As baked salad season continues – it was only time before another roasted cabbage recipe got thrown into the mix! And wow, is this ever a baked cabbage recipe. This Roasted Cabbage Salad with Sesame Honey Red Onions is supremely filling, packed with protein and feel-good ingredients, plus injected with different textures and flavors in every bite.
To break it down, cabbage is roasted alongside harissa chickpeas, and while that is baking, sesame seeds and coriander are sizzled with red wine vinegar and honey, then poured over red onions and garlic to make a bright-pink, pickled slaw dressing. Everything is combined on one sheet pan, and the salad truly sings.
Of course, I opted to serve this nutty, zippy, bright baked salad with a swipe of labneh over toast, but you can serve it however you like. That’s the magic of it!
Table of contents
The ingredients you’ll need for this roasted cabbage salad
This time of year calls for hearty and warm salads that will leave you full and satisfied – and cabbage is one of the best candidates for baked salads for good reason! When roasted in the oven, it comes out slightly crispy on the outside, but still soft in the middle. Here’s what you’ll need for this baked salad:
- 1/2 medium head of cabbage any kind, thinly sliced
- 1 (15-ounce) can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons harissa paste
- 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, grated
- 1/4 cup white sesame seeds
- 1 tablespoon coriander pods, crushed with a mortar and pestle
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 4 slices of bread toasted, optional, for serving
- Labneh, optional, for serving
How to make the sesame and honey red onions
These red onions are low-key the star of the show in this baked salad, but don’t tell the cabbage that. They’re slightly sweet from the honey, nutty from the sesame seeds and pack an acidic kick. It’s the perfect topping for this baked salad, or almost any baked salad for that matter! Here’s how to make it:
- While those are in the oven, prepare the dressing. Add the sliced red onion and grated garlic to a medium bowl.
- Place a small sauté pan over medium heat and add 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Add in the sesame seeds and toast for 1-2 minutes or until fragrant. Add in the coriander, red pepper flakes and a large pinch of salt and cook another 2-3 minutes, or until the sesame seeds are golden brown.
- Reduce the heat to low and add the vinegar and honey, stirring to combine for just a few minutes, until the honey is fully dissolved into the vinegar.
- Pour this over the red onions and garlic. Stir to coat the red onions in the sesame sauce. Let sit until the cabbage is out of the oven. You’ll begin to see the onions turn into a beautiful, bright pink. Taste and season as needed.
Bringing this baked salad together
The beauty of a baked salad is that all the components are done around the same time. While the cabbage and beans roast in the oven, the onion slaw is made, and before you know it everything is done and ready to be tossed together. It’s so simple but makes you feel like you accomplished something!
When the cabbage and chickpeas are out of the oven, combine them on one sheet pan. Pour the red onion dressing over them both and toss everything together.
To serve, add a swipe of labneh to each slice of bread and pile the salad on top. Or just serve on its own!
FAQ
Yes! Chickpeas are great because of their heartiness, but there are plenty of other beans that will pair well with the cabbage and slaw. Try roasted butter beans or cannellini beans in this baked salad.
Baked salads can be great for meal prep if you store them well. To keep this salad for later, store the cabbage and chickpeas in an air-tight container, separately from the red onion slaw. This will ensure that the cabbage and chickpeas don’t get all oniony in the fridge. When you’re ready to eat, let the onion slaw come to room temp and toss the chickpeas and cabbage in the air-fryer or microwave and top with the slaw.
Good question! I would advise against it, as sesame oil is much more pungent than the whole seeds and lacks the naturally nutty flavor that makes the onion slaw so delicious. Plus, the sesame seeds add a bit of crunchy texture to the slaw which makes it even more irresistable. You can find sesame seeds at the grocery store or your local Asian market.
Looking for more baked salads?
Look no further, you’ve come to the right place!
And that’s everything for this Roasted Cabbage Salad with Sesame Honey Red Onions!
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
Roasted Cabbage Salad with Sesame Honey Red Onions
Equipment
- 2 half sheet pans
- 1 small sauté pan
Ingredients
- 1/2 medium head of cabbage any kind, thinly sliced
- 1 (15-ounce) can of chickpeas drained and rinsed
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons harissa paste
- 1 small red onion thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves grated
- 1/4 cup white sesame seeds
- 1 tablespoon coriander pods crushed with a mortar and pestle
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 4 slices of bread toasted, optional, for serving
- Labneh optional, for serving
Instructions
- Evenly stagger two racks in the oven and preheat to 400°F.
- Scatter the cabbage on one lined baking sheet and the chickpeas on another. Drizzle the cabbage with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle the chickpeas with olive oil, season with salt and dot with the harissa paste. Mix to combine.
- Add both sheet pans to the oven. Roast the cabbage for 18-22 minutes or until browning on the edges. Roast the chickpeas for 22-25 minutes or until crisp.
- While those are in the oven, prepare the dressing. Add the sliced red onion and grated garlic to a medium bowl.
- Place a small sauté pan over medium heat and add 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Add in the sesame seeds and toast for 1-2 minutes or until fragrant. Add in the coriander, red pepper flakes and a large pinch of salt and cook another 2-3 minutes, or until the sesame seeds are golden brown.
- Reduce the heat to low and add the vinegar and honey, stirring to combine for just a few minutes, until the honey is fully dissolved into the vinegar.
- Pour this over the red onions and garlic. Stir to coat the red onions in the sesame sauce. Let sit until the cabbage is out of the oven. You'll begin to see the onions turn into a beautiful, bright pink. Taste and season as needed.
- When the cabbage and chickpeas are out of the oven, combine them on one sheet pan. Pour the red onion dressing over them both and toss everything together.
- To serve, add a swipe of labneh to each slice of bread and pile the salad on top. Or just serve on its own!
just made this and put it over mashed potatoes, oh my god so good. I didn’t have harissa paste but threw some old bay on the chickpeas and it was extremely yummy. Always a fan of Justine’s flavor combos!
Omg this makes me so happy!! I’m so thrilled you liked it and thank you for taking the time to leave a rating & review!
Made this tonight and it was great. Used some red kidney-like beans and served it over farro. The ONIONS are amazing! I think it would elevate many many things – which maybe I could suggest if I wasn’t so satisfied with tonight’s dinner.
I just made this salad and it was soooo good and easy and fun to make. Thank you for your interesting and healthy recipes. I will be making the brussel sprouts, fennel and fig dressing one next as I have another batch of figs that need to be prepared after I made jam. Thank you and I will also be making this salad again in the future as the flavors were wonderful!
Aw yay! This makes me so happy, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!!
This was delicious! The pickled red onions with sesame seeds and crushed cardamom make this dish, so crunchy, sweet and savory. I doubled the recipe to use a full head of cabbage (I had to first roast the cabbage on two pans and then the beans so it took a bit longer) to make as a side dish for 7 people. I cooked everything earlier on in the day and then served it at room temperature. The leftovers were still crunchy and yummy for lunch. I will definitely make this again, thank you!
I made this tonight and everyone loved it! My chickpeas didn’t get crispy, just kind of hard-ish, but it was still a hit with the whole family. Yum!
I’ve been watching your videos when they pop up on Facebook and I’m super inspired by them, it’s really helping my meal planning branch out! Plus they’re always so pleasant and soothing to watch.
Aw thank you! So glad you enjoyed this one!
I love this! Just found you on IG and WOW I am feeling so inspired now. I am very excited for this new-to-me use for cabbage. 😀 Thank you!
Ahhhh this makes me so happy!! I’m so glad you liked it, and thank you for taking the time to leave such a kind review <33
Flavors were amaze! Didn’t have labneh at my store, so I subbed Greek yogurt and it worked perfect! Think I overdid the Harissa bc it was a lil too spicy, but this is going in the rotation. Def in my cabbage era!
Whoooooo WE LOVE A CABBAGE ERA! I’m so thrilled you liked it, and thank you for taking the time to leave such a nice rating and review!
Fantastic recipe! This was my first baked salad and enjoyed it more than I expected lol. The sesame onions were totally the star of the show and so easy to make. Thank you for level of detail you put into these recipes. Looking forward to exploring your other recipes.
This is the highest compliment! I’m so thrilled you enjoyed it, and I hope you’ll like anything else you might find on here! Thank you for taking the time to leave such a kind rating and review <3
This was soooo good! The dressing is amazing! I’m vegan so I just used unflavored vegan yogurt as the base and it was amazing.
I’m so happy you liked it!! Thank you for taking the time to leave such a nice rating and review <3
Obsessed! Love this new take on an Israeli salad and will definitely be making this time & again. I’m excited to try more of your recipes! Thank you!!
Made this tonight and the whole family loved it! I was out of sesame seeds, so subbed hemp seeds and added a bit of sesame oil. Still turned out fabulous. We used it as a side dish. Thank you for the great flavors!
This is my 2nd time making this recipe and it’s definitely a hit! I have a lot of veggies from the garden so I also added shredded carrots and chopped bell peppers to the cabbage. I also used chili oil instead of harissa paste. I’ve experimented with different beans and I paired them with chili lime pepitas.
The 1st time I used it as the filling in a warm pita. The 2nd time, I had it with lemon herb tilapia. It’s also delicious on it’s own.
I found this recipe initially on Instagram. I love your narrator voice!