Green cabbage is not high in potassium. It’s actually classified as a low-potassium food, which is why it shows up so often on kidney-friendly diet lists. However, the answer changes depending on the type of cabbage and how you prepare it.
Where Cabbage Falls on the Potassium Scale
Foods are generally grouped into three potassium categories: low (100 mg or less per serving), medium (101 to 200 mg), and high (201 mg or more). A cup of shredded raw green cabbage, about 70 grams, contains only around 3% of the daily value for potassium. For context, adults need between 2,600 mg (women) and 3,400 mg (men) per day, so a serving of green cabbage barely registers.
That makes green cabbage one of the lowest-potassium vegetables you can eat. Compare that to a medium banana at roughly 420 mg or a baked potato at over 900 mg, and cabbage looks like an entirely different category of food.
Potassium Varies by Cabbage Type
Not all cabbage is created equal when it comes to potassium. The National Kidney Foundation classifies green cabbage as low potassium but places red cabbage in the medium-potassium category. If you’re choosing between the two for a potassium-restricted diet, green is the safer pick.
Asian varieties spread across the spectrum even more. Chinese cabbage (sometimes labeled napa or pe-tsai) falls into the medium-potassium range at 101 to 200 mg per serving. Bok choy, which many people think of as a type of cabbage, crosses into the high-potassium category at 201 mg or more. So while “cabbage” as a general term sounds low in potassium, the specific variety matters quite a bit.
How Cooking and Fermenting Change the Numbers
Preparation method can shift potassium content significantly. Boiling cabbage in water leaches some potassium out, which can lower the amount you actually consume, especially if you discard the cooking water. This is a common technique for people managing kidney disease who want to reduce potassium intake from vegetables.
Fermentation works in the opposite direction. A cup of sauerkraut contains about 241 mg of potassium, pushing it firmly into the high-potassium category. The fermentation process concentrates the cabbage (you’re eating far more cabbage per cup when it’s been broken down and packed into a jar), and the brine retains minerals. If you’re watching your potassium, raw or boiled green cabbage is a much different food than a generous serving of sauerkraut.
Why This Matters for Kidney Health
People searching this question often have a specific reason: they’re on a potassium-restricted diet, typically because of chronic kidney disease. When your kidneys can’t efficiently filter potassium from your blood, levels can build up and affect heart rhythm. Green cabbage is one of the go-to vegetables recommended for renal diets precisely because it delivers fiber, vitamin C, and vitamin K without adding a meaningful amount of potassium.
If you’re following a renal diet, stick with green cabbage and be cautious with red cabbage, napa cabbage, and especially bok choy. Sauerkraut and kimchi, while nutritious in other ways, pack enough potassium per serving to be worth tracking carefully.
Cabbage Compared to Other Leafy Greens
Most leafy greens carry more potassium than green cabbage. Spinach, Swiss chard, and beet greens are all high-potassium foods. Even romaine and leaf lettuce deliver more per serving. Green cabbage sits at the bottom of the leafy green potassium ladder, which makes it unusually versatile for people who need to limit their intake but still want to eat vegetables in volume.
For anyone not restricting potassium, this also means cabbage isn’t a great source if you’re trying to increase your intake. Most adults fall short of the recommended 2,600 to 3,400 mg per day. If boosting potassium is your goal, you’d be better served by potatoes, beans, bananas, or leafy greens like spinach. Cabbage has plenty of nutritional strengths, but potassium isn’t one of them.