A kidney-friendly meal that makes meat forgotten!
This is way above and beyond any veggie burger I’ve ever eaten. I know I’ve said this before about other recipes, but these are seriously awesome! It can sometimes be hard to find plant-based renal-friendly meal, they really can’t be beat. This is actually one of my family’s “company’s coming” recipes.
Ingredients
- 6 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 1/2 cup red or green pepper finely chopped
- 1/2 cup corn fresh or frozen
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 cup spaghetti squash cooked and pureed (one medium-size spaghetti squash yields about 2 cups)
- 1/4 cup extra-sharp cheddar cheese - a good quality, strong cheese will yield the best flavor for the smallest quantity consumed
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast This is a great product to keep on hand as it can replace the flavor of cheese in some recipes. You can find it in the natural foods section of many grocery stores or buy online.
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs or crushed low sodium crackers
- 1/2 cup oatmeal
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley finely chopped
- 1 dash salt to taste
- 1 dash freshly ground pepper to taste
- 6-8 tortillas Corn tortillas are lowest in sodium, but will need to be heated thoroughly (fried, microwaved, etc... to work for this.)
- Green salsa Read the ingredients on your label to make sure the green salsa you choose is made with tomatillos or green chiles not green tomatoes.
- 2 cups shredded lettuce
- Fresh cilantro chopped
- sour cream optional
Instructions
- Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring often, until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in bell pepper, corn, garlic, chili powder and cumin; cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 2 minutes more. Transfer to a large bowl; let cool to room temperature, about 10 minutes.
- Add pureed spaghetti squash, cheese, oatmeal, nutritional yeast, breadcrumbs, parsley, salt and pepper to the onion mixture; mix well. With dampened hands, form the vegetable mixture into six 1/2-inch-thick patties, using about 1/2 cup for each.
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Stack corn or flour tortillas and wrap in aluminum foil. Place in the oven for about 15 minutes to heat through. (Alternatively, stack tortillas between two damp paper towels; microwave on high for 30 to 60 seconds, or until heated through.)
- Using 2 teaspoons oil per batch, cook 2 – 4 patties at a time in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until browned and heated through, about 4 minutes per side. Adjust heat as necessary for even browning. We also had success baking them although they don’t get the same “crispy” shell that you might get with the pan-fry. Wrap the patties in tortillas and serve immediately, garnished with lettuce and tomatillo/green chile salsa
- Make Ahead Tip: Prepare through Step 3. Wrap patties individually and refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before cooking.
- VERY IMPORTANT key to this recipe: Mixture should be about the consistency of oatmeal cookie dough. If it is too wet and goopy then the patties will not hold together when you flip them. If your mixture seems too goopy or wet, add a little bit more oatmeal or bread crumbs. If you're on dialysis and trying to increase your protein intake you can also add an egg to recipe or some flavorless protein powder.
Notes
Nutrition
KidneyGrub Verdict:
I know I’ve said this before about other recipes, but these are seriously awesome! This is actually one of my family’s “company’s coming” recipes. I’ve been making the original recipe from EatingWell.com for years. There are never any leftovers. And if tasting good weren’t enough, these are vegetarian! We love plant-based meals for all stages of kidney disease (At stage V it can help with phos levels and for stages III/IV there is evidence that plant-based diets slow progression of kidney disease.) The original recipe calls for pureed pumpkin and twice as much cheese. I didn’t find the taste altered by substituting spaghetti squash, and the switch cut the potassium from 504 mg/serving to 330 mg/serving. Cutting back the cheese also didn’t seem like a big deal, especially with the nutritional yeast added. Please note, nutritional yeast is NOT the same as yeast you use for bread! It is a fantastic staple to keep on hand for many recipes. More information can be found here or you can google it on the internet and find all sorts of info.
I looked up nutritional yeast and was impressed by how nutrient rich it is. I did notice it seems to be high in K+/PO4. Do you recommend an amount/serving serving size of nutritional yeast due to this?
This is a great point Mary. We use it in limited quantities (<1 Tbsp/serving) as a more nutritionally dense substitute for cheese. It is a very strong flavor, so I wouldn't use more then that in most settings.
Is the spaghetti squash cooked or raw when added to the recipe. Recipe doesn’t state.
Thank you
Cooked spaghetti squash. This is a great idea to clarify in the recipe and I will do so!
Please publish nutritional information for this and all recipes–amounts of sodium, potassium, phosphorus , calcium, protein, carbohydrates, etc. I have to consider many things in my CKD diet, along with food allergies. This recipe looks doable. Thank you.
HI Jacque! I completely agree with this! We had it published on all the articles but with some platform updates it was deleted. We are working on getting all the recipes up to date in the next month or so!
Dear Ms. Jsaville,
Thank you so much for the good choice of meals for people on renal treatment. Now, I feel confident in preparing food that will go well with my system.
I would like to know if I can add oatmeal to my breakfast. I used to eat oatmeal for breakfast with cinamumo.
Once again, I thank you for providing these wealth of information on meal choices.
Sincerely,
David H
Glad it could be helpful!
There is no update on the recipe to specify cooked spaghetti squash AND still no nutritional information included in your recipes. What I have seen does not include potassium and phosphorus plus others we need for our individual renal diets.
Could tostadas be used in place of the corn tortillas since they are precooked and no sodium in them? This would eliminate the need to fry the tortillas.
I am new to CKD and don’t know what to expect,any information will be appreciated
Hi Leonard, we hope that you are finding the information on our website helpful! In addition, we offer a free monthly classto learn about some of the strategies that we recommend for preserving kidney health or you can work one-on-one with one of our renal dietitians for more individualized recommendations and support.