Low Potassium Foods List: 150+ Safe Foods for Kidney Disease

TL;DR

• Low potassium = under 200mg per serving; very low = under 100mg per serving
• Fruits: apples, berries, grapes, pineapple, and watermelon are your safest picks
• Vegetables: cabbage, cucumber, lettuce, cauliflower, and bell peppers are reliably low
• Grains and white bread are naturally low and form a solid base for meals

When your nephrologist or dietitian tells you to follow a low-potassium diet, the first question is always the same: “What CAN I eat?” This list answers that question with 150+ foods that contain less than 200mg of potassium per standard serving, organized by food group for quick reference.

All values are based on USDA FoodData Central. For the complete potassium chart including moderate and high-potassium foods, see our Potassium Content of 200+ Foods. Your individual potassium needs depend on your CKD stage.

Understanding Potassium Categories

Category	Potassium per Serving	Approach
Very Low	Under 100mg	Include freely in most CKD diets
Low	100-200mg	Include regularly with normal portions
Moderate	200-300mg	Include with portion awareness
High	Over 300mg	Limit or avoid in later-stage CKD

The foods in this list fall into the Very Low and Low categories.

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Low Potassium Fruits

Food	Serving Size	Potassium (mg)
Apple	1 medium	107
Applesauce (unsweetened)	1/2 cup	91
Apricot (fresh)	1 medium	91
Blackberries	1/2 cup	117
Blueberries	1 cup	114
Cherries (sour, canned)	1/2 cup	120
Clementine	1 fruit	131
Cranberries (raw)	1 cup	85
Fruit cocktail (canned, drained)	1/2 cup	100
Grapefruit	1/2 medium	166
Grapes (red or green)	1 cup	176
Lemon	1 medium	80
Lime	1 medium	68
Lychee	5 fruits	80
Mandarin oranges (canned)	1/2 cup	98
Peach (fresh)	1 medium	186
Peaches (canned, drained)	1/2 cup	120
Pear (fresh)	1 small	150
Pears (canned, drained)	1/2 cup	95
Pineapple (fresh)	1 cup chunks	180
Pineapple (canned, drained)	1/2 cup	132
Plum	1 medium	104
Raspberries	1 cup	186
Starfruit	1 medium	176
Tangerine	1 medium	146
Watermelon	1 cup diced	170

Tip: Canned fruits (drained and rinsed) are often lower in potassium than their fresh counterparts because potassium leaches into the liquid.

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Low Potassium Vegetables

Food	Serving Size	Potassium (mg)
Alfalfa sprouts	1 cup	26
Bamboo shoots (canned)	1/2 cup	52
Bean sprouts	1/2 cup	63
Bell pepper (green)	1/2 cup chopped	88
Bell pepper (red)	1/2 cup chopped	105
Cabbage (green, cooked)	1/2 cup	73
Cabbage (red, raw)	1/2 cup	76
Carrots (raw)	1 medium	115
Cauliflower (cooked)	1/2 cup	88
Cauliflower (raw)	1/2 cup	75
Celery	1 stalk	104
Corn (canned, drained)	1/2 cup	100
Cucumber (with peel)	1/2 cup sliced	76
Eggplant (cooked)	1/2 cup	62
Endive	1 cup	79
Green beans (cooked)	1/2 cup	91
Green beans (canned)	1/2 cup	65
Iceberg lettuce	2 cups	78
Jicama	1/2 cup	97
Kale (raw)	1 cup	80
Leeks (cooked)	1/4 cup	40
Mushrooms (canned)	1/2 cup	101
Okra (cooked)	1/2 cup	108
Onion (cooked)	1/2 cup	120
Onion (raw)	1/4 cup	45
Peas (canned, drained)	1/2 cup	94
Radishes	5 medium	66
Romaine lettuce	1 cup	58
Sauerkraut	1/4 cup	45
Snow peas	1/2 cup	96
Turnip (cooked)	1/2 cup	138
Water chestnuts (canned)	1/2 cup	83
Watercress	1 cup	56
Yellow squash (cooked)	1/2 cup	173
Zucchini (cooked)	1/2 cup	109

Tip: Boiling vegetables and discarding the cooking water (leaching) can reduce potassium by 20-50%. This technique can bring moderate-potassium vegetables into the low range.

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Low Potassium Proteins

Food	Serving Size	Potassium (mg)
Chicken breast	3 oz cooked	176
Clams (canned)	2 oz	100
Cod	3 oz cooked	155
Cottage cheese (low-fat)	1/4 cup	48
Crab (imitation)	3 oz	76
Cream cheese	2 tbsp	34
Egg (whole)	1 large	69
Egg white	1 large	54
Ground beef (lean)	3 oz cooked	170
Ham (fresh, not deli)	3 oz	180
Lamb chop	3 oz cooked	173
Pork chop	3 oz cooked	190
Ricotta cheese	1/4 cup	65
Shrimp	3 oz cooked	155
Tilapia	3 oz cooked	170
Tofu (silken)	1/4 block	75
Tuna (canned in water)	3 oz	134
Turkey breast	3 oz cooked	183
Veal	3 oz cooked	181

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Low Potassium Grains, Breads, and Cereals

Grains are naturally among the lowest potassium food groups and form the foundation of many kidney-friendly meals.

Food	Serving Size	Potassium (mg)
Bagel (plain)	1 medium	72
Breadsticks	2 sticks	25
Cornbread	1 piece	77
Corn tortilla	1 tortilla	40
Couscous	1/2 cup cooked	46
Crackers (saltine)	6 crackers	17
Cream of wheat	1/2 cup cooked	22
Croissant	1 medium	67
English muffin	1 whole	75
Flour tortilla (white)	1 medium	47
French bread	1 slice	28
Graham crackers	2 sheets	36
Grits	1/2 cup cooked	26
Italian bread	1 slice	22
Macaroni (cooked)	1/2 cup	22
Naan bread	1 piece	58
Noodles (egg, cooked)	1/2 cup	24
Oatmeal (plain)	1/2 cup cooked	82
Pancake (plain)	1 medium	54
Pasta (white, cooked)	1/2 cup	22
Pita bread (white)	1 small	36
Popcorn (air-popped)	3 cups	93
Rice (white, cooked)	1/2 cup	27
Rice cakes	2 cakes	26
Rice noodles	1/2 cup cooked	17
Sourdough bread	1 slice	32
Spaghetti (white, cooked)	1/2 cup	22
Waffle (frozen)	1 waffle	42
White bread	1 slice	25

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Low Potassium Dairy and Alternatives

Food	Serving Size	Potassium (mg)
Almond milk (unsweetened)	1 cup	37
Butter	1 tbsp	4
Coconut milk (carton)	1 cup	46
Cool Whip	2 tbsp	3
Cream cheese	2 tbsp	34
Half and half	2 tbsp	39
Heavy cream	2 tbsp	22
Mozzarella	1 oz	27
Non-dairy creamer	1 tbsp	16
Oat milk	1 cup	65
Parmesan (grated)	1 tbsp	8
Rice milk	1 cup	65
Sherbet	1/2 cup	71
Sour cream	2 tbsp	36
Swiss cheese	1 oz	22
Whipped cream	2 tbsp	10

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Low Potassium Beverages

Food	Serving Size	Potassium (mg)
Apple juice	4 oz	75
Black tea	8 oz	88
Club soda	12 oz	7
Coffee (black)	8 oz	116
Cranberry juice cocktail	8 oz	46
Ginger ale	12 oz	4
Grape juice	4 oz	84
Lemonade	8 oz	37
Lemon-lime soda	12 oz	4
Peach nectar	4 oz	50
Pear nectar	4 oz	17
Root beer	12 oz	4
Water	8 oz	0

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Low Potassium Snacks and Condiments

Food	Serving Size	Potassium (mg)
Animal crackers	10 crackers	20
Applesauce	1/2 cup	91
Cranberry sauce	2 tbsp	11
Gelatin (Jell-O)	1/2 cup	1
Gummy candy	10 pieces	1
Hard candy	3 pieces	1
Honey	1 tbsp	11
Jam or jelly	1 tbsp	15
Ketchup	1 tbsp	57
Lollipop	1 piece	0
Maple syrup	1 tbsp	42
Marshmallows	4 large	1
Mayonnaise	1 tbsp	3
Mustard	1 tsp	8
Olive oil	1 tbsp	0
Peppermint	1 piece	0
Pickles (dill)	1 spear	26
Pretzels	1 oz	33
Ranch dressing	2 tbsp	36
Rice cakes	2 cakes	26
Sugar	1 tsp	0
Vanilla extract	1 tsp	26
Vanilla wafers	5 wafers	13
Vinegar	1 tbsp	2

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How to Use This List

Build meals around low-potassium staples. Start with white rice, pasta, or bread as your base. Add a lean protein like chicken, eggs, or shrimp. Include low-potassium vegetables like cabbage, green beans, or bell peppers. Finish with a fruit like berries, apple slices, or grapes.

Watch portion sizes even with low-potassium foods. A single serving of white rice has 27mg of potassium, but three servings has 81mg. It still adds up across an entire day.

Use the leaching technique for more variety. Peeling, dicing, and boiling potatoes or root vegetables in a large pot of water for 10+ minutes, then discarding the water, can reduce potassium by 30-50%. This can open up foods that would otherwise be off-limits.

Track your total daily intake. Knowing individual food values is only useful when you can see the running total. KidneyPal helps you scan meals and automatically calculates potassium totals against your daily limit so you never have to guess.

Coordinate with your care team. This list provides general guidance, but your nephrologist and renal dietitian should set your specific daily potassium target based on your blood work.

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The Bottom Line

A low-potassium diet does not have to be boring or restrictive. With 150+ foods under 200mg per serving to choose from, you have plenty of options for building satisfying meals. The key is knowing which foods are safe, watching your portions, and tracking your daily total.

For more kidney diet resources, visit our kidney disease diet management guide. Related references:

• Potassium Content of 200+ Foods
• High Potassium Foods to Avoid
• Kidney Diet Food Chart
• Kidney-Friendly Foods by CKD Stage