This colorful and tangy Whole30-friendly red cabbage slaw is a refreshing spin on a traditional cole slaw. The acidity of this vegetable side dish perfectly balances the heartiness of your favorite rib-sticking meaty entree!
I love me some cabbage but I don’t always have 2.5 hours to make my favorite braised cabbage recipe. Sometimes I just wanna chop up a raw cabbage, throw on some dressing and be done with it. Plus, this zippy slaw tastes great as leftovers!
The secret sauce
The best thing about this simple cabbage slaw is the tangy, zesty, and creamy dressing! Save the extra sauce so you can drizzle it on all the things and to perk up leftover red cabbage slaw. Just keep the dressing in a sealed container in the fridge for up to a week.
The one caveat for this tasty sauce is that you’ll need a powerful blender or food processor to blend all the veggies into a smooth dressing. Blender not quite cutting it? Chop the ingredients more extensively before blitzing everything together!
What can you serve with it?
Any meat dish! I love serving this acidic red cabbage slaw with Cracklin’ Chicken or a big pile of Kalua Pig or Instant Pot Carnitas. If you want to make it a complete meal, toss cooked chicken while you’re making the slaw and you’re good to go!
Can you make this slaw ahead of time?
I think the slaw tastes best when you dress it right before you serve it, but leftovers still taste wonderful. Leftover red cabbage slaw can be stored in a fridge for up to 4 days. If you need to amp up the flavors of the leftover salad, drizzle on some extra dressing and toasted almonds before serving!
Time to make some red cabbage slaw!
Serves 8
Carrot Ginger Dressing
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
- 2 scallions, white parts only, roughly chopped (the green parts will be used for the slaw)
- 1 large Medjool dates, pitted and roughly chopped
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- ⅓ cup Paleo mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger root
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal Kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Red Cabbage Slaw
- 1 small red cabbage, cored and thinly sliced (about 2 pounds)
- 2 carrots, julienned or peeled into thin strips
- 2 scallions, greens only, thinly sliced
- ¼ cup minced fresh cilantro
- ½ cup Carrot Ginger Dressing (see above)
- 2 tablespoons toasted slivered almonds
Equipment:
All of my favorite kitchen tools are listed here.
Method:
Make the Carrot Ginger dressing! In a high speed blender, combine all the ingredients for the carrot ginger dressing and blitz…
…until smooth.
In a large salad bowl, toss together the cabbage, carrots, scallion greens, and cilantro.
Pour in ½ cup of Carrot Ginger Dressing and toss well.
Taste and add extra dressing if needed. Sprinkle toasted slivered almonds on top…
…and serve!
Looking for more cabbage dishes?
[Originally posted on March 19, 2011. Updated on December 2, 2019.]
Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes on my iPhone and iPad app, and in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013), Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017), and Nom Nom Paleo: Let’s Go! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2021).
PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE CARD
Red Cabbage Slaw with Tangy Carrot and Ginger Dressing
Ingredients
Carrot Ginger Dressing
- 2 medium carrots peeled and chopped
- 2 scallions white parts only, chopped
- 1 large Medjool date pitted and chopped
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar or white balsamic vinegar
- ⅓ cup Paleo Mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger root
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Red Cabbage Slaw
- 2 pounds red cabbage cored and thinly sliced
- 2 medium carrots peeled into strips or julienned
- 2 scallions greens only, thinly sliced
- ¼ cup minced cilantro
- ½ cup Carrot Ginger Dressing see above
- 2 tablespoons toasted slivered almonds
Instructions
Carrot Ginger Dressing
- In a powerful blender or food processor, combine all the ingredients for the carrot ginger dressing and blend until smooth.
Red Cabbage Slaw
- In a large salad bowl, toss together the cabbage, carrots, scallion greens, and cilantro.
- Pour in ½ cup of Carrot Ginger Dressing and use tongs to mix well.
- Taste and add extra dressing if needed. Sprinkle toasted slivered almonds on top and serve.
Laurel Stough says
Dear God in heaven!! I made as the only side with baked wild caught Atlantic salmon. I will make this often. I need a lot of bold flavors, and I would say I have an advanced palate. This was more flavor than I could have imagined. Thank you for this amazing recipe.
Anne says
Love this recipe absolutely delicious, thankyou have been making this regularly
Ollie says
A bright, fresh, zingy, unusual dish! Thank you!
Sarah says
This humble little recipe is gold. I’m not always a big coleslaw fan—but this has a much fresher taste than your mama’s slaw. I have been eating a lot more pork on whole30… and this the perfect pairing. I’ve made this twice now and have thoughts: (1) I skipped toasting the almonds my first go and did toast my second… toasted was way better, (2) this makes way more dressing than I need so I halved the recipe… and still have leftovers
Chrissy says
This is so good and incredibly easy/fast to make! I had a head of red cabbage and wasn’t sure what to make. Quick google and found this recipe. Delicious!!!! Will make again and have already lined up other recipes I want to try on this site. So glad I found this site!
Tracy says
Try the Curry Turkey Bites with apricot glaze, Curried Cream of Broccoli soup and the Carrot Pumpkin muffins. Oh, and don’t forget the Char Sui!!
Amy says
This was good, though 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar was too strong for me. I ended up added a lot more dates and honey to reduce the acidity. Otherwise, the dressing was bursting with flavor!
Amy says
Substitute for dates? We have a possible date allergy in household so need to avoid. Would figs or raisins be better?
Michelle Tam says
Raisins will probably work!
Patti says
Made this along with pulled pork. Perfect side dish! I think next time I’ll add a little more vinegar, but flavors were great! Would be good as a lunch dish with some chicken on it for protein. Another awesome recipe from Michelle!