A terrific, highly versatile Everyday Cabbage Salad. Think of it like Coleslaw – minus the mayo dressing. Pairs brilliantly with light dishes like fish and seafood, as well as as rich hearty meals like roasts and stews. Can’t-Stop-Eating-It delicious!
A great Cabbage Salad for everything!
Keeping this post short and sweet because it’s an extra recipe I’m publishing today alongside the Brown Sugar Garlic Butter Pork Roast!
The dressing is a bit tangy (not sharp) with a touch of sweet, and it’s neutral enough to serve alongside almost any main, any Cuisine. I’d serve it as a side for almost any Western dish, it’s certainly at home with European dishes (Eastern and Western), South American and even Indian and Asian.
It’s an excellent stand by salad because cabbage holds up so well once chopped, so you can keep bags of the shredded cabbage in the fridge alongside a jar of the dressing, then toss it together when you need it.
Give it a bit of time to wilt, just like Coleslaw – the cabbage will sag and the salad becomes nice and juicy. Nobody wants to try to shove stiff bits of cabbage sticking out everywhere into their mouth!!
What I put in Cabbage Salad
I make this with just green cabbage (any type) or when I want to add a splash of colour, I mix it up with purple cabbage and carrot, as pictured. A touch of green onion wouldn’t go astray either, but there’s enough tang in the dressing such that it’s not required.
What this goes with
I call this my Everyday Cabbage Salad because it’s just that. Serve it with everything from Schnitzel to Pan Fried Fish, Meatloaf to Baked Chicken Breasts. Try it with these fabulous Sun Dried Tomato Stuffed Chicken breasts, quick crispy Garlic Chicken Thighs or these sticky Country Baked Pork Chops.
With a few little tweaks I’ve suggested in the recipe notes, it can be easily transformed into an Asian Salad to have as a side with any Asian food, including Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese. 🙂
Enjoy! – Nagi x
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Everyday Cabbage Salad
Ingredients
Salad:
- 5 cups shredded green cabbage
- 2 cups shredded red cabbage (or more green)
- 1 cup shredded carrot (or more cabbage)
Dressing:
- 1/4 cup cidar vinegar
- 2 tbsp oil (vegetable or canola, or light olive oil)
- 1 1/2 - 2 tbsp white sugar (adjust to taste)
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Shake Dressing ingredients in a jar. Start with 1 1/2 tbsp sugar and adjust to taste.
- Place Salad ingredients in a large bowl. Pour over Dressing, toss. Set aside 20 minutes - mound will reduce by almost half and become juicy! Serve.
Recipe Notes:
- Once dressed, the cabbage wilts and it becomes like Coleslaw which I love, so I have this for 2 to 3 days after dressing the Coleslaw.
- Storage / make ahead - I like to keep the chopped cabbage and dressing in the fridge, ready to use as required. It lasts up to a week, depending on how fresh the cabbage is!
- This recipe is an extra recipe I'm sharing as a side to this slow roasted Brown Sugar Garlic Butter Pork.
- Garlic is always a welcome addition to the dressing, but if you do add it, the dressing is only good for 3 days (on salad or in jar).
- Asian - Use rice vinegar instead of cider vinegar, add 2 tsp of soy sauce instead of the salt, and 2 tsp sesame oil. 1 tsp grated ginger and 1 minced garlic clove would be a bonus. Serve alongside Asian mains.
- Indian Style - use 3 tbsp of oil, heat in small pan over medium heat and sauté 1 finely chopped garlic. When it is starting to turn golden, add 1 tsp of cumin seeds. Allow to cool then use in Dressing. Serve alongside Indian main dishes.
- Middle Eastern - add a handful of torn mint leaves or coriander/cilantro leaves or a mix of both. Serve alongside Middle Eastern main dishes.
- Mexican - use lime in place of the vinegar and extra virgin oil as the oil, and add 1 garlic clove, minced. A handful of coriander/cilantro leaves would be ideal too. Serve alongside Mexican mains.
- Mediterranean - Use red wine vinegar instead of cider vinegar, add 1 garlic clove minced, and 2 tsp of dried oregano. Serve alongside Mediterranean mains.
Nutrition Information:
LIFE OF DOZER
When Dozer came dress shopping…. I live in a very dog friendly area!
Holy cow this was perfect! I sliced up two heads of cabbage and quadrupled the dressing recipe. I am both proud and embarrassed to say I almost ate the whole container in one afternoon by myself. I mixed it up after lunch and let it sit on the counter as a side dish for supper. And I kept taking little bites out of the bowl every time I walked by. There was barely any left after supper so I stood at the counter and polished it off with a fork. I now realize I cannot be trusted with this recipe. I am going to mix up a huge batch of dressing in a mason jar and pour over cabbage as I go along. This was so deliciously dangerous that I have not stopped talking about it for weeks. It has been labeled “the Cabbage incident” in my household. My husband was standing there when he saw the cabbage sliced up as I was pouring the dressing over and is still in awe that I pretty much ate two heads of cabbage by myself. You knocked it out of the park with this one, Nagi! Thank you for such an easy light recipe!
Refreshing and tasty. Made it to go along with a pasta with meat sauce dinner because I didn’t have any fresh greens. It went along with the meal beautifully. I’m going to try the variations, too. Thanks for a recipe that’s a keeper!
Can I use only purple cabbage? I have a lot that I need to use up.
This is a super simple but delicious way to use up a pile of cabbage. I was hoping for leftovers for lunch but my 10yo finished off the bowl!
Hi Nagi,
After reading your post about your cook book being on special at BigW I purchased it.
Yesterday I cooked Fried Noodles with Noodles and Bacon”
OMG is all I can say…it was sooo yummy and easy. I couldn’t stop eating it.
Thank you Nagi for putting out such a beautiful book.
Thank you for sharing your amazing recipes. In the past week, I’ve made your French toast, pancakes, coleslaw, and sloppy joes. My next dish I’ll be making is your lasagna. Truly delicious and I rarely leave a comment. You’re amazing!
Had a last minute cookout and this recipe looked easy. Was really good. Replaced sugar with maple syrup. Cabbage softened after putting in the dressing as stated which made it soft but not mushy. Will make again.
Hello! I made the Mediterranean version to have with your delicious Greek chicken, very delicious as always! Thank you Nagi!
In my opinion the dressing doesn’t need nearly as much sugar.
It was a sarcastic reference to comments on other recipes.. hence the lol.
Very nice lite side
This is a terrific recipe that makes a delicious slaw. It’s become our go-to for a simple, flavorful salad. Thank you Nagi!
Hi Nagi is there a suitable substitute to replace the cabbage with? My husband not a fan of cabbage. Thanks..lol
With all due respect, if you’d like to replace the cabbage in a *Cabbage Salad*, I would just find another salad recipe.
I just saw your site.I’m going to try the Cabbage Salad and the dressing.
So simple and so delicious! Thank you for sharing!
I just saw your website and really want to try your recipes. Everything I see looks delicious. I will start making the cabbage salad tomorrow!
Welcome to RecipeTin Eats Patricia! Happy cooking!! N x
Hello Nagi
I am a gourmet cook living in Cocoa Beach Florida. I ask my wife what she wants foe dinner and look up her request on the internet. I find your site coming up numerus times and all your recipes turn out fabulous. keep up the great work and you have a fan and follower forever.
Dan
Nice variety. The ingredients can be swapped so everyone should find something they like
It’s a very versatile recipe for sure! N x
This is an excellent recipe. It is simple, endlessly riffable, and most importantly, delicious. Well done!
So good! I added green onion and Shredded Brussel sprouts to mine. I also switched the sugar out for allulose, a sugar free substitute because I’m diabetic. Delicious!
I just LOVE the pictures of Dozer! He is just adorable!!
He IS adorable…when he’s not being a food pest! N x