A hearty, colorful and scrumptious cabbage salad for all occasions. Cabbage is tossed with red pepper and chickpeas and finished with a dressing flavored with spices.
Cabbage is a favorite vegetable in the Mediterranean, not only for salads like the classic lahanosalata; cabbage with carrot and garlic, but also with rice (lahanorizo), or to make rolls and wrap around meat or rice, and even cooked it on its own with a bit of olive oil and tomato.
Healthy Cabbage Salad
This salad is a complete meal, combining cabbage along with chickpeas and a wonderful Mediterranean inspired dressing. Nutritionally, it can’t get better than this: Cabbage is a cruciferous vegetable rich in protective compounds and antioxidants that can protect from heart disease and cancer. It is also a great source of fiber and vitamin C. Chickpeas are also an excellent source of fiber, protein, and antioxidants too! The olive oil-based dressing is a source of good fats as well as antioxidants (just make sure you use extra virgin olive oil).
Mediterranean Red Cabbage and Chickpea Salad Ingredients
For this salad you will need red cabbage, red bell pepper and chickpeas (canned are fine here).
Mint will add some more color and flavor, while the pine nuts add a bit of crunch.
Feta can be added optionally, but it really enhances all the flavors.
For the dressing you will be using extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice as the base and then we add several spices. I used sumac, which is a spice popular in the middle east and has a tart flavor. Sumac is a main ingredient in zaatar, which is a spice mixture made also with oregano, cumin, sesame seeds. If you do not have sumac, you can try using lemon pepper or if you have zaatar you can use 3 teaspoons of that instead replacing all the spices in the dressing.
How to Make Mediterranean Red Cabbage and Chickpea Salad
This salad is very easy to make. You can make the dressing ahead of time and keep it in a glass jar.
The vegetables are very easy to prepare. This salad does not take more than 5 minutes to put together.
There are several ways to shred the cabbage; you can slice it, use a mandolin or even a cheese grater.
More Cabbage Recipes
Classic Cabbage and Carrot Greek Salad – A classic salad
Greek Cabbage with Rice – Lahanorizo – Hearty and delicious
More Salad Recipes
Classic Arugula-Parmesan Salad– A classic in Italy
Mediterranean Beet Salad with Tangerines, Greens and Feta– Hearty and colorful
Cool Tzatziki Cucumber Salad– Light and refreshing
Want More Mediterranean Diet Guidance? Get my top-rated book!
Get it here >> The Mediterranean Diet Cookbook for Beginners
Mediterranean Red Cabbage and Chickpea Salad
Ingredients
For the Dressing
- 1 tsp sumac
- 1 tsp cumin
- ½ tsp oregano
- ½ tsp sesame seeds
- ½ tsp salt
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- Zest from 1 lemon
- 2 ½ tbsp extra virgin olive oil
For the Salad
- ½ medium red cabbage 1 lb. or 450 g shredded or finely sliced
- 2 small red bell peppers sliced in short strips
- 1 can chickpeas rinsed
- 2 oz (60g) crumbled feta
- 1 tbsp pine nuts
- 2-3 tbsp finely chopped fresh spearmint
Instructions
- Prepare the dressing: In a small bowl blend the sumac, cumin, oregano, sesame seeds and salt. In a larger bowl mix the olive oil, lemon juice and zest. Add the spices and mix well.
- In a large bowl toss the cabbage and red pepper. Add the dressing and the crumbled feta cheese and toss again. Sprinkle the pine nuts and chopped mint and serve.
Notes
Make dressing 2-3 days ahead
I had red cabbage in the fridge and was searching for an interesting salad. This recipe is fantastic! The only substitution I made was Trader Joe’s Za’Atar seasoning blend in place of the Sumac. I googled a substitution for the Sumac as I did not have any and the Za’Atar was a match. The dressing is just perfect and gives the salad so much flavor. My husband and son loved it as well. Actually, I used sunflower seeds instead of pine nuts too as I had these on hand.
This was great! Had all ingredients on hand except pibe nuts so subbed some toasted pumpkin seeds. Can’t wait for leftovers tomorrow!
I just purchased Zatar for the very first time so I can try this!
Great!!