I know there are some mayo haters out there.
But even if you don’t mind mayo, you probably won’t mind a lighter cabbage salad recipe.
I love cabbage salad and coleslaw, but if there was ever a way to take a virtually calorie-free and healthy food like cabbage and turn it into a diet derailer, all you have to do is coat it with cups of mayo and mission accomplished.
This healthy salad is light, fresh, and perfect for summer. In addition to being bikini-friendly, you don’t have to worry about the mayo factor and it spoiling if the salad is outside in warm temperatures.
It’s naturally vegan, gluten-free, and super fast and easy to make. Plan ahead so it can marinate for at least 6 hours in the fridge. Over time, the cabbage and vegetables soften and the flavors marry.
It’s made with an apple cider vinegar-based dressing so it’s pleasantly tangy, and the 2 tablespoons of brown sugar used for the entire recipe lighten sweeten the salad and balance the vinegar.
You can make it spicy by adding a pinch of cayenne or crushed red pepper flakes. Spicy slaw makes a great topper for burgers, sandwiches or you can pile it onto chips and wash them down with ice cold All-Natural 3-Ingredient Margaritas.
The bagged cabbage blend I used contained carrots, and I bulked up the salad and the crunch factor by adding orange bell peppers, corn, cucumbers, and edamame. The crunch factor is off the charts, and I love that.
You can also keep it plain Jane, minus any extra veggies, but I find myself gravitating toward the chewy edamame, juicy cucumbers, and crunchy peppers and picking those out first.
Use the recipe as a freezer, fridge, or pantry cleanout opportunity and toss in whatever you have from peas to pineapple to pepitas. It would be excellent dressed with peanut sauce for an Asian-inspired twist.
I estimate that for a 1 cup serving you’re looking at 50 calories max. I haven’t plugged in the data to an online calculator, but there’s only 60 calories in the 4 cups of the cabbage/carrot blend I used. Factor in the additional vegetables and the fat-free, low-cal dressing, and this is a very light recipe.
Value-based eating at it’s finest.
But you’re not compromising anything on taste. The sweet-and-tangy dressing is so good and makes you want bite after bite. Sweet-and-sour (or spicy) foods tent to do that. The more you have, the more you want.
You definitely won’t miss any gobs of mayo or those empty calories and fat grams as you crunch away on this.
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Skinny Mayo-Less Cabbage Salad
Ingredients
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 heaping tablespoons ketchup
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
- pinch salt, to taste
- about 4 cups sliced green cabbage, I used half of a 16-ounce bagged blend of green cabbage and carrots
- ½ cup diced bell peppers, I used orange
- ½ cup corn, I used frozen straight from the freezer
- ½ cup diced cucumbers
- ½ cup cooked edamame
Instructions
- To a large mixing bowl, add the vinegar, ketchup, brown sugar, salt, and whisk to combine.
- Add all remaining ingredients and toss to coat evenly. Toss well to make sure everything has been well-coated.
- Transfer salad into a large Tupperware-type container with a lid, or cover mixing bowl with plasticwarp, and refrigerate for at least 6 hours; or up to 24 hours. If marinating longer than 6 hours, stir mixture once or twice to re-coat the vegetables evenly. Re-refirgerate until serving.
- Serve salad by itself, or on top of sandwiches or burgers, or as a chip or cracker dip. Salad will keep for up to 3 days. As time elapses, vegetables will release their juice and become softer, and amount of liquid in container will increase.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Yum! Looks super light and fresh! I really like the addition of the edamame. I need to start eating healthier lunches, and this fits the bill.
Ain’t that the truth! Slaw totally defeats the purpose of cabbage, although boy do I like it! :) This tangy, lighter version looks absolutely incredible. I love how it would survive the heat of a cook out, but is perfect for a dinner or lunch. Pinned!
I love that this isn’t covered in mayo! Not necessarily for health reasons, but because I am not a huge mayo fan. Can’t wait to try this one Averie!
Thanks for stopping by and saying hi and congrats on your new house! I’ve been following along on everything :)
And I know some people are just NOT into mayo – for no other reason that just the taste!
I love cabbage salads! And mayo is hit or miss for me – sometimes it’s okay, but usually not a huge fan, so this is perfect! The plate you used in these photos are so cool! Pinned :) Hope you had a great weekend Averie!
I am picky about where I use it, too. And thanks for the pin :)
I love cabbage salad more and more lately, and like you said, I can’t stand mayo. This looks so fresh and yummy! Sometimes I think that apple cider vinegar doesn’t get the attention it deserves :)
ACV doesn’t get the attn it deserves but it’s my favorite vinegar ever!
This looks so fresh, flavorful, and crunchy! (That’s a good thing!) I’m one of those that is not a fan of mayo, which is why I usually don’t like salads like this one. Yours looks fantastic!
It’s super crunchy, even when the veggies soften up some, which I loved about it!
This is the perfect summer/spring salad. YUM! :)
I love salads like this and eat them all the time. Zucchini is a great addition too. I often add a little mustard and honey to the dressing. So good and now I’m craving it. Oh and it’s even better with balsamic and mustard as the dressing.
Balsamic, honey, mustard…it’s all good! I’m a fan of all!
What a beautiful salad, Averie! Apple cider vinegar sounds like it makes a delicious dressing, and I love the addition of edamame in here! One of my favorite salad ingredients! Pinned!
Thanks for pinning and I love edamame too in salads. It adds some protein and heft but still light!
I love salads with edamame in them…and the fact that its mayo free is awesome…I just learned on Dr. Oz the other day that you actually lose weight when you eat cabbage and it’s a cancer fighter…bring it on…
I know that cabbage is really good for you and I’ve heard it’s one of those foods like celery, it costs more for your body to break it down than it has caloric value and hey if Dr Oz says it, then it’s a fact :)
Well this looks delicious and I might add it to our BBQ menu in a few weeks. Thanks for the recipe Averie! I was thinking an apple might be nice in here as well maybe a tart Granny Smith.
If you try it, LMK! And I bet a tart granny smith would be excellent in here – or celery or poppy seeds or really just so many things!
This looks beautiful! I love kale in salads. Looks great! I’ll be honest. I’ve been scared to try it, too. But I keep hearing people like it, so maybe I’ll give it a try sometime :)
Must be a slaw kind of day… I’ve got a (mayo-less, also!) one on my site today as well! This looks great… LOVE the edamame. I can just imagine how addicting this is!
Tis the season, apparently :) Great minds think alike! Your Brussels plus that sriracha, delish!
Oh I was drooling as I was reading.. can’t hurt to save another light recipe ;) I think I’ll bring this to our barbeque. It will be a big hit, I’m sure. Can’t wait to try :D thank you for sharing
I was hoping someone would want to bring it to a bbq! Lmnk if you do!
I always love trying your salads–so you know I’ll be all over this one too!! It looks light and refreshing with some zip from the acv. Funny you posted a cabbage recipe today because I planted nappa, carrots and beets in my little raised bed this year and everything is just starting to come up (so exciting–like watching that scoby form in my kombucha). I told Jon we’d be eating a lot of slaw later this summer!
Oh what are the ODDS that you planted that stuff and bam, a cabbage salad recipe from me. In 5+ yrs, Ive never made one and thought, okay, that’s new, I can do that :) Lmk if you try it and what you think!
It’s the perfect recipe for summer: light, fresh, simple and sooooo easy to make. I love it!