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This cabbage and pea salad is vibrant, crisp and fresh. You will love the sweet pop of flavor from the peas and the easy zesty dressing. The ingredients in this cabbage pea salad are simple but they come together in a marvelous way.
Our family makes this salad ALL THE TIME and my sister Tanya is particularly famous for it – her signature salad. Tanya gave me the idea of combining both cider vinegar and white vinegar for more flavor and I picked up the addition of peas from Luba, one of the ladies in our church who made this salad for a potluck.
This is one of those make again and again salads. It is easy, inexpensive and delicious!
Ingredients for the Cabbage and Pea Salad:
1 medium (2 to 2 1/2 lb) cabbage, super finely sliced
1 english cucumber, thinly sliced into half circles
1 bunch green onion or chives, chopped
2 cups sweet peas, thawed in cold water
3-4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil or sunflower oil
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar, or to taste
2 Tbsp white vinegar, or to taste
Salt and black pepper to taste
How To Make Cabbage and Pea Salad:
1. Discard soft outer leaves of cabbage and thinly slice on a mandolin. Discard or eat the cores (we used to fight over the core as kids!) Transfer shredded cabbage to a large mixing bowl.
Note: You can use a knife but it is easiest to achieve the fine/thin strips of cabbage with a mandolin. Also, anytime you use a mandolin, protect your hands with these safety gloves.
2. Add sliced cucumbers, thawed peas and green onion and toss lightly to combine.
3. Drizzle salad with 3 to 4 Tbsp oil, 2 Tbsp cider vinegar, 2 Tbsp white vinegar and toss to combine. Before serving, sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste (start with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper and go up from there). You can also add more vinegar to taste if your cabbage was larger (p.s. these salad hands are very handy – no pun intended).
Cabbage and Pea Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 medium, 2 to 2 1/2 lb cabbage, super finely sliced
- 1 english cucumber, thinly sliced into half circles
- 1 bunch green onion or chives, chopped
- 2 cups sweet peas, thawed in cold water
- 3-4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil or sunflower oil
- 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar, or to taste
- 2 Tbsp white vinegar, or to taste
- Salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Discard soft outer leaves of cabbage and thinly slice on a mandolin. Discard or eat the core. Transfer shredded cabbage to a large mixing bowl.
- Add sliced cucumbers, thawed peas and green onion and toss lightly to combine.
- Drizzle salad with 3 to 4 Tbsp oil, 2 Tbsp cider vinegar, 2 Tbsp white vinegar and toss to combine. Before serving, sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste (start with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper and go up from there). You can also add more vinegar to taste if your cabbage was larger.
Notes
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
What is your family’s go-to salad?
This cabbage-pea salad is fantastic. Did not think hubby would like it but he had 3 helpings. The apple cider vinegar made everything taste so bright and crisp. A keeper and repeater.
Great to hear that your husband enjoyed it too!
What a delightful refreshing salad! I halved the recipe for the two of us. I didn’t have apple cider vinegar today, so I subbed rice wine vinegar, as it’s a bit sweet, and we loved it. This recipe is going on my salad rotation. It comes together so quickly it would be great for company or last minute guests. We served it with rotisserie chicken for a light dinner. Yummy! Thanks, Natasha!
You’re welcome, Kathy! Thank you for the wonderful feedback.
This salad has become a weekly staple in our house – it is my absolute favourite (followed closely by your Cucumber Tomato Avocado Salad). We visited Ukraine a few years ago and this salad was served in so many places — it brings back fond memories of the delicious and fresh food we ate wherever we went.
I love this as-is, but have also tweaked it based on some of the other reviewers’ suggestions: substitute lemon juice for white vinegar, add a tsp of sugar to the dressing, and sometimes a handful of dill. It’s a favourite for when we have dinner guests and they always ask for the recipe!
I’m so glad this is a favorite in your home, Tanya! Thank you for sharing that lovely review with me!
I made this as directed, but I used citrus champagne vinegar instead. We loved it. Will make again.
Glad you loved it, Claudia. Thank your great comments and feedback!
LOOKING FORWARD TO MAKING THIS!! i HAVE TRIED ALMOST ALL YOUR SALAD AND OTHER RECIPES. THANK YOU FOR SHARING!!
You are very welcome, Beth. I hope it becomes a hit!
What a pleasant salad. I had such a dense green cabbage, that I cut it into quarters, and shaved off the needed amount of cabbage, with a vegetable peeler. The same with the cucumber, except I didn’t quarter it. The peeler makes very thin veggie ribbons. I shaved some broccoli stem in it too, to use it up. I find vinegar way too strong, so I rarely use it. I often substitute lemon juice for vinegar. I think a liquid dressing or a creamy dressing would work interchangeably with this salad. I like the interest, texture & sweetness of the peas in this. I think adding some herbs, would make it look & taste even better.
Hello there! Thank you for dropping by and leaving some tips and good comments. I appreciate you sharing what you used as substitutes for this recipe, that is really useful information.
This is a terrific salad! It is very light and crisp. I used a mandolin on the cabbage (as suggested), and I think that thinness is magical for this salad. Everyone loved it, and I’m taking some to the neighbors to share. Thanks for a great, healthy addition!
I’m so happy you enjoyed this salad, Liz! I love how fresh it is! Especially during these winter months! Thank you for that wonderful review!
Does the cabbage require that the salad sit before serving to marry the flavours? Or is it served immediately?
Hi Abi, the salt in the dressing softens the cabbage fairly quickly which is why we normally serve it right away or within 30 minutes of mixing it.
I was wondering about this, too! I’m glad this reply was at the top! If possible, add this to the recipe notes.
Just made it as side dish to chicken curry. It was refreshingly yummy. Thank you.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
Just made this recipe and LOVE it! So refreshing and different! Thank you for posting it!
You’re so welcome Danielle! Thank you for the awesome review!
I made the salad but thought the vinegar taste was a bit too much, I added some mayonnaise and a touch of milk and it really made a great dish. It looks so pretty in a glass bowl too.
This salad is surprisingly good for as simple as it is. Very light and refreshing. My fiancé did the grocery shopping last week and picked up cabbage instead of romaine lettuce so I needed to find a use for it, and didn’t want to cook it an smell up my house. I did not have apple cider vinegar so I used red wine instead and then I came across some raw sunflower seeds in my pantry and thought “let me try these in the salad” and it added an extra texture and flavor that I rather enjoyed. Taking this to a Memorial Day party today.
Thank you Kristi for such a nice review, I’m so glad you like it 😀