Low Sodium Chicken & Noodles (Slow-Cooker)

Yummm…..few foods are as delicious and satisfying as a nice warm bowl of Chicken & Noodles!  With our recipe for Low Sodium Chicken & Noodles made in the slow-cooker, you can continue to enjoy this comfort food while still adhering to low sodium and/or kidney-friendly diet guidelines!

In addition to it being low sodium and kidney-friendly, other reasons you’ll want to try our Low Sodium Chicken & Noodles include:

• It contains only 5 common ingredients (all found at your local grocery store!), plus spices.
• It’s no fuss!  If you can dump ingredients into a slow-cooker and stir, you can make this recipe!
• It’s delicious!

Typical Chicken & Noodles

Most chicken & noodle recipes aren’t sodium OR kidney-friendly!  Consider the following:

Sodium in typical chicken & noodles vs. our Low Sodium Chicken & Noodles

A review of other slow-cooker chicken & noodle recipes revealed a sodium content of well over 1000 mg per serving!  Some contained as much as 2000 mg!  This is in contrast to our Low Sodium Chicken & Noodles (Slow-Cooker) recipe, which contains only 193 mg in a similar-sized serving. 

Compare this to the recommendations for adults from the American Heart Association, Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and National Kidney Foundation to limit sodium intake to no more than 2300mg per day.  If you have high blood pressure, kidney disease or another health concern, a limit of 1500 mg per day may be recommended.  (Note:  Please speak with your doctor or dietitian for the sodium guidelines that are right for you!)

Using these guidelines, one serving of typical chicken and noodles could use your entire daily sodium budget or more!  In contrast, our Slow-Cooker Low Sodium Chicken & Noodles only uses ~ 8-13% of the daily sodium allotment!

Ingredients such as canned/jarred gravy, canned cream soup, regular chicken broth, and bouillon are frequent culprits contributing to such a high sodium content in typical chicken and noodles recipes. 

Phosphorus in typical chicken & noodles vs. our Low Sodium Chicken & Noodles

Many of the ingredients mentioned above that are very high in sodium also contain phosphate additives.  Phosphate additives can wreak havoc on your blood phosphorus levels if you have been advised to watch the phosphorus in your diet. (ie: your phosphorus levels may become too high!).

Our Low Sodium Chicken & Noodles contains about 150 mg phosphorus/serving.  But most importantly, it does not contain phosphate additives!

Ingredients in our Low Sodium Chicken & Noodles (Slow-Cooker) Recipe

As mentioned above, our recipe contains only 5 common ingredients (not including spices). 

1.      Unsalted chicken broth

You can usually find unsalted broth in the soup aisle of the grocery store. You may use unsalted stock instead, but it is generally slightly higher in sodium than unsalted broth.  One note: Make sure the broth or stock is labeled as “unsalted” and not “reduced sodium” or “lower sodium”, which are usually still quite high in sodium. 

It’s also important to note that some of the “reduced sodium” and “lower sodium” broths and stocks also contain added potassium chloride.  This can be a problem for those who need to limit potassium, such as some people with kidney problems.

Cooking foods like pasta and rice in unsalted broth is one of my favorite hacks for giving a low sodium dish more flavor. Be sure to try out our other recipes which use unsalted broth to add flavor: Low Sodium Macaroni & Cheese (Dump & Bake) and Simple Salmon Stew Recipe.  

For more ideas on how to add flavor without adding salt to a low sodium diet, check out our article: 10 Tips for a Tasty 2 Gram Sodium Diet (From a Dietitian). 

2.      Campbell’s®️ Unsalted Cream of Chicken Soup

This recipe uses Campbell’s®️ Unsalted cream of chicken soup. Condensed cream soups are commonly used in casserole dishes to add flavor and creaminess. 

Unfortunately, they are usually high in sodium, phosphate additives & sometimes potassium.  The good news is that Campbell’s®️ unsalted cream soups (Campbell’s®️ makes an unsalted cream of mushroom and cream of celery as well) are low in sodium, potassium, and contain no phosphate additives.

3.      Chicken Breast

This recipe uses about 1 ½ pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces.  Or, for extra convenience, purchase the chicken already cubed! See the notes following the recipe on how to adjust the recipe if you need to follow a lower protein diet.

4.      Reames®️ Homestyle Egg Noodles

You can find these egg noodles in the freezer section of the supermarket. They are surprisingly low in sodium at only 10 mg per ½ cup portion.  In addition, they contain 0 mg of potassium per serving and no phosphate additives!  Most importantly, they are SO good, just like homemade!

Note:  If your local supermarket does not carry this product, dried homestyle egg or “kluski” noodles work great, too!  However, you will likely not need to cook them as long. (The noodles are added towards the end of the cooking process).

5.      Worcestershire Sauce

Worcestershire sauce gives this dish extra flavor without a lot of extra sodium.  Our Low Sodium Chicken & Noodles recipe uses 1 Tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce, which contributes 21mg of sodium per serving. 

6.      Spices

Our Low-Sodium Chicken & Noodles recipe uses the following spices:

• Poultry Seasoning (make sure it is unsalted--most brands are!). I use Great Value®️ brand
• Garlic powder
• Dried parsley
• Salt—don’t panic!  This recipe only uses ¼ teaspoon of salt in the entire recipe.  This contributes only 58 mg of sodium per serving.  If you prefer, you can eliminate the salt and the sodium content per serving will drop to 135 mg.

Variations to our Low Sodium Chicken & Noodles

Below are some variations to try for this recipe:

• Add about 1 ½ cups total of diced raw carrots, celery, and onions into the slow-cooker at the beginning of the cooking process.
• Add about 2 cups of frozen veggies at the same time that you add the egg noodles. (The last 1 to 1 ½ hours of cooking).  Frozen peas and/or carrots work great!
• The finished product of this recipe contains a little creamy broth.  However, if you prefer a “soupier” product, add an extra can or two of the Campbell’s®️ unsalted cream of chicken soup and an extra ½ to 1 cups of unsalted chicken broth.  This will affect the nutrient profile a little, but it will still be low sodium and potassium and free from phosphate additives.
• For a richer product, add 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter at the beginning of the cooking time.
• Feel free to adjust the spices as desired.  Other possible spices to consider include: onion powder, a bay leaf (remove before serving), poultry seasoning and fresh or minced garlic, to name a few!

Leftovers and storage of our Low Sodium Chicken & Noodles

• Our leftover Low Sodium Chicken & Noodles will last about 3 or 4 days in the refrigerator and 3 months in the freezer if kept in an airtight container.  The noodles will soak up some of the liquid, so you may need to add some extra unsalted broth when reheating. 

Serving suggestions for our Low Sodium Chicken & Noodles

This dish goes great with our Easy American Coleslaw (Kidney-Friendly,a tossed salad or a side of roasted or steamed veggies such as this recipe for Roasted Frozen Green Beans (Low Sodium).  Or, if you choose to add veggies into the recipe as it cooks, you already have a complete meal “as is”!

Enjoy!

To summarize, our recipe for Low Sodium Chicken & Noodles made in the crockpot is super-easy to make and uses only a handful of ingredients.  In addition, it’s low in sodium and potassium and free from phosphate additives.  It’s also versatile; For example, you can add vegetables, if desired, and adjust the spices to fit your taste!

Give this recipe a try today!  Let me know how you like it in the comments!