A bowl of marinated vegetable salad

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I tried this Marinated Vegetable Salad at my sister-in-law, Alina’s, baby shower. Her Mama made this marinated salad and I loved it. It’s pretty and tasted amazing. Oh and it can be made a day in advance. Awesome, right?

It seems like every time I visit California, I come home with new recipes. I guess I should travel more! P.S. the credit for posting this recipe goes to my hubby. He did it all; start to finish. He’s a great cook you know. You’ll love this salad. I had 3 refills in one sitting.

Marinated Salad Ingredients:

1 small cabbage, cubed into roughly 1″ pieces
1 bell pepper or 5 mini peppers, sliced into strips (red, orange or yellow)
1 cucumber (cut in circles and halved)
1 carrot, sliced into thin rings
1 small onion sliced into half rings

marinated-vegetable-salad

Marinade Ingredients:

4 cups water
3/4 cup vinegar
3/4 cup sunflower oil OR vegetable oil
2 1/2 Tbsp salt
3/4 cup sugar

marinated-vegetable-salad-2

How to prepare Marinated Vegetable Salad:

1. Start by making marinade. In a medium pot combine 4 cups of water, 3/4 cup of vinegar, 3/4 cup sunflower oil, 2 1/2 Tbsp salt, 3/4 cup of sugar and bring everything to a boil, stirring to dissolve the salt and sugar. Once the mixture starts to boil, remove from heat and cool to room temperature. In winter, place the pot outside to cool faster.

Marinated Vegetable Salad

2. While marinade is cooling, wash and prep all the vegetables. Start with cutting cabbage in half, then cut out the root. Cut cabbage in 1″ strips than cut the strips in 1″ cubes. Place cabbage in large bowl.

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3. Peel 1 carrot and slice it into thin circles.

Marinated Vegetable Salad

4. Cut 5 mini bell peppers in half lengthwise and remove seeds, then thinly slice across. Add cut bell peppers to the bowl.

Marinated Vegetable Salad

5. Cut 1 small purple onion in half, than slice it in to thin half circles and add them to the bowl.

Marinated Vegetable Salad

6. Cut off  and discard the ends of the cucumber then slice it in half. Next, cut the cucumber into thin half circles, adding them to the bowl afterwards.

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7. After the marinade has cooled down to room temperature, pour it over the vegetables in the bowl. Mix the salad really well and let it  stand on the counter for around 3 hours. Don’t worry if the marinade won’t cover the entire salad, eventually it will soften and be covered in marinade.

marinated-vegetable-salad-5

8. Place the salad in the jar, fill it with marinade, close the lid  and refrigerate over night before serving. You can also eat it after marinating 3 hours and once it’s just chilled. We’ve tried it both ways and it was great either way! Marinated salad was also perfect after 3 or 4 days in the fridge; still crisp.

marinated-vegetable-salad-8

marinated-vegetable-salad-7

Marinated Vegetable Salad

5 from 20 votes
Author: Natasha of NatashasKitchen.com
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients 

Servings: 6 -8

Marinated Salad Ingredients:

  • 1 small cabbage, cubed into roughly 1" pieces
  • 1 bell pepper or 5 mini peppers, sliced into strips (red, orange or yellow)
  • 1 cucumber, cut in circles and halved
  • 1 carrot, sliced into thin rings
  • 1 small onion sliced into half rings

Marinade Ingredients:

  • 4 cups water
  • 3/4 cup vinegar
  • 3/4 cup sunflower oil OR vegetable oil
  • 2 1/2 Tbsp salt
  • 3/4 cup sugar

Instructions

  • Start by making marinade. In a medium pot combine 4 cups of water, 3/4 cup of vinegar, 3/4 cup sunflower oil, 2 1/2 Tbsp salt, 3/4 cup of sugar and bring everything to a boil, stirring to dissolve the salt and sugar. Once the mixture starts to boil, remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
  • While marinade is cooling, wash and prep all the vegetables. Start with cutting cabbage in half, then cut out the root. Cut cabbage in 1" strips than cut the strips in 1" cubes. Place cabbage in large bowl.
  • Peel 1 carrot and slice it into thin circles.
  • Cut 5 mini bell peppers in half lengthwise and remove seeds, then thinly slice across. Add cut bell peppers to the bowl.
  • Cut 1 small purple onion in half, than slice it in to thin half circles and add them to the bowl.
  • Cut off and discard the ends of the cucumber then slice it in half. Next, cut the cucumber into thin half circles, adding them to the bowl afterwards.
  • After the marinade has cooled down to room temperature, pour it over the vegetables in the bowl. Mix the salad really well and let it stand on the counter for around 3 hours. Don't worry if the marinade won't cover the entire salad, eventually it will soften and be covered in marinade.
  • Place the salad in the jar, fill it with marinade, close the lid and refrigerate over night before serving. You can also eat it after marinating 3 hours and once it's just chilled.
Course: Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine: Russian, Ukrainian
Keyword: Marinated Vegetable Salad
Skill Level: Easy
Cost to Make: $
Natasha's Kitchen Cookbook

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5 from 20 votes (1 rating without comment)

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Recipe Rating




Comments

  • Rita
    June 25, 2013

    AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! especially for the summer!!!!!!!!!!

    Reply

  • Alina
    May 29, 2013

    Now this is the salad that I’ve been looking for to make! Looks yummy!! Cant wait to try it one of these days:))

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      May 29, 2013

      Let me know how it works out :).

      Reply

      • Alina
        June 5, 2013

        So im making the salad right now 🙂 i have a question though. Would you happen to know if the marinade can stay out over night? i cut up the salad but the marinade hasn’t cooled off yet, and im buying some big jars tomorrow, i just realized i dont have any big jars to put the salad in loll i was so excited to finallyyy make this salad that i didnt think of that!

        Reply

        • Natasha
          natashaskitchen
          June 5, 2013

          Refrigerate the marinade once it cools. You can also put everything in a pot over night and transfer it tomorrow when you get the jar.

          Reply

  • Tanya
    April 6, 2013

    I always loved my mom’s marinated salads, and this one is amazing as well. Thank you!!

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      April 6, 2013

      You are so welcome Tanya :).

      Reply

  • lina
    March 29, 2013

    Another question.. can the cabbage be shredded?

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      March 29, 2013

      That should work fine 🙂

      Reply

  • lina
    March 29, 2013

    Hey Natasha. Did you ever make this salad with lemon juice from a fresh lemon instead? I am wondering how much lemon juice to put in. Is it the same amount as vinegar? Thanks. Can’t wait to try. It has great reviews and I love marinated salads.

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      March 29, 2013

      I never made it with lemon juice before Lina, so can’t really recommend the amount needed. If you decide to test it, let me know what you did :).

      Reply

  • Olga N.
    March 22, 2013

    Hi Natasha,
    Is it okay to not use the Red onion or use regular onion instead?

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      March 22, 2013

      Regular onion is fine as well Olga :).

      Reply

  • Galina
    March 7, 2013

    its our favorite salad know .thanks for the recipe

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      March 7, 2013

      I’m glad you like it Galina :).

      Reply

  • nadia
    March 4, 2013

    Hi Natasha! Thank you so much for posting wonderful recipes! I love how you have a photo for each step! This is extremely helpful for people like me! I want to make his salad for this weekend and i just want to be sure that im using the right vinegar. I have the Distilled white vinegar 5% acidity. I never use vinegar for cooking so i just want to be sure. Thanks!

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      March 4, 2013

      You are welcome Nadia :). I used the same vinegar as you.

      Reply

  • alena
    January 8, 2013

    Natasha, absolutely love your site! Everything I try turns out great. The amoount of seasonings in each dish is perfect! I made this salad for New Year’s and everyone was surprised that I made it. (I honestly dont know why they were surprised, I thought they always said I cooked great, makes me wonder now…:))
    Your adjika recipe was the very first recipe I tried from your blog, and it was a hit with my hubby. In fact, he told me not to share a single canned jar with anyone-they were all his!

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      January 8, 2013

      Ha ha. Thanks for sharing your stories; they made me chuckle. You can enjoy those adjika jars all year long! 🙂 I’m just giddy that you like the recipes 🙂

      Reply

  • Marina
    January 2, 2013

    Hi Natasha, I made this salad and it’s BOMB!
    Just wondering how many days/weeks can it stand in the fridge?

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      January 2, 2013

      It was in our fridge for up to a week. It would probably be good longer, it just got eaten!

      Reply

  • gail
    December 30, 2012

    WOW! I made this today for an Ukrainian themed New Year’s party tomorrow – half of it is gone! I thought it seemed like too much sugar but the balance is great!

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      December 30, 2012

      That was my concern to, but we loved it as well 😉

      Reply

  • Irene
    December 26, 2012

    amazing salad!! It reminds me of some salad at russian weddings 🙂

    Reply

  • Lena
    December 24, 2012

    I made this salad for our families dinner on Saturday. It was a great hit. It was a perfect addition to our table, my hubby’s famouse shashlick, your potatoes with bacon and cheese and olivye…thank you for these awesome recipes …keep em coming 🙂

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      December 24, 2012

      Wow sounds like a fancy feast! 🙂

      Reply

  • Yuliya
    December 21, 2012

    Made it tonight, can’t wait to give it a try tomorrow 🙂

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      December 21, 2012

      We ate our salad for the whole week, just kept it in the jar, and it was good and crunchy the whole week :).

      Reply

  • Paramitha Nasimova
    December 11, 2012

    I used to make this salad, only I substitute the vinegar to fresh lemon juice 🙂

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      December 11, 2012

      Ooooh I love that idea. Will try it next time. Thank you!

      Reply

  • Iryna
    December 11, 2012

    Another wonderful recipe, Natasha!
    I also have a variation – you add a small beat, thinly sliced. Then all the veggies turn slight pink! Pretty!
    (sorry for all this ” I made it this way”…., only want to give you more creative ideas)
    Cheers

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      December 11, 2012

      I love “I made it this way” comments. It gives me great ideas. Thank you!! 🙂

      Reply

  • alison
    December 11, 2012

    hi,
    can i use a substitute for peppers? I happen not to like them.

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      December 11, 2012

      Maybe try some shredded beat or just leave it out. It doesn’t really taste like bell pepper once its marinated, so maybe you might like it 😉

      Reply

  • Natalie B
    December 11, 2012

    Natasha did you see this on Cooking Time on fb? We’re all talking about how you should do it!

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      December 11, 2012

      You gals are so sweet 🙂 No I missed that post. Sounds like fun though; maybe once our new camera comes in the mail,.. maybe 🙂

      Reply

  • Lena
    December 11, 2012

    Are we using lettuce or cabbage?

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      December 11, 2012

      It’s cabbage. Sorry about the lettuce slip 😉

      Reply

  • Moms Dish
    December 10, 2012

    My family makes all the time for the holidays. We just don’t use cucumbers.

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      December 10, 2012

      You should try it. They are great and they stay perfect. It just amazes me that this salad stays crisp even after several days.

      Reply

      • Moms Dish
        December 11, 2012

        Yes, I agree.

        Reply

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