A simple healthy recipe for Asian Slaw – easy and crunchy, this vegan slaw can be made ahead and is delicious alongside miso salmon, or these easy salmon cakes, ginger tofu, or stuffed into tacos or added to buddha bowls—a great way to add more cruciferous veggies into our everyday meals. See our 25+ Amazing Cabbage Recipes!
This Asian Cabbage Slaw is easy to make and packed full of flavor! A wonderful excuse to purchase one of those stunning cabbages at the farmers’ market. It’s also a fantastic way to use up all the stray veggies in the fridge- that remaining half cabbage, the stray carrot or parsnip, or the leftover bell pepper.
If you are part of a CSA or shop at the farmers market, many of the veggies you’ll find there can be added to this slaw – like kohlrabi, turnips, beets, or brussels sprouts. Such an easy, useful way to add more veggies into our everyday diet.
How to Make Asian Slaw! | video
Why you’ll love this recipe: The Asian Slaw Dressing!
The Asian Slaw Dressing is the best! Not only is it made with accessible ingredients you most likely have in your pantry, but it also seems to have the right balance of sweetness, tartness, and depth with just a little heat. And of course, you can personalize it even further to your own tastes.
Asian Slaw Ingredients!
- Cabbage -any type will work here- purple, green, napa cabbage – or other shreddable veggies- carrots, bell pepper, snow peas, kohlrabi, jicama, or use a broccoli “slaw”. You’ll need 6-7 cups total for this recipe.
- Cilantro – optional, but adds so much flavor here as a beautiful color.
- Scallions- I love the flavor of green onions here; chives would also work, or sub-thinly sliced red onion in a pinch.
- Olive oil and toasted sesame oil – for richness.
- Rice wine vinegar –rice wine vinegar is milder than most other vinegar and less acidic. We use unseasoned rice vinegar– if yours is “seasoned” you may need to cut back on the sweetener here!
- Sweetener- maple syrup, honey, agave, sugar, or coconut sugar
- Soy sauce (or use a gluten-free alternative like Braggs or Coconut Amino Acids)
- Fresh ginger and garlic- use fresh grated ginger and garlic, or ginger paste and garlic paste. I do not recommend ground ginger powder.
- Chili paste (optional) or chili flakes.
How to make Asian Slaw
- Slice the cabbage finely and add it to a large bowl. Add cilantro and scallions if you like.
- Whisk Asian Slaw Dressing ingredients together in a small bowl.
- Pour the Asian dressing into slaw and toss well. Taste, adjust salt, honey and sesame oil to taste.
- Garnish with sesame seeds!
Time-saving Slaw Tips
- If short on time, many grocery stores offer gourmet “slaw mixes” already pre-shredded! These are perfect for this recipe: brussel sprouts slaw, broccoli slaw, carrot slaw… you get the idea. It’s a basic recipe designed to be used as a base for your own creations.
- If you like, you can use ginger paste (in a tube) and garlic paste in a tube to save time!
Storage and Make ahead
This Asian slaw recipe will keep up to 4 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. You can prep the cabbage up to 3 days ahead as well as the dressing and toss before serving- leaving the sesame seeds off until serving.
What to serve with Asian Slaw
- Thai Turkey Burger w/ Crunchy Asian Slaw
- Seared Ahi Tuna Salad
- Salmon Cakes
- Japanese Salmon Rice Bowls
- Chicken Katsu (or Tofu Katsu!)
- Simple Baked Miso Salmon
- Seasoned Japanese Rice with Furikake
- Teriyaki Salmon with Baby Bok Choy
- Instant Pot Teriyaki Chicken
- Thai Fried Rice
This is also a great way to use up stray veggies in the fridge, incorporating more nutrients into the slaw- salad turnips, kohlrabi, jicama, radishes… pretty much anything crunchy!
Hope you are having a great week, finding the beauty in what surrounds you. Even if it is simply in the face of cabbage, a beautiful, giant edible flower full of healing nutrients.
xoxo
More from Feasting At Home
Easy Crunchy Asian Slaw (w/ BEST Asian Dressing!)
- Prep Time: 20
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 6
- Category: Salad, vegan, slaw, dressing
- Method: tossed
- Cuisine: Asian
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Easy Crunchy Asian Slaw with the Best Asian Dressing! A simple vegan slaw with that can be made in 20 minutes and made ahead! Serve this alongside fish, tofu, or chicken or stuffed into tacos, topped onto burgers, or added to buddha bowls.
Ingredients
- 2 – 2 1/4 lb cabbage – shredded-roughly 6-7 cups (see notes)
- 3 scallions, sliced
- 1 cup cilantro, chopped (or sub Italian Parsley)
Asian Slaw Dressing:
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1–3 teaspoons toasted sesame oil (start conservatively add more to taste at the end)
- 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons sugar, maple syrup, honey, or coconut sugar
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce (or GF alternative like Braggs or Coconut Amino Acids)
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated, or use ginger paste
- 1 garlic clove, grated or use garlic paste ( garlic is optional, adds punchy flavor)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes or chili paste ( optional)
Optional toppings:
- Toasted sesame seeds
- roasted, crushed peanuts or cashews
Instructions
- Toss slaw ingredients together in a large bowl. Add cilantro and scallions.
- Whisk Asian Slaw Dressing ingredients together in a small bowl.
- Pour dressing into slaw and toss well. Taste, adjust salt, honey and sesame oil to taste.
- Garnish with sesame seeds and/ or nuts.
Notes
- Feel free to Substitute shredded carrots, bell pepper, snow peas, broccoli slaw, shredded Brussels sprouts, for part of the cabbage. ( For example, I’ll often do 5 cups cabbage, 1 cup carrots, 1 cup bell pepper)
- Salad will keep up to 3-4 days in the fridge.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 179
- Sugar: 14.9 g
- Sodium: 297.9 mg
- Fat: 11.8 g
- Saturated Fat: 2.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 18.6 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 2.1 g
- Cholesterol: 0.3 mg
Really delicious!
Absolutely amazing!! Very easy to make and it goes with everything!!
Great recipe. I make this at least once a month.
Delicious, delicious dressing!
So easy and my family was RAVING about this dish! One of the only times I have ever seen my mom go back for seconds and thirds of veggies. I used maple syrup and topped with both toasted sesame seeds and peanuts.
Perfect balance of crunchy, tangy, and savory with just a hint of sweetness. Thank you for a great recipe.
Just what I’ve been searching for, the dressing is perfection!
The dressing is to die for. You could put it on card and enjoy it! The slaw does need to be cut super fine. My husband did the chopping and too chunky! But the dressing saved us.
Just delicious
This dressing is absolutely delish!!! I made a huge batch of everything and sent some over to my parents who also absolutely loved it! This is a big win!!!!
So good! I made mine with cabbage, watermelon radish, bell pepper and carrot. I blended the cilantro into the dressing just cuz I felt like it and used some regular white vinegar since I didn’t have rice vinegar. Awesome, tastes like something you could get at a restaurant. This recipe is a keeper!
My guest can’t eat soy…any ideas how to replace it in the dressing?
Try the Coconut Aminos – Trader Joes has it or many healthier markets. 🙂
This recipe is incredible in every way! Quick and easy to make. I found your recipe last week and I’ve already made it 4 times! So delicious!
The dressing has become a staple, thank you!!
My son doesn’t like coleslaw but he loved this! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
This is a great slaw. The dressing is killer! Thanks for sharing.
This slaw has become a staple in our household!
This was great. I used it on top of teriyaki chicken tacos. My whole family enjoyed it.
This salad is amazing everyone loves it and is asking for the recipe
Awesome, glad you enjoyed this Lynn and thanks so much! 🙌
Nice recipe- simple and tasty. Will make again.
This is amazing. I’ve never been so full from slaw. I added some pineapple because we had one to use up and it took it to another level. My husband and kids loved it, too. I made a dinner out of it with the Katsu chicken since hubby insisted on meat. Perfect!
Love the addition of pineapple! Sounds perfect!
I made my own slaw recipe but used the dressing part only substituting vegetable oil for the olive oil. Normally I cook with olive oil but it has a flavor I didn’t want to interrupt the Asian flavors. It was delicious though!
Thank you for sharing another winning recipe! Made it yesterday and it was phenomenal! The dressing is so good! I’ve been looking for a good Asian recipe for a long time and now have one in my repertoire thanks to you!
Glad you enjoyed this!
Absolutely delicious!!!! LOVE this recipe
I don’t usually comment but this recipe was fantastic! I used 1/2 green cabbage and kohlrabi from my CSA farmshare and an old apple, cut in matchsticks. It was so filled with flavor and vegie goodness hitting the heat, acid, sweet, freshness criteria. Everyone loved it! Bravo!
Wonderful recipe! I reviewed you on my FB Page:
https://www.facebook.com/paleoprimalrx/posts/2657712821166154
Thanks for sharing!