This Red Cabbage Salad With Apples And Walnuts is an excellent winter salad and one of my favorites.

This recipe is a vibrant mixture of crunchy and refreshing ingredients, like red cabbage, apples, and red onions, paired with the earthiness of walnuts and the sweetness of golden raisins.

The dressing is a simple vinaigrette that brings the whole salad together with a balance of acidity, sweetness, and richness.

Red cabbage with apples and walnuts in a bowl0

Jump to:

Why I love this recipe
Ingredients You Need
Expert tip
How To Clean And Cut Red Cabbage
How To Make This Salad
Storage
More Recipes With Cabbage
More Recipes With Apples
📖 Recipe
💬 Comments

Why I love this recipe

Great textures: This is a fantastic winter salad and one of my favorites. I love everything about it, the textures, the flavors, and how colorful it is.
Easy to make: One of the easiest recipes on my blog, this salad uses ingredients that many of us have in the pantry.
Healthy option: For me, red cabbage is a winter vegetable. It is also full of vitamins and fiber, like vitamin C, A, and iron, something that we all need, especially during the cold season.
Economical: It is inexpensive and a super versatile veggie that makes an excellent option for any meal.

Ingredients You Need

Red cabbage
Walnuts: Almonds, pecans, or even toasted pine nuts would work well in this recipe if you don't like walnuts.
Red onions: I also like green onions.
Apples: I tend to use whatever apples I have around. However, a crisp and slightly tart apple works best, such as Honeycrisp, Granny Smith, or Pink Lady. They hold up well in salads and complement the flavors of the other ingredients.
Golden raisins: I like dried cranberries or dried cherries. They can be a flavorful substitute, giving a tart and sweet contrast to the dish. Or, you can skip them entirely.
Apple cider vinegar: or balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper
Sugar
Olive oil

Expert tip

For an added depth of flavor, try lightly toasting the walnuts before adding them to the salad.

Simply place the walnuts on a dry skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally for 3-5 minutes or until they're fragrant and slightly browned. Allow them to cool before incorporating into the salad. This small step can elevate the overall taste and texture of the dish.

How To Clean And Cut Red Cabbage

Like any other vegetable, red cabbage needs to be cleaned before using it. When you buy cabbage, regular or red, it has to look healthy, fresh with undamaged leaves.

You will need to remove the outside leaves because they were on the grocery store shelf, which is not always clean. Wash the cabbage and pat it dry, then slice it in half.

Place the cabbage cut side down and thinly slice it around the edges until you get to the core, which you discard.

How To Make This Salad

To make this recipe, you need to shred the cabbage, slice the apples and the red onion, add walnuts and raisins, and make a simple dressing of oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, and a little bit of sugar.

Ingredients for red cabbage with apples and walnuts in a bowl0

It will only take 10 minutes to put it together, and the result will be a fabulous recipe made with simple ingredients, perfect for the entire family.

I made this red cabbage salad the other night for dinner and served it with pork and roasted pumpkin.

Sometimes I serve it with roasted vegetables for a light meal. It goes great with grilled or roasted meats, sausages, or this Macaroni And Cheese With Ham.

Storage

Store the salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It is best consumed within 1-2 days as it loses its freshness and crunch.

If you plan to store it for more than a few hours, consider storing the vinaigrette separately and adding it to the salad just before serving to maintain the salad's crunchiness.

While it's okay to prep the individual ingredients ahead of time (like shredding cabbage, chopping apples, and onions), it's best to combine everything and add the vinaigrette just before serving to ensure maximum freshness and crunch.