Crunchy Asian Slaw

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This quick and easy Asian slaw is loaded with crunchy vegetables and tossed in a flavorful sesame soy Asian dressing. Perfect as a topping for tacos or as a side!

Do you ever feel like you need a side salad that takes close to zero effort to put together but still tastes super flavorful?! If your answer is “um pretty much every day” this Asian slaw is for you! You can buy pre-chopped veggies to cut some corners and whip up the dressing in under five minutes. The end result is a flavorful side dish or topping for tacos.

Bowl of asian slaw made with purple cabbage, scallions, peppers and carrots.

I created this easy Asian slaw recipe to go with my Asian tofu tacos, but I’m already dreaming of all the things I can enjoy this with. I can see this with grilled chicken, rice and bok choy for an Asian-inspired bowl, over grilled fish or even on a bbq sammie. The options are endless!

Asian Slaw Ingredients

  • shredded cabbage â€“ You can use napa, green or red. And feel free to buy pre-shredded cabbage for a time-saving shortcut!
  • shredded carrots – same as above, buy pre-shredded to save some time or look for a coleslaw mix that has both cabbage and carrots included
  • scallions
  • red bell pepper
  • white or black sesame seeds

Feel free to make this slaw your own! Use a coleslaw mix, add in some of your favorite veggies you need to use up, or simply stick to this recipe. The base recipe is delish!

Asian dressing being poured into a bowl of the ingredients for an asian slaw before being tossed. Ingredients in the bowl are cabbage, scallions, carrots, and peppers.

Dressing Ingredients

  • mayonnaise – I don’t use mayo often, but when I do I like avocado oil mayo. Vegan mayo works great too! 
  • sesame oil – I prefer spicy sesame oil, but regular toasted sesame oil works
  • low-sodium tamari – you can also use coconut aminos or low-sodium soy sauce if you’re not worried about the slaw being gluten-free
  • rice vinegar
  • mirin – a sweet and tangy rice wine (read more about this below)

Don’t Skip the Mirin

If you’re not familiar with mirin, it’s a rice wine – kind of like sake but with less alcohol and more sugar. Its flavor is sweet and tangy and it’s an essential ingredient in a lot of Asian dishes. When I first saw mirin in a recipe I thought I could skip it, but trust me, it’s worth having a bottle handy for Asian recipes! Thankfully, it’s fairly inexpensive and one bottle will last you a long time.

Where to buy mirin: You can find it at Asian grocery stores, international markets, or larger grocery stores like Whole Foods or Wegmans on the international aisle. You can also order it online from a variety of stores, even Target.

Bowl of asian slaw made with purple cabbage, scallions, peppers and carrots.

Want Even More Side Salads?

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4 from 19 votes

Asian Slaw

This quick and easy Asian slaw is loaded with crunchy vegetables and tossed in a flavorful Asian dressing. Perfect as a topping for tacos or as a side!
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 8

Ingredients  

Slaw

  • 1 lb about 5 cups shredded cabbage*
  • 1 cup shredded carrots
  • 1 cup sliced scallions
  • 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
  • white or black sesame seeds, for topping

Asian Dressing

  • 1 tablespoon grated ginger
  • 3 Tablespoons mayonnaise, I like avocado oil mayo, but vegan mayo works too
  • 2 Tablespoons sesame oil, I like spicy sesame oil
  • 2 Tablespoons low-sodium tamari, coconut aminos or soy sauce works too
  • 1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
  • 1 Tablespoon mirin

Instructions 

  • Toss together slaw ingredients in a large salad bowl.
  • Add all ingredients for the dressing into a blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Pour over slaw and toss to combine. Top with sesame seeds and serve. Slaw will keep for 4-5 days in the fridge.

Video

Notes

  • For the cabbage, you can use napa, green or red. I used a combo of green and red for extra color.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cup | Calories: 113kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 8g | Sodium: 270mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 5g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Salad
Cuisine: Asian
Keyword: asian slaw
Did you make this recipe?Mention @eatingbirdfood and tag #eatingbirdfood!

About Brittany

Hey there, I’m Brittany, the creator of Eating Bird Food, cookbook author, health coach and mama of two littles. Here you’ll find quick and easy recipes that make healthy fun and enjoyable for you and your family!

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12 Comments

    1. Yay! Thanks for trying my recipe, Caitlin. I’m so glad you loved it. And thanks for coming back to leave a comment + star rating. I so appreciate it. <3

  1. 5 stars
    We are loving your salad and we had all of the ingredients in our “quaranine kitchen”. We are feeling healthy and virtuous. I did pump up the ginger, mirin and rice wine vinegar a bit and added a dash of Sambal Oelek for heat (ran out of chili oil at 1T.) Thank you! If we had any left I would totally use this for tacos too. Hope you are well.

    1. Ohh yummy! So glad you enjoyed this recipe! Thanks for the review. I so appreciate it!

    1. So glad this slaw has been a hit, Nita! Thanks so much for the review. I really appreciate it!