There are just some salads that are designed to make you feel GOOD, and this Carrot and Cabbage Salad with Cumin Grains and Date Dressing is one of those salads. I love it. I could eat it every day for lunch (and I quite often do!).
Plus, I love that it proves that a really good salad doesn’t need lettuce. I love lettuce, but sometimes I just want a hearty bowl of other vegetables, you know?
This salad takes shredded vegetables, a salty-sweet dressing, and a pile of hearty, spiced mixed grains and combines them all together. I mean, who knew buckwheat had such a wonderful texture that married perfectly with cumin and farro? And WHO KNEW that cinnamon works well in a surprisingly savory dressing? And who knew that cabbage is amazing? (Spoiler, I think we all knew that tbh).
Read on for how to make one of my new favorite meal-prep salads, and I hope it will make your winter rotation.
Now carrots are in season in winter
Which means they are surprisingly good. I added them in with this cabbage slaw because cabbage is another hearty vegetable that we can usually find in the winter. Plus, they both will last forever in your fridge. So if you are looking to buy these vegetables and have them hang out in your fridge for a bit before you cook, this is the perfect recipe for that.
And you can use any protein!
I love tofu in this recipe, but if you are a meat-eater, any other protein marries very well with this salad, too. Grilled chicken, or roasted salmon, or shrimp, they are all fair game!
Plus if you are feeling supremely lazy, canned beans or edamame will work well in this salad, too!
The spices are forgiving
I love cumin seed mixed into my warm grains. It’s an insane combo, and you just won’t know it until you try it. But if you don’t have cumin seeds on hand, ground cumin will work, too. Or even chili powder or smoked paprika. It’s just nice to keep the grains savory so that you can balance out the sweet acidic date dressing.
What is the best way to store this carrot and cabbage salad?
The beauty of this salad is it gets better as it sits. So with the exception of adding the herbs, you can dress and mix this salad and let it chill in the fridge until you are ready to eat it! I like to keep it in an airtight container, and it will last for 4 days in the fridge.
It’s great if you have a long work week and want to make sure you’re set with your lunches for the week!
A side note, this recipe is not great frozen, so if you are looking to freeze something, maybe look into these soups first!
And that’s it for this Carrot and Cabbage Salad with Cumin Grains and Date Dressing!
If you make it, please tag me on Pinterest or Instagram so I can see! It’s my favorite thing to scroll through stories and see what you all are making.
And of course feel free to leave any questions, comments or reviews! This is the best place to reach me, and I’d love to hear from you <3
Carrot and Cabbage Salad with Cumin Grains and Date Dressing
Equipment
- 1 chef's knife
- 1 medium pot
- 1 sauté pan
- 1 mandolin
Ingredients
For the tofu and grains
- 1 14-ounce block of extra-firm tofu drained and pressed
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil
- 1 cup mixed grains of choice (I do 1/3 cup buckwheat, 1/3 cup brown rice, 1/3 cup farro)
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon sumac
For the salad
- 1/2 head green cabbage 800 grams / 28 ounces
- 1/2 medium red onion 100 grams / 3.5 ounces
- 3 large carrots 150 grams / 5.3 ounces
- 5 medium scallions 50 grams / 1.75 ounces
For the date cinnamon dressing
- 3 large medjool dates pits removed
- 1 1/2-inch piece of fresh ginger
- 1 garlic clove optional
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup cool water
- 1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
For serving, topping
- 1/2 cup torn tender herbs like mint, dill or parsley
- 1/4 cup chopped roasted pistachios
Instructions
- Drain a block of extra-firm tofu. Press it with paper towels or a lint-free dish towel to get out as much moisture as possible, then cut the tofu into bite-sized pieces.
- Set a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons of avocado oil or enough to coat the surface. In two batches, sear the tofu for 5 minutes on each side or until it is golden, crispy and releases from the pan.
- While the tofu is searing, fill a medium pot with water and set it on the burner next to the tofu. Bring it to a boil.
- Add a large pinch of salt to the boiling water and add your mixed grains. Reduce the water to a simmer and cook for 25-30 minutes, or until you can taste the grains and they are tender. Drain the grains, but return them to the pot.
- Season the grains with 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds, 1/2 teaspoon of sumac and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Mix in the spices while the grains are still warm to help "bloom" the spices. Set aside.
- While the tofu and grains are cooking, use a mandolin to thinly slice the 1/2 head of green cabbage, 1/2 red onion and 3 carrots into a large bowl. Thinly slice the green parts of the scallions and add these to the bowl as well.
- Make the dressing in a small blender, add all the ingredients for the dressing and blend until smooth. Taste and add more salt or vinegar as preferred.
- Add the tofu, grains and dressing into the bowl with the vegetables. Mix this into a slaw.
- To serve, pile the salad into four bowls and top with torn tender herbs and chopped pistachios.
This looks delicious! Any ideas of date substitute? I’m allergic to them!
I thought this recipe sounded delicious, so I had to try it. This time of the year in Oklahoma it’s hard to find dates but surprisingly the local Walmart had some. My 85 year old MIL who lives with us can be a but finicky. She ate the entire bowl with no negative comments. That’s a win! My husband had a 2nd helping and said he could eat it every day. I could too!
WowowWOW I’m honored!! I’m so glad everyone liked it!
I’d love to make this recipe to use up some extra cabbage, but I have a date sensitivity. Any recommendations for substitutions in the dressing?
Dried figs are a great option, or you can use dried cranberries as well!
Love your salad bowl! I think you also used it as a mixing bowl in your coffee peach cake video. Can you share the name or brand of it?
Earthen, I believe! I have a few other bowls linked on my “Most-Used Items” page!
I have too many of these ingredients at home not to try this!
Are the leftovers meant to be served cold or at room temperature? I am not very familiar with tofu in salads. Thanks 🙂
You can do either! I like serving it cold for ease (right out of the fridge!), but you can let it come up to room temperature as well!
What a delicious salad! My buckwheat had bugs in it so I subbed with the next thing on the shelf: lentils. Only after rinsing them did it occur to me that that may be a bit too much protein. They didn’t absorb the spices as much as I’d hoped, but the whole thing is delicious anyway.
I also mixed in a bunch of parsley instead of garnishing with dill, and the parsley works really really well with the cinnamon – definitely recommend.
However, I can’t seem to get my tofu crispy when just frying like that; does anyone have a good trick? Personally, I don’t mind the soft texture, but sometimes the true crisp would be nice.
Thank you for another brilliant recipe, Justine.
I somehow ended up with not quite enough dressing! Perhaps my veggies were too large. Easy enough to make more!
This is my second Justine salad recipe. I ordered my first mandolin and special dates just to make it! I’ll be getting much use from both. I have a new favorite dressing since making my last Justine salad.