My favorite white cabbage salad: only a few ingredients and so easy to make, this cabbage salad is the perfect side dish for almost any kind of meal.
This simple Romanian white cabbage salad is one of the best salad side dishes you can imagine. I think it has been my favorite salad all through my childhood and youth, and I still love it dearly.
So, no matter what you choose to cook, be sure that this white cabbage salad will be a very suitable side dish.
I strongly recommend you try this salad at least once; I think it is quite different from the American Coleslaw or the German Sour Cream Salad; all of them are absolutely great (I actually love any kind of cabbage salad), but quite different.
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Kylie: We have just come back from our first holiday out in Romania, and this salad was one of our favourite dishes. Had a bowl with almost every meal. Delish. I shall be making this at home.
My husband hates cabbage, but he loved this. xXx
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Recipe ingredients
White cabbage is pale green outside, almost white inside, with large, dense heads and a crisp, sweet taste. Itโs the kind I use most often - the one I need for Romanian cabbage rolls, cabbage noodles, or fried cabbage with bacon.
Oil: This is my grandmotherโs white cabbage salad recipeโthe way she always made it. The only thing I do differently is use less oil: just 2โ3 tablespoons. She, on the other hand, would pour straight from the bottle until it felt right.
- Do not use olive oil, though. Olive oil was never really used in Romania; I donโt think my grandmother has ever even tasted it.
- For a genuine taste, use a mild sunflower oil or another rather neutral-tasting vegetable oil.
How to make white cabbage salad?
Step #1: Slice the cabbage as thinly as possible. Sprinkle it with salt and let it stand for about 30 minutes.
Step #2: Knead the salad briefly, then take handfuls of the salted cabbage and squeeze out as much moisture as you can.
Tip: What sets this white cabbage salad apart is its softer texture. Unlike the usual crisp versions, the cabbage is kneaded - something that might seem odd, but itโs simple to do and absolutely worth it.
Step #3: Pour in the oil and stir.
Step #4: Add vinegar, pepper, and parsley.
How to serve?
You can eat the white cabbage salad right away, but it gets even better after a few hours, and it stays delicious for the next couple of days. White cabbage salad is an easy, crowd-pleasing dish to bring to any potluck.
Cabbage salad with boiled potatoes:
My favorite way to eat it as a kid? As a simple meal with plain boiled potatoes. Iโd crush the potatoes with a fork, pile on the salad, and dig in. Absolutely delicious!
Cabbage salad as a side dish:
This cabbage salad makes a great side for almost any meat dish - especially pork, but itโs just as good with chicken or turkey.
You can serve it with Hungarian beef goulash or pork goulash, or with any kind of grilled meat like pork kebabs or sausages.
What to do with the leftovers?
Cabbage salad keeps well in the fridge; you can eat it for at least 2-3 days in a row.
You can use some leftovers to make sandwiches, like the Japanese katsu sando or a vegetarian sandwich with pan-fried tofu and cabbage salad.
Cook some potatoes, slice them, and fry them in a little butter together with the cabbage salad leftovers. Adjust the taste with salt and pepper, and be generous with the fresh parsley.
Simple White Cabbage Salad
Ingredients
- 1 lb white cabbage Note 1
- ยฝ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil or more to taste, Note 2
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1 small bunch of parsley
Instructions
- Slice the white cabbage as finely as possible. Place it in a bowl, mix it well with the salt, and leave for half an hour.1 lb white cabbage + ยฝ teaspoon fine sea salt
- Knead the cabbage briefly with your hand, transfer it to a colander, and wipe the bowl clean to remove the moisture and extra salt.
- Squeeze cabbage: Take handfuls of the cabbage and squeeze them in your hand to release the extra moisture. Return the cabbage to the bowl.
- Dress cabbage salad: Add the oil, vinegar, and some freshly ground black pepper. Stir well until the cabbage salad starts to glisten. Taste and adjust (if necessary) with more salt, pepper, vinegar, and oil. It should taste rather sour and salty. Sprinkle with the chopped parsley.2 tablespoons vegetable oil + 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar + freshly ground black pepper + 1 small bunch of parsley
- Store cabbage salad, covered, in the refrigerator. It will keep well for several days.
Notes
- Cabbage: You can also make this salad with green or sweetheart cabbage.ย
- Oil: It is preferable to use a mild-tasting sunflower oil or canola oil. Don't use olive oil for this salad.
Jen says
I'm getting ready for a trip to Romania and just looking at what I can expect as far as food goes. My favorite thing about this post is the bowl in your photo. My mom had the same bowl the entire time I was growing up. I have no idea what happened to it. It jumped off the screen at me and gave me a moment of nostalgia. Will definitely be trying this salad on my trip. Thanks!
Adina says
Hi Jen. Nice to read your comment. Expect a lot of meat in Romania ๐ :). You must try Sarmale (cabbage rolls), Polenta with cheese, and Papanasi (fried donuts with sour cream).
The bowl is actually a standard German bowl; I once read a joke saying that a sure sign someone is a true German is owning that bowl (so, I guess I am a true German now ๐ ). They became popular in the 70s, I think. I "inherited" the three I have from my mother-in-law.
Susan Miller says
So my grandmother made stuffed cabbage but called them Galushde. We make them with coarse pork, onions and rice. We cook them in soured water and put sour cream on them and eat with mumalega. My grandparents were from Bukovina. I have never heard of Samarle. What part of Romania is that from?
Adina says
Hi Susan. I was born in Sibiu - Transilvania, but we call them sarmale everywhere in Romania; they are
our national food. You can make sarmale with fresh or soured cabbage and we also eat them with sour cream and mฤmฤligฤ.
Jeniffer L Himelrick says
What is this called in Romanian? My daughter-in-law is Romanian and I would like to surprise her with this dish. But I want to know what it is called.
Adina says
Hi Jeniffer. It's called salatฤ de varzฤ.
Lisa says
Do you discard the liquid that comes out of the cabbage or is that part of the dressing? Thanks!
Adina says
Hi Lisa. I squeeze the cabbage over a colander in the sink, so what comes out is gone. If you kept it, it would probably be too salty.
Kathleen says
Sounds terrific my Swedish heritage loves cabbage I intend to make it for fatherโs day lunch to go with meats pasta and couscous Thank you
Adina says
I hope you will all like it. ๐
Sabrina says
This wonderful cabbage salad recipe makes me wonder. This is really appreciable article. I am going to try this one. Thanks a lot. happy blogging.
Kylie Wilding says
We have just come back from our first holiday out in Romania, and this salad was one of our favourite dishes. Had a bowl with almost every meal. Delish. I shall be making this at home.
My husband hates cabbage, but he loved this. xXx
Adina says
Hi Kylie. I hope you enjoyed Romania and that you like the salad, it is a standard recipe in my country. โบ
Patricia Rojas says
I love the Romanian cabbage salad. It takes me back to a summer in the mountains
Adina says
I am glad you liked it, Patricia. It is one of our favorite summer salads as well. ๐
Evi @ greenevi says
This really is one of the best side dishes ever! I love cabbage so much and these kind of simple salads are my favourite thing to make of it ๐
Jutta Holden says
Thanks so much for recipe!
Looks fantastic! Going to try this tonight!
Anca says
It's been a while since I had this salad. I don't find the right type of cabbage here for it. As you, I don't add as much oil like my relatives did.
Adina says
Yes, oil is very much loved in Romania, isn't it? My mother once told me she needs 6 liters of oil a month. I am not sure I use so much in an year, unless I bake lots of cakes using oil instead of butter and she never baked with oil...
Chris Scheuer says
I know I would love this salad and probably eat my weight in it. But it sounds pretty healthy so that might even be legal!