This Cabbage Salad is tossed with a sweet sesame-lime dressing that will leave you craving more. It makes a delicious alternative to creamy coleslaw!
This salad makes the perfect side dish to bring to a party, or you can turn it into a meal by adding your favorite protein on top. You can also use it in tacos or add it to a sandwich for extra flavor!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Shredded cabbage and carrots are the base of this crunchy slaw, but you can reach for a bag of store-bought coleslaw mix to cut down on the prep time. Paired with fresh cilantro and green onions, this salad has a delicious combination of textures and flavors.
I tend to use red or green cabbage when making this salad, but napa cabbage or savoy cabbage can be used, as well. Feel free to add any other vegetables you like, such as red bell peppers or thinly sliced red onion, too.
This salad dressing is made with minimal oil, and if you’re not a fan of toasted sesame seed oil, feel free to swap it for olive oil, instead. You can also add any nuts or seeds you love for some crunch!
How to Make the Best Cabbage Salad
To prepare the cabbage salad dressing, combine the lime juice, vinegar, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, honey, and salt in a large bowl. Use a whisk to mix well, then set it aside while you chop the veggies.
Use a sharp knife and cutting board to chop the cilantro and green onions. If you’re working with a whole head of green cabbage, remove the outer leaves, then finely slice it.
You’ll most likely only need half a head of cabbage for this recipe (about 1 pound). Feel free to use red cabbage or a mix of both for extra color.
Next, shred the carrots using a box grater or food processor attachment.
Add the chopped veggies and fresh herbs to the bowl of dressing, and toss well until everything is coated. Let the salad marinate for 10 to 15 minutes for the best flavor.
Taste the salad and make any adjustments as needed. Add an extra splash of lime juice or vinegar to make the flavor tart, or add a little more honey for extra sweetness.
You can also add an extra pinch of salt or a splash of soy sauce to boost the overall flavor. Or, add a few crushed red pepper flakes or freshly ground black pepper for some spice.
If you’d like to add extra crunchiness, add sliced almonds, cashews, or walnuts just before serving. Garnish with a few sesame seeds if you like, and serve chilled.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Serve it with baked chicken on top for a complete meal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Coleslaw typically refers to a salad that is tossed in a creamy dressing. This cabbage salad is tossed with a bright vinaigrette, which makes it unlike traditional coleslaw but it could similarly be served with fish tacos or in sandwiches.
You can make this salad a complete meal by topping it with baked chicken breasts, salmon, or shrimp. It also works well as a side dish for Pad Thai or Cauliflower Tacos.
Yes, you can swap the apple cider vinegar for white wine vinegar, rice vinegar, or champagne vinegar. If you don’t have lime juice on hand, lemon juice will work here, too!
Looking for more cabbage salad recipes? Try Asian Cabbage Salad, Thai Salad with Peanut Dressing, or my popular Detox Salad with Lemon Ginger Dressing.
Sweet Sesame-Lime Cabbage Salad
Ingredients
Salad Ingredients:
- 1 pound shredded cabbage (about ½ head)
- 2 shredded carrots (or 1 cup)
- 3 green onions , chopped (about ½ cup)
- ½ cup fresh cilantro , chopped
- ½ cup sliced almonds (optional crunch)
Cabbage Salad Dressing:
- 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 garlic clove , minced (about 1 teaspoon)
- 1 inch fresh ginger , minced (about 1 tablespoon)
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Combine the lime juice, vinegar, honey, toasted sesame oil, garlic, ginger, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk well to combine.
- Add the shredded cabbage, carrots, green onion, and cilantro, then toss well to coat everything with the dressing. Allow the salad to marinate for at least 15 minutes to let the flavors meld.
- Taste the salad again just before serving, and make any adjustments as needed. Add extra salt to boost the flavor, or a pinch of black pepper or red pepper flakes for extra spice. Top with sliced almonds for added crunch, and enjoy!
- Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
If you try this cabbage salad recipe, please leave a comment and star rating below, letting me know how you like it.
Amazing!!!
Omg…this salad! Well we had it with baked falafel and some grilled halloumi and sliced avocado…..perfectly delicious!!!
Thank you….cabbage is one of those veggies that I love but im always thinking what can i cook next with it!!! Now i know 🙂
Excellent dressing! I will definitely come back to make it again… and again.
This is SO good! Made it for lunch today. 😋
This salad is super delicious. I’m transitioning to a plant based diet, but not quite vegan. I am going to allow myself honey and an occasional egg. Used a mix of regular and purple cabbage. Also added some slivered almonds for a little bit extra protein. Definitely keeping in my rotation.
Hi! Tried the recipe with white vinegar since we ran out of ACV. I love it! It makes me smile when I taste this amazing easy cabbage salad… no regrets!
Love all the way from Philippines. 😍
I’ve made this twice all ready and it just keeps amazing my tastebudz.
Thanks
Amazing! Love the flavors!
love this recipe!! Making it again for the second time this week.
I used half the honey, since we like everything less sweet, but otherwise, we followed the recipe as written.
Thank you Megan for yet another quick and delicious recipe that turned Tempeh taco Tuesday to the next level! This is the quickest and tastiest slaw ever.
fresh, tasteful, original and very very healthy!Congrats
Awesome recipe. Everyone loved it. The dressing is fantastic, so little oil and yet so much flavor! I used lemon instead of lime because that’s what I had. It tasted great and so fresh.
To make it a full family dinner for four people, I made a little more dressing, added a bunch of shredded Nappa Cabbage in addition to the half head of very finely sliced Green Cabbage, also threw in some slivered almonds and thinly sliced radishes and served it with grilled chicken strips on top.
This recipe is a keeper! Thank you
I made this today and it was delicious and fresh! I added a bit more salt and some extra sesame oil as I like a strong sesame flavour, and it was perfect. Will make again 🙂
This recipe is so delicious! It’s one of my favourites now.
Thank you.
This was so tasty! Used it with a honey lime chicken from another site and put on tacos. Delish!
Do you have an Oil free option?
This is one of the best cabbage recipes I have tried. Thank you!
Very tasty and easy to make. I toasted my sesame seeds and it was delicious.
I made this today with Napa cabbage instead because it came in this weeks CSA box. It was delicious! I added some leftover sliced boneless pork chops and because I didn’t have any lime juice, I used lemon and added 2 drops of Lime essential oil.
It gave me chills when I first tasted it. I enjoyed making it and love eating even more. Thank you
Wow! This is delicious. I used red cabbage and is was very colorful.
Made this tonight, and it was so delicious. I used 2 bags of shredded cabbage with carrots from Trader Joe’s, and doubled the dressing. Served it with Teriyaki chicken and it was a great combination of flavors. Highly recommend!!
I made this and it was delicious!
This was undoubtedly the best cabbage salad I have ever tried ! Will definitely become a staple in my house !
This is a fantastic recipe! I added chicken to it to make a Chinese chicken salad. It was soooo good. This will definitely be a recipe that I will use again and again.. Thanks!
Awesome tasting salad!
Thanks!
This was delicious! I mistakenly purchased a cabbage thinking it was iceberg lettuce, so I needed to make something with it. This recipe is healthier and tastier than other cabbage salads I have made. Will definitely be making this again soon. Thank you for posting healthy and delicious recipes.
This recipe was wonderful! I topped the slaw with vegan bbq tempeh ribs and a mango salsa. Will definitely make it again!
This was great! I didn’t have green onions, so I used some red onion and it was 👌🏽 Delicious!!
This is an absolutely delicious salad. I made it exactly as the recipe calls for and would not change a thing. You could add peanuts if you would like as that would be a great addition to the dish. I made it two nights ago and it was still delicious as leftovers this evening. As my family eats fish I served this with honey salmon as a main dish and then cut up a cantaloupe for dessert. This is definitely being added into my rotation.
Can’t wait to try out this dressing. Trying to make things more homemade.
So easy and so yummy. Reminds me of the coleslaw my mom made with so much sugar and vinegar..love your creatives recipe
Haven’t tried yet.
Question is, can this salad be frozen?
I wouldn’t recommend freezing the salad, because cabbage will be very soggy when it thaws.
Made this with the air fryer tofu and it was delicious!
This was delicious, I will be making it often. Thank you
Great recipe! I enjoyed it for lunch with edamame and avocado. Yum!
Delicious! Will make again.
I love this recipe so much. I add red pepper flakes to give it an extra kick. I use this for almost everything.
Really great recipe! We cut the recipe in half, and then also did half the amount of lime juice. Subbed cilantro paste for cilantro since we didn’t have any on hand, and excluded ginger since our other dish had a lot in it already. Very pleased on how this turned out!
We’re making fish tacos and the recipe calls for cabbage in the tacos. We really don’t like cabbage but the lime and cilantro are perfect pairing for fish tacos.
It’s a good way to eat cabbage, as eating cabbage is very healthy. However, because the recipe contains so much lime juice and apple cider vinegar it is very acidic. If I make drinks that are acidic (such as Hibiscus Tea) I try to drink them through a straw so it avoids most of the contact with the teeth. There is no way to suck this salad through a straw. I don’t know if the teeth grinding on the cabbage while exposed to the acidic dressing does any significant damage to the enamel or not. Regardless, I would recommend anyone eating it should rinse his mouth with water after eating it to try and help minimize the effect of acid damaging tooth enamel. DISCLAIMER: No, I am not a dentist or associated with the American Dental Society in any way…
Hi, this looks amazing. Just wondering if anyone has added fennel to this salad? Trying to find use for my produce 🙂
I can’t stop eating this. Thank you!
This. Recipe. THIS RECIPE!!!! Thanksgiving 2023 was transformed this year and this recipe played a big role in it. I was in charge of the veggie sides – I love Thanksgiving but the food is soooooo heavy – so this year I made bacon brussels sprouts (heavy) but paired them with green bean almondine (lemony and light), a cranberry orange relish instead of cranberry sauce (tart, tangy, citrussy), and THIS SALAD!!!! And perhaps you’re wondering – why an Asian styled sesame/lime cabbage salad at Thanksgiving? Because I can. And I did. And it was magical. The flavors went SO well to balance the heaviness of turkey, potatoes, and stuffing.
50/5 stars. Alsooooo, my husband ate leftovers the day after and he said “babe! Make that salad and then make chicken skewers with that peanutbutter sauce and then take the salad and the chicken and wrap it in spring roll wrappers! I want it all!”
For real – amazing recipe – thank you thank you. Saving this one for a long time.