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This Turkish Red Cabbage Salad is perfect to pop into the fridge and serve as a side dish with homemade kebabs, Shish Tawook and so much more! The crunchy cabbage paired with sumac lemon dressing and punchy pomegranate molasses is so tasty!
Grab a head of red cabbage and let’s make this Turkish Red Cabbage Salad.
If you frequent Turkish restaurants or have been to Turkey, you know that there’s always a heaping pile of red cabbage salad served with grilled adana kebab, grilled yogurt marinated chicken, Donor kebab, and so much more. It’s because the lightly acidic red cabbage salad pairs beautifully with charred meat hot from the grill.
And trust me, I ate my fill of this red cabbage slaw for breakfast, lunch, and dinner when we went to Istanbul a few summers ago.
Which means that it’s been on my mind to make a homemade version whenever I’m making homemade Adana Kebab, Shish Tawook, Kefta and more.
What sets this red cabbage salad apart from others is the beautiful pomegranate molasses dressing. We use that along with red wine vinegar, fresh lemon juice, sumac, and a pinch of aleppo pepper and it is so full of flavor. The textures from the carrots and cabbage give it a nice crunch, the dressing makes it so tangy and it just works so well with grilled kebabs.
Ingredients for Red Cabbage Salad
- Red Cabbage: sometimes also called purple cabbage. Red cabbage is such a good source of antioxidants, fiber, vitamin C and it’s low in calories, so it’s a nutrition powerhouse and should be included often in your diet. You’ll need half a large head, or one small head. Toss the outer leaves, they just don’t shred or soften up too well.
- Carrots: Feel free to use matchstick carrots or grate them yourself on a box grater. I find I like the salad better with box grated carrots, however this is optional.
- Parlsey: a small handful of chopped parsley gives the salad plenty of color and makes it so delicious. I like to add some of the tender stem as well as they have the most fragrant scent. You could swap this for cilantro if you prefer, though it’s not traditional.
- Fresh Mint: chopped mint adds a refreshing coolness to the salad dressing. Feel free to use dried mint if that’s what you have on hand.
- Olive Oil: Use a good quality extra virgin olive oil for the dressing since it won’t be cooked.
- Red wine vinegar: feel free to use apple cider vinegar or even grape vinegar, all of these are pretty common in Turkish cuisine and Turkish cabbage salad recipes.
- Lemon Juice: adds another layer of complexity to the dressing.
- Pomegranate Molasses: A delicious ingredient that should be a staple in your pantry if you make Middle Eastern food often. Along with it being a key component in a fattoush salad, it also helps flavor the meat for our Lebanese Arayes (crisp meat-stuffed pita pockets), my date and spinach salad, and so many other wonderful recipes. If you don’t have pomegranate molasses you can replace it with a small squeeze of honey, but know that the flavor of pomegranate molasses is quite complex and the honey won’t give you the same results.
- Kosher Salt: Pretty self explanatory on this one! You’ll need ½ teaspoon for the dressing.
- Ground Sumac: This tangy red powder is a staple in Middle Eastern cuisines. It’s what I use for my pomegranate and sumac dressing in my Fattoush recipe. It’s also used in my chicken over rice recipe, amongst many, many others.
- Aleppo Pepper: Also known as pul biber. Aleppo pepper has a moderate spice level. I typically buy a small jar that lasts me at least a year and store it in the refrigerator to maintain quality. It isn’t the same thing as red pepper flakes and though you could make the swap, it does change the flavor a bit. You can purchase Aleppo pepper online here.
- Make it your own: These are the ingredients I always include in my Turkish red cabbage slaw. Feel free to toss it some thinly sliced green onions, or shredded red onions if you prefer a bit more bite to the salad.
Making Turkish Red Cabbage Salad Recipe
- Shred the cabbage. Start by grabbing a chef’s knife and slicing the cabbage head down the center on a clean cutting board. Then place the cut side down, and cut the halves into quarters. Using a sharp vegetable peeler, run the peeler along the cabbage to create thin slices. You could also just use the knife and make really thin shreds, if you prefer. You could also do this on a mandolin.
- Make the dressing. In a small mason jar, combine the olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, 1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses, kosher salt, sumac, and aleppo pepper. Place a lid on the jar and shake or just whisk to combine. Taste and adjust with more pomegranate molasses as desired.
- Make the salad. Add the shredded cabbage, carrots, mint, and parsley to a large bowl. Pour the dressing and stir to combine. Let sit for 5-7 minutes to soak up the dressing.
- Serve the salad. Then, taste and make any final adjustments. Like with more salt if the salad needs it. Transfer the salad to a salad bowl for serving.
Ways to use leftover cabbage
- Summer Classic Coleslaw
- Seared Cod Fish Tacos with Tangy Slaw
- Buffalo Chicken Sliders with Blue Cheese Slaw
- Shrimp Burgers with Jalapeno Lime Slaw
- Warm & Hearty cabbage Beef Soup
Other Turkish Recipes
Turkish Red Cabbage Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 cups heaping red cabbage shredded
- 1-2 carrots shredded or matchsticks
- ¼ cup parsley chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh mint chopped (see notes)
Dressing:
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1-2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground sumac
- 1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper
Instructions
- DRESSING: In a mason jar or a small blender, combine the olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, 1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses, salt, sumac and Aleppo pepper. Cover the jar with a tight fitting lid and shake to combine, alternately you can just blend the dressing up. Taste and adjust with more pomegranate molasses as desired.
- SALAD: Add the shredded cabbage, carrots, mint and parsley to a bowl. Toss with the prepared dressing until combined. Let sit for 5-7 minutes to soak up the dressing. Then, taste and adjust with a pinch of salt if needed.
- SERVE: When ready to serve, taste and adjust with a pinch of salt if needed.
Notes
- Mint: Feel free to swap the fresh mint for 1 tablespoon dried mint.
- Pomegranate Molasses: If you don't have pomegranate molasses you can replace it with a small squeeze of honey. Know that the flavor of pom molasses is complex and the honey won't give you the exact results. Does work in a pinch though!
- Leftovers: Leftover salad should be kept in an airtight container for up to 24 hours. It starts to lose most of it's crunch after that!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like This? Leave a comment & rating below!
Love this recipe. I couldnt find any sumac and i replaced the red wine vinegar for pomogranate balsamic vinegar. Also added some cucumbers and spring onions.
Do you think you could use this as a meal prep recipe if you keep the dressing separate?
Hi Victoria! Yes, as long as you keep the dressing in a separate container, it should hold up for a few days meal prep for sure!
thank you for this recipe
totally into this dish as side for Shawarma lamb
box grated the carrots
used the zest and juice of half a lemon ~4 tbs …no vinegar
used 1 tbs of Aleppo because we love it
So glad you enjoyed it, Alan! Appreciate you circling back to leave a review 🙂