Best Low-Sodium High-Protein Snacks
A protein snack only works if the sodium it carries doesn't break your daily budget. The FDA daily limit is 2,300 mg of sodium for adults — but most "high-protein" snacks (jerky, cheese sticks, deli meat) hit 400–800 mg per serving. Below: 12 high-protein snacks in our database, all under 200 mg of sodium per serving and ≥8 g of protein. Useful for DASH dieters, kidney-friendly diets, and anyone keeping sodium in check.
The ranked list
1. Two Good — Lowfat Vanilla Greek Yogurt
B+ 80 / 100 · 72 mg sodium · 23.4 g protein · 0 g fiber
Two Good Lowfat Vanilla Greek Yogurt delivers 23g of protein and 162 calories per 180g cup with only 3.6g sugar — about 80% less than typical vanilla yogurts. Sweetened with stevia, no added sugar. Labelgrade B+ (80/100).
2. Oikos — Pro Vanilla Greek Yogurt
A- 85 / 100 · 108 mg sodium · 48 g protein
Oikos Pro Vanilla Greek Yogurt packs 20g of protein per 100g — about 48g per the 240g USDA serving — with whey protein concentrate boosting the density above standard Greek yogurts. Labelgrade A- (85/100).
3. Fage — Total 0% Nonfat Greek Strained Yogurt
A- 85 / 100 · 117 mg sodium · 32.4 g protein · 0 g fiber
Fage Total 0% Nonfat is one of the highest protein-density packaged dairy products you can buy: 18g of protein per 100g, or 32g per 180g USDA serving, with only milk and live cultures in the ingredients. Full Labelgrade A- breakdown.
4. Chobani — Plain Non-Fat Greek Yogurt
B+ 84 / 100 · 117 mg sodium · 28.8 g protein
Chobani's Plain Non-Fat Greek Yogurt delivers 16g of protein per 100g — about 29g per 180g USDA serving — with zero added sugar and only milk + live cultures in the ingredient list. Full nutrition and Labelgrade B+ breakdown.
5. Core Power — Vanilla High Protein Milk Shake
B 79 / 100 · 119 mg sodium · 26 g protein · 0 g fiber
Core Power Vanilla High Protein Milk Shake delivers 26g of protein per 11.5 fl oz bottle from real lowfat milk — no artificial sweeteners. The trade-off: 26g of added sugar (cane sugar + honey), making it functionally chocolate-milk-with-extra-protein. Labelgrade B (79/100).
6. Chobani — Zero Sugar Vanilla Greek Yogurt
B+ 83 / 100 · 126 mg sodium · 23.4 g protein · 2 g fiber
Chobani Zero Sugar Vanilla delivers 13g of protein per 100g (~19.5g per 5.3oz cup) at just 70 cal per cup with 0g added sugar. Sweetened with allulose + stevia + monk fruit. Labelgrade B+ (83/100) — the cleanest sugar-free Greek yogurt format on the US market.
7. Boost — High Protein Chocolate Sensation Nutritional Drink
B 75 / 100 · 199 mg sodium · 15 g protein · 0 g fiber
Boost High Protein Chocolate Sensation delivers 15g of protein per 8 fl oz bottle at 239 cal. Mass-market clinical-style nutrition drink. Labelgrade B (75/100). Honest take on where this fits vs Premier/Quest/Ensure for both medical and convenience use cases.
How we picked these
Three filters: (1) ≥8 g of protein per serving, (2) ≤200 mg of sodium per serving, (3) sodium load dimension score ≥80/100 on our v3 methodology (which penalizes per-100 g sodium density, not just per-serving). Sorted by sodium ascending, then protein descending. Drawn from our graded products catalog. Verified against USDA FoodData Central, last refreshed 2026-05-27.
What\'s notably missing
You\'ll see almost no cheese, no jerky, no deli meat, no protein bars over 200 mg sodium, and no shelf-stable protein chips on this list. Those categories are systematically higher in sodium — they\'re convenient but they spend your sodium budget faster than the products above.
Related guides
- Labelgrade methodology — including how we score the sodium load dimension
- Greek yogurt vs cottage cheese — sodium is a key difference between these two
- What "high in protein" actually means under FDA rules
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does sodium matter when picking high-protein snacks?
The FDA daily limit is 2,300 mg of sodium for adults. Most Americans consume 3,400+ mg per day — primarily from processed foods and restaurant meals. For DASH dieters, blood pressure management, kidney disease, and many other clinical situations, keeping snack sodium low matters. Many "high-protein" snacks (jerky, cheese sticks, deli meats, protein bars) are surprisingly high in sodium — 400–800 mg per serving is common. Picking lower-sodium options frees up your sodium budget for actual meals.
What's a "low-sodium" snack by FDA rules?
FDA defines "low sodium" as ≤140 mg per serving, "very low sodium" as ≤35 mg, and "sodium-free" as <5 mg. "Reduced sodium" means at least 25% less than the reference product. For practical purposes, snacks under 200 mg per serving are reasonable for most diets; under 100 mg is excellent for DASH and clinical low-sodium needs.
Which categories tend to be naturally low-sodium?
Plain Greek yogurt (50–100 mg per 100 g), cottage cheese with no salt added (rare, but Good Culture has versions), unsalted nuts and seeds, plain protein powder + water shakes (10–50 mg per serving), eggs (~70 mg per egg), plain milk (~100 mg per 8 oz). Things to avoid for low-sodium budgets: regular cottage cheese (300–460 mg per 100 g), most cheese (180–600 mg per oz), jerky (400–800 mg per oz), deli meat (450–700 mg per 2 oz), processed snack chips.
Is unsalted jerky actually a thing?
Yes, but rare. Most beef jerky is preserved with salt and cures, which is why sodium runs 400–800 mg per oz. Genuinely low-sodium jerky exists (some Krave, some artisan brands) but typically requires refrigeration after opening because the salt isn't doing the preservation work. Not a typical drugstore aisle find.
What about "no salt added" labels?
"No salt added" doesn't mean low sodium — it means no salt was added during processing, but the food may still contain naturally-occurring sodium. A "no salt added" cottage cheese still has 30–60 mg per 100 g of natural sodium from milk. The FDA-regulated low-sodium claim (≤140 mg per serving) is the better marker than "no salt added."
Best low-sodium protein for blood pressure management?
Plain non-fat Greek yogurt (Fage Total 0%, Chobani Plain Non-Fat) is the standout — protein-dense, sodium-light, and DASH-compliant. Plain whey protein in water as a shake is also excellent. Hard-boiled eggs deliver decent protein at ~70 mg of sodium per egg. Most DASH guidelines explicitly recommend Greek yogurt as a daily staple for this reason.
Why do protein bars have so much sodium?
Two reasons. (1) Salt enhances sweetness — needed to balance the artificial or natural sweeteners. (2) Sodium-containing leavening (sodium bicarbonate) and emulsifiers (sodium phosphate, sodium caseinate) appear in many engineered bars. Most protein bars run 130–250 mg of sodium per serving — moderate, not alarming, but it adds up across multiple bars per day.
How does sodium relate to DASH and the Mediterranean diet?
DASH explicitly targets ≤2,300 mg of sodium per day (≤1,500 mg for the "low-sodium DASH" stricter version). Mediterranean isn't as quantitatively specific but generally emphasizes the same lower-sodium pattern. Both diets favor the snacks at the top of this list: Greek yogurt, unsalted nuts, eggs, plain protein. Both diets specifically discourage processed cheese, jerky, deli meat, and packaged crackers/chips — all high-sodium categories.