. Both of these are major criteria for a heart-healthy diet. Furthermore, salmon is packed full of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids!
In addition to being heart-healthy, salmon helps reduce inflammation which is associated with a long list of health concerns. Salmon is also well-known for promoting brain, joint, bone health and more! This article sums up salmon’s numerous health benefits.
Ingredients in our Fish/Salmon Dinner for Two
Below is a run-down of the 5 ingredients in this recipe:
Fish or Salmon
This recipe calls for two 4-oz portions of the salmon or white fish of your choice. (Please note that although the picture above shows one piece of salmon, the cooking directions are based on 2 pieces).
There are many different types of fish and salmon. Some are “fishier” tasting than others! Some salmon is higher in omega-3 than others.
I used frozen (thawed) Coho Salmon. This variety has a milder (less fishy) taste than other varieties of salmon.
In addition, it was reasonably priced. A one-pound frozen bag purchased at Wal-Mart cost less than $10.
Check out this article for help on picking your salmon!
Unsalted Butter or preferred oil
You may use unsalted butter or your preferred oil in this recipe. Each piece of fish/salmon uses 1 ½ teaspoons. If you’d like to keep it super heart-healthy, use avocado or olive oil!
Salt-Free Lemon pepper seasoning
As mentioned above, this recipe uses salt-free lemon pepper seasoning. There are many different lemon pepper seasonings on the market. Be sure to choose one that is salt-free, or at least low sodium. We used Dash™️ Salt Free Lemon Pepper Seasoning blend.
Ben’s Original™️ Ready Rice™️
One of the side dishes with your fish or salmon dinner for two is rice. To keep it quick and easy, the recipe calls for Ben’s Original,™️ Ready Rice™️ . The 8.5-ounce size microwaves in 90 seconds!
Be sure to choose one of the unflavored varieties, which contain 0 mg of sodium per serving! They are also low in potassium and contain no phosphate additives.
Examples of appropriate versions of the Ready Rice™️ include: Jasmine, Basmati, Long Grain White and Whole Grain Brown. I used the Long Grain White because that’s what I had on-hand.
Fresh or frozen green beans
The second side dish with your fish or salmon dinner for two is green beans. Either fresh or frozen can be used in whatever cut you prefer.
In addition to them “going well” with fish and salmon, green beans were chosen because they are a lower potassium vegetable. One-half cup of cooked Bird’s Eye®️ Steamfresh frozen whole green beans contains ~ 75 mg of potassium. Other brands of frozen or fresh green beans would have similar values.
To put this in perspective, any vegetable over ~200-250 mg of potassium per serving is considered high potassium.
Variations
In addition to having a choice of whether to use fish or salmon in your dinner, there are several other ways to change things up!
Vary the veggies and sides!
You may sub any vegetable of your choice for the green beans. One-half cup of carrots, broccoli and asparagus or one cup of spring mix would go great! In addition, if potassium is a concern, all of these examples are less than 200 mg of potassium per the specified serving.
You can also increase your veggie portions or have more than one kind of veggie! Just be sure to take the potassium content into consideration if this is something you are monitoring.
In addition, The Everyday Kidney Cook has many recipes that would pair nicely with this dinner if you would like to replace the rice and/or green beans for variety:
- Roasted Frozen Green Beans (Low Sodium)
- Low Sodium Macaroni & Cheese (Dump & Bake)
- Easiest Low Sodium Mashed Potatoes (& Low Potassium)
- Easy American Coleslaw Recipe (Kidney-Friendly)
- Super Easy Low Sodium Baked Beans (Kidney-Friendly)
- 5-Minute Healthy Fried Rice Recipe
Spice it up!
Below are some simple but tasty ways to season your fish or salmon instead of using the lemon-pepper seasoning.
- Any salt-free herb or spice of your choice. Dash™️ has several different spice blends. There are many other brands that carry salt-free spice blends as well.
- Homemade no-salt seasoning blend. Invent your own seasoning blend with your favorite herbs and spices! For fish or salmon with a Mexican flair, sprinkle it with our Low Sodium Taco Seasoning Recipe.
- BBQ. Brush on some of our 1-Minute Low Salt BBQ sauce (Kidney-Friendly) before cooking.
- Honey Mustard. Most honey mustard is low in sodium. Just be sure to check the label. To tone down the flavor a little, mix a little of your preferred oil with the honey mustard before brushing it on your fish.
- Chili Lime: Brush your fish or salmon with oil and season with fresh lime juice and chili powder.
- Garlic Butter: Top with minced or powdered garlic and butter.
- Apricot Glazed: Brush with apricot preserves. If you need to watch your sugar or carbohydrate intake, choose a no added sugar variety.
- Honey Garlic Glazed Salmon: Mix 1 tablespoon honey, 2 teaspoons lower sodium soy sauce or coconut aminos (choose one with less than 100 mg sodium per teaspoon) and minced or powdered garlic. Brush this mixture on the fish/salmon prior to cooking.
In addition, our article, 10 Tips for a Tasty 2 Gram Sodium Diet (From a Dietitian) lists several low or no salt seasonings, sauces and flavorings that you may wish to use on your fish or salmon. Be sure to check it out!
Wrap up
Our Fish or Salmon Dinner for Two recipe is the perfect solution for a quick, easy and delicious meal in about 7 minutes! It’s so easy because it only uses a few ingredients and is cooked entirely in the microwave.
In addition, it accommodates a wide variety of nutritional needs. It’s low sodium, kidney friendly, diabetes-friendly and heart healthy.
Finally, this recipe is so versatile that you’ll never get bored with it! You can alternate between fish and salmon, if you like. You can even try different varieties of fish and/or salmon.
Also, the endless seasoning possibilities provide additional versatility! Simply swap another seasoning for the lemon-pepper. Try one of the ideas listed above or invent your own!
We hope you enjoy this recipe! Thank you, “Chloe” for providing the inspiration for its creation.
Please let us know how you liked it in the comments!
Fish or Salmon Dinner for Two in 7 Minutes!
Ingredients
- Two 4-ounce salmon or white fish filets of your choice. If frozen, thaw first. (may use salmon with or without the skin)
- 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter or preferred oil (such as avocado or olive oil)
- ½ to 1 tsp. salt-free Lemon Pepper Seasoning (such as Dash®️ brand)
- 1 cup fresh or frozen green beans (or more, if desired)
- half of 8.5 ounce pouch Ben's Original™️ Ready Rice (be sure to use an unseasoned variety to keep sodium down, such Jasmine, Basmati, Long Grain White and Whole Grain Brown).
Instructions
- Place 1 cup of fresh or frozen green beans in a microwave-safe dish covered with plastic wrap. Cook the rice pouch & green beans together in the microwave for 2 ½ to 3 minutes, or until the beans are slightly softened & the rice is hot.
- While the rice and green beans are cooking, place the salmon or fish or salmon skin side down (if applicable) in a microwave-safe dish. Spread with the unsalted butter or oil. Liberally sprinkle with lemon pepper seasoning. Cover with plastic wrap slightly vented on one end.
- When the green beans and rice are done, replace with the fish/salmon dish. Cook for approximately 4-4 ½ minutes, or until it reaches 145℉. When done, the fish/salmon will flake apart easily and be slightly opaque in color.NOTE: I suggest checking the fish after about 3 ½ minutes and going from there. You will likely need to cook a little longer. Keep in mind that larger filets may need cooked a little longer.
- Plate your food! Each of the 2 plates will have one fish or salmon filet, half of the green beans (~ ½ cup) and ½ cup of rice. (You will use approximately half the bag. Save the remaining for another meal.).
- Add butter to the green beans and/or rice, if desired. (This is not included in the nutrient calculations).
- ENJOY!
Notes
- Above nutritional information is using salmon. If using white fish, it will provide ~ 40-70 mg less potassium and ~70 less calories.
- For those needing to limit protein, one dinner (fish/salmon, rice and green beans) contains 27g of protein. If you count ounces of protein food, this is the equivalent of 3 ounces. (Note: 4 oz of raw fish/salmon reduces to 3 oz when cooked).
- Double it up! This recipe can easily be doubled with great results! Because the fish/salmon and green beans are doubled, I suggest simply increasing the cooking time for these by 50% and then assess whether further time is needed. One 8.5 ounce pouch of Ben’s Original ®️ Ready rice already contains ~ four ½ -cup portions.
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