Low-Sodium Pasta Shells with Ground Beef or Turkey

Some recipes are almost perfect for us right out of the gate.

Others need a little work.

This one definitely needed some work.

The original recipe is Pasta Shells with Ground Beef from Sweet Pea’s Kitchen. It is a hearty skillet meal made with pasta shells, ground beef, Sazón, chicken broth, tomato broth, serrano peppers, onion, Rotel, and a few other seasonings. The original recipe lists about 841 mg of sodium per serving, so obviously I wasn’t making it exactly as written. 

But the basic idea was really good.

So we changed the high-sodium ingredients and made it fit the way we eat.

And honestly, it works really well.

We have made this with both ground beef and ground turkey, and both versions are good.

Start With the Protein

The original recipe uses 1½ pounds of ground beef. 

We have made it that way, but we have also substituted ground turkey.

Ground turkey gives you a lighter version and still works really well with all of the spices and tomato flavor in the dish.

So use whichever fits your diet and what you have on hand.

If I’m using ground beef, I drain the excess fat after cooking it.

If I’m using turkey, there is usually much less to drain.

The First Big Change: No-Salt Sazón

The original recipe uses Sazón seasoning in more than one place.

That can be a problem because many packaged Sazón blends contain a lot of sodium.

So instead, I use my own Homemade No-Salt Sazón Seasoning.

It has coriander, garlic powder, cumin, oregano, annatto or turmeric, and black pepper, with no added salt. It gives the dish the flavor and color I want without adding a bunch of sodium. 

You can find my recipe here:

Homemade No-Salt Sazón Seasoning

That one substitution makes a big difference.

Replace the Granulated Chicken Broth

The original recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of granulated chicken broth. 

That is another place where sodium can pile up fast.

Instead, I use Swanson Unsalted Chicken Broth.

Swanson Unsalted Chicken Broth at Walmart

Since the original recipe also uses water, I simply replace part of that liquid with unsalted broth.

You still get the chicken flavor, but without using concentrated granulated broth loaded with salt.

Replace the Tomato Broth Too

The original recipe also calls for 4 tablespoons of granulated tomato broth. 

Again, I don’t use it.

Instead, I use an unsalted condensed tomato soup as part of the tomato base.

Condensed Unsalted Tomato Soup at Walmart

That gives the dish a nice tomato flavor and helps create the sauce without needing a high-sodium tomato bouillon product.

You may need to adjust the liquid slightly depending on how thick you want the finished dish.

That’s one of those things I do by eye.

If it looks too dry while the pasta is cooking, add a little more unsalted broth or water.

Use No-Salt-Added Rotel

This is another easy one.

Instead of regular Rotel, we use RO*TEL Original No Salt Added Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies.

RO*TEL No Salt Added Tomatoes and Green Chilies at Walmart

Same idea.

Same basic flavor.

Much better fit for the way I need to eat.

These are exactly the kinds of substitutions I like because you really aren’t changing the character of the meal.

You are just removing sodium that doesn’t need to be there.

Our Low-Sodium Version

Ingredients

• 1½ pounds ground beef or ground turkey
• 2 cups small pasta shells
• ¼ cup olive oil
• About 4 cups total liquid, using a combination of water and unsalted chicken broth
• 1 can unsalted condensed tomato soup
• 3 serrano peppers, diced
• ½ onion, chopped
• 1 can no-salt-added RO*TEL diced tomatoes and green chilies
• Chopped parsley
• Garlic powder, to taste
• Onion powder, to taste
• Black pepper, to taste
• 1 bay leaf
• Homemade No-Salt Sazón Seasoning, to taste

No added salt.

How We Make It

Brown the ground beef or ground turkey in a large, deep skillet until fully cooked.

If you are using beef, drain the excess fat.

Season the meat with black pepper and some of the homemade no-salt Sazón.

In a separate skillet, lightly brown the dry pasta shells in the olive oil.

The original recipe does this too, and I actually like the extra flavor it gives the pasta. 

Once the shells have a little color, stir them into the cooked meat.

Add the diced serrano peppers, chopped onion, no-salt-added Rotel, unsalted tomato soup, parsley, garlic powder, onion powder, bay leaf, and additional no-salt Sazón.

Then add your liquid.

I use a combination of unsalted chicken broth and water instead of the original granulated broth products.

Stir everything together.

Cover the skillet, reduce the heat, and simmer until the pasta shells are tender.

Keep an eye on it while it cooks.

If the pasta absorbs the liquid too quickly, add a little more unsalted broth or water.

Once the shells are cooked, remove the bay leaf and serve.

Why This One Works

This recipe has plenty of flavor without needing much help from salt.

You have:

• Serrano peppers
• Onion
• Garlic
• Cumin
• Coriander
• Oregano
• Tomato
• Green chilies
• Black pepper

There is a lot going on.

That is one of the things I have learned about low-sodium cooking.

If you take salt away from a bland recipe, you notice it immediately.

If you build flavor from spices, vegetables, peppers, herbs, and good cooking techniques, you miss the salt a lot less.

This dish is a good example of that.

Beef or Turkey?

We have made it both ways.

If you want the richer flavor, use ground beef.

If you want something a little lighter, ground turkey works really well.

The tomato, peppers, and Sazón provide so much flavor that the turkey doesn’t feel like some sad substitute.

Either one works.

I’d make it based on what you like and what fits your own dietary needs.

How Much Sodium Does This Save?

I’m not going to give an exact sodium-per-serving number for our version because it depends too much on the brands of pasta, meat, broth, tomato soup, and canned tomatoes you use.

But look at where the sodium is coming from in the original recipe.

It contains packaged Sazón, granulated chicken broth, granulated tomato broth, and regular Rotel. The original recipe estimates 841 mg of sodium per serving. 

Our version replaces those ingredients with:

• Homemade no-salt Sazón
• Unsalted chicken broth
• Unsalted tomato soup
• No-salt-added Rotel
• No added salt

That removes several major sodium sources before the food even hits the plate.

As always, read your own labels because products can change.

Another Recipe That Doesn’t Feel Like Diet Food

That’s probably my favorite thing about this meal.

It doesn’t taste like something we made because I’m on a sodium restriction.

It is just dinner.

The rest of the family can eat the same thing.

I can eat the same thing.

Nobody is sitting there thinking:

This would be good if we could only put some salt in it.

That is what I’m looking for with these recipes.

Food I can actually enjoy without feeling like every meal is another reminder of what I can’t have.

This one stays in the rotation.

Recipe Credit

This recipe was adapted from Pasta Shells with Ground Beef by Sweet Pea’s Kitchen. The original recipe and cooking method can be found here:

Original Pasta Shells with Ground Beef Recipe – Sweet Pea’s Kitchen

I modified the ingredients to significantly reduce sodium and to fit the way my family cooks.