Is Adobo Good for You?

For many Latino families, reducing salt doesn’t have to mean sacrificing flavor and their favorite traditional dishes. 

Meals can still be rich and flavorful, supporting both cultural roots and heart health. You could use a lower-sodium or salt-free adobo mix. For example, Goya Adobo Light All-Purpose Seasoning has 50 percent less sodium than the original, and Loisa has a salt-free, zero-sodium version. But making your own adobo blend is easy and allows you to customize the mix to your taste, adding more or less of a particular flavor like garlic or cumin, Arevalo says. 

Salt-Free Adobo Mix

1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp ground paprika
1 tsp ground parsley
1 tsp ground oregano
½ tsp black pepper
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground turmeric

Arevalo also says you can use other ingredients that evoke Latin flavors in your cooking. These include tomatoes, sweet peppers, chili peppers, fresh cilantro, fresh parsley, or any other combination of flavors that give your dishes more complexity than salt.

That’s the approach my father-in-law Carlos has taken. He continues to make delicious meals for himself and his wife and for family gatherings using a variety of spices and fresh herbs to reduce the salt and not the flavor. “I use a lot of garlic, parsley, and cilantro,” he says. “And I use a seasoning that contains about 17 ingredients and there’s no salt in there.”