Sole

Low FODMAP

Typical portion

Any typical portion Low

Sole is Low FODMAP, a plain white fish that is pure protein with no fermentable carbs to cause trouble.

As lean fish, sole is essentially protein and fat with negligible carbohydrate, so it carries no FODMAPs at any typical portion.

Keep it simple with a squeeze of lemon, fresh herbs, or garlic-infused oil, since heavy sauces or breading can bring in other ingredients that change the picture.

Why sole is rated low

Sole is low FODMAP. The rating is estimated from what the fish is made of, protein, water and fat with negligible carbohydrate, rather than from a portion weighed out in a study, and the serving data records "Any typical portion" as low. Nothing in a plain fillet ferments. Where sole differs from most fish is in how it is usually treated: it is a restaurant fish, and the classic preparations are exactly the ones that add FODMAPs to a plate that started with none. Sole meuniere, sole in a cream or veloute sauce, goujons in breadcrumbs, and anything built on a fish stock all shift the load off the fish and onto what surrounds it. The fillet stays low. The dish is the open question.

What changes your risk

Sauce and stock A veloute or white wine sauce is usually built on fish stock and shallot, and shallot is onion. This, rather than the fish, is what changes the rating of a plate of sole, and a stock cube or bouillon powder does the same thing more quietly.
Flour, crumb and batter Sole is often dusted in wheat flour before frying or crumbed as goujons. A light dusting of gluten free flour or cornflour browns the same way and keeps the dish closer to the plain fillet.
Butter and cream are not the same thing Butter is almost entirely fat and sits easily, which is useful because sole is so often cooked in it. A cream sauce is a different matter, since cream is not a low FODMAP dairy form, so reaching for lemon, capers and parsley over a cream reduction keeps the dish where the fish already is.
Serving size and the whole meal The data lists "Any typical portion" as low, and low is measured per serving rather than per meal. Sole contributes nothing to the total, so the bread, the potatoes and the sauce beside it are where the day's load actually accumulates.

What else works

Sole is already one of the easy choices, so the useful comparison is with other plain proteins that fill the same delicate, quick cooking role: plaice, other plain white fish, plain salmon, prawns, scallops and eggs. The versions that are not equivalent are the processed ones: crumbed goujons, sole in a ready made cream or mushroom sauce, fish pie and chowder built on milk, and restaurant dishes finished with a shallot reduction. For flavour, lemon, capers, parsley, chives, dill, the green tops of spring onions and garlic infused oil give sole everything it needs without a sauce base of onion.

How to keep it low

Sole is thin and cooks in a couple of minutes, which works in your favour: a hot pan, a little butter or garlic infused oil, a squeeze of lemon and it is done before a sauce ever becomes necessary. Ask the fishmonger to skin and fillet it so you are not tempted by a ready prepared breaded version. When ordering out, grilled or pan fried sole with lemon is the reliable request, and it is worth asking whether the sauce is made with shallot, since a kitchen will usually say yes and offer it on the side. Frozen plain fillets are fine, and the ingredient list should say fish and nothing else.

Common questions

is sole low fodmap

Yes. Sole is rated low FODMAP, with the serving data recording "Any typical portion" as low. The rating is estimated from what the fish is made of, since it has essentially no fermentable carbohydrate.

how much sole can i eat on a low fodmap diet

The data does not set a cap: "Any typical portion" is recorded as low. Treat it as a normal portion of fish and put the attention on the sauce and the sides.

is sole meuniere low fodmap

The fish and the butter are fine, but the flour dusting is wheat and many kitchens finish the pan with a stock or shallot. Made at home with gluten free flour, butter, lemon and parsley, it works.

can i eat sole on the elimination phase

Plain sole fits the elimination phase as written. The part to watch is the preparation, particularly cream sauces, breadcrumb coatings and anything built on fish stock or shallot.

Learn more

Informational only, not medical advice. Individual tolerance varies. Talk to a healthcare professional or a dietitian for personal guidance.

Sole is an estimated rating: it is inferred from the food's ingredients and composition and cross-checked, not measured directly in the papers below. The low, moderate and high cutoffs are still those of Varney et al. (2017).

References

Fructan and free fructose content of common Australian vegetables and fruit. Muir et al. (2007), J. Agricultural and Food Chemistry 55(16):6619-6627.
Measurement of short-chain carbohydrates in common Australian vegetables and fruits by HPLC. Muir et al. (2009), J. Agricultural and Food Chemistry 57(2):554-565.
Quantification of fructans, galacto-oligosaccharides and other short-chain carbohydrates in processed grains and cereals. Biesiekierski et al. (2011), J. Human Nutrition and Dietetics 24(2):154-176.
Dietary sorbitol and mannitol: food content and distinct absorption patterns. Yao et al. (2014), J. Human Nutrition and Dietetics 27(Suppl 2):263-275.
FODMAPs: food composition, defining cutoff values and international application. Varney et al. (2017), J. Gastroenterology and Hepatology 32(Suppl 1):53-61. Supplies the low, moderate and high cutoffs used on this page.