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Easy Purple Cabbage Salad – antioxidant packed, light, fresh and delicious, vibrant, crunchy and nutty bowl of goodness. This cabbage salad is amazing! You can add or remove ingredients, depending on your personal preferences.
Quick and simple to make, great for a side dish. Make for parties and celebrations, but you can also pack it for lunch.
Add a little bit of mayonnaise and Dijon mustard to turn it into a creamy cole slaw.
And why add sunflower seeds to a salad? Because they are rich in protein, vitamin E and Magnesium. I have not seen a lot of salad recipes calling for sunflower seeds, but in the past I used to add them to a lot of my salads. They pair especially well with this red cabbage salad and complement its texture.
Tired of mixed greens, baby spinach and lettuce? It may be time to make a cabbage salad.
And let’s not forget that cabbage is one of those widely available, inexpensive vegetables, that could sit in the crisper of your fridge.
Purple cabbage in a salad
Why use purple cabbage in a salad?
Purple (Red) cabbage is nutrient rich vegetable, which is widely popular around the world. It is used in various recipes like soups, salads and warm dishes. In salads it adds a spike of vibrant color and nice texture. You may see tiny pieces of it in packaged mixed green salads.
It belongs to the same family as cabbage, broccoli, kale and Brussel sprouts.
The taste and texture of purple cabbage is similar to green cabbage, but it is richer in vitamins and antioxidants.
Read more about its benefits here.
This is what makes purple cabbage perfect for raw salads like this one.
Red cabbage has a slight “peppery” taste, but if you don’t have any on hand, green cabbage can be used in this salad.
How to cut purple cabbage for a salad/slaw.
While a mandolin slicer or a food processor with a grating blade are awesome for chopping cabbage, I often cut it with a sharp knife on a cutting board. If I have any leftover cabbage, I store it chopped in a zip lock bag in the fridge for up to 1 week (it can last longer).
Here is how I cut cabbage, without a food processor and mandolin slicer:
- Remove the outer leaves, cut in half and rinse the cabbage.Dry well with paper towels.
- Place each half cut side down on a cutting board, then cut into quarters.
- Remove the cores by cutting them off on all 4 quarters.
- Cut cabbage into thinly sliced pieces. For longer strands, cut through the length of the cabbage and for short ones, cut the opposite way.
Can you make this salad in advance.
While you can prep the vegetables for up to 2 days in advance (chop the cabbage, grate the carrot and slice the cucumber), the salad dressing should be added no more than 6 hours prior to serving. I recommend that you add the toasted sunflower seeds right before serving.
The salad dressing can be made up to 2 days in advance.
Ingredients:
- Red (purple) cabbage – it has a mild, slightly peppery taste and it is a little denser than green cabbage. (green cabbage can be substituted, if this is what you have)
- Carrots (grated, they add color, sweetness and vitamins to the salad)
- Cucumbers (optional)
- Sunflower seeds (rich in Vitamin E and flavonoids, these also add extra crunch )
- Olive oil (vegetable or avocado oil can be used)
- Apple cider vinegar (lemon juice can be substituted)
- Honey or maple syrup (the sweetener is needed to balance the sourness of the vinegar/lemon juice)
- Salt
- Black pepper
More healthy salads:
Purple cabbage is used in a very popular Israeli cabbage salad recipe.
Purple Cabbage Salad Recipe
Ingredients
Salad:
- 6 cups purple cabbage
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 1 cup chopped cucumber
- 1/4 cup sunflower seeds, roasted
Dressing:
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp honey
Instructions
- Place the cabbage, carrots, cucumber and sunflower seeds in a bowl.
- In a small jar combine olive oil, apple cider vinegar, salt and sweetener. Shake to combine.
- Pour on top of the salad. Toss to combine. Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I’m always asked to make this salad. Everyone seems to love it !
I added fresh parsley and will definitely make it again!
So good!
So easy and delicious!! Even my 4 year old daughter eats this and I was even able to sneak in some chopped up kale.