This Healthy Napa Cabbage Salad aka Slaw is a quick 5 -ingredient side dish recipe that is great to take on a picnic or serve alongside tacos or other mains. It's simple, vegan and doesn't contain mayo.
I'm a big fan of Napa Cabbage. In Ukraine, we actually call it Peking Cabbage.
When it comes to salads, Napa Cabbage is an excellent choice, because unlike green cabbage, it's very easy to chop, it's crunchy, healthy and provides a mighty dose of nutrients.
In addition, Napa Cabbage leaves resemble lettuce and they're so much tender, you don't even need to massage them with a salt.This Healthy Napa Cabbage Salad is so simple yet delicious.
Ingredients
My favorite thing about this healthy Cabbage Slaw is that it's made with just 5 ingredients. You'll need:
- Napa cabbage - choose cabbage that looks firm, crisp and without brown spots
- cucumbers - they always pair nicely with cabbage
- green onion - for some pop of color
- olive oil
- lime juice
- red chili flakes - optional ingredient if you like your salads on the spicier side
🔪 Instructions
- Cut Napa Cabbage
Make sure to wash Napa Cabbage thoroughly and pat dry with a paper towel. Remove any dry leaves or the ones with the brown spots.
Next, place the cabbage on a cutting board and slice in half horizontally. Using a long knife, slice one half of the cabbage across the leaves and stem as thin as possible. Place sliced cabbage in a bowl.
- Slice a cucumber
Rinse and pat dry the cucumber, cut it in half and then thinly slice it. Discard the tough end. Also, thinly slice the green onions.
- Combine the vegetables
Add sliced cucumber and green onions to a bowl with cabbage. Drizzle with the lime juice and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and mixed everything well.
If desired, sprinkle the salad with some red pepper flakes and enjoy!
📖 Variations
In this healthy green salad you can replace Napa Cabbage with a regular green cabbage. Just make sure to massage it for a few minutes with a few pinches of salt. This will soften leaves making them easier to chew.
Also, feel free to add some halved cherry tomatoes or shredded carrot. Toasted Pecans or sliced Almonds will add a nice crunch to the salad as well.
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Recipe
Healthy Napa Cabbage Salad
Ingredients
Instructions
- Place Napa cabbage on a cutting board and slice in half horizontally. Using a long knife, slice one half of the cabbage across the leaves and stem as thin as possible. Discard the tough end. Place sliced cabbage in a bowl. (For this recipe you'll be using only 1 cabbage half)
- Cut cucumber in half and then thinly slice it. Also, thinly slice the green onions.
- Add sliced cucumber and green onions to a bowl with cabbage. Drizzle with the lime juice and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and mix everything well.
- If desired, sprinkle the salad with some red pepper flakes and serve.
Twyla says
WAY too salty!! Should have followed my gut and not added as much til we tried it.
Donna says
can you use lemon 🥤 instead of lime juice. I would like to make it for supper
Iryna says
Absolutely. Lemon juice is fine:)
Deborah says
Tried this recipe adding tomatoes. My husband and I loved it. Had never tried Napa Cabbage before and I don’t like lime but this worked nicely. Easy to make. I used a sprinkle of red pepper powder as well. Nice kick. We’ll make this often. Very nutritious.
Iryna says
Deborah, thank you so much for your comment and a 5-star rating! I'm happy you and your husband enjoyed this recipe!