This Cabbage Salad is tossed with a sweet sesame-lime dressing and makes a delicious alternative to creamy coleslaw. Bring it to your next party for a side dish that will impress your friends & family!
Ingredients You’ll Need
A simple combination of lime juice, toasted sesame oil, apple cider vinegar, garlic, and ginger make up the dressing. It takes just minutes to stir together.
If you don’t have limes, you can use lemons instead. And feel free to use any other vegetables you have on hand, such as red bell pepper. To save time, you can even use a store-bought coleslaw mix which usually includes a blend of shredded cabbage and carrots.
How to Make the Best Cabbage Salad
1. Mix the salad dressing.
Combine the lime juice, vinegar, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, honey, and salt in a large bowl.
Use a whisk to mix well, then set it aside while you chop the veggies.
2. Prepare the vegetables.
Use a sharp knife and cutting board to chop the cilantro and green onions. If you’re working with a whole head of green cabbage, remove the outer leaves, then finely slice it. You’ll most likely only need half a head of cabbage for this recipe (about 1 pound), and feel free to use red cabbage or a mix of both for extra color.
Next, shred the carrots using a box grater or food processor attachment.
3. Toss.
Add the chopped veggies and cilantro to the bowl of dressing, and toss well until everything is coated. Let the salad marinate for 15 minutes for the best flavor.
Taste the salad and make any adjustments as needed. Add an extra splash of lime juice or vinegar to make the flavor tart, or add a little more honey for extra sweetness. Add an extra pinch of salt or a splash of soy sauce to boost the overall flavor. Or, add a few crushed red pepper flakes or freshly ground black pepper for some spice.
If you’d like to add extra crunchiness, add sliced almonds or walnuts just before serving. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. You may need to brighten up the flavor as it sits by adding a squeeze of lime or lemon juice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can stir the cabbage salad dressing up to 4 days in advance and store it in an airtight container in the fridge. Pour it over the salad veggies at least 15 minutes before serving it so the flavors can meld.
Replace the honey with agave or maple syrup for a vegan-friendly option.
Yes, rice vinegar makes a great substitute for apple cider vinegar, or you can use champagne vinegar if you keep that in your pantry.
Looking for more cabbage salad recipes? Try Asian Coleslaw, Thai Salad with Peanut Dressing, or my popular Detox Salad with Lemon Ginger Dressing.
Cabbage Salad
Ingredients
Salad Ingredients:
- 1 pound shredded cabbage (about ½ head)
- 2 shredded carrots (or 1 cup)
- 3 green onions , chopped (about ½ cup)
- ½ cup fresh cilantro , chopped
- ½ cup sliced almonds (optional crunch)
Cabbage Salad Dressing:
- 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 garlic clove , minced (about 1 teaspoon)
- 1 inch fresh ginger , minced (about 1 tablespoon; or 1 teaspoon ground)
- ½ teaspoon sea salt , plus more to taste
Instructions
- Combine the lime juice, vinegar, honey, toasted sesame oil, garlic, ginger, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk well to combine.
- Add the shredded cabbage, carrots, green onion, and cilantro, then toss well to coat everything with the dressing. Allow the salad to marinate for at least 15 minutes to let the flavors meld.
- Taste the salad again just before serving, and make any adjustments as needed. Add extra salt to boost the flavor, or a pinch of black pepper or red pepper flakes for extra spice. Top with sliced almonds for added crunch, and enjoy!
- Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
If you try this cabbage salad recipe, please leave a comment and star rating below, letting me know how you like it.
Thanks! I can’t wait to try it.
mmmm this looks amazing, i think i’ll use a tbsp tahini instead of just the sesame oil!
Great idea!
Oooo! This looks really good! Cabbage is one of those foods I love, but always forget about. I’ll have to plan to make this sometime!
This salad sounds wonderful. I’ve been loving cilantro and cabbage lately, and I love how just the smallest bit of sesame oil adds such a big punch of flavor to a dish. I’ll be adding this to my weekly rotation for sure!
This looks great. Is it okay for those with low thyroid function due to the raw cabbage?
Also, is there an alternative oil for sesame oil? I am allergic to sesame seeds, so I’m not sure about the oil.
Thanks.
THis sounds awesome. Can’t wait to make it.
Thank you.
Thanks for posting the recipe. Looks delicious.
I have a double batch of this marinating in my fridge now. From the sampling I took, this is amazing! Thanks for the recipe!
Yum! Thank you! Now I can have my favorite salad at home. 🙂 Maybe you can do their salmon next.
Hi! I can’t wait to try this recipe. Is there truth to eating too many orange vegetables can turn your skin orange? What is your knowledge on the topic? Thanks!
Hello yes its true its the carateen in the vegetables but you have to eat A LOT.
Yes, I worked for a gastroenterology st for 15 years and we had a patient who came in orange colored for jaundice. Found out he wasn’t jaundice but ate way too many orange produce.
Made this for lunch today….actually my husband made it (LOVE that your recipes are easy enough that he can do them) and it was delicious! Thanks!
Just made the salad so great!!
Very light indeed! I made this last night and though it had a great flavor, it was not filling at all for my 6′ 5″ husband. While we were eating it, he suggested serving leftovers over rice and maybe adding a bit of chicken so that’s what I did today and it was amazing! We don’t often have chicken but this dish was great with baked chicken seasoned with an orange ginger seasoning salt and a bit of grass fed butter. I also used volcano rice instead of a brown rice. Similar taste but rich with minerals! Thanks for the recipe!
I just made this exactly as the recipe dictates and it was DELICIOUS. I will be keeping this in the rotation for sure. (For some reason, this reply box won’t let me give it five stars, so it gets four…but it is really a five star recipe.)
Delicious! The whole family enjoyed this salad, and it was super easy to make.
I love this salad! I actually let it sit for two days in the fridge before I got around to eating it. The flavors stewed nicely, and the cabbage is still crisp! I added WAY too much lime juice (and probably too much ACV), so I ended up doubling the amount of honey, sesame seeds and added some stevia as well. Hah. I probably made enough dressing for 3X the amount of cabbage :P. Next time I’ll go easy on the lime juice and vinegar. Nice flavors though!
This is a great recipe! It has a lot of ingredients- so for me at least- it took a bit to prepare, but it’s delicious! Will definitely make again!
i absolutely love this dressing. used lemon instead of lime since i didn’t have any on hand but it still turned out awesome! Thank you 🙂
This is my new favorite salad! I love the way the flavors pop and how the little bit of sesame oil packs a huge flavor punch. I love your blog!!
I love lime, so I love this salad! Used maple syrup instead of honey…not sure why!!
I wasn’t following you before now, even though I have been making your choco pb banana milkshakes for treats for my family fairly often after finding that recipe on Pinterest.
Today I did a Pinterest search for cabbage salad and this recipe came up and I’m planning to make it tonight. Because of that I am now following you on Pinterest, FB and Twitter for more healthy recipe inspiration 🙂 I am always trying something new!
Really good combination! I added some toasted sesame seeds also.
Just made this and it tastes great! Added some crockpot shredded chicken. This will make a whole weeks worth of lunches for me!
I just made this yesterday and it is AMAZING! I agree that one needs to taper the dressing to one’s taste as some people like more sweet and others more tart. I doubles this recipe…and used 3 limes for 1/2 cup juice. But for the honey, I only used 3 tablespoons instead of 4 and then slowly added a small amount of stevia (natural sweetener) to get the dressing to exactly my taste….and I added more sesame oil than what was recommended, and subsituted garlic instead of shallot as I only had garlic on hand. This slaw is even better the next day! My boyfriend loved this too!! Thanks!!
As a raw food vegan I’m always looking for new ways to prepare raw vegetables. This salad turned out wonderful. It was crunchy and sweet and tangy. I will be making it a lot in the future.
Great way to use that 1/2 a cabbage you forget about! Super delicious, someone just gifted me from honey from their hives, so I used it, modified to 1Tbl. And was perfect for me. Threw in toasted sesame seeds and some hemp hearts for a little texture and color. Thanks for your wonderful recipes!
Just made this and its amazingly good. Tweaked the dressing a bit and used half stevia…I also added fresh parsely and basil I had in the garden.
I just made this and the flavor is just what I wanted, a hint of ginger, light sesame oil with citrus. I can see that this won’t last long in my household. I substituted 1 medium garlic clove for the shallots and I added raw almonds. I can’t wait to have this tomorrow after the dressing has blended well with the salad. Thank you for this great recipe~!
Loved this salad! Thank you for sharing it.
Hi. Im older and don’t do facebook or instagram. I also hate cooking and like you trying to change my eating habits. I can follow a recipe but Im neither ADVENTUROUS or creative. Ive bought all this healthy stuff and now I don’t know what to do with it. Do you have any ideas for an easy recipe for shredded cabbage,and quorn,
Egg roll in a bowl : )
Just whipped up this salad tonight. Had to improvise on some ingredients as i didnt have them all. Added 1/4 cup chopped mint leaves from my garden & it was a nice addition. Love the lime juice as i have limes in my garden too and never ebough uses for them! Thx
I made a double recipe because I have two HUGE heads of cabbage! I did add some soy sauce and hajiki seaweed to it some black sesame seeds!
Thanks for the recipe! It’s delicious!
This was a little too tart. The sweet and sour was off a bit. Really liked the concept, but it didn’t work for us. Next time, I’ll try and treak it with some more honey and experiment, too tart as is. Thanks for the basis idea though….
Have you tried this recipe with olive oil?
The sesame oil in this recipe when I made it seemed out of place, overpowering. Ruined it. I’ll try it again with EVOO and rice vinegar
I agree even though I have not made it I will sub the 1 TBSP sesame oil with 2 tsp olive oil and 1 tsp sesame oil and rice vinegar sounds like a better match as well. Thanks for the suggestions!
I truly enjoyed this salad/slaw! I love cilantro so it was a good change. I also added fresh jalapeños thinly sliced for a kick. I will definitely make this again.
My husband and I really liked the dressing. I plan on using it for other salads. Thank you for your recipe posts. I look forward to trying more.
I really appreciated the section on how to adjust for flavor! I used to think that just meant add more salt if needed but this was a great description of what to do to make a dressing just right.
Such a deliciously satisfying use of a green cabbage.
Loved it! Have made it twice in 2 days.
Great for summer. I didn’t have any cilantro, and subbed olive oil for the sesame and it was still good!
Made this as written, except reduced the sesame oil based on another commenter’s recommendation. Turns out I’ve been adding more sesame oil as I’ve been serving it.
Will make again and put the full amount of sesame oil in. It’s really great for me as the recipe is written.
It’s hard to imagine that these simple ingredients would taste this good when put together. Really so good. This is lunch for several days this week.
Very refreshing taste and so easy to make. I didn’t care for the sesame oil flavor, however, which surprised me because I usually love it. When I make this again I’ll omit the sesame oil and green onion and add some finely shredded red onion instead.
Excellent, easy, delicious!!! Doubled this recipe the first time trying for a family Father’s Day dinner. Huge hit! The flavors were amazing & made me think of a salad I’ve had before with chow mein or ramen noodles on top, but no soy in it at all. I can no longer have soy products & this will be a treasured recipe for a long time to come!! Thank you for sharing!!!!!
All salads are really tasty n easily available ingredients thank u
This salad is amazing! Those of you looking to change something on this recipe ie. sesame oil, why don’t you go find a recipe that suits your particular needs? I knew I wanted a cabbage salad to take to a family dinner but I can’t have soy or gluten. This recipe was the 5th I looked at for ingredients I could eat. Go find a recipe that works for you. This recipe is delicious, light & full of flavor! Even family members that aren’t fans of cabbage took some home for lunch the next day. Thank you for sharing this!!!
I liked it, but I felt like something was missing from the dressing. I added some Braggs liquid aminos and it was delicious!
I luv how you give the measurements for your ingredients in your recipes! A clove of garlic or an inch of fresh ginger, can vary depending on its size. 🙂
Salad was delicious and I will definitely be making it again. I would like to try it with chicken added. Thank you. Great recipe!
I’ve made this multiple times this summer and absolutely love the flavor! I’ve used red cabbage and enjoyed it just as much as with the green cabbage. I’ve used it to add to salads and with chicken. It’s delicious!
I was looking for a side recipe for Korean BBQ chicken and found this. I had all the ingredients and gave it a go. Wow! The salad hasn’t had time to meld yet but even “fresh” it tastes fantastic! I used the bagged slaw, red onion (for shallots), and the cilantro. I can’t wait to enjoy in the morning! Thank you!
Ooh, I bet this is great with Korean BBQ! I hope it’s a hit!