This satisfying & fiber-packed cabbage crunch salad is made with crispy, baked chickpeas & rice tossed with plenty of herbs and veggies. Gluten Free + Vegetarian + Vegan Option
🥬Cabbage Crunch Salad highlights🥬
- Thai-Inspired Peanut Sauce: It’s sweet, savory, nutty and a little spicy. It’s incredibly satisfying and undeniably delicious!
- Veggie & Herb Packed Crunchy Salad Base: Get your fill of fresh veggies with crisp cabbage, carrot and spring onions packed with a healthy helping of mint and cilantro.
- Crispy Chickpeas & Rice: Baking the chickpeas and rice until golden and crispy results in a salads that is extra crunchy, extra satisfying and extra delicious!
How to Make this Cabbage Crunch Salad
This salad is made up of three main parts:
- the creamy peanut dressing
- golden, baked chickpeas & rice
- a herb & veggie salad base
Peanut Dressing:
Whisk together in a small bowl or jar until thick, creamy and mostly smooth:
- Peanut butter, gf soy sauce/tamari, sriracha, rice vinegar, maple syrup (or honey), ginger powder, fresh garlic & water
Use hot water to help your ingredients (mostly the peanut butter) mix together easily.
If your dressing feels too thick, keep adding water 1 tablespoon at a time until it’s the right consistency for you.
Chickpeas & Rice
Season: Toss cooked rice and chickpeas together in a large bowl with some of the peanut dressing, sriracha, sweetener & toasted sesame oil.
Bake: Spread rice & chickpea mixture across a large baking sheet. Smooth out in an even layer then bake for about 40-45 minutes until golden and mostly crispy.
Salad + Assembly
While the chickpeas & rice bake, use a sharp knife to prep the salad ingredients and add to a large mixing bowl:
- Thinly sliced cabbage, carrots, green onions, fresh cilantro, fresh mint and chopped peanuts.
Add the baked chickpeas and rice to the bowl when they’re ready.
Add Dressing
Finally, pour the peanut salad dressing over the top and mix everything together until fully combined.
Substitutions & Additions
A few different ways to adapt this recipe to make it your own:
🔀 Swap:
- Cabbage: Any cabbage variety will work: red cabbage, green cabbage, savoy, sweetheart, etc.
- Soy Sauce: Use coconut aminos instead for a soy free alternative. Keep in mind that coconut aminos are sweeter and less salty than soy/tamari so consider adding a 1/2 teaspoon salt to the dressing.
- Nuts: Swap out the peanuts for cashews or almonds instead. For nut free alternatives, try it with toasted pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds.
- Nut Butter: You can use almond butter or cashew butter in place of peanut butter.
- Maple/Honey: Use 2-3 tablespoons brown sugar instead.
➕ Add:
- Crisp Bell Peppers– green, yellow, red bell pepper – any color
- More protein – Add leftover shredded or sliced chicken or pan fried-tofu (for a plant-based option)
- Sesame seeds – For extra crunch add white or black sesame seeds.
Tips
- If you have a food processor with a shredding/grating attachment, you can quickly & easily shred both the cabbage and carrot in no time.
- Use pre-shredded cabbage or a bagged coleslaw salad mix (with the dressing mixed in) to save time.
- Use leftover rice or microwave instant rice. It will save you prep time and it will usually crisp up a little easier/faster since it’s drier than freshly made rice.
- Make sure to stir the chickpeas and rice every 10-15 minutes or so to ensure everything cooks & crisps up evenly.
More Filling & Satisfying Salad Recipes
- Crispy Rice Salad with Lemony Chickpeas & Cucumber
- Mediterranean Dense Bean Salad
- Spicy Apple and Red Cabbage Salad with Chilli Cashews
- Roasted Cabbage and Kale Salad with Crispy Quinoa
- Spiced Chickpea Kale Salad & Creamy Lemon Dressing
- Mediterranean Bean & Rice Salad
- Roasted Sweet Potato & Black Bean Quinoa Kale Salad
Enjoy!
Let me know if you try this crispy cabbage salad recipe! I’d love to hear what you made with it and how it turned out! Please leave a comment and review with your thoughts and suggestions for me and future readers.
Crispy Peanut Rice & Cabbage Crunch Salad Recipe
Crunchy, herby, peanutty. This cabbage crunch salad has crispy baked chickpeas & rice, shredded cabbage, fresh herbs and a creamy peanut dressing you’ll want to put on everything!
Ingredients
Peanut Dressing
- 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter (120g)
- 2 tbsp gluten-free soy sauce (30ml)
- 1 tbsp sriracha (15ml)
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar (15ml)
- 1 tbsp honey or maple syrup
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil (15ml)
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup hot water (60ml)
Chickpeas & Rice
- 2 cups cooked white or brown rice (400g)
- 1 can chickpeas, drained, rinsed and patted dry (15 oz | 400g)
- 2 tbsp toasted sesame oil (30ml)
- 1 tbsp sriracha (15ml) - ensure gluten free
- 2 tbsp of the peanut dressing dressing above
Salad
- 6 cups white cabbage, thinly shredded (450g)
- 1 large carrot, julienned, shredded or finely chopped
- 1 cup spring onions, thinly sliced - measure after chopping (100g)
- ⅓ cup fresh cilantro, chopped - measure after chopping (15g)
- ⅓ cup fresh mint, chopped - measure after chopping (15g)
- ½ cup roasted peanuts, chopped (48g)
Instructions
- Oven Prep: Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C) and a line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Peanut Dressing: Combine all peanut dressing ingredients and whisk together into a thick, smooth mixture. Set aside.
- Season Chickpeas & Rice: In a large bowl, toss together: cooked rice, chickpeas, sriracha, oil and 2 tbsp peanut dressing. Mix until fully combined.
- Bake: Spread rice mixture across the lined baking sheet in an even layer. Bake for about 40 minutes or until golden brown and mostly crispy all over. Stir the pan every 10-15 minutes to ensure things crisp up evenly.
- Salad: Combine cabbage, carrot, spring onion, cilantro, mint and peanuts in a large mixing bowl. Add chickpeas and rice after roasting. Pour the dressing over the top and mix everything together until fully combined. Enjoy right away while still warm, or cold straight out of the fridge.
- Leftovers: Store leftover salad in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Notes
Substitutions
- Rice: Leftover or pre-cooked rice is ideal for ease and speed, but you can boil fresh rice instead.
- Cabbage: Any cabbage variety will work: red cabbage, green cabbage, savoy, sweetheart, etc.
- Soy Sauce: Use coconut aminos instead for a soy free alternative. Keep in mind that coconut aminos are sweeter and less salty than soy/tamari so consider adding a 1/2 teaspoon salt to the dressing.
- Maple/Honey: Use 2-3 tablespoons brown sugar instead. For vegan options - don't use honey. Use maple or brown sugar.
- Peanuts/Peanut Butter: Try it with cashew or almond nuts & nutter butter instead.
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