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Cabbage and Pea Salad Recipe

This cabbage and pea salad is vibrant, crisp and fresh. I love the sweet pop of flavor from the peas and the easy zesty dressing. A must try cabbage salad! | natashaskitchen.com

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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

This cabbage and pea salad is vibrant, crisp and fresh. I love the sweet pop of flavor from the peas and the easy zesty dressing. A must try cabbage salad! | natashaskitchen.com

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.

Cabbage and Pea Salad-8

2. Add sliced cucumbers, thawed peas and green onion and toss lightly to combine.

This cabbage and pea salad is vibrant, crisp and fresh. I love the sweet pop of flavor from the peas and the easy zesty dressing. A must try cabbage salad! | natashaskitchen.com

This cabbage and pea salad is vibrant, crisp and fresh. I love the sweet pop of flavor from the peas and the easy zesty dressing. A must try cabbage salad! | natashaskitchen.com

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).

This cabbage and pea salad is vibrant, crisp and fresh. I love the sweet pop of flavor from the peas and the easy zesty dressing. A must try cabbage salad! | natashaskitchen.com

This cabbage and pea salad is vibrant, crisp and fresh. I love the sweet pop of flavor from the peas and the easy zesty dressing. A must try cabbage salad! | natashaskitchen.com

Cabbage and Pea Salad Recipe

4.85 from 44 votes
Author: Natasha Kravchuk
This cabbage and pea salad is vibrant, crisp and fresh. You'll love the sweet pop of flavor from the peas and the easy zesty dressing.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients 

Servings: 6 to 8 servings as a side 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

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

You can use a knife to slice cabbage, 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 safety gloves.
Course: Salad
Cuisine: Russian, Ukrainian
Keyword: cabbage and pea salad
Skill Level: Easy
Cost to Make: $
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This cabbage and pea salad is vibrant, crisp and fresh. I love the sweet pop of flavor from the peas and the easy zesty dressing. A must try cabbage salad! | natashaskitchen.com

What is your family’s go-to salad?

This cabbage and pea salad is vibrant, crisp and fresh. I love the sweet pop of flavor from the peas and the easy zesty dressing. A must try cabbage salad! | natashaskitchen.com

Natasha Kravchuk

Welcome to my kitchen! I am Natasha, the creator behind Natasha's Kitchen (established in 2009), and I share family-friendly, authentic recipes. I am a New York Times Best-Selling cookbook author and a trusted video personality in the culinary world. My husband, Vadim, and I run this blog together, ensuring every recipe we share is thoroughly tested and approved. Our mission is to provide you with delicious, reliable recipes you can count on. Thanks for stopping by! I am so happy you are here.

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4.85 from 44 votes (22 ratings without comment)

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Comments

  • Dolores
    July 23, 2023

    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.

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      July 24, 2023

      Great to hear that your husband enjoyed it too!

      Reply

  • Kathy
    July 14, 2023

    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!

    Reply

    • NatashasKitchen.com
      July 14, 2023

      You’re welcome, Kathy! Thank you for the wonderful feedback.

      Reply

  • Tanya
    August 19, 2021

    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!

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      August 19, 2021

      I’m so glad this is a favorite in your home, Tanya! Thank you for sharing that lovely review with me!

      Reply

  • Claudia
    March 31, 2021

    I made this as directed, but I used citrus champagne vinegar instead. We loved it. Will make again.

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      March 31, 2021

      Glad you loved it, Claudia. Thank your great comments and feedback!

      Reply

  • Beth Ragland
    March 14, 2021

    LOOKING FORWARD TO MAKING THIS!! i HAVE TRIED ALMOST ALL YOUR SALAD AND OTHER RECIPES. THANK YOU FOR SHARING!!

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      March 14, 2021

      You are very welcome, Beth. I hope it becomes a hit!

      Reply

  • Vegan Cook US
    April 19, 2020

    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.

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      April 19, 2020

      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.

      Reply

  • Liz
    February 15, 2019

    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!

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      February 15, 2019

      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!

      Reply

      • Abi
        June 4, 2019

        Does the cabbage require that the salad sit before serving to marry the flavours? Or is it served immediately?

        Reply

        • Natasha
          June 4, 2019

          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.

          Reply

          • Vanessa Katzenberger
            June 22, 2019

            I was wondering about this, too! I’m glad this reply was at the top! If possible, add this to the recipe notes.

  • Mel
    January 2, 2019

    Just made it as side dish to chicken curry. It was refreshingly yummy. Thank you.

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      January 2, 2019

      I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!

      Reply

  • Danielle
    August 16, 2018

    Just made this recipe and LOVE it! So refreshing and different! Thank you for posting it!

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      August 16, 2018

      You’re so welcome Danielle! Thank you for the awesome review!

      Reply

  • Susan
    August 13, 2018

    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.

    Reply

  • Kristi Boughter
    May 28, 2018

    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.

    Reply

    • Natasha
      May 28, 2018

      Thank you Kristi for such a nice review, I’m so glad you like it 😀

      Reply

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