This Sesame Cabbage Salad is refreshing, satisfying and takes just minutes to put together. With a subtly sweet and tangy flavor, this is a healthy salad that’s perfect as a side or main!
I was going to start this recipe out with a salad pun, but I tossed it! Ok ok, I couldn’t help myself! I think I hit the jackpot with this Sesame Cabbage Salad! I mean, you can’t go wrong when there is Swiss cheese involved. Normally I’m not a big fan of cabbage, and I typically will avoid it at any cost – unless I’m making cabbage rolls; but this salad was so delicious, I could not stop eating it!
The toasted sesame seeds and fresh cabbage give it a nice crunchiness, with raisins adding the perfect hint of sweetness. Also, did I mention it’s good for you? Salads like this are simple, satisfying and so easy to throw together – how could you not want to serve it!
Ingredient Notes
- Mustard – Yellow mustard.
- Vinegar – I used plain vinegar, but you can use your preference.
- Olive Oil – Substitute with sunflower oil, safflower oil or avocado oil.
- Salt & Pepper – To taste.
- Cabbage – Shredded.
- Cheese – Swiss cheese, cubed.
- Apple – Cored and sliced – I used a green apple.
- Sesame Seeds – Toasted.
- Lemon Juice – I used freshly squeezed, store bought will work as well.
- Raisins – If you aren’t a fan of raisins, feel free to leave them out!
How to make sesame cabbage salad
- Make the Dressing: In a small bowl, mix together the mustard, vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. Whisk it until it’s well incorporated.
- Shred Cabbage & Toss: Shred the cabbage using a mandoline or cut it as small as you can using a sharp knife, and place it in a large bowl. Pour the dressing over the cabbage and toss well.
- Prep apples: Pour the lemon juice over the apple so as not to get brown.
- Combine: Add the cheese, apple, raisins and sesame seeds to the cabbage and toss everything well together.
- Serve: Serve cold.
Tips and tricks
- Squeeze juice from half a lemon over the apples so they don’t get dark – we want them to stay nice and bright!
- It helps to shred the cabbage with a Mandoline Slicer this will make it a lot faster and easier for the newbies.
Make it ahead of time!
This is a good salad to make for meal prep! If you want to make this salad in advance, make it the night before and keep it overnight in the fridge, this way the dressing will soak into the salad and the flavors will meld together even more!
What to serve with your salad
If you’re looking for a light, healthy and refreshing lunch, you’ve found a winner with this one! And while it is perfect on it’s own, you can absolutely serve this salad as a side to your main feature. If you want to go the full meal deal route, here are some great options:
- Korean BBQ Chicken
- Crock Pot Asian Meatballs
- Pan Seared Steak
- Spicy Honey Garlic Chicken Thighs
- Korean BBQ Ribs
- Sesame Chicken
- Ginger Beef
Leftovers
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
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Sesame Cabbage Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp yellow mustard
- 1 tbsp vinegar
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- ¼ tsp salt or to taste
- ½ tsp pepper or to taste
- ½ head cabbage shredded
- 1 tbsp lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 1 apple cored and sliced
- 4 oz swiss cheese cubed
- ¼ cup sesame seeds toasted
- 3 oz raisins
Instructions
- Make the Dressing: In a small bowl, mix together the mustard, vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. Whisk it until it's well incorporated.
- Shred Cabbage & Toss: Shred the cabbage using a mandoline or cut it as small as you can using a sharp knife, and place it in a large bowl. Pour the dressing over the cabbage and toss well.
- Prep apples: Pour the lemon juice over the apple so as not to get brown.
- Combine: Add the cheese, apple, raisins and sesame seeds to the cabbage and toss everything well together.
- Serve: Serve cold.
Recipe Notes
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
This recipe turned out lovely and was nice to use up some store cupboard ingredients too. I’ve never tried using my mandolin for cabbage, but was really easy. After a few sneaky bites it is now chilling in fridge for tonight’s dinner.
I am going to try this. can you tell me what kind of vinegar you used?
Just regular white vinegar. 🙂
In the picture there is a green shredded ingredient on the top, what is it as I didn’t see in the recipe ingredients
That’s just a garnish- it’s not necessary for the recipe. You can use some chives or parsley if you’d like to add some more green to the salad.
Hello Jo!!!
I have really enjoyed the videos and love your quick dishes. I am a 5 ingredient kind of gal. I tell my friends if you give me a cook book make sure it only have 5 ingredients any more I just don’t have the patience. LOL Thank you. Now let me get back to work. Hush Hush!!! Smile.
Jan James Baltimore MD
This was delicious
Interesting combination of flavors. Sounds delicious!
Found this recipe on Pinterest. Made it tonight to go with a Korean BBQ Beef recipe I had. It was very good. Just curious do you use ground mustard or prepared yellow mustard? I used prepared yellow mustard but I think I will try dry mustard next time. I also had to improvise and use a mozzarella cheese stick as I didn’t have swiss. I added a little sugar to the dressing and added chopped celery and green onion to the salad. Oh and I left out the raisins. Thank you for the recipe I will be making it again.
Hi, I used prepared mustard. Glad you liked it.