Low Sodium Crackers

A Few Favorite Low Sodium Crackers

Crackers are another one of those pantry items that come in handy when you’re following a low sodium regimen. Especially when you’re having one of those “I don’t feel like cooking up a storm” days. Or maybe it’s an “I’m out of bread and I don’t want to run to the store or haul the bread machine out” day. Whatever the reason, a supply of low sodium crackers can help.

Hard cook some eggs, pull out a couple of cans of low sodium tuna, chop up some leftover roast chicken, and you can have egg salad, tuna salad, or chicken salad ready in no time.  Spread on some low sodium crackers and you’ve got a quick, relatively easy lunch or dinner. Want something even easier? How about unsalted peanut butter and jam spread on crackers? Or perhaps unsalted cottage cheese mixed with a favorite salt-free spice blend on crackers? There’s always dips and crackers too.

Crackers are also a great accompaniment to soups, stews, and chilis. Some people love to crush crackers onto chili or soup. They like the extra crunch and heft that’s added. Or maybe it’s just the fun of being able to smash something by hand.

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Luckily there are several options for buying low sodium crackers available at most grocery stores. Nabisco, one of the giant food manufacturers, offers Unsalted Tops Premium Saltine Crackers with 75mg sodium/5 crackers/16g while Ritz Hint of Salt is 30mg sodium/5 crackers/16g. Nabisco Wheat Thins Hint of Salt have 55mg sodium/16 crackers/31g, and Triscuit HInt of Salt is 50mg/6 crackers/28g.  

One of my husband's favorite crackers is Red Oval Farms Low Sodium Stoned Wheat Thins (25mg sodium/2 crackers/14g) In shopping for snacks for my gluten-sensitive granddaughter, I discovered something interesting: Many gluten-free rice crackers are also very low in sodium — and very tasty! For example, Nabisco Original Rice Thins have 85mg sodium/18 crackers/31g.  Blue Diamond Almonds offers Almond Hint of Sea Salt Nut-Thins with 80mg sodium/17 crackers/30g. I’ve found other brands and varieties of rice crackers with even lower sodium levels.

Lundberg and Quaker sell unsalted and/or lightly salted rice cakes. Another crunchy low sodium alternative. Finally, several unsalted or low sodium matzo crackers are available in the Kosher section of most grocery stores, usually either Streit’s or Manischewitz brands. Our favorites are the unsalted whole wheat matzos and the egg & onion matzos with 45mg/1 matzo/28g. (Bear in mind that most matzos are 6” x 7” rectangles.) If your grocery store does not carry an assortment of matzos regularly, they might during Passover. That’d be the time to stock up. (While you’re at it, look for unsalted matzo meal, a perfect substitute for dried bread crumbs.)

Now, that's what I call a cracker!

See what you can find at your local grocery stores. You might be pleasantly surprised. As always, be sure to check the nutrition labels. It’s amazing how sodium levels vary from brand to brand and even between similar products within the same brand.