This Asian Cabbage Salad with Warm Spicy Peanut Dressing is a Thai inspired side dish, perfect for lunch or as a light side dish.
It’s mid April as I write this and I think Mother Nature has finally stopped ordering snow for us here in Illinois.
We’ve been hunkered down with midwest comfort foods all winter, like big batch chili, chicken fajita soup and Pork Roast with Sauerkraut.
And while those comfort foods were perfectly lovely, my jeans tell me it’s time to lighten things up for a while with this Asian Cabbage Salad.
The flavors in this, y’all. Sooooo good!
Don’t let the longish list of ingredients scare you. You’ll be making the spicy peanut dressing from scratch and chances are you already have the ingredients in the fridge and pantry.
And the best part? You’ll feel good about what you’re feeding yourself and your family.
No weird stuff going on here….
Ingredients in the Spicy Peanut Dressing
- peanut butter (all natural if you have it but regular can work)
- rice vinegar
- sesame oil
- sriracha sauce
- tamari or coconut aminos (or soy sauce, if you prefer)
- honey
- lime juice
- powdered ginger - if you have fresh, go for it! I rarely do
- minced garlic
- liquid from canned Mandarin oranges
Asian Cabbage Salad Ingredients
I opted to use bagged salad for this recipe. If your garden has cabbage abounds, feel free to shred your own.
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- 3 color bagged coleslaw
- red bell pepper
- green onions
- fresh cilantro leaves
- toasted peanuts
- sugar-free Mandarin oranges packed in juice
- 1 tablespoon white sesame seeds
Recipe Ideas
This cabbage slaw can be served as a side dish, or you can add grilled chicken and make it a healthy, light meal.
If you can't have peanut butter, feel free to sub in almond butter or sunbutter.
I even served it along side leftover roast beef and roasted potatoes as a field meal. No complaints from my farmers who stopped for five minutes to dig in!
P.S. Don't judge the photo, I was standing at the tailgate with two kids, farmers and the wind whipping at me 😉
Other healthy salads you'll enjoy
Asian Cabbage Salad with Warm Spicy Peanut Dressing
Ingredients
Dressing Ingredients:
- ½ cup all-natural peanut butter
- 3 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 teaspoon sriracha sauce
- 3 tablespoon tamari or coconut aminos
- 1½ tablespoon honey
- 2 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 1 teaspoon powdered ginger
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- ¼ cup liquid from Mandarin oranges
Salad Ingredients:
- 2 16 ounce packages tri-colored cabbage slaw mix
- 1 medium red bell pepper sliced thin
- 2 green onions green parts only, sliced
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro leaves chopped
- ¼ cup toasted peanuts chopped
- 10- oz. can sugar-free Mandarin oranges packed in juice
- 1 tablespoon white sesame seeds
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Instructions
- To make the dressing, combine the peanut butter, vinegar, sesame oil, and sriracha sauce in a medium skillet over medium heat. Heat, stirring continually, until the peanut butter melts and the ingredients are thoroughly combined, approximately 2-3 minutes.
- Reduce heat to low and whisk in remaining dressing ingredients until combined. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until heated through, approximately 2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside. Keep warm.
- Combine shredded green cabbage, red cabbage, carrots, bell pepper, green onion, and fresh cilantro in a large bowl. Drizzle with a small amount of the warm peanut dressing. Toss to combine.
- Transfer salad to a serving platter and top with chopped peanuts, Mandarin oranges, and sesame seeds. Serve with remaining peanut dressing on the side.
Nutrition
This Farm Girl Cooks is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Celine says
If I'm making this for lunch, is it better to make ahead or the day of?