Colorful Cabbage Salad with Apples, Walnuts and Cranberries

Colorful Cabbage Salad

Thanksgiving meal planning inevitably revolves around how to roast a golden bird or nail a perfect pie crust. The notion of a salad at the holiday table is usually an afterthought, unless it’s one involving jello, mini marshmallows, or canned mandarins. But your Thanksgiving table NEEDS salad, people. All the heaviness of the meal — from the buttery mash to the rich gravy, creamed onions, and whatever kinda crazy business your family works into sweet potatoes — demands the balance and coolness of this fresh cabbage salad with apples.

A Healthy and Refreshing Cabbage Salad

This Cabbage Salad with Apples, Walnuts, and Cranberries is the perfect counterpoint to all the Thanksgiving classics. It’s crisp and bright, and can be made a day ahead if need be. It’s also killer the next day piled onto a leftover turkey sandwich with a swipe of mayo and a spoonful of cranberry sauce. And while Thanksgiving is hardly the time to be talking nutrition, the cabbage and walnuts in this slaw mean it’s mega nourishing.

How to Shred Cabbage

This is a simple recipe, but a few pointers on shredding cabbage might be helpful. Here’s how I do it:

1) Use a chef’s knife to cut the cabbage right down the middle through the stem.

2) Lay the cabbage cut-side-down on a cutting board and cut in half again through the stem

3) Trim out the little wedge of core

4) Cut the cabbage into thin slices

Colorful Cabbage Salad

Can you Make Cabbage Salad with Apples Ahead of Time?

Yes! I like this salad best made a couple of hours ahead of time. Be sure to cover and store it in the fridge until you are ready to serve. I holds up very well and is even tasty for a few days. Leftovers are terrific on their own and tasty tucked onto a sandwich.

If you like cabbage salad with apples, check out these other cabbage recipes:

Cabbage, Apple, and Sausage Skillet

Roasted Cabbage with Miso Ginger Butter

Mexican-Style Cabbage Slaw

Unstuffed Cabbage Meatballs by Ellie Krieger

Crispy Rice with Cabbage and Shitakes by Catherine McCord

5 from 5 votes
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Colorful Cabbage Salad with Apples, Walnuts, and Cranberries

This Colorful Cabbage Salad is crisp, bright, and can be made a day ahead if need be. It's also excellent as a leftover piled onto a turkey sandwich with a swipe of mayo.

Course Salad
Prep Time 15 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Servings 6
Author Katie Morford

Ingredients

  • 1/2 medium green cabbage , thinly sliced
  • 1/2 medium red cabbage , thinly sliced
  • 1 medium unpeeled crisp apple such as Granny Smith or Pink Lady , thinly sliced
  • 1 cup walnuts , coarsely chopped
  • 1 cup dried cranberries
  • 1/3 cup thinly sliced red onion
  • 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
  • 1/2 teaspoon celery seed
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions

  1. Put the green cabbage, red cabbage, apple, walnuts, cranberries, and onion into a large bowl and mix well.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, olive oil, maple syrup, celery seed, and salt. Pour over the cabbage and toss well. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Recipe Notes

Adapted from a recipe by Sharon Kramis

Comments

11.16.2012 at7:11 AM #

Monica

This is gorgeous and definitely going to be part of my Thanksgiving celebration, since while I love the traditional Thanksgiving fare, everything is BROWN. So this will be a beautiful pop of color and flavor! Thanks for your inspiration!

11.16.2012 at7:11 AM #

Katie Morford

Oh great…it definitely brightens up the table and is super yummy.

11.23.2012 at11:34 AM #

Erin

Hi Katie!

I made this a few hours before our family Thanksgiving dinner and it turned out well. I have to say though…after tasting it today I wish I would have made it the day before. After sitting overnight this salad isn’t just good, it is fabulous!!! I was worried about the cabbage getting soggy but it was as crunchy as ever for lunch today! My husband and I were standing in front of the fridge with our forks digging in the big salad bowl…we didn’t even bother to get bowls because we knew we were going to polish it off! Thank you for yet another fantastic recipe!

11.23.2012 at11:34 AM #

Katie Morford

Aw, thanks Erin. I did the same…fork digging right into the leftovers. The salad is also excellent piled into a turkey sandwich.

11.29.2012 at7:28 PM #

Erin

I made another batch just to try it on turkey sandwiches and you were absolutely right! Delicious! We had some leftovers since I doubled the recipe and we put it on our bbq pulled chicken sandwiches tonight…that was amazing too! Thanks again!

11.29.2012 at7:28 PM #

Katie Morford

BBQ chicken sandwiches + cabbage salad sounds divine!

05.30.2014 at6:15 PM #

Jenna

Will apples go brown if prepared the day before?

05.30.2014 at6:15 PM #

Katie Morford

Hi Jenna

As I recall, they don’t really brown, perhaps because of the vinegar in the salad. If you want to be certain, you can immerse the apple slices in a bowl of lemon water before you add them to the salad.

09.09.2017 at2:51 PM #

Karen

Trying this make ahead method today: Mix everything together except walnuts, dried cranberries and apple. Will add before serving tomirrow.

09.09.2017 at2:51 PM #

Katie Morford

I think it holds up well as a make ahead…and is arguably even better the next day. You could probably add the cranberries a day ahead, Hope you like it!

11.15.2018 at11:12 AM #

carol chait

Can’t wait to try this salad. It sounds super delicious and also healthy. I’m still pondering what I am going to make for T-Giving next week. I love traditional TG fare but am trying really hard in my head to come up with a radically different menu. My kids are my inspiration as they are tired of “the same old meal” Ugh. Will let you know what happens but this cabbage salad will likely be one of the dishes I will try. Thanks and Happy Thanksgiving. Your new fan Carol from LA.

11.15.2018 at11:12 AM #

Katie Morford

Welcome Carol! This is a longtime favorite and is excellent the next day on a leftover turkey sandwich!

11.22.2018 at11:05 AM #

Amy

Found this yesterday while last minute search for something to do with a head of green and purple cabbage. I’ve never posted a comment about a recipe before but this cabbage salad is AMAZING!! Not over powering with vinegar with that hint of sweetness with the maple syrup. We did double the dressing, so that it was a bit more, but that’s just us. Can’t wait to make it again with the other half of cabbage heads! Thanks!!!

11.22.2018 at11:05 AM #

Katie Morford

Wonderful. I made a mega batch for Thanksgiving myself…and now am enjoying leftovers on our turkey sandwiches 🙂 Appreciate the comment!

11.19.2019 at1:35 PM #

Michelle

We very much enjoyed this salad. I used only red cabbage and golden raisins in place of the dried cranberries, as that’s what I had on hand. Delicious!

11.19.2019 at1:35 PM #

Katie Morford

Sounds like smart swaps. Glad you liked it. We are having it for Thanksgiving this year!

11.24.2019 at7:16 AM #

Nancy

Hi, this looks like a wonderful addition to our Thanksgiving menu. Have you ever tried swapping out pomegranate seeds for the dried cranberries? Since they are in season, I thought that would be a great splash of freshness and color. Thanks!

11.24.2019 at7:16 AM #

Katie Morford

Hi Nancy,

I was out of town, so I’m sorry I didn’t get to your question until today. Hopefully all worked out. And yes, I think pomegranate would be great in place of cranberries.

11.26.2019 at10:03 PM #

Mary Jane Graham

Do you have to use the maple syrup in the dressing?

11.26.2019 at10:03 PM #

Katie Morford

No. You can skip it or use honey or a little brown sugar or sugar.

12.06.2019 at12:02 AM #

CJ

I’ve made this twice and both times people have asked me for the recipe. Thank you for such a delicious dish!

12.06.2019 at12:02 AM #

Katie Morford

That is the ultimate sign of a successful recipe! Thanks for sharing.

11.20.2022 at11:57 AM #

Judy

Perfect salad for a family Thanksgiving. Rave reviews and requests for the recipe.
I had to double the recipe and did make minor change of a little extra celery seed and used slivered almonds. This will be a go to coleslaw salad in my house. Thanks Katie

11.20.2022 at11:57 AM #

Katie Morford

That’s awesome!

12.24.2024 at6:25 AM #

9AppsAPK

This Colorful Cabbage Salad looks absolutely delicious! I love the combination of apples, walnuts, and cranberries—it’s a perfect blend of flavors and textures. Can’t wait to try it out for my next gathering; it will definitely add some vibrant color to the table! Thank you for sharing this recipe!

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