This Asian Cabbage Salad is one of my favorites to whip up and keep in my fridge. You’ll find several Asian-style salads on Our Best Bites and I love them all for different reasons. Here’s a love list for this particular Asian Cabbage Salad:
- It’s flexible. You can toss anything in it that you think would be good. Whatever veggies you happen to have on hand. It’s one of those ‘clean out the fridge’ salads.
- It keeps well. Lettuce salads get wilted and gross the longer they sit, but this salad only gets better, which makes it a great option for a party, potluck, or picnic.
- It’s easy to size up or down. Make a huge batch or just enough for two.
- It’s quick. It starts with a pre-packaged bag of coleslaw, so you save time chopping. Plus you can prepare everything ahead of time and just throw it together when you’re ready.
- It’s healthy. News flash: Not all salads are healthy. This one is full of fresh vegetables and the dressing has very little oil (pretty rare) so it’s very low-calorie.
Ingredients Needed
This is just a preview of ingredients and method, keep scrolling for full printable recipe.
Salad
- Bagged coleslaw mix – Just shredded cabbage or a shredded cabbage and carrot mix. No dressing needed!
- Celery
- Cucumber
- Sugar snap peas – You could also use snow peas if you enjoy them.
- Red bell pepper
- Red onion
- Toasted sesame seeds
- Toasted almonds – Slivered or sliced.
- Cooked chicken – Optional
Dressing
- Neutral oil of choice – Light olive oil or canola oil are great options.
- Apple cider vinegar – Use a good quality vinegar with the mother, like Bragg’s.
- Seasoned rice wine vinegar – Regular would be ok, too. Seasoned rice wine vinegar just has a little added sugar and salt to intensify the flavor.
- Granulated sugar – Or the equivalent of a sugar substitute.
- Salt
- Soy sauce
- Garlic – You can use a fresh clove of garlic or garlic powder.
- Black pepper
- Sesame oil
How to Make and Asian Cabbage Salad
- I love a good shortcut salad, so this one starts out with bagged shredded cabbage. Then you’ll add a bunch of fresh vegetables to it. I use celery, bell pepper, onion, cucumber, and snap peas but you can literally toss anything in here you like! Just toss all of the salad ingredients together, and this part can totally be done ahead of time.
- The super simple dressing has only a small amount of oil in it and it can be made ahead of time as well. When it’s ready, just toss everything together. It always feels like there’s not quite enough dressing at first, but the trick is to let this salad sit and marinate for about 20 minutes or so (longer won’t hurt it either!) and it all comes together. Finish it off with some toasted almonds and sesame seeds right before serving.
Storing and Other Tips
- Store the finished salad, dressed and all, in an airtight container in the fridge and enjoy within 3-5 days for best results. The cabbage and veggies stay crunchy for several days/
- If you’d rather, you could always store components separately and assemble single servings as needed. But this salad is really great once it’s had a chance to sit and chill for a bit!
- You can eat this plain, as a great side dish, or add chicken to it for a main-dish meal. I love it with grilled Asian BBQ Chicken!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make this ahead of time?
Yes! This salad is great for potlucks and parties because you can assemble it completely and just let it hang out in the fridge until needed.
How do I toast the almonds?
You can toast almonds in a dry skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, until they’re golden and fragrant. You can also toast sesame seeds this way if desired!
Is the dressing spicy?
It is not, but you could add some red pepper to the mix if you’d like a little spice.
Asian Cabbage Salad
An incredibly light, but filling cabbage-based salad filled with fresh veggies.
Servings cups (4-6 main dish salads or 8-10 side salads)
Ingredients
- 1 14-16 oz bag coleslaw mix
- 1 rib celery sliced
- ½ cucumber sliced
- 1 small handful sugar snap peas about 20 baby ones
- ½ red bell pepper sliced
- ¼ of a small red onion thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
- ⅓ cup slivered or sliced toasted almonds
- Optional: 1 ½ cups chicken cooked, shredded or diced
Dressing:
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
- ¼ cup seasoned rice wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons sugar or equivalent of sugar substitute
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder or one small garlic clove, minced
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
Instructions
Instructions:
- Begin by making dressing. Combine all ingredients in a sealed jar and shake Store in the fridge until ready to use.
- Place all salad ingredients in a bowl
- For best results, pour on the dressing and toss to coat 20 minutes before serving. When you pour the dressing on you might think it’s not quite enough, but just wait. When it sits and marinates, it combines with the veggies and draws out liquid and there will be more than plenty of dressing after it sits.
- Right before serving mix in toasted almonds and sesame seeds.
Notes
- Store the finished salad, dressed and all, in an airtight container in the fridge and enjoy within 3-5 days for best results. The cabbage and veggies stay crunchy for several days/
- If you’d rather, you could always store components separately and assemble single servings as needed. But this salad is really great once it’s had a chance to sit and chill for a bit!
- You can eat this plain, as a great side dish, or add chicken to it for a main-dish meal. I love it with grilled Asian BBQ Chicken!
- Nutrition information was calculated without chicken, but includes salad and dressing.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cup, Calories: 79kcal, Carbohydrates: 7g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 5g, Saturated Fat: 0.4g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3g, Trans Fat: 0.01g, Sodium: 309mg, Potassium: 148mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 5g, Vitamin A: 242IU, Vitamin C: 24mg, Calcium: 39mg, Iron: 1mg
Calories: 79kcal
Cost: $8
Did You Make This Recipe?Snap a picture, and hashtag it #ourbestbites. We love to see your creations on our Instagram @ourbestbites!
Questions & Reviews
This is THE BEST cabbage salad!!! The dressing you make fresh for it puts it over the top. It’s definitely a crowd pleaser and it’s SO EASY to throw together. Our family has been making it for years. And YEARS!
This was perfect! So delicious! Thank you!
Okay it looks like I’m commenting 10 years too late, but I just discovered this recipe and it is so delicious! Perfect crunch! Thank you Sara!
Hope you are having a wonderful Labor Day weekend with your families. I wanted to stop by the blog and thank you for this recipe…it is my ‘go-to’ Asian salad and it’s page in the cookbook has a permanent sticky note attached so I can go to it quickly. But for the life of me when I’m craving it I never remember that it is supposed to be with a bag of coleslaw mix and always come home with a huge head of Napa cabbage instead. It still turns out amazingly delicious and by changing out the soy sauce for coconut aminos it is ‘safe’ for my whole family to enjoy. Thank you so much!
I’m so happy you love it- thanks for the kind words!
This salad is one of my most favorite! I have made it many times and I cannot get enough! So delicious. The snap peas are essential- don’t leave them out if you can at all help it! Thanks for a great recipe!!
This was REALLY great. Thanks for sharing!