A close up of a green bowl of cabbage, carrot and cranberry salad

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My mom has been making this Cabbage, Carrot and Cranberry Salad the past few Sundays for our family dinners. Everyone loves this salad and it always gets devoured.

You can totally make it in advance because it stays crisp and delicious for several days in the fridge, even up to a week! This tastes amazing with potatoes or rice. Easy, excellent salad. 

Cabbage, Carrot and Cranberry Salad Ingredients:

1 medium cabbage
1 bell pepper (red, yellow, or orange), sliced into thin strips
2 large or 3 medium carrots
1/3 cup craisins (dried cranberries)

Marinade Ingredients:

2 cups water
1 Tbsp salt + 1/2 tsp
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup white vinegar
1/3 cup sunflower, vegetable or extra light olive oil (I used the olive oil)
2 large garlic cloves

cabbage-carrot-and-cranberry-salad-6

How to Make Cabbage, Carrot and Cranberry Salad:

1. Boil water and remove from heat. Off the heat, add 1 Tbsp + 1/2 tsp salt, 1/3 cup sugar, 1/3 cup vinegar, 1/3 cup oil and stir to dissolve the sugar and salt. Stir in 2 pressed cloves of garlic (Tips for success: You don’t want to add garlic to boiling hot water or it will turn blue, that’s why you add it last to the syrup and off the heat).

cabbage-carrot-and-cranberry-salad

2. Finely slice your cabbage (a mandolin makes this job way easier!) and thinly slice your bell pepper. Grate your carrots. In a large bowl, toss your veggies with your 1/3 cup cranberries to combine

cabbage-carrot-and-cranberry-salad-1

3. Transfer your prepared veggies to a glass jar and pour in your prepared marinade. It’s perfectly ok if your syrup is still warm or even a little hot.

cabbage-carrot-and-cranberry-salad-2

4. Press your cabbage down tightly so it reaches syrup. Your salad won’t need to marinate as long if the syrup is warm. Refrigerate your marinated salad. It will be delicious and ready to eat within 4-5 hours. It just get’s better with time.

Cabbage and Cranberry Salad-2-2

cabbage-carrot-and-cranberry-salad-5

I hope you love it like we do! 🙂

Natasha's Kitchen Cookbook

Cabbage Carrot and Cranberry Salad Recipe

5 from 11 votes
Author: Natasha of NatashasKitchen.com
You can totally make this salad in advance because it stays crisp and delicious for several days in the fridge, even up to a week! This tastes amazing with potatoes or rice. Easy, excellent salad.
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients 

Servings: 2 Liters of Salad (8 cups)

Salad Ingredients:

  • 1 medium cabbage
  • 1 bell pepper, red, yellow, or orange, sliced into thin strips
  • 2 large or 3 medium carrots
  • 1/3 cup craisins, dried cranberries

Marinade Ingredients:

  • 2 cups water
  • 1 Tbsp salt + 1/2 tsp
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup white vinegar
  • 1/3 cup sunflower, vegetable or extra light olive oil (I used the olive oil)
  • 2 large garlic cloves

Instructions

  • Boil water and remove from heat. Off the heat, add 1 Tbsp + 1/2 tsp salt, 1/3 cup sugar, 1/3 cup vinegar, 1/3 cup oil and stir to dissolve the sugar and salt. Stir in 2 pressed cloves of garlic (Tips for success: You don't want to add garlic to boiling hot water or it will turn blue, that's why you add it last to the syrup and off the heat).
  • Finely slice your cabbage (a mandolin makes this job way easier!) and thinly slice your bell pepper. Grate your carrots. In a large bowl, toss your veggies with your 1/3 cup cranberries to combine.
  • Transfer your prepared veggies to a glass jar and pour in your prepared marinade. It's perfectly ok if your syrup is still warm or even a little hot.
  • Press your cabbage down tightly so it reaches syrup. Your salad won't need to marinate as long if the syrup is warm. Refrigerate your marinated salad. It will be delicious and ready to eat within 4-5 hours.
Course: Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Cabbage Carrot and Cranberry Salad
Skill Level: Easy
Cost to Make: $

Natasha Kravchuk

Welcome to my kitchen! I am Natasha, the blogger behind Natasha's Kitchen (since 2009). My husband and I run this blog together and share only our best, family approved and tested recipes with YOU. Thanks for stopping by! We are so happy you're here.

Read more posts by Natasha

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Comments

  • Inna
    November 1, 2019

    This is one of my go to salads for family get togethers. Always a hit! I usually shortcut it by buying a few bags coleslaw mix and just adding the bell peppers to it. Saves so much time. Thanks for all your amazing recipes. You are a lifesaver.

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      November 2, 2019

      That’s a great idea! Thank you for sharing that with us, Inna!

      Reply

  • CS
    August 8, 2019

    This recipe looks wonderful! I’m wondering what you think it would be like if I didn’t use the 2 cups of water and just mixed the rest of the marinade ingredients and used it as a dressing just before serving?

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      August 8, 2019

      I honestly haven’t tested that to advise. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.

      Reply

  • Lina
    November 14, 2018

    Love this salad! Its just the right amounts of sweetness, garlic, and salt. I make it now for Thanksgiving every year:) Thank you!

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      November 14, 2018

      You’re so welcome! Thank you for the great review!!

      Reply

  • Karolina
    June 18, 2018

    Hello Natasha,

    How large the jar should be for this recipe?

    Thank you!

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      June 18, 2018

      This recipe makes 8 cups of salad. I would recommend using something with a slightly larger capacity to fit this amount.

      Reply

      • Karolina
        June 19, 2018

        Thank you so much ☺️

        Reply

  • Marilyn
    April 10, 2018

    This recipe sounds wonderful & has great reviews. I am wondering if the salt can be significantly reduced without adversely affecting the taste & longevity. We eat very little salt for health purpose. Thanks for any help from you or your readers.

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      April 10, 2018

      Hi Marilyn, I would suggest cutting the salt in half and then adding more to taste into the finished salad. Usually if you add a little more vinegar, it can help to compensate for less salt.

      Reply

  • debby mcbride
    August 9, 2017

    omg!! i love this recipe..i was looking for a cabbage/carrot salad recipe…this is delicious…thank you so much..peace and love

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      August 10, 2017

      You’re welcome Debby! I’m happy to hear you enjoy the recipe! Thanks for sharing your great review!

      Reply

  • stacey
    April 27, 2017

    Hi Natasha,

    Just wanted u to know youre a huge lifesaver with your recipes and my family thanks you. 🙂

    For this salad, how long is it good in the fridge for? We have a small family and don’t eat much. Am I able to close it in the jar with a tight lid to make it last longer? Thank in advance

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      April 27, 2017

      Hi Stacy! I’m so glad you enjoy our recipes! Thank you for sharing that with me. Yes, this recipe keeps really well in the refrigerator for up to a week. I love that it is a make ahead salad! 🙂

      Reply

  • Tess
    July 22, 2016

    you advised to not add garlic to warm/hot syrup… so when do you add the garlic? I would want it to marry with the other flavors… and I want to add a couple sliced jalapenos 🙂

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      July 23, 2016

      You don’t want to add to boiling hot water. Give it 5 minutes off the heat and you’re good to go 🙂

      Reply

  • Natasha
    June 30, 2016

    Natasha, I need your opinion/ advice. While searching for a side dish recipe that I could make for a neighborhood summer outdoor party, I remembered about this salad, which is one of our family favorites. What do you think, will it still taste good and be safe to eat after being outside for a few hours with the temperature 75-80f? And what would be the best way to serve? I kind of like an idea of serving it in a glass jar it was made in, but then should I pour out all the juices? Or maybe it will be more convenient to have it in a big bowl? Also, maybe there is something else you could recommend from your recipes for this summer party that won’t spoil fast in summer heat? Thank you!
    And when will we have a book with your wonderful recipes? :-))

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      June 30, 2016

      Hi 🙂 I think this salad would hold up well in the conditions you described for a few hours. Keep it chilled as long as possible (I think this tastes really nice chilled). You can serve it in the jar it was made in and drain out some of the juices (You don’t have to drain all of the juices off if you serve it with a slotted serving utensil so the juice can drain as you lift it out of the jar.

      Reply

  • Alya
    December 1, 2015

    Can I leave out the craisins? My husband is not a fan. Thanks.

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      December 2, 2015

      You can leave out craisins. Let me know how it turns out 😁

      Reply

  • Angelina
    November 25, 2015

    Amazing salad! So good, Im making it for Thanksgiving this year! Thank you so much for sharing Natasha!

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      November 26, 2015

      That’s awesome! Happy and blessed Thanksgiving to you! 🙂

      Reply

  • Dina
    March 13, 2015

    The best crunchy, tangy and gets-better-with-time cole slaw EVER! (I honestly could eat this every day.)
    I’d been looking for a lower fat, non-creamy slaw that I could use in my fish tacos. Any other recipe I tried either left a bitter taste or did not produce a brightly-coloured, flavourful or festive looking dish. This slaw does not disappoint. Everyone in my family loves it including my husband who tends to stay away from viniagrette dressings because they tend to overpower the main ingrediants. The amount of vinegar in this recipe marries well with the other ingrediants to leave a slightly sweet/tangy flavour with no vinegar after-taste. However, I did alter the recipe slightly. I added red cabbage to the recipe to get more colour. And so it did. The purple colour pops after the slaw marinades for about an hour. I also put in a little less sugar. The next time I make it, I will add some thinly sliced fennel to get a slight lick rice taste. Thanks! This recipe will be a staple for picnic lunches and fish tacos.

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      March 13, 2015

      Wow, what a great review :-). Great job on improvising and you are welcome.

      Reply

  • Torrie @ a place to share...
    October 17, 2014

    just discovered your blog, & so happy i did. making this salad (since we’re going on a girl scout camping trip, & need to ensure we have a healthy alternative to all of the hot dogs n’ smores! ;)). look forward to trying this, & more of your recipes.

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      October 17, 2014

      Hot dogs and smores always sound nice, but it’s true that after a weekend of campfire food, it’s so nice to get back to homemade mashed potatoes and gravy and salad ofcourse! 🙂 Have an awesome trip and it’s so nice to meet you 🙂

      Reply

  • Colleen B
    June 17, 2014

    I don’t know if you realize it but what you have here is the start of fermented sauerkraut! Fermented sauerkraut is just shredded cabbage pounded down with sea salt and left to sit in a crock for anywhere from a few days to a few months to ferment and let all the probiotic goodness happen. Some people add carrots, fresh herbs, and other veggies. You can add a little water to make enough juice to cover the cabbage. Most don’t add sugar but sugar would just give the microbes something to feed on. And real ACV is already a fermented food. So, since you like this, you might want to research and just take it a little further. I bet your family would love it, and your families’ tummys will thank you (after all, who can’t use more good bacteria in their digestive system?)!!!

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      June 17, 2014

      That’s funny I was just reading about pro-biotics and pre-biotics in a magazine the other day and It’s definitely been on my mind! Thanks colleen 🙂 I didn’t even think of sauerkraut as a good source of that!

      Reply

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