The Tastiest Red Cabbage Salad Recipe (Easy to Make!)

This Red Cabbage Salad Recipe is a healthy and colorful way to incorporate more vegetables into your family diet. I certainly try to.

And this is one of the tastiest ways to do that. With bright flavors, a zesty kick from lemon juice, and packed with red cabbage goodness, this salad is absolutely perfect.

I highly recommend this pretty, colorful, light, crunchy, flavorful, and satisfying salad to be on a rotating dinner salad list in many kitchens.

It’s a fresh idea and a good-tasting salad that works with many main dishes and meat combinations.

Table of Contents

• What is a Red Cabbage Salad?
• Is Red Cabbage Healthy for You?
• How to Pick the Best Cabbage for Red Cabbage Salad Recipe
• How to Shred Cabbage?
• How to Shred Cabbage Using a Knife
• What You Need to Make Red Cabbage Salad at Home
• How to Make Red Cabbage Salad (Step-by-Step)
• What Goes with Red Cabbage Salad?
• Can You Make This Salad Ahead of Time?
• What Else Can You Add in Red Cabbage Salad
• How to Store Red Cabbage Salad
• Similar Salad Recipes
• Recipe Card
• The Tastiest Red Cabbage Salad Recipe (Easy to Make!)
• Comments

What is a Red Cabbage Salad?

Red cabbage salad is a salad packed with flavor and is also easy to make. As the name suggests, it has shredded cabbage that soaks up in a delicious salad dressing to give you an unforgettable flavor.

It’s the perfect side dish and it also happens to be different from a red cabbage slaw recipe. Instead, this recipe is free of mayonnaise and is also low in sodium and calories.

It’s the best alternative there is to coleslaw while still giving you a delicious taste that’s comforting. Once you try this recipe, you’re going to fall in love with it.

Is Red Cabbage Healthy for You?

The addition of the pretty red-colored cabbage is not only gorgeous but gives us more nutrients.

Red cabbage contains more than four times the amount of phytonutrients than green cabbage and has 6-8 times more Vitamin C than green cabbage.

Moreover, red cabbage is high in vitamin K and contains some calcium, magnesium, and zinc, all of which can help build and maintain healthy bones. It's also packed with fiber, which aids digestion and keeps your digestive system healthy.

It’s the perfect veggie to include in our diet as we go through stressful times. We need all the strength we can get, and this salad is going to help your immune system stay strong and healthy.

How to Pick the Best Cabbage for Red Cabbage Salad Recipe

Picking the right red cabbage is absolutely essential to getting the right flavor.

Choose cabbages with large, dense, and firm heads. Red cabbage should feel heavy with bright colorful and crisp leaves without any cracks, discoloration, or bruises.

How to Shred Cabbage?

Shredding cabbage is incredibly easy. Here’s how to do it step by step.

• First, remove outer damaged or browned leaves.
• Place the cabbage stem side down onto a large cutting board or work surface.
• Using a salad or chef's knife cut the cabbage in half lengthwise all the way through the core.
• Using a cabbage shredder, chef’s knife, or mandolin slice the cabbage into desired thickness. I recommend ⅛ inch thickness when shredding.

How to Shred Cabbage Using a Knife

Don't own a cabbage shredder, no problems. You can shred cabbage using a knife.

Place half of the cabbage cut-side-down on the cutting board. Starting at the end opposite the stem, cut crosswise from top to bottom into preferred slices in thickness.

I recommend ⅛ inches thickness. Slice nearly to the core then discard the core. You can follow the exact same method using a mandolin as well.

What You Need to Make Red Cabbage Salad at Home

You only need some simple veggies and pantry-staple items to make this red cabbage salad recipe at home. Here’s what you’ll need:

Veggies for the Salad:

• Green cabbage: The leaves of green cabbages have a pale green color and they taste mild with a slightly rubbery, yet crunch texture. They will add a delicious base to the salad along with red cabbages.
• Red cabbage: Red cabbages are slightly different from regular green cabbage. It has dark reddish-purple leaves, which have a relatively deeper and earthier flavor to them. They taste incredible and will be the dominant, delicious flavor in the salad.
• English cucumber: Cucumbers add a lovely freshness to just about any salad. In this red cabbage salad recipe, we’ll be using English cucumbers because they’re smaller and have little to no seeds.
• Green onions: They add a beautiful slightly sharp touch to the salad and add a kick to it as well.
• Lemon: We’ll be squeezing the juice of a lemon to get a kick of acidity in the salad.

For the Salad Dressing

• Olive oil: We’ll be needing some extra virgin olive oil for our salad dressing to bring all the flavors together and disperse it perfectly.
• Sea salt: You’ll also need some salt to enhance the flavor and balance everything out.
• Black ground pepper: Another thing we’ll need is some black pepper to add a touch of heat to the salad.
• Fresh dill: Dill adds a lovely herbal freshness and goes incredibly well in terms of flavor with the red cabbage in this side dish. We’ll be needing one tablespoon of chopped fresh dill for the recipe.

How to Make Red Cabbage Salad (Step-by-Step)

This Red Cabbage Salad recipe is so easy to make. Here’s what you’ll need to do step by step:

First, rinse all the vegetables. Shred green and red cabbage in a large bowl. Squeeze ½ a lemon over the cabbage, mix it up, and set it aside while you're chopping the rest of the ingredients

Next, slice cucumbers and chop green onions. Add to the shredded cabbage.

Finally, sprinkle with dill, salt, and pepper and drizzle with oil. Whisk to combine, and serve right away.

Note: You may also prep this salad ahead. Chop all of the salad ingredients, cover the bowl with a lid or plastic food wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve. Before serving, drizzle the lemon juice, sprinkle fresh dill and seasonings, drizzle the oil, mix and serve.

What Goes with Red Cabbage Salad?

This cabbage salad recipe goes really well dish a lot of tasty dinner recipes, like my famous Standing Ribeye Roast and Instant pot mashed potatoes.

It also pairs well with Crusted Parmesan Chicken Breasts and rice or buckwheat. Oh, and don't forget the most delicious Dutch Oven White Crusty Bread to go with it too.

Another dish that this salad is frequently served with is some fish tacos. You can serve them as part of the tacos, on top of grilled hamburgers, or on the side of a delicious chicken sandwich.

Can You Make This Salad Ahead of Time?

Yes, you can, except that tossing the dressing in ahead of time will cause the vegetables to wilt.

So, to make this ahead of time, you can slice all the vegetables and place them into a bowl. Cover a bowl with a lid or food wrap and keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

Drizzle olive oil and season the salad right before serving.

What Else Can You Add in Red Cabbage Salad

This salad is absolutely perfect as is if you follow the recipe properly, but there are some things you can add to customize it to your own preferences.

Here are some ideas you can try:

Protein: If you want to make it more filling, you can incorporate some extra protein into your salad. Adding in some cooked, chopped bacon bits, chopped grilled chicken, etc will go really well with this salad.

Fruits: To add a little fruity touch to this salad, you can add some sliced or diced apples, dried cranberries, or even some grapes. They’ll all enhance the flavor of the red cabbage even more.

Nuts: Do you like nuts? Then you can add in some extra crunch with chopped walnuts, cashews, or sliced almonds. Pecans go great too!

How to Store Red Cabbage Salad

To maximize the shelf life of this wonderful salad refrigerate it in airtight containers for up to 24 hrs.

After that period, the salad will wilt and gradually become watery and not appealing as the freshly made.

Similar Salad Recipes

• Cabbage and Cucumber Salad
• Crab Salad Recipe
• Cabbage Carrots and Peppers Salad
• Tossed Cucumber Salad Recipe
• Purple Cabbage Tomato Salad

Looking for more salad recipes? Check out the Salad Category for many more delicious salads.

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This recipe was originally posted on January 4, 2018 (original picture below), and updated for a better user experience. The post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure.