This Cilantro Lime Cabbage Salad is light, refreshing, and super versatile! Enjoy it as a veggie side dish, or use it as a topping for tacos, salads, sandwiches, and more. This healthy salad comes together quickly and requires just a few ingredients. It’s great for hot summer picnics and cold winter afternoons.
I know coleslaw is typically a dish served in the summertime, but cabbage and limes are in season this month! I’m calling this recipe a Cilantro Lime Cabbage Salad, although it’s similar to a slaw. This zesty winter salad will brighten up any meal you add it to. It’s great by itself as a snack or side dish and can also be enjoyed as a topping for all your Mexican-inspired meals.
Why You’ll Love This Refreshing Cabbage Salad Recipe
It’s easy to make – The dressing comes together quickly in the blender, and if you have a food processor or mandolin, the cabbage can also be shredded quickly. I like to let my salad sit for a bit in the refrigerator to allow the flavors to develop, but you can also enjoy it right away.
It’s flavorful and refreshing – Cabbage is already cool and refreshing, but adding the cilantro and lime flavors takes it to the next level. I enjoy this salad anytime, but it’s especially great for a summer BBQ.
It’s versatile – This cabbage salad is similar to a slaw and can be used similarly. I enjoy this salad as a side dish, but I also like to eat it on tacos or with beans and rice. It adds a cool and refreshing bite to everything you add it to.
Why Your Body Will Love This Recipe
Reduced Inflammation – Cabbage is high in antioxidants, which are substances that can help delay or prevent cell damage. Antioxidants are important because they help reduce inflammation inside the body and improve the immune system. Excess inflammation in the body can be responsible for all kinds of sicknesses, including cancer and heart disease.
Digestive Health – Cabbage is in the Crusifers family, along with broccoli and Brussels sprouts. Some people are extra sensitive to these veggies and develop gas and bloating after eating them. However, they’re full of fiber, which really helps digestion run smoothly. Cabbage is also a low-calorie food, but a little goes a long way toward helping our bodies feel full for longer.
Diabetes Management – Please check with your doctor before adding cilantro to your diet if you have diabetes or low blood sugar levels. Cilantro, or coriander, can help reduce blood sugar by stimulating an enzyme that removes sugar from the blood.
Cilantro Lime Cabbage Salad Recipe Ingredients
Cabbage – I used one medium-sized head of green cabbage for this recipe. I love cabbage because it’s crunchy and refreshing. You could also use purple or napa cabbage. Of course, if you go the purple route, it will change the look of this salad.
Cilantro Lime Dressing – This homemade dressing is packed full of flavor and takes no time to whip together. It uses cilantro, lime juice, olive oil, garlic, dijon mustard, maple syrup, cumin and salt. If you don’t like cilantro, I suggest using parsley in its place.
How To Make This Crunchy Cabbage Salad
Cut the stalk of the cabbage off and peel off a few of the outer layers. Thinly shred the entire head of cabbage and add it to a large bowl. You can shred your cabbage using a sharp knife, mandolin, or food processor.
Add all of the dressing ingredients into a blender and blend until creamy and completely combined, 30 seconds – 1 minute. Pour the dressing over the shredded cabbage and mix together well until the cabbage is completely coated with the dressing.
Add in about 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro and mix well. You can enjoy salad immediately or store it in the refrigerator for a couple of hours to allow the flavors to develop. Store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for 4-5 days. Enjoy as a side salad, as a topping for tacos, or with tortilla chips.
Recipe Frequently Asked Questions
This recipe is already vegan and gluten-free.
Can I use a substitute in place of cilantro? Yes, if you don’t like cilantro, you can use parsley instead.
What is the best type of cabbage for this recipe? I used green cabbage, which worked great, but you can also use napa or purple cabbage if you like.
How long do leftovers last? If stored in an air-tight container in the refrigerator, leftovers should last about 4-5 days.
How should this recipe be enjoyed? I like to eat this cabbage salad as a side dish or afternoon snack. You can also use it like you would any kind of slaw (tacos, sandwiches, salads, and more).
Have a question I didn’t answer? Ask me in the comment section below, and I will reply ASAP!
This Cilantro Lime Cabbage Salad is light, refreshing and super versatile! Enjoy as a veggie side dish, or use it as a topping for tacos, salads, sandwiches and more. This healthy salad comes together quickly and only requires a few ingredients. It’s great for hot summer picnics, as well as cold winter afternoons.
Ingredients
1 medium sized head green cabbage, about 6–8 cups once shredded
Cilantro Lime Dressing
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon lime zest
1/2 cup packed cilantro
2 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 teaspoon pure maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt and black pepper, to taste (I used about 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
Cut the stalk of the cabbage off and then peel a few of the outer layers off. Thinly shred the entire head of cabbage and then add to a large bowl. You can shred your cabbage using a sharp knife, mandolin or food processor.
Add all of the dressing ingredients into a blender and blend until creamy and completely combined, 30 seconds – 1 minute. Pour the dressing over the shredded cabbage and mix together well, until cabbage is completely coated with dressing.
Add in about 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro and mix well. You can enjoy salad immediately, or store in the refrigerator for a couple hours to allow the flavors to develop. Store in an air-tight container, in the refrigerator, for 4-5 days. Enjoy as a side salad, as a topping for tacos or enjoy with tortilla chips.
Complete List of Fruits that Start with the Letter U (#1 is so ugly!)
Ok, fruits beginning with U is a tricky one. But don’t let that stop you. Read on for the full list!
It’s a strange list, this one, and I hope you enjoy reading it as much I did putting it together! It also contains my favourite fruit of all time.
Let’s see what fruit begins with the letter U and how you can use it if it’s up for grabs in your area.
Unveil the most popular fruits that start with U!
What’s a fruit that starts with U? The type of fruit I’m going for is considered culinary fruit, either by tradition or by scientific definition.
Ugli
The ugli fruit (such a mean name!), also known as Jamaican tangelo and uniq fruit, is a hybrid of grapefruit, tangerine, and Seville orange. Its distinctive look and taste were developed in Jamaica.
The citrus fruit has rough, wrinkled skin ranging in color from yellowish-green to orange. The fruit is bigger than a grapefruit and relatively simple to peel.
The ugli fruit taste suits many cocktails, smoothies, sweets, and sauces. If you don’t like grapefruit, you might want to give this one a try because it’s much less acidic.
You can also tell people you’ve made an ‘ugli cocktail!’.
The botanical name of the ugli fruit tree is Citrus reticulata × paradisi.
Ugni
Only one letter different, ugni, commonly known as Chilean guava or Ugni molinae, is a fruit-bearing shrub from Chile and Argentina.
This U fruit is round or oval and approximately the size of a blueberry (or a tiny grape). Fresh berries are deep red in colour and have white flesh.
Taste-wise, ugni berries fall in between the sweetness of strawberries and the tartness of cranberries and kiwis. They’re used to make jams, jellies, sauces, sweets, and drinks.
Umari fruit, technically known as Poraqueiba sericea, is a tropical fruit from the Amazon jungle in South America. Brazil, Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador are its main locations.
Umari fruit is usually 2 to 4 cm in diameter. It has smooth and glossy skin that has a green or yellow color when unripe and turns a brilliant orange or red when completely ripe.
This unique fruit has a very creamy texture and buttery flavor. In fact, locals use it like butter to put over their bread. How cool is that?
Umbu
Spondias tuberosa, known as imbu, umbu, or Brazil plum is a Brazilian tropical fruit. It’s popular in the northeast of Brazil for its refreshing taste.
The round or oval Umbu fruit has thin and smooth green-to-yellow skin. Its sweet and tangy flesh combines pineapple, mango, and citrus burst of flavor.
Fresh umbu fruit is eaten by peeling the skin and eating the flesh or squeezing out the juice. Various drinks, ice cream, and pastries employ the juice.
Umbu jams and jellies can be smeared on toast or eaten as a topping or dip.
Umbra
Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands are home to the fruit-bearing tree Umbra (Spondias dulcis). You can also come across the names ambarella, June plum, and golden apple.
Umbra fruits are round, like little mangoes or apricots. Their ripe skin is smooth, yellow or golden, and somewhat fuzzy.
This U fruit tastes like a fusion of mango, pineapple, and citrus. It’s eaten raw or added to salads, sweets, and chutneys. Some cultures pickle young, immature fruit as a condiment.
Ume
Ume fruit also goes by the names Chinese plum, Japanese plum, and Japanese apricot. It’s a tree species native to East Asia and popular in Japanese dishes.
Its thin, fuzzy skin is green to yellow when unripe and crimson to orange when ripe. It has luscious, acidic flesh.
Ume fruit is culturally significant in Japanese cuisine and is used to produce umeboshi, a traditional condiment.
Umeboshi are pickled ume fruits preserved in salt and occasionally scented with shiso leaves. These sour, salty pickled fruits are consumed as a side dish or in rice balls (onigiri).
Umeshu, a Japanese liqueur, is also made from ume. It’s a sweet and fragrant drink created by soaking the fruits in alcohol, usually shochu or sake, and sugar.
Ume has potential health benefits in addition to its culinary usage. It may improve digestion, promote liver function, and supply antioxidants and vitamins.
This species is a member of the Prunus genus which includes plums, peaches, and cherries. It goes by the scientific name Prunus mume.
Usakhelauri grape
Usakhelauri, a rare Georgian grape variety (Vitis vinifera), makes excellent red wines. It’s mostly grown in Lechkhumi and Racha in western Georgia. Every year for my birthday I have red wine and cheese, and this one is my next plan. Roll on summer!
Usakhelauri grapes are dark purple or black and tiny. Their flavor profile and high sugar content create sweet and fragrant wines.
Usakhelauri grapes are notoriously low-yielding, making them a difficult variety to grow. Grapes are normally harvested with the utmost care and hand-picked.
Wines made from this grape are highly sought after by connoisseurs because of their rarity and high quality.
Uva Rara grape
Uva Rara is a red Italian wine grape varietal grown in Lombardy. Italian “Uva Rara” means “rare grape” due to its rarity compared to other grape varieties.
Uva Rara is typically blended with other red grapes to provide richness and depth to wines. It can include red berry, flowery, and spice notes.
Uva Rara grapes can also be developed into varietal wines. These medium-bodied wines with mild tannins include red fruit, herb, and earthy characteristics.
Uva Rara is also known as Bonarda Novarese.
Uva Tosca grape
Uva Tosca is a red wine grape produced in Emilia-Romagna, east-central Italy. It contributes to local wine production in Forlì-Cesena.
This type of grape was one of the few red wine grapes that could regularly mature in the foothills of the Apennines.
Uvalino grape
Uvalino is a red wine grape produced in Piedmont, northwest Italy. It contributes to Piedmont wine production despite its lesser fame.
Due to its high antioxidant resveratrol content, Uvalino has garnered notice in recent years for its health advantages.
As we’re starting to learn, many grapes start with U!
Uvilla
Uvilla (Physalis peruviana) is a fruit-bearing shrub endemic to Chile and Peru. It’s also commonly referred to as “Peruvian groundcherry,” “Cape gooseberry,” or simply “golden berry.”
Uvilla looks like a yellowish-green miniature tomato inside a husk, similar to a paper lantern, which turns from green to a golden or orange hue when the fruit is fully ripe.
The fruit has a nice sweetness-acidity balance. It’s frequently juiced, jammed, jellied, baked, or eaten fresh.
This is my favourite fruit of all time. I love the sweet bite with just hint of a sour behind it. In Germany, where I live, they are called Physalis and are relatively popular. In English-speaking countries they have various names, including cape gooseberry.
11 Surprising Fruits That Start With U: 2025 Edition!
Discover a world of extraordinary fruits that start with U. Explore their flavors, origins, and culinary possibilities in this captivating fruit guide.
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