This low sodium roasted turkey recipe is perfect to serve at your next holiday dinner – roasted whole turkey is marinated overnight in herbs and spices, and roasted to perfection in the oven!
In this article I share tips for finding the best low sodium turkey and have some great tips! From tasty juicy meat to crispy and delicious skin. This tasty low sodium holiday recipe is a great no-salt-added dinner, and one that everyone will love – great for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hannukah, or any holiday meal.
Holiday meals can be hard to navigate when you’re on a low sodium diet – we’ve learned over the years! We’ve cooked about 10 low sodium holiday meals here, and this low sodium roast turkey is the centerpiece of holidays. Start by marinading thawed turkey in a great mix of herbs, garlic, vinegar, and spices, then stuff it with aromatics like citrus, and bake until crisp.
One of my favorite tricks is putting pads of unsalted butter underneath the skin, so it gets nice and crispy while baked in the oven. Whether you’re doing a full holiday spread with low sodium pumpkin pie, or a more casual meal with low sodium mashed potatoes and low sodium honey baked carrots, this turkey is tasty, versatile, and goes with everything.
Brining is a popular technique used by many cooks to help ensure a moist, flavorful turkey. The typical brine contains a good amount of salt, which helps season the meat and retain moisture. But what if you want to avoid the high sodium level? Is it possible to brine a turkey without using salt?
The short answer is yes – you can absolutely brine without salt! While salt plays an important role in a traditional brine, there are other ways to infuse flavor and moisture into the turkey. With some creative ingredients and techniques, you can still end up with a tasty, juicy bird.
Why Brine Without Salt?
There are a few good reasons you may want to brine without salt:
- Lower sodium intake for health reasons
- Accommodate low-sodium diets
- Avoid over-salting the flavor
- Personal taste preferences
By eliminating salt from the brining process, you can still gain the benefits of brining while keeping sodium levels in check
Flavorful Replacements for Salt
Table salt provides both flavor and the ability to retain moisture in a brine. To replicate both roles without sodium try these tasty substitutions
For Flavor
- Herbs – rosemary, thyme, sage, etc.
- Spices – pepper, cloves, cinnamon, etc.
- Citrus zest and juice – lemon, lime, orange
- Vinegars – cider, wine, balsamic
- Soy sauce or coconut aminos
- Dried mushrooms – like porcini
For Moisture
- Fruit juices – apple, grape, pomegranate
- Coconut water
- Vegetable stock or broth
- Tea – black, green, herbal
Combining ingredients from both categories allows you to create a brine that provides great flavor and helps keep the turkey moist.
Sample Salt-Free Brines
There are endless combinations of ingredients you can use for a salt-free brine. Here are just a few ideas:
- Apple cider, orange juice, thyme, black pepper
- Pomegranate juice, balsamic vinegar, rosemary
- Mushroom broth, soy sauce, sage
- Lemon juice, vegetable stock, garlic
- Cranberry juice, ginger, cinnamon, cloves
The possibilities are truly endless! Feel free to get creative with ingredients to design a custom salt-free brining solution.
Brining Process
The basic process for brining without salt is the same as a traditional brine:
- Combine brine ingredients in a very large container. Use enough liquid to fully submerge the turkey.
- Place thawed turkey in brine, making sure it is fully submerged. Use weights if needed to keep it down.
- Refrigerate for 12-24 hours based on turkey size – about 1 hour per pound.
- Remove turkey from brine, discard excess liquid.
- Rinse turkey under cool water to remove any residue. Pat very dry.
- Roast as desired – baste with broth/oil to stay moist.
The only real difference is using a salt-free brine solution. Follow the same guidelines for timing based on turkey weight.
Benefits of Salt-Free Brining
Going without salt in your brine offers several advantages:
- Lower sodium intake for better health
- Allow people on low-sodium diets to enjoy brined turkey
- Avoid over-salting the flavor if turkey was pre-injected with a solution
- Opportunity to add more creative flavors based on ingredients used
- Provide brining moisture benefits without sodium level concerns
With a salt-free brine, you still get a nicely flavored, tender, and juicy bird. There’s no need to miss out on brining just because you’re skipping the salt.
Tips for Flavor and Moisture
To ensure your no-salt turkey still tastes great and stays succulent, keep these tips in mind:
- Use an array of spices, herbs, citrus to provide big flavor
- Combine multiple juices for complexity – apple, grape, cranberry
- Add sweetness with maple syrup, honey, or sugar
- Rub butter/oil under and on top of skin before roasting
- Baste frequently while roasting using broth or oil
- Let rest 20+ minutes before carving to retain moisture
With careful flavoring and roasting, you can get amazing results from your salt-free brined turkey. Don’t be afraid to brine without salt this holiday season!
Why This Recipe Works
- It’s our favorite tried-and-true holiday meal – great for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or any holiday!
- The meat is tender and juicy, and the skin is crisp and delicious.
- It has lots of flavor, without added salt – thanks to a few tricks we’ll share below.
- It’s a crowd pleaser, everyone will want seconds.
Here are a few tips below for finding good, low sodium meat options.
If you can, fresh and local turkey can be a great option, especially if it isn’t loaded with salt solutions or sodium preservatives (which many store-bought turkeys can be injected with). I live in the New England countryside, and we have 2 local turkey farms near me, so I am lucky to be able to get great fresh meat.
Just a caveat though: heritage or local turkey meat can be pricey. We only buy it once or twice a year, so I splurge a bit, but I understand that’s not always an option for everyone.
Talk to a Butcher
I’ve found store butchers (even at large supermarket chains) are great resources! They can help point you in the right direction for a low sodium option. If you let them know in advance, they may be able to bring in some lower sodium meats on request. Don’t be afraid to ask!
If you’re going with a store-bought turkey, always check the labels. Some have stuffing, and some turkeys come unstuffed (which can impact the sodium content per serving).
If possible, try to get an unstuffed turkey so you can brine it and stuff it with aromatics or your own stuffing.
Store bought stuffing can be loaded with added sodium and preservatives, and it’s simple to make your own low sodium stuffing with plain unsalted bread or low sodium cornbread too!
The DASH diet recommends lean meats (which have lower saturated fats) like turkey breast. Instead of a whole turkey, you can find great bone-in turkey breast options in many stores.
Just be sure to adjust the cooking time if you are cooking just the turkey breasts, as it can vary even more.
- Turkey – read our tips above for how to find low sodium turkey options. From the farm to your local grocery store, there are lots of great options out there!
- Unsalted Butter – I add little pads of unsalted butter placed underneath the skin, and between the skin and the meat. It makes the skin super crispy when baked in the oven!
- Aromatics for Stuffing – I like to stuff the turkey with aromatics like lemon, orange, rosemary, garlic, and onion. I find this adds a great flavor to the meat. You can also skip these and stuff the turkey with dressing, or cook the dressing separately.
- The Marinade – I like doing a marinade (like a salt-free ‘brine’) the night before to add more flavor to the meat. My marinade has apple cider vinegar, onion powder, garlic powder, and thyme.
How to Brine a Turkey
FAQ
What is an alternative to brining a turkey?
Brining Alternatives. By far the most common alternative is plain old salting. When you salt a turkey (or chicken) breast, meat juices are initially drawn out through the process of osmosis (yes, this time it really is osmosis at work).
Can you brine without salt?
The bottom line: It’s fine to brine with a salt substitute. Just be sure to use a low-salt (not a salt-free) brand.
Is brining a turkey really necessary?
The short answer is yes, you definitely need to brine a turkey. Turkeys are naturally lean and because they are quite large, it’s really difficult to cook them through without the meat becoming tough. The definition of brine is water that has been strongly saturated with salt.
Do you need salt to brine?
Brine is just salty water, a solution of H20 (water) + NaCl (salt). Unless you are looking for brine that has particular impurities it does not matter what salt you use any more than it matters what water you use. H20 + NaCl = brine.
Can You brine a turkey without salt?
However, for those looking to reduce their sodium intake or adhere to a low-sodium diet, brining a turkey without salt is a viable option. While salt is a key ingredient in traditional brining recipes, there are alternative brining solutions that can still impart flavor and moisture to the turkey without the use of salt. Do you like this article?
What is a good substitute for salt when brining a Turkey?
There are several ingredients that can be used as alternatives to salt when brining a turkey. One popular option is using a combination of herbs and spices such as rosemary, thyme, sage, and black pepper, along with citrus fruits like orange or lemon to infuse flavor into the meat.
Should you soak a Turkey in a salt solution?
By soaking a turkey in a salt solution (yes, many brines also have sugar and spices, but without the salt you get nothing), the power of osmosis—where cells like to have similar water-salt balances—makes sure that the sodium in the brine gets infused throughout the turkey along with extra water. The cons are practical and, to some minds, culinary.
Do I need to Salt a turkey breast After brining?
This juicy roast turkey breast was marinated overnight in a mixture that included maple syrup, mustard and apple juice. Unlike brine, a marinade is not loaded with salt. ADRIAN LAM Dear Eric: I’m assuming that after brining a turkey, it is not necessary to again salt, or add other herbs to the bird?
Can You brine without salt?
Brining without salt opens up a world of creative possibilities in the kitchen. By exploring alternative flavor-enhancing ingredients and techniques, you can achieve the same juicy and flavorful results as traditional brining methods, without relying on salt.
Do turkeys need to be brined before cooking?
In this case, a well-salted turkey holds onto its own natural juices, leading to a moist, flavorful bird. To get effects similar to brining, the pre-salting needs to be done, much like brining, well in advance. The bird is big and needs to move the salt from the outside all the way through all of the cells.