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Purple Cabbage Slaw With Apple

ByLindsey Jenkins Updated on
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Purple cabbage slaw with apple has a refreshing, crunchy texture, and vibrant color, and is tossed with a vinegar-based tangy dressing.

Looking for more purple cabbage recipes? Try my roasted red cabbage wedges, Asian crunch salad with crispy chicken, or fresh spring rolls.

What You’ll Love About This Recipe

  • Crunchy – a mix of cabbage varieties gives this healthy slaw recipe more dimension and a pop of color.   
  • Tangy – Unlike traditional coleslaw recipes, this slaw is made without a creamy dressing such as sour cream or mayonnaise and instead has a simple homemade vinaigrette dressing.
  • Fresh ingredients– This purple slaw has tons of fresh flavor and makes a great side dish and topping.

Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need to make tangy purple cabbage slaw:

  • Purple cabbage
  • Green cabbage
  • Carrot
  • Apple – helps balance out the bitterness of the raw cabbage and adds a hint of sweetness. Choose an apple that falls on the sweeter side or use a combination of sweet and tart.
  • Coleslaw dressing – extra virgin olive oil, white wine vinegar, dijon mustard, raw honey, kosher salt, and pepper.

How to Make Purple Cabbage Slaw: Step By Step

Here are some quick visual instructions. The full instructions and ingredient list will be in the printable recipe card below!

  1. In a small bowl, whisk all the dressing ingredients together until combined. Season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste.
  2. In a large bowl, combine the sliced purple and green cabbage, carrot, and apple. Pour the dressing over top and toss to combine.
  3. Place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to allow the flavors to develop before serving.

Helpful Tips

  • Use fresh cabbage, not pre-shredded cabbage. Pre-sliced cabbage tends to be dried out, so for the best flavor and texture, use fresh.

Quick Tip: Shred the cabbage using a mandoline slicer or the shredding attachment on a food processor for consistently thin slices.

Storage

Store this in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days.

Make It Your Way: Substitutions & Variations

Please remember that recipes are just a starting point.

How can you make this purple cabbage coleslaw recipe using what you already have? Here are some ideas…

  • No green cabbage? – use all purple cabbage.
  • No carrot? – use extra cabbage.
  • No apples? – use jicama, fennel, or water chestnut instead.
  • No white wine vinegar? – you could also use apple cider vinegar, champagne vinegar, or rice vinegar.
  • No raw honey? – use maple syrup.
  • Add-ins – fresh herbs such as fresh cilantro, fresh parsley, or fresh basil, thinly sliced curly kale, thinly sliced red onion, green onions, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, or sesame seeds for extra crunch, etc.
  • Variations – use mandarin oranges instead of apples.

How To Serve

Serve this purple coleslaw on any kind of shrimp or fish tacos, a sandwich, as a quinoa veggie burger topping, on toast, etc.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you keep the apples from browning? 

To keep your apples from turning an unpleasant shade of brown in the slaw, squeeze them with lemon juice immediately after cutting them.

How do you cut a head of cabbage? 

Remove the wilted outer leaves and discard them. Use a sharp knife to slice the cabbage in half and then each half in half again and cut out the white core. Then cut into thin slices.

More Refreshing Sides

I hope you love this Purple Cabbage Slaw! If you make this recipe, be sure to leave a comment & a star rating below. Thank you!

Purple Cabbage Slaw With Apple

5 from 6 votes
An oval dish with purple cabbage slaw with carrot and apple.
Purple cabbage slaw with apple has a refreshing, crunchy texture, and vibrant color, and is tossed with a vinegar-based tangy dressing.
Author: Lindsey Jenkins
Prep Time 20 minutes
Chill Time 30 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings 8 cups

Ingredients
 

Salad

  • 3 cups purple cabbage thinly sliced
  • 2 cups green cabbage thinly sliced
  • 1 ½ cups shredded carrots
  • 1 medium apple, cut into matchsticks about 1 ½ cups

Dressing

Instructions

  • In a small bowl, whisk all the dressing ingredients together until combined. Season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste.
  • In a large bowl, combine the sliced purple and green cabbage, carrot, and apple. Pour the dressing over top and toss to combine.
  • Place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to allow the flavors to develop before serving.

Notes

See the blog post for helpful tips, storage, and recipe FAQs.

Make It Your Way: Substitutions & Variations

No green cabbage? – use all purple cabbage.
No carrot? – use extra cabbage.
No apples? – use jicama, fennel, or water chestnut instead.
No white wine vinegar? – you could also use apple cider vinegar, champagne vinegar, or rice vinegar.
No raw honey? – use maple syrup.
Add-ins – fresh herbs such as fresh cilantro, fresh parsley, or fresh basil, thinly sliced curly kale, thinly sliced red onion, green onions, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, or sesame seeds for extra crunch, etc.
Variations – use mandarin oranges instead of apples.

4 Comments

  1. Evie Ugrin says:

    Agree totally!
    This Coleslaw is delicious, versatile, very nutritious and yes, easy to make.
    Appreciate the inspiration.
    Evie
    Montana

    Reply

    1. Aww thanks Evie! So glad you enjoy it! 🙂

      Reply

  2. I just made this to have with fish tacos. I added fennel, used green cabbage and avocado oil. It is delicious!

    Reply

    1. Yum!! One of my favorite flavor combos!

      Reply
5 from 6 votes (6 ratings without comment)

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