Eating out if you’re keeping a close eye on your salt intake can be hard, and, in places like Red Lobster, where you’re creating yummy combos, the maths can almost make your head hurt. But don’t worry, REd lobster does have low-sodium meal options, and we’ve done the calculations that help you find them. Read on to find all the best low-sodium dishes at Red Lobster for you to pick from.
Stock photo: Not Red Lobster
The Absolute Lowest Sodium Red Lobster Entree
If you want to purchase the entree with the lowest sodium level at Red Lobster, you should choose the Perfectly Grilled Rainbow Trout. This contains just 170mg of sodium, which is pretty impressive.
However, you do need to remember that most Red Lobster menu items come with two sides. Therefore, 170mg won’t be the total amount of sodium in your meal. So, what are your best options to add?
Coleslaw and House Salad (from the Premium Side menu) are the lowest sodium two side dishes – and these add an extra 360mg of sodium – taking your meal to 530mg of sodium.
We’ll talk about the other low-sodium side dishes in a minute… but first, if you don’t feel like Rainbow Trout, the following are the 10 next-lowest sodium options on the Red Lobster menu. They are mostly from the Classic Menu – once you start on the combinations or Create Your Own feasts, the numbers get pretty high, with a couple of exceptions. Salmon lovers are going to be very pleased!
Other Red Lobster Low Sodium Menu Items
| Dish | Sodium Level |
| Perfectly Grilled Atlantic Salmon | 180mg |
| Crab Your Way – Simply Steamed Flavour | 290mg |
| Live Maine Lobster (1¼ lbs, steamed) | 290mg |
| Combo: Blackened Atlantic Salmon & Oven Broiled Salmon | 320mg |
| 6oz Filet Mignon | 620mg |
| Crabfest Creations – Lemon Pepper Flavour | 660mg |
| Combo: Oven Broiled Atlantic Salmon & Broiled Flounder | 670mg |
| Combo: Blacked Atlantic Salmon & Broiled Flouder | 750mg |
| Maple Bacon Chicken | 800mg |
The Lowest Sodium Side Dish At Red Lobster
We mentioned at the start that most Red Lobster meals come with two side dishes.
There are 11 side dishes to choose from and if you pick incorrectly, you could multiply the amount in your healthy trout dish more than tenfold!
The highest sodium side, the Loaded Baked Potato has 2170mg of sodium – that’s almost the whole daily intake of 2300mg recommended to the general population by the American Heart Association (and likely to be a lot higher than any specific doctor’s recommendation). So, pick carefully.
Stock photo: Not Red Lobster
The side dish at Red Lobster that contains the lowest amount of sodium is the Coleslaw with 140mg of sodium. Next is the House Salad with 220mg of sodium – although this doesn’t seem to include the dressing.
The lowest sodium dressing is Honey Mustard which has 290mg of sodium – ideally, have this served on the side and only use what you really need.
Lower Sodium Red Lobster Side Dishes
| Side Dish | Sodium Levels |
| Coleslaw | 140mg |
| House Salad | 220mg |
| Lobster Topped Baked Potato | 500mg |
| Mashed Potato | 600mg |
| Orzo Rice | 640mg |
How Much Sodium is in Red Lobster Biscuits?
As well as your side dishes, meals at Red Lobster also come with the very moreish Cheddar Bay Biscuits – so, you need to know how much sodium is in these too. And the answer is 380mg each – considering you get two of them per meal, these could double the sodium content of your whole meal so, choose carefully.
Image: Red Lobster Press Gallery
What’s the Lowest Sodium Appetizer?
If you do fancy starting your meal with something, then you should also check the sodium levels of the Red Lobster appetizers – and, the bad news is, they’re pretty high!
The lowest sodium choice is the Parrot Isle Jumbo Coconut Shrimp (Appetizer portion) which has 910mg of sodium
Okay so, that’s all the low-sodium options in Red Lobster sorted, but what if you’re also watching other healthy factors like your calories or your saturated fat levels? We’ve got the answers to that too…
The Lowest Saturated Fat, Lowest Sodium Option
The best menu item at Red Lobster, if you’re looking for the lowest saturated fat, lowest sodium option, is the Perfectly Grilled Rainbow Trout. This menu item contains just 4.5 grams of fat and 170mg of sodium.
Don’t forget to add your sides – and again, your best to choose the Coleslaw and the House Salad – this adds just 5.5g of saturated fat and 360mg of sodium.
Stock Image: Not Red Lobster
Other menu items that contain low levels of saturated fat and sodium include the Perfectly Grilled Atlantic Salmon (7 grams of saturated fat, 180mg sodium). or, if you’re really hungry, try a salmon combo – The Blacked Salmon and Broiled Salmon combo will add just 8g of saturated fat and 320mg of sodium.
The Lowest Calorie, Lowest Sodium Option
There’s a bit of a trade-off when it comes to low-calorie and low-sodium menu items in Red Lobster.
If you want the lowest calorie option, then you have to compromise with a bit more sodium. The lowest calorie option is the 6oz Fillet Mignon with just 250 calories – but, it does have 620mg of sodium.
Stock Image: Not Red Lobster
If it’s on the menu at your restaurant, the Crab Your Way/Crabfest Creations Simply Steamed Flavour is a top candidate with just 300 calories and just 290mg of sodium.
The Live Main Lobster is also another good choice at 310 calories and 290mg of sodium.
Not surprisingly, you’re also looking at picking Coleslaw and House Salad for your side dishes which add just 250 calories.
If you’re visiting Red Lobster with a friend who is counting calories but not so worried about their sodium levels, why not check out our guide to the lowest calorie dishes in Red Lobster
The Lowest Sugar, Lowest Sodium Option
The Crabfest Creations – Simply Steamed Flavour, Grilled Rainbow Trout, Grilled Atlantic Salmon, Maine Lobster, and Grilled Shrimp are all free from sugar.
All you need to think about is how much sodium you’re happy to eat and which sides you want to add to your meal.
Image: Red Lobster Press Gallery
If you ordered the Crabfeast Creations with a house side salad and coleslaw, your whole meal would only contain 9 grams of sugar and 650mg of sodium.
This meal would only contain 550 calories too which makes it suitable for a main meal.
The Lowest Sodium Vegetarian/Vegan Option
Red Lobster isn’t the best fast-food restaurant to visit if you follow a vegetarian or vegan diet. There are a few options for mixing starters and side dishes but there is no dedicated Vegetarian or Vegan dishes on the menu.
The Lowest Sodium Gluten-Free Options
When it comes to those of you following a gluten-free diet, Red Lobster is more welcoming. The chain doesn’t have a specialized gluten-free menu, and does list items as potentially being at risk of cross-contamination, but many food items are free from gluten in the ingredients.
If you follow a gluten-free diet, you could eat most of the menu items we’ve already discussed. This includes rainbow trout, grilled Atlantic salmon, grilled shrimp, and live Maine lobster.
Once again, the Rainbow Trout with the Coleslaw and a House Salad is your best option.
We have a bigger guide on exactly what you can eat on a gluten-free diet in Red Lobster so you might also want to look at that to check their cross-contamination policies and the other options you might want to pick from.
Does Red Lobster Have a Low Sodium Menu?
Not per se, which is one reason why we are writing this post. But you can find the sodium counts for everything on the menu – including new dishes and short-term specials in the Red Lobster Nutritional Information.
What to Read Next
There you have it, the best menu items to pick at Red Lobster if you want to reduce your sodium intake. If you found it helpful you might want to check out some of our other low-sodium guides.
We explain how to order low sodium at Subway if you feel like a quick sandwich lunch.
We’ve also looked at how to pick the lowest sodium choices at McDonald’s – with a few tips on how you can adapt the menu to cut your sodium levels further.