This Savoy cabbage salad is a tasty mix of cabbage, apples, walnuts, with an apple cider vinaigrette tossed with Parmesan cheese.
This cabbage salad was intended to be a shaved Brussels sprout salad, the kind that are very “in” right now. But Alex and I happened to have a Savoy cabbage on hand. Turns out, Brussels sprouts and cabbage are part of the same veggie family, so they’ve got a similar flavor. Shred up Savoy cabbage and it’s frizzled leaves look just like shaved Brussels sprouts! It makes one seriously tasty cabbage salad, mixed with tangy apples, toasted walnuts, and a zingy vinaigrette dressing. Here’s how to make it!
How to make cabbage salad
This salad idea was born from a Savoy cabbage Alex and I picked up at the farmer’s market. We shredded the cabbage into thin ribbons, and combined it with tart apples that we’d also picked up at the market. It makes one incredibly tasty mix! The Savoy cabbage shreds are little confetti-like streamers that go hand-in-hand with the crisp apples and crunchy walnuts. It was just the right balance for our meal of wild rice stuffed squash and rosemary roasted potatoes, and is an excellent fall salad or winter salad for any meal.
To make this cabbage salad, it’s very simple. Here are the basic steps:
- Chop the veggies: Thinly slice the Savoy cabbage and chop the apple.
- Make the dressing: Mix up a vinaigrette of cider vinegar and olive oil, with a bit of maple syrup.
- Toast the nuts: Toast the walnuts in a pan.
- Serve: Mix it all together with a bit of Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese and serve! The result is any incredibly refreshing wintery salad that pairs perfectly with almost any main course.
What is Savoy cabbage?
Savoy cabbage is a variety of cabbage that’s green in color with crinkled leaves. When thinly sliced, the leaves look like beautiful frizzy confetti. The flavor of Savoy cabbage is mild and its leaves are much more tender than green cabbage.
Can you substitute regular green cabbage for Savoy cabbage? Not really. Because of the differences, we do not recommend substituting green cabbage for Savoy cabbage in this recipe. Try to find Savoy cabbage for this one if at all possible: it’s available in most mainstream grocery stores!
What else to do with cabbage? Go to our 12 Top Cabbage Recipes.
Video: How to cut cabbage
Alex and I have perfected a method for how to shred cabbage for a cabbage salad, without your knife slipping or ending up with really long or uneven pieces! Even though purple cabbage is shown in the video, it applies to how to shred Savoy cabbage too. Here’s our step by step guide sharing the knife skills for how to cut cabbage!
Variations on this salad
This cabbage salad has endless variations. Here are a few ways you could change it up!
- Add glazed nuts. Add a sweet element with maple glazed nuts! Try our Glazed Walnuts or Glazed Pecans.
- Use a different dressing. A different dressing gives it a new flavor: try Best Balsamic Vinaigrette, Dijon Mustard Dressing or Lemon Vinaigrette.
- U
This cabbage salad recipe is…
Vegetarian and gluten-free. For vegan, plant-based, and dairy-free, omit the cheese.
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Cabbage Salad with Apples & Walnuts
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 6 to 8 1x
Description
This Savoy cabbage salad is a tasty mix of cabbage, apples, walnuts, with an apple cider vinaigrette tossed with Parmesan cheese.
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
- 2 pinches kosher salt
- Fresh ground black pepper
- ½ cup walnuts
- 1 head Savoy cabbage*
- 2 apples
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese shavings (or Pecorino Romano)
Instructions
- For the dressing, whisk together the olive oil, cider vinegar, honey, kosher salt, and fresh ground black pepper.
- If desired, toast the walnuts by placing them in a dry skillet over low heat for several minutes, stirring frequently, until slightly browned and fragrant. Immediately remove from the heat into a bowl.
- Thinly slice the cabbage. Core 2 apples and chop them. (If not eating immediately, sprinkle the apples with a bit of lemon juice to prevent browning.) Using a vegetable peeler, shave the Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese.
- To serve, place cabbage on a serving plate, then top with apples, walnuts, cheese, and dressing.
Notes
*Use Savoy cabbage in this recipe, which is light and fluffy; avoid substituting green or red cabbage as it has quite a different texture.
- Category: Salads
- Method: Raw
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: Cabbage Salad, Savoy Cabbage, Savoy Cabbage Recipes, Apple Salad, Walnuts, Recipes with Cabbage, Salad Recipes, Winter Salad
Looking for more salad recipes?
Outside of this cabbage salad, here are a few more of our favorite salad recipes:
- Wedge Salad with Potato Chips
- Easy Bean Salad
- Caribbean Black Bean Salad
- Greek Salad
- Cucumber Salad with Vinegar
- Classic Vegan Potato Salad
- Peach & Burrata Caprese Salad
- Thai Cucumber Salad
- Watermelon Feta Salad
- Shepherd Salad
- 20 Epic Salad Recipes
Last updated: January 2020
I like to use a mini drum head Savoy cabbage because it is not as bitter as the big heads. Also makes it so much easier to cut. We get ones as big as melons in Australia.
So pretty and light!
very good
★★★★★
I love that you used savoy cabbage here. I always see them and think how beautiful they are but never know what to do with them.
Cabbage and apples are so good together and this looks like both a fresh and hearty dish.
This is so pretty! I would love to have it on my Thanksgiving table!
Cabbage and apples are such a perfect match. I bet this salad would be perfect for Thanksgiving!
I am all over this. Cabbage salads are so tasty!
Kind of like a Waldorf Salad but with cabbage – what a great idea! A nice light addition to an otherwise rich meal!
This sounds exactly like the sort of side dish I’d love to serve at Thanksgiving… conveniently, my mom doesn’t share my love for brussels sprouts so this is perfect! Also, I love the beautiful platter!
I made this for dinner last night, and 5 of us ate it, and absolutely loved it! It is going into my recipe book for keeps! The only thing I did differently was I toasted the walnuts in a pan, and added just a sprinkling of brown sugar on them. It was so delicious we couldn’t stop eating it!
This looks like a wonderful healthy recipe to try.
I made this salad exactly as the recipe instructions. My husband and I thought it was just a little bit too sweet so I made it agaim, but this time I cut back the honey just slightly and then I added just a sprinkle of dried cranberries. Yum we love this salad. My husband wants to make this for the Christmas potluck at his office.