This Sesame-Lime Cabbage Salad is ultra-refreshing, and takes only minutes to prepare. It’s lightly sweet and tangy, and everyone will ask you for the recipe once they taste it!
How to Make Cabbage Salad
This salad is easy to assemble; you’ll just need to chop a few vegetables to get started. I use roughly 1/2 head of cabbage for this recipe, along with 2 carrots, to end up with a pound of shredded vegetables.
Time-Saving Tip: You can use a 1-pound bag of pre-shredded coleslaw mix from the store to replace the shredded cabbage and carrots in this recipe.
How Do You Make Raw Cabbage Taste Good?
The following Sesame-Lime Dressing is key to making this salad taste good. Once the vegetables are chopped, all you’ll need to do is stir the dressing ingredients together.
You can do this in a separate bowl, or in the bottom of the large salad bowl you plan to use so you only have one dish to clean later.
This salad tastes best when you let it marinate for at least 15 minutes, so the flavors can fully meld. You can make it up to a day in advance if you want to store it in the fridge, and it makes a convenient packed lunch, too.
How to Adjust the Flavor
With any salad, it’s a good idea to taste this right before you serve it, and make any adjustments to your liking. If it tastes too sweet, you can add an extra splash of vinegar or lime juice, and if it tastes too tangy or salty, an extra squeeze of honey will balance that out.
To make this salad vegan-friendly, replace the honey with maple syrup or agave. I would probably add an extra splash of maple syrup, if you choose to use that, as it’s not quite as sweet as honey.
Sesame-Lime Cabbage Salad
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 1/2 head cabbage , shredded (12 ounces or 4 cups)
- 2 carrots , shredded (about 4 ounces or 1 cup)
- 3 green onions , chopped (about 1/2 cup)
- 1 large handful fresh cilantro , chopped (about 1 cup)
- Sesame seeds , for garnish (optional)
For the dressing:
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
- 2 tablespoons raw honey , or to taste
- 1 teaspoon raw apple cider vinegar
- 1 garlic clove , minced (about 1 teaspoon)
- 1 inch fresh ginger , minced (about 1 tablespoon; or 1 teaspoon ground)
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the lime juice, honey, vinegar, garlic, ginger, salt, and sesame oil. Whisk well to combine.
- Add in the shredded cabbage, carrots, green onion, and cilantro, then toss well to coat everything with the dressing. The flavors are best when you let them marinate together for at least 15 minutes.
- After the salad has marinated, toss again right before serving, then garnish with sesame seeds, if desired. This recipe will serve 4 as a side salad, or 2 as a main course with your favorite toppings.
- Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is for 1/4 of this recipe. This information is automatically calculated using generic ingredients, and is just an estimate, not a guarantee.
If you try this recipe, please leave a comment below letting me know how you like it. And if you make any modifications, I’d love to hear about those, too! We can all benefit from your experience.
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Reader Feedback: What’s your favorite salad lately?
Thanks! I can’t wait to try it.
mmmm this looks amazing, i think i’ll use a tbsp tahini instead of just the sesame oil!
Great idea!
Oooo! This looks really good! Cabbage is one of those foods I love, but always forget about. I’ll have to plan to make this sometime!
This salad sounds wonderful. I’ve been loving cilantro and cabbage lately, and I love how just the smallest bit of sesame oil adds such a big punch of flavor to a dish. I’ll be adding this to my weekly rotation for sure!
This looks great. Is it okay for those with low thyroid function due to the raw cabbage?
Also, is there an alternative oil for sesame oil? I am allergic to sesame seeds, so I’m not sure about the oil.
Thanks.
THis sounds awesome. Can’t wait to make it.
Thank you.
Thanks for posting the recipe. Looks delicious.
I have a double batch of this marinating in my fridge now. From the sampling I took, this is amazing! Thanks for the recipe!
Yum! Thank you! Now I can have my favorite salad at home. 🙂 Maybe you can do their salmon next.
Hi! I can’t wait to try this recipe. Is there truth to eating too many orange vegetables can turn your skin orange? What is your knowledge on the topic? Thanks!
Hello yes its true its the carateen in the vegetables but you have to eat A LOT.
Yes, I worked for a gastroenterology st for 15 years and we had a patient who came in orange colored for jaundice. Found out he wasn’t jaundice but ate way too many orange produce.
Made this for lunch today….actually my husband made it (LOVE that your recipes are easy enough that he can do them) and it was delicious! Thanks!
Just made the salad so great!!
Very light indeed! I made this last night and though it had a great flavor, it was not filling at all for my 6′ 5″ husband. While we were eating it, he suggested serving leftovers over rice and maybe adding a bit of chicken so that’s what I did today and it was amazing! We don’t often have chicken but this dish was great with baked chicken seasoned with an orange ginger seasoning salt and a bit of grass fed butter. I also used volcano rice instead of a brown rice. Similar taste but rich with minerals! Thanks for the recipe!
I just made this exactly as the recipe dictates and it was DELICIOUS. I will be keeping this in the rotation for sure. (For some reason, this reply box won’t let me give it five stars, so it gets four…but it is really a five star recipe.)
Delicious! The whole family enjoyed this salad, and it was super easy to make.
I love this salad! I actually let it sit for two days in the fridge before I got around to eating it. The flavors stewed nicely, and the cabbage is still crisp! I added WAY too much lime juice (and probably too much ACV), so I ended up doubling the amount of honey, sesame seeds and added some stevia as well. Hah. I probably made enough dressing for 3X the amount of cabbage :P. Next time I’ll go easy on the lime juice and vinegar. Nice flavors though!
This is a great recipe! It has a lot of ingredients- so for me at least- it took a bit to prepare, but it’s delicious! Will definitely make again!
i absolutely love this dressing. used lemon instead of lime since i didn’t have any on hand but it still turned out awesome! Thank you 🙂
This is my new favorite salad! I love the way the flavors pop and how the little bit of sesame oil packs a huge flavor punch. I love your blog!!
I love lime, so I love this salad! Used maple syrup instead of honey…not sure why!!
I wasn’t following you before now, even though I have been making your choco pb banana milkshakes for treats for my family fairly often after finding that recipe on Pinterest.
Today I did a Pinterest search for cabbage salad and this recipe came up and I’m planning to make it tonight. Because of that I am now following you on Pinterest, FB and Twitter for more healthy recipe inspiration 🙂 I am always trying something new!
Really good combination! I added some toasted sesame seeds also.
Just made this and it tastes great! Added some crockpot shredded chicken. This will make a whole weeks worth of lunches for me!
I just made this yesterday and it is AMAZING! I agree that one needs to taper the dressing to one’s taste as some people like more sweet and others more tart. I doubles this recipe…and used 3 limes for 1/2 cup juice. But for the honey, I only used 3 tablespoons instead of 4 and then slowly added a small amount of stevia (natural sweetener) to get the dressing to exactly my taste….and I added more sesame oil than what was recommended, and subsituted garlic instead of shallot as I only had garlic on hand. This slaw is even better the next day! My boyfriend loved this too!! Thanks!!
As a raw food vegan I’m always looking for new ways to prepare raw vegetables. This salad turned out wonderful. It was crunchy and sweet and tangy. I will be making it a lot in the future.
Great way to use that 1/2 a cabbage you forget about! Super delicious, someone just gifted me from honey from their hives, so I used it, modified to 1Tbl. And was perfect for me. Threw in toasted sesame seeds and some hemp hearts for a little texture and color. Thanks for your wonderful recipes!
Just made this and its amazingly good. Tweaked the dressing a bit and used half stevia…I also added fresh parsely and basil I had in the garden.
I just made this and the flavor is just what I wanted, a hint of ginger, light sesame oil with citrus. I can see that this won’t last long in my household. I substituted 1 medium garlic clove for the shallots and I added raw almonds. I can’t wait to have this tomorrow after the dressing has blended well with the salad. Thank you for this great recipe~!
Loved this salad! Thank you for sharing it.
Hi. Im older and don’t do facebook or instagram. I also hate cooking and like you trying to change my eating habits. I can follow a recipe but Im neither ADVENTUROUS or creative. Ive bought all this healthy stuff and now I don’t know what to do with it. Do you have any ideas for an easy recipe for shredded cabbage,and quorn,
Egg roll in a bowl : )
Just whipped up this salad tonight. Had to improvise on some ingredients as i didnt have them all. Added 1/4 cup chopped mint leaves from my garden & it was a nice addition. Love the lime juice as i have limes in my garden too and never ebough uses for them! Thx
I made a double recipe because I have two HUGE heads of cabbage! I did add some soy sauce and hajiki seaweed to it some black sesame seeds!
Thanks for the recipe! It’s delicious!
This was a little too tart. The sweet and sour was off a bit. Really liked the concept, but it didn’t work for us. Next time, I’ll try and treak it with some more honey and experiment, too tart as is. Thanks for the basis idea though….
Have you tried this recipe with olive oil?
The sesame oil in this recipe when I made it seemed out of place, overpowering. Ruined it. I’ll try it again with EVOO and rice vinegar
I agree even though I have not made it I will sub the 1 TBSP sesame oil with 2 tsp olive oil and 1 tsp sesame oil and rice vinegar sounds like a better match as well. Thanks for the suggestions!
I truly enjoyed this salad/slaw! I love cilantro so it was a good change. I also added fresh jalapeños thinly sliced for a kick. I will definitely make this again.
My husband and I really liked the dressing. I plan on using it for other salads. Thank you for your recipe posts. I look forward to trying more.
I really appreciated the section on how to adjust for flavor! I used to think that just meant add more salt if needed but this was a great description of what to do to make a dressing just right.
Such a deliciously satisfying use of a green cabbage.
Loved it! Have made it twice in 2 days.
Great for summer. I didn’t have any cilantro, and subbed olive oil for the sesame and it was still good!
Made this as written, except reduced the sesame oil based on another commenter’s recommendation. Turns out I’ve been adding more sesame oil as I’ve been serving it.
Will make again and put the full amount of sesame oil in. It’s really great for me as the recipe is written.
It’s hard to imagine that these simple ingredients would taste this good when put together. Really so good. This is lunch for several days this week.
Very refreshing taste and so easy to make. I didn’t care for the sesame oil flavor, however, which surprised me because I usually love it. When I make this again I’ll omit the sesame oil and green onion and add some finely shredded red onion instead.
Excellent, easy, delicious!!! Doubled this recipe the first time trying for a family Father’s Day dinner. Huge hit! The flavors were amazing & made me think of a salad I’ve had before with chow mein or ramen noodles on top, but no soy in it at all. I can no longer have soy products & this will be a treasured recipe for a long time to come!! Thank you for sharing!!!!!
All salads are really tasty n easily available ingredients thank u
This salad is amazing! Those of you looking to change something on this recipe ie. sesame oil, why don’t you go find a recipe that suits your particular needs? I knew I wanted a cabbage salad to take to a family dinner but I can’t have soy or gluten. This recipe was the 5th I looked at for ingredients I could eat. Go find a recipe that works for you. This recipe is delicious, light & full of flavor! Even family members that aren’t fans of cabbage took some home for lunch the next day. Thank you for sharing this!!!
I liked it, but I felt like something was missing from the dressing. I added some Braggs liquid aminos and it was delicious!
I luv how you give the measurements for your ingredients in your recipes! A clove of garlic or an inch of fresh ginger, can vary depending on its size. 🙂
Salad was delicious and I will definitely be making it again. I would like to try it with chicken added. Thank you. Great recipe!
I’ve made this multiple times this summer and absolutely love the flavor! I’ve used red cabbage and enjoyed it just as much as with the green cabbage. I’ve used it to add to salads and with chicken. It’s delicious!
I was looking for a side recipe for Korean BBQ chicken and found this. I had all the ingredients and gave it a go. Wow! The salad hasn’t had time to meld yet but even “fresh” it tastes fantastic! I used the bagged slaw, red onion (for shallots), and the cilantro. I can’t wait to enjoy in the morning! Thank you!
Ooh, I bet this is great with Korean BBQ! I hope it’s a hit!