Thai Cabbage Salad

Even when it’s winter and you have to buy some mint to make it, this Thai Cabbage Salad is completely worth the splurge. And if you’re a fan of mint and cabbage and like Thai flavors you’re going to love this interesting salad! And the salad can be vegan if you use Vegetarian Fish Sauce!

PIN Thai Cabbage Salad to make it later!

If you have a garden you might have so much mint in the summer that you’d have a hard time buying mint at the grocery store. But trust me when I say that this flavorful and interesting Thai Cabbage Salad is completely worth a splurge on some grocery-store mint! This was another of those recipes where Jake and I were absolutely raving the entire time we devoured four servings of this (and we had eaten lunch about 30 minutes earlier!)

And when I’m trying to eat more strictly low carb, cabbage salads are one of my favorite things to make. Maybe it’s my personal variation of the cabbage soup diet, but I can eat raw cabbage over and over without getting tired of it.

If you’re looking for low-carb recipes that won’t make you feel deprived, I highly recommend this salad. If you like Thai flavors, I’m guessing this salad might become one of your year-round favorites, even if you have to remember to buy mint!

What Ingredients do you need?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

• cabbage
• green onions
• mint
• cilantro
• salted peanuts
• lime juice, (I used my fresh-frozen lime juice) 
• fish sauce, preferably Red Boat Fish Sauce (affiliate link) or use Vegetarian Fish Sauce (affiliate link)
• Golden Monkfruit Sweetener (affiliate link)
• red chile flakes

What if you don’t want cilantro in the Thai Cabbage Salad?

If you don’t enjoy the taste of cilantro, I would just use a bit more thinly-sliced green onion.

Is the Thai Cabbage Salad vegetarian?

The dressing for this salad uses my favorite Red Boat Fish Sauce (affiliate link) but you can use Vegetarian Fish Sauce (affiliate link) if you want it to be a vegetarian recipe.

Is this Thai Cabbage Salad an authentic Thai recipe?

I’m definitely not claiming that this is an authentic Thai salad, but it does have the combination of salty, spicy, sour, and sweet that Thai dishes are known for. (And I made this salad before I went to Thailand, so now I would know not to use chopsticks in the photo. I no one is offended by my lack of knowledge!)

How to Make Thai Cabbage Salad:

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

1. The dressing has just lime juice, fish sauce or Vegetarian Fish Sauce, Golden Monkfruit Sweetener or sweetener of your choice, and red chile flakes.
2. You can use either color of finely-sliced cabbage, but we made a mix with more red than green, which made the salad pretty.
3. Toss red and green cabbage together with the dressing.
4. Then let it sit for 10-15 minutes, or at least as long as it takes you to chop the other ingredients.
5. While the salad marinates prepare the chopped mint, chopped cilantro, and thinly-sliced green onions.
6. We increased the amount of peanuts, which didn’t seem too extravagant, since the rest of the salad was so low in calories.
7. After the cabbage has marinated 10-15 minutes, stir in the green onion, chopped mint, chopped cilantro, and most of the peanuts, saving a few peanuts to sprinkle on each serving.
8. Serve right away and enjoy!

Make it a Low-Carb Meal:

Try serving this Thai Cabbage Salad with Chicken Kabobs with Asian Marinade, Air Fryer Fish Sticks, Low-Carb Instant Pot Pulled Pork, Completely Foolproof 100% Delicious Grilled Chicken, or Grilled Ginger-Soy Pork Chops for a delicious low-carb meal. 

More Low-Carb Cabbage Salads You’ll Love:

• Spicy Lime Coleslaw
• Spicy Cilantro-Peanut Slaw
• Spicy Mexican Slaw with Lime and Cilantro
• Napa Cabbage Asian Slaw   
• Puerto Rican Spicy Cabbage Salad

Continue to Content

Print

Yield: 4 servings

Thai Cabbage Salad

Prep Time 15 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

Even in the winter when you have to buy the mint, this Thai Cabbage Salad is worth the splurge!

Ingredients

• 4 cups thinly sliced and chopped cabbage (see notes)
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
• 1/2 cup chopped mint leaves
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 1/3 cup chopped salted peanuts (or more)

Dressing Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 T lime juice
• 1 T fish sauce (see notes)
• 2 tsp. Golden Monkfruit Sweetener (see notes)
• 1/2 tsp. dried red chile flakes (more or less to taste)

Instructions

1. Stir together the lime juice, fish sauce (affiliate link), sweetener of your choice, and red chili flakes to make the dressing. (You might start with the smaller amount of chile flakes and taste on your finger to see if you want more heat.)
2. Thinly slice and chop enough red and green cabbage to make 4 cups of sliced cabbage.
3. Put the cabbage in medium-sized bowl and toss with the dressing.
4. Let the cabbage marinate while you prepare the other ingredients.
5. Slice the green onions. Wash and spin dry the mint leaves and cilantro, using a salad spinner or drying with paper towels, then chop enough to make 1/2 cup each chopped mint and cilantro. Coarsely chop peanuts with a chef’s knife.
6. Add the green onion, chopped mint, chopped cilantro, and most of the peanuts to the cabbage and toss to combine.
7. Serve right away, sprinkling a few peanuts on each serving of salad.

Notes

Use a mix of red and green cabbage if you have it. We used more red than green, which made a pretty salad. I love Golden Monkfruit Sweetener (affiliate link) but use any sweetener of your choice. You can use fish sauce (affiliate link) or Vegetarian Fish Sauce (affiliate link).

We ate this all so I didn’t get to see how it would keep in the fridge, but I am guessing it would be best freshly made.

This recipe was slightly adapted from Thai-Style Cabbage Slaw in Sunset Magazine Easy Party Food.  (I could not find the recipe online.)

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 113Total Fat: 6gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 418mgCarbohydrates: 12gFiber: 4gSugar: 5gProtein: 5g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

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Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Cabbage is an extra low-glycemic ingredient and also low in carbs, and as long as you use an approved sweetener, everything in this salad is approved for any phase of the original South Beach Diet and other low-carb or Keto diet plans.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Salad Recipes to find more  recipes like this one! Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

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