Our Napa Cabbage Salad with Toasted Almonds is a crisp and crunchy salad that's tossed in a delicious ginger soy dressing. It's a family favorite and goes well next to our vegan grilled chicken or seitan ribs.
Published July 2, 2014 and updated June 11, 2020.
A Simple Salad for Picnics
Are you looking for an easy, fresh, crunchy salad for your July 4th celebration?
Something that will be the salad of the day and make you look like a culinary genius? Well, look no further, because our Napa cabbage salad is just what you've been looking for.
We call it Nonna’s salad because my mother-in-law – Alex’s grandmother, or, Nonna (she’s not Italian, she’s Scandinavian, go figure) – always makes it for family get togethers. And we love it!
It’s just a big bowl of fresh and crunchy deliciousness. And it’s so easy to make!
How to Make It
STEP ONE
Start with a fresh head of Napa cabbage. It's crisp, light, and it looks so pretty when it's shredded.
Wash all of the leaves well, dry, and then chiffonade.
Cut the cabbage strands in half if the leaves are really wide.
BONUS! Napa cabbage is also packed full of antioxidants.
It contains carotenes, thiocyanates, indole-3-carbinol, lutein, zea-xanthin, sulforaphane and isothiocyanates, all known to help protect against many types of cancers. It is also a fantastic source of folates, vitamin C, vitamin K, and fiber. So eat up!
STEP TWO
Toast the slivered almonds and crushed ramen noodles.
Toasting them will bring out their flavor and add more crunch.
Note about toasting. Nonna toasts the almonds and ramen in oil on the stove. We don’t do it that way because it adds unnecessary calories.
The almonds will release their oil while they toast in a hot oven. All you need to do is keep a close eye on them and shake the pan every forty-five to sixty seconds so they brown evenly.
The ramen toasts up just fine in the oven.
STEP THREE
While the almonds and ramen are toasting, start to make the ginger soy dressing.
Just whisk the rice vinegar, soy sauce, olive oil, ginger, and black pepper together until fully combined.
STEP FOUR
Add the toasted almonds, ramen, and the dressing to the cabbage and toss until it's completely coated in the dressing.
More Ingredients to Add to the Salad
- Chives
- Green Onion
- Dried Cherries or Blueberries
Make it Gluten-Free
If you want a gluten-free salad, you can leave the ramen out or use rice ramen instead.
Make Ahead
You can prepare the cabbage and green onions ahead of time. Store in the refrigerator.
Toast the almonds and ramen up to 3 days ahead of time and store in an airtight container.
Make the salad dressing up to a week in advance. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Once the salad is made it's best eaten the day of.
Store the salad in the refrigerator.
More Vegan Salad Recipes You'll Love
SPRING SPINACH & STRAWBERRY SALAD
KALE, AVOCADO, AND BUTTERNUT SQUASH SALAD
BRUSSELS SPROUTS SALAD WITH VEGAN CAESAR DRESSING
CUCUMBER, TOMATO, & MINT SALAD
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NAPA CABBAGE SALAD WITH TOASTED ALMONDS
Equipment
- stove
Ingredients
- 1 medium Napa cabbage
- 1 bunch of green onions optional, finely chopped
- 1 cup slivered almonds toasted
- 3 ounce package of ramen noodles
- ¼ cup of dried cherries or blueberries optional
FOR THE DRESSING
- ¼ cup rice vinegar
- ½ cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- Black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cut the bottom off of the cabbage and wash the leaves individually. Dry them and then slice into thin slivers (chiffonade). Cut in half if the strands are too wide.
- Spread the almonds out on a large baking sheet with a rim and toast them in the oven. Watch them carefully, shaking the pan every 45 seconds to 1 minute to ensure that they brown evenly. When they are a light brown remove from the oven.
- Crush the ramen noodle into small pieces on a large baking sheet and toast in the oven until they just begin to brown. Approximately 4 minutes.
To Make the Dressing
- Whisk the ¼ cup rice vinegar, ½ cup olive oil, 1 teaspoon grated ginger, 2 tablespoon soy sauce, and black pepper to taste until fully combined.
- Put all of the ingredients to a LARGE bowl. Add the dressing and toss well.
Notes
Nutrition
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Patty says
What can I use to replace the oil in this recipe? Going oil-free
Linda Meyer says
Hi Patty, great question! There really isn't anything that we can think of to replace the oil in this dressing. The oil is added so that the dressing clings to the vegetables in the salad. You can leave it out as it won't really change the flavor that much. Enjoy!