Cabbage Salad with Peanut Dressing

Name: Cabbage Salad with Peanut Dressing
Prep time: 15 min
Total time: 15 min
Ingredients: 3 cups shredded red cabbage; 3 cups shredded green cabbage; 5 chopped green onions; 1 thinly sliced red pepper; 1 cup shredded carrots; ⅓ cup chopped cilantro; ⅓ cup salted peanuts for topping; Sesame seeds, optional topping; ¼ cup smooth peanut butter; ¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce; 2 tablespoons sesame oil; 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup (or honey); 1 teaspoon rice vinegar; ½ teaspoon ginger powder; ⅓ cup peanuts (or more) for topping; Sesame seeds, optional topping

Jump to Recipe

This Asian-inspired cabbage salad is made with a rainbow-colored ingredients and creamy ginger peanut dressing. It's easy to make in only 15 minutes when you're craving something fresh and bright.

About This Recipe

This cabbage salad is made with a full rainbow of chopped veggies: carrots, red cabbage, green cabbage and bell pepper. It's tossed in a simple, creamy peanut sauce dressing and topped with crunchy peanuts.

If you're craving some fresh produce, this salad is an easy way to enjoy a bowl full. It's ready in only 15 minutes and 3 simple steps: chop everything, add the dressing, and enjoy!

This salad can be a light lunch, dinner or side dish. You can also make this for meal prep and it will stay good for about 3 days in the fridge.

Cabbage Salad Ingredients

Here's what you'll need to make this recipe. The full recipe and ingredient list can be found at the bottom of the page.

Red cabbage
Green cabbage
Carrots
Red pepper
Green onions
Cilantro
Peanuts
Sesame seeds (optional)

For the Peanut Ginger Dressing:

Peanut butter
Soy sauce
Rice vinegar
Sesame oil
Maple syrup (or honey)
Ginger powder

How to Make Cabbage Salad

Here's how to make this recipe in 3 simple steps:

Make the dressing: in a small bowl or jar, stir together the dressing ingredients. Add about 2-3 tablespoons of water, or more, until your dressing reaches your desired thickness. The amount of water you need to add will depend on the type/brand of peanut butter used.
Mix the salad: add all of the salad ingredients to a large bowl: red cabbage, green cabbage, carrots, red pepper, green onions, cilantro.
Serve: drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss to coat. Sprinkle the peanuts and sesame seeds (optional) on the salad before serving.

Variations

Here's some of the most popular substitutions and additions for this recipe:

Cilantro: if you don't love cilantro, this recipe is still tasty without it.
Chicken: this recipe is popular with chicken (shredded or chopped).
Edamame: edamame is a tasty and high-protein addition to this recipe.
Peanut butter: smooth, all-natural peanut butters will work best for this recipe; but any creamy peanut butter will work.
Bell pepper: I've used a red bell pepper but you can use any color.

About The Dressing

The dressing for this salad is a simple, creamy, 6-ingredient peanut sauce. It's so good you'll want to eat it on everything! I use it on many of my salads and also as a dipping sauce.

The peanut sauce keeps this salad light but satisfying and coats it in sweet, nutty, ginger flavor. It's the perfect complement to all the chopped veggies.

Dressing Options

Here's a few other popular dressing options for this recipe:

Lime vinaigrette
Sesame ginger vinaigrette
Any peanut sauce or dressing

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is my dressing too thin or thick?

The thickness of your dressing will vary depending on the type/brand of peanut butter that you use. You'll want to add water to your dressing (a little bit at a time) until it reaches your desired thickness.

What type of peanut butter is best in this recipe?

An all-natural, smooth peanut butter will work best for mixing with the other ingredients; but you can use any type of smooth peanut butter.

How should I slice my cabbage for this recipe?

You'll want to thinly shred your cabbage for this recipe. You can do this by cutting it into quarters and removing the core and then thinly slicing it. Here's a quick 1 minute video that shows you how.

Similar Recipes

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If you make this recipe, be sure to leave a comment & rating at the bottom of this page!