Say goodbye to boring, soggy salads – forever. My Cabbage Carrot Salad with Tangy Peanut Dressing is a crispy, crunchy, veggie-packed salads that maintains its crunchy texture for days. Make this salad as the perfect side dish to any Asian-inspired meal, or eat it on its own, straight out of the container – I won’t judge! This recipe also happens to be gluten-free, grain-free, paleo-friendly, and vegan, so it’s sure to satisfy almost anyone!
Friends, have you ever tried to meal prep a salad, only for it to be soggy, wilted, and boring by the next day? I know I have. Even without the dressing, there’s something so sad about a meal prepped salad. Luckily, we’re changing the game with this recipe.
My Cabbage Carrot Salad is the perfect solution to those soggy salad woes! By using “harder” veggies like cabbage and carrots, we’re ensuring that our salad stays crispy and fresh for days on end. But, don’t let the idea of cabbage and carrots bore you. With my homemade tangy peanut dressing, this salad is instantly transformed into a wondrous bowl of flavors, colors, and textures!
What Makes a Good Salad
Everyone’s definition of what makes a good salad may be different. After all, no two salads are exactly the same! But in my book, there are three keys steps to making the perfect salad:
- Pack the salad full of veggies! In my opinion, salads are one of the easiest ways to get more veggies in (aside from my beloved smoothies, of course). When I get a salad, I want to see lots of vibrant and colorful veggies inside, and feel like I’m truly eating the rainbow!
- Make sure there’s a variety of flavors! While I want my salads to have vegetables in them, I don’t want them to taste just like veggies. Instead, I want them to be bursting with flavor, from both the ingredients and the dressing. One-dimensional salads just don’t do it for me.
- Keep ’em light, yet filling! It’s a delicate balance crafting the perfect salad, and in my opinion, the perfect salad keeps me full and satisfied, without feeling like there’s a brick in my stomach. I don’t want to feel like I just ate Thanksgiving dinner, after finishing my salad.
If you’ve yet to try any of my salad recipes yet, then in addition to this one, you have to try my Ultimate Kale Salad with Creamy Tahini Lemon Dressing (fun fact: it’s my most popular recipe of all-time!) Or, try out my Hillstone Macho Salad with its unique cornbread croutons, or my Strawberry Arugula Salad with Lemon Poppyseed Dressing. Either way, you can’t go wrong when you make a Kalejunkie salad recipe, if I do say so myself. 😉
What You Need to Make This Perfectly Crispy, Crunchy Salad
All you need are a few simple ingredients to make this salad and its tangy peanut dressing!
- Cabbage: Cabbage is full of Vitamin C, beta-carotene, and antioxidants, making it an underrated super food! I love cabbage because it’s similar to lettuce, but keeps its crispy texture over time!
- Carrots: Carrots are rich in Vitamin A and add the perfect crunchy texture to this recipe! You can buy your carrots pre-shredded or shred them yourself with a cheese grater – it’s up to you!
- Peanut Butter: After all, we need peanut butter in order to make a peanut sauce! My favorite peanut butter is from my friends at Georgia Grinders, and you can use my code KALEJUNKIE20 for 20% off your order.
- Water: A little water will help to thin out the dressing!
- Coconut Aminos or Low Sodium Soy Sauce: You can use coconut aminos or low sodium soy sauce in this recipe. Both work just as well!
- Sesame Oil: A splash of sesame oil adds a nutty, toasty flavor that perfectly compliments the other ingredients.
- Honey: Honey adds sweetness without the refined sugars. Woohoo!
- Lime: A squeeze of lime juice adds brightness and acidity!
- Garlic: Fresh garlic is always best, and adds the most amazing flavor to this dressing! I recommend using 2 fresh garlic cloves in this recipe.
- Toppings: If you want to add some more dimension to this salad, I recommend topping it with sesame seeds, chopped scallions, or even some shredded chicken for some extra protein!
How to Make This Delicious Cabbage Carrot Salad
Making this salad consists of two main steps: one, preparing your veggies, and two, making the dressing! To make the salad, simply shred your cabbage and carrots, or add your pre-shredded veggies to a bowl.
Next, make the dressing. Whisk all of your dressing ingredients together in a bowl, and pour them over the veggies. Toss to coat well.
Add your toppings, if desired, and your Cabbage Carrot Salad with Tangy Peanut Dressing is ready to go! You can serve right away, or store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to five days!
I hope you guys love this recipe! If you make it, be sure to leave a comment below and let me know what you think! And if you post to Instagram, I repost your remakes on my IG stories! xx
** Photography by Gayle McLeod
Ingredients
For the Salad
- 1 Large Purple Cabbage, thinly sliced — this will yield approximately 4 cups
- 2 Cups Shredded Carrots
For the Dressing
- ⅓ Cup Peanut Butter
- ¼ Cup Water
- ¼ Cup Coconut Aminos OR Low Sodium Soy Sauce
- 2 Tablespoons Sesame Oil
- 2 Tablespoons Honey
- 1 Lime, juiced
- 2 Cloves Garlic
For the Toppings (optional)
- ⅓ Cup Scallions, chopped
- 1 Tablespoon Sesame Seeds, you can also use Everything But the Bagel seasoning!
- 1 Cup Shredded Chicken, This kitchen hack is the perfect way to make shredded chicken in mere seconds!
Instructions
- Start by shredding your cabbage and carrots, or add your pre-shredded veggies to a bowl.
- Next, add all of the dressing ingredients to a separate bowl and whisk to fully combine.
- Toss the veggies into the dressing until they're fully coated.
- Add any toppings, if desired. I love adding in sliced scallion, sesame seeds, and shredded chicken
- Serve immediately or store the leftovers in the fridge. Enjoy!
Recipe In Action
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What others are saying
Loved this recipe made enough to pack lunch for me and husband for rest of week. I did add hemp seeds and toasted almonds to one of the days and everything bagel and pepper to other days. Hubby loved it too thank you for all your delicious recipes and I can’t wait for your 📖! My question is how do you make all these delicious recipes and still look gorgeous and lean?
You are so sweet Barbara, thank you so much! I am so thrilled that you loved this recipe, and I can’t wait until my book is in your hands! Creating recipes is my full-time job, and I feel so grateful for it! 🙂
This salad was to die for! Omg so good. I’m am seriously obsessed with your recipes! I’ve made so many of them and one is better than the next! Thanks so much!!
YAY! I am so, so thrilled hear that, Jackie! Thank you so much for making this recipe, and for leaving such a sweet review!
This is excellent. Yum yum yum! I had it without and with chicken added, good both ways. The dressing is amazing and yes I did want to drink it.
I’m so glad it turned out so well for you, Debra!! And isn’t this dressing just soooo good?! Thank you so much for making this recipe, and for leaving such a sweet review!
It looks like there are additions in the photo that aren’t mentioned in the recipe. (Peanuts and some green leafy veggie.)
Hi SJ! They are optional garnishes, not part of the recipe. 🙂
Loved this! Easy and delicious!
Yay! I am so happy that you loved this recipe, Heidi!
This sauce is delicious. I’ve also put it over roasted veggies and sausage (another KJ recipe!) and we loved it.
Woohoo! I am so happy that you loved this recipe, Christina! Thank you so much for making this recipe, and for leaving such a kind review!
I loved this recipe, thank you! I made it for my parents. It was super easy and made a lot. The dressing is creamy and delicious. Can’t wait to eat it all week.
Woohoo! Melanie, I am thrilled to hear that! Thank you so much for making this recipe!
Oh no! Somehow my review came up as 3 stars when I meant to give 5! 🙁 Is there a way for me to delete it?!
No worries at all, Melanie! I just edited your review to include five stars ☻ Thank you so much for your support!
I happened to have extra shredded cabbage and shredded carrots leftover from another recipe. This was a perfect use for them. A great lunch on a hot day and the rest i can eat for a lunch or two this week.
Woohoo! I am so thrilled that you loved this recipe, Stephanie! Thank you so much for making it, and for leaving such a kind review!
I had leftover cabbage and carrot from a cole slaw made the other night to accompany shrimp rolls. I wanted to use up leftovers with a different dressing. This sealed the deal. Peanut sauce in general is one of my favorite things. I used oat butter with chia, oats, and coconut instead of peanut butter, and showered the top with sesame seeds. SO DELICIOUS. I could swim in this sauce …
Sounds delicious, Kimberly! Thank you so much for making this recipe, and for leaving such a kind review!
This looks delicious! I’m going to sub maple syrup for the honey and I am thinking about adding some sliced almonds as well!
That sounds delicious, Shannon! Thank you so much for making this recipe and for your review!
Really good.