This crispy cabbage salad is quickly becoming one of my seasonal fall staples. It’s quick, easy, sweet and savory all at once. Plus you are getting a huge hit of vegetables, without even realizing it. The maple tahini dressing adds sweetness, satiating fats and an extra layer of flavor, making this salad perfect for serving as a dinner side, or for batch prepping for meal prep.
Table of contents
What is savoy cabbage?
Savoy cabbage is a winter vegetable and probably my favorite member of the cabbage family. It has wrinkly leaves and sometimes a darker color than standard cabbage, and I’ve found it holds up much longer in cabbage recipes like this.
The savoy cabbage does tend to have a milder flavor than traditional cabbage, but the difference is negligible. You can use both interchangeably in this recipe!
Let’s talk about making cabbage crispy
Most people assume cabbage cannot be crispy since it is often boiled, braised or slow roasted. But that’s definitely not true. Brussel sprouts are from the cabbage family, and we make them crispy all the time!
Cabbage wants to be crispy. It has a lower moisture level that lends itself perfectly to browning, roasting, and crisping up. All you need is a bit of oil to aid the process, and the crisping will take 30 minutes or less.
You can either pan fry or roast crispy cabbage, and in this recipe I opted for roasting. We roast the cabbage at an incredibly high heat for a short period of time to achieve a crisp, cooked through texture that is perfect to pair with the maple tahini dressing.
The ingredients you will need for this crispy cabbage salad recipe
This recipe is broken down into the cabbage, the maple tahini dressing, and the optional fall breadcrumbs which I pulled over from my Pumpkin Miso Pasta recipe!
Here’s everything you need if you want to make the full crispy cabbage salad recipe:
- 2 lbs savoy cabbage, about 1 medium cabbage
- 2 tbsp avocado oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- 6 tbsp tahini
- ¼ cup hot water
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1/3 cup pomegranate seeds
Optional breadcrumb topping:
- 1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 2 fresh sage leaves
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 1 tsp dried rosemary
- salt to taste
How to make this crispy cabbage salad and maple tahini dressing
The instructions for this are broken down into two categories: roast and whisk. Here are all the details broken down step-by-step!
- Preheat the oven to 450F.
- Shred the cabbage into pieces. Toss the shredded cabbage with avocado oil, salt and pepper.
- On a parchment lined baking sheet, spread the cabbage out in a thin even layer. It’s important that you don’t crowd the pan, so you might want to use 2-3 baking sheets for all of your cabbage.
- Roast the cabbage at 450F for 17-20 minutes, or until the cabbage is crispy and slightly browned.
- While the cabbage is roasting, make the tahini dressing by whisking together the maple syrup, balsamic vinegar, tahini, hot water, red pepper flakes and salt.
- When the cabbage is out of the oven, toss with the dressing, top with pomegranate seeds and serve! You can serve this warm or cold.
FAQ
You can store this salad fully dressed if you want to! And I recommend storing it in an air tight container in the fridge. Please note this will not freeze well.
It should keep for about 4-5 days in the fridge!
Those are optional, but they do add a nice flavor and crunch! In their place I’d recommend adding craisins.
Almond butter or sunflower butter is another great option!
Looking for other easy salad recipes?
You’ve come to the right place 😉 I went through a salad PHASE over the summer, and here are some of my favorites.
Watch the recipe video here:
Crispy Cabbage Salad with Maple Tahini Dressing
Ingredients
- 2 lbs savoy cabbage about 1 medium cabbage
- 2 tbsp avocado oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- 6 tbsp tahini
- ¼ cup hot water
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1/3 cup pomegranate seeds
Optional breadcrumb topping:
- 1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 2 fresh sage leaves
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 1 tsp dried rosemary
- salt to taste
Instructions
For the breadcrumbs
- If you are opting to add the breadcrumbs, begin by preparing them first. Pulse the panko, sage, fennel and rosemary in a food processor until you have an even breadcrumb consistency.
- Toast the breadcrumbs either on the stovetop or under your oven's broiler for about 4-5 minutes, or until golden. Set to the side.
For the crispy cabbage salad
- Preheat the oven to 450F.
- Shred the cabbage into pieces. Toss the shredded cabbage with avocado oil, salt and pepper.
- On a parchment lined baking sheet, spread the cabbage out in a thin even layer. It's important that you don't crowd the pan, so you might want to use 2-3 baking sheets for all of your cabbage.
- Roast the cabbage at 450F for 17-20 minutes, or until the cabbage is crispy and slightly browned.
- While the cabbage is roasting, make the tahini dressing by whisking together the maple syrup, balsamic vinegar, tahini, hot water, red pepper flakes and salt.
- When the cabbage is out of the oven, toss with the dressing, top with pomegranate seeds and serve! You can serve this warm or cold.
I am very into this salad. It will definitely be on repeat for the rest of the fall. I used almond butter like you recommended in the FAQs, but I will definitely try it with tahini too. I want this dressing on everything.
Love the taste of this. Just found you and your recipes and working through each one. I am loving your flavor combinations using healthy food. You are a game changer in craving healthy food, thank you! The fennel apple salad is unbelievable!
I am a lover of anything crunchy and just can’t get the cabbage crunchy except on the charred bits. I put on two extra large trays in oven, was careful with amount of oil, rotated pans half way. Cabbage came out more soggy, definitely less crunchy. Any thoughts on what I am doing wrong?
Hi! First thank you for the message, I’m so glad you found me! My first inclination is that they trays are slightly overcrowded, so I’d recommend going up to three instead of two (annoying, I know, but worth it!) And just like with brussel sprouts, the cabbage won’t be crispy throughout, just on the edges, so it might not be you doing something wrong, but just the vegetable itself.
I have never put these flavors together but OMG I am now obsessed with this salad. It looks and tastes amazing and is the perfect meal to start getting into the fall spirit. (I live in Texas and this is the 1st cool week)
Omg I’m so glad you made it! Also hell yeah Texas getting their fall weather in!
I’m not a fan of salads but I’ve been converted!! This was sooo sooo good! I only trust Justine’s salads because they’re always so flavourful and not boring. I’m not vegan so in the past I’d always feel that I need some meat or seafood on the side. Not anymore though! I’m starting to enjoy eating solely veggies after trying her recipes.
I am SO glad you liked it! This comment is one of the best compliments ever <333