When the garden gives you kale, radish and cabbage, there's nothing more versatile and easy to make than a big bowl of creamy garden coleslaw. If you're not growing your own, store-bought is totally fine!
This slaw is creamy, tangy, crunchy, salty and sweet. It complements fried chicken, roast turkey, grilled cheese sandwiches or vegan chili. Speaking of turkey, I always make a coleslaw for Thanksgiving. I find it complements and balances all the standard heavy Thanksgiving sides and mains we all love.
My favorite way to make quick work of this salad is to use a Japanese mandolin. It will shred cabbage finely, slice radish thinly and injure you severely if you're not careful. It is a tool used by chefs across the word, but if you don't have one, a food processor or your trusty knife will definitely work.
This coleslaw can be made a day ahead. What I like to do is prep the veggies and dressing separately and mix everything before serving.
This creamy garden coleslaw recipe is highly adaptable. No Kale? No problem. No radish? That's cool. You have kohlrabi? Use that instead. Prefer parsley over cilantro? Okie Dokie. You do you!
As for the dressing, feel free to adjust the seasoning per your taste. Like it sweeter? Add more honey. Prefer it tangier? Up the lemon/vinegar content. No sour cream in your fridge? Yogurt will work.
If you're looking to make this salad entirely vegan, you can totally substitute coconut milk for the sour cream, use vegan mayo and agave syrup instead of honey. I have NOT tested this so your mileage may vary. There are many vegan food bloggers out there and I would recommend you check them out.
Creamy Garden Coleslaw with Kale and Radish
Ingredients
- 1 Green cabbage, medium - Approx. 6-8 cups, shredded
- 1 Bunch of kale - Approx. 3 cups, shredded
- 1 Bunch of radish - Approx. 10 radishes, thinly sliced
- 3 Green onions (scallions) - Thinly sliced
- 1 Handful of cilantro - Approx. 4 tablespoon, chopped
Dressing
- ½ cup Sour cream - Greek yogurt is a suitable substitute
- ½ cup Mayonnaise
- 1 Lemon, juiced - Approx. 4 tablespoon
- 2 tablespoon Apple cider vinegar - red wine vinegar is a suitable substitute
- 2 tablespoon Dijon mustard - grainy and smooth work well
- 1 tablespoon Honey - Agave syrup is a suitable substitute
- salt/pepper to taste
Garnish
- 3 tablespoon Pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
- Cilantro leaves
Instructions
Prep vegetables
- Using a food processor, mandolin or a sharp knife, thinly slice cabbage and place it in a large bowl.
- Strip kale from stems and chop leaves finely. (Pro tip: washing kale after it is chopped removes some of the bitterness and makes it more palatable). Add chopped kale to bowl.
- Thinly slice radish and scallions and add to bowl along with chopped cilantro.
Make dressing
- Add all dressing ingredients to a small bowl and whisk vigorously. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Mix and plate coleslaw
- Combine dressing with sliced vegetables. Taste and adjust seasoning.
- Plate slaw and garnish with pepitas and more cilantro.
Let us know what you think! Leave a comment below! And don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Instagram!
Leave a Reply