This colourful, zesty Pickled Red Cabbage Slaw with pear and walnuts is full of flavour yet contains only a handful of ingredients. It's a healthy, delicious, perfect for any occasion.

Pickled red cabbage slaw with walnuts, cilantro and pear slices on top of white plate.

This Pickled Red Cabbage Slaw is zesty, sweet and savoury, full of crunch and incredible colour! Everything a good slaw should be.

Why this recipe works

Red cabbage is a very nutritious vegetable but I tend to avoid it in salads because of its tough often stringy texture. As I recently discovered, however, this problem disappears if the cabbage is left in a light pickling mixture overnight. It can be used already the following day!

In this red cabbage slaw pickling infuses the cabbage with flavour (sweet, sour and salty) and the salad doesn't require any dressing other than maybe a little drizzle of lemon juice or olive oil just before serving. This makes preparation simpler and shorter. All that's left to do is combine the pickled cabbage with the rest of the salad ingredients and serve.

Chopped red cabbage, pear slices, walnuts and herbs in bowl, with large spoon to the right, walnuts and lemon wedge to the left.

The process of pickling gives the cabbage a vibrant purple colour. It is so much more appealing than a faded purple greyish it would eventually turn without being pickled!

Another plus of pickling the cabbage is that it makes it more tender, but not soggy, still allowing it to retain some crunch, as it is pickled for a fairly short time. This red cabbage slaw recipe does not share the life cycle of most salads made with raw ingredients (i.e. from crunchy to soggy). If left to stand for a while, its texture will not change dramatically. So you can leave leftovers in the fridge for a few hours and enjoy them later!

Another salad where I've used lightly pickled red cabbage is festive Christmas slaw with maple glazed pecans.

Pickled red cabbage slaw ingredients

There are 2 sets of ingredients in this recipe. The first consists of the red cabbage along with the pickling ingredients including salt, sugar, vinegar and oil.

The second are the remaining ingredients that go into this salad. They are: pears, red onion, walnuts, lemon juice, cilantro and oil.

How to prepare the red cabbage

This is very easy to do. Remove the tough middle bit from the cabbage and slice it very thinly. Add the salt, sugar, oil and vinegar, stir thoroughly, cover and refrigerate overnight. The following day simply give a good stir and make the salad!

Red cabbage salad with spoon in mixing bowl.

Assembling the recipe

This simple red cabbage and pear salad is really quick and easy to put together.

1. Combine the pickled cabbage with the pear, red onion, walnuts and cilantro.

Peeled, chopped pear, cilantro, walnuts, sliced red onion, lemon and red cabbage slaw in bowl at the top.

2. Drizzle with a little oil and lemon juice, stir, season to taste and enjoy!

Chopped pear, walnuts, herbs and red cabbage in mixing bowl with spoon and lemons to the right.

Top tips

You could either slice the cabbage very thinly, as I have done, or shred it. Whichever method you choose your pickled red cabbage will have a lovely texture, a little crunchy but not tough.
Storing: Any leftover pickled cabbage can be kept in the fridge in an air tight container for 3-5 days. The salad itself can be refrigerated for up to 4 hours.
Not suitable for freezing.

Serving suggestions

This pickled red cabbage slaw goes well with chicken, turkey or pork dishes including leftover meat, in a sandwich (such as turkey salad sandwich) or in tacos and wraps. It's also delicious with fish cakes as well as salmon dishes.

Substitutions

Pear: Substitute sweet tasting apple if preferred.
Walnuts: Use pecans, chopped almonds or hazelnuts.
Cilantro: Fresh parsley or chives would work well, too.
Oil: I used vegetable oil for its neutral flavour but mild tasting olive oil is a good alternative.

Shredded red cabbage with pear, walnuts and herbs in mixing bowl with spoon to the right, lemon ,pear, red cabbage piece and knife in background.

Keep in touch!

Have you made this pickled red cabbage salad? I'd love to know how it turned out for you. Let me know in the comments below, thanks!

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Pickled Red Cabbage Slaw with Pear