Easy Apple Slaw
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Published Aug 26, 2021, Updated Sep 27, 2023
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This easy apple slaw features red cabbage, spinach, quinoa and a creamy tahini dressing. It’s such a healthy and unique twist on traditional coleslaw.
Oh man, I think I’ve found my new favorite apple recipe!
I feel like I need to apologize if you were expecting something sweet — apple pie bites, a healthy apple crisp or something along those lines — nope, it’s a SALAD. Y’all know I love my salads.
But before you close your browser, this apple slaw is still plenty sweet!
The base is a spiralized (or shredded) sweet apple (I used a Fuji) with red cabbage, quinoa and baby spinach.
For the dressing I skipped the mayo and went with a tahini and apple cider vinegar dressing that’s really creamy and flavorful. And last but not least, there’s a few sunflower seeds to add some nuttiness and raisins for an extra pop of sweetness!
Here’s What You Need For Apple Slaw
- red cabbage – the perfect crunchy base to this salad.
- apple – I prefer to use a sweeter variety of apple like fuji or honey crisp, but feel free to use whatever variety you prefer. As I mention above you can use your spiralizer to make apple “noodles” for this salad or just shred the apples! I like using my food processor to shred the apple and cabbage at the same time.
- quinoa – you’ll want to use cooked quinoa for this recipe. Learn how to cook quinoa.
- spinach – gotta add in some greens! I recommend chopping the spinach pretty small so there aren’t any big chunks.
- sunflower seeds – I love the nuttiness the sunflower seeds add to this salad, but feel free to skip them or swap them with another seed or nut. I bet pepitas would be delicious!
- raisins – the raisins add an extra pop of sweetness, but to reduce the amount of sugar in this salad, feel free to skip them. You can also always swap them with another dried fruit like dried cranberries or cherries.
- tahini dressing – a delicious combination of tahini, apple cider vinegar, avocado or olive oil, nutritional yeast, salt, pepper and water.
- sea salt + pepper – to bring all of the flavors together!
How to Serve This Apple Slaw
With the spinach and quinoa you can certainly get away with serving this salad on its own as a light lunch – you could even add some chickpeas if you feel you need a little extra protein. It also works lovely as a crunchy side dish for weeknight meals (I bet it’d be great with fish tacos and/or bbq sandwiches) or even as a side dish for holiday meals like Thanksgiving. I’m willing to bet you’ll crave this salad year round!
How to Store Leftovers
Store any leftover slaw in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Most of the ingredients are hearty enough to store but the spinach may get a little wilted. If you’re making this salad in advance, you can mix in the spinach right before serving!
More Healthy Side Dishes to Try
- Apple Cider Vinegar Coleslaw
- Crunchy Asian Slaw
- Mango Jicama Slaw
- Roasted Sweet Potato Salad
- Cinnamon Maple Roasted Kabocha Squash
More Spiralized Recipes to Try
- Spiralized Carrot and Cucumber Kale Salad with Peanut Sauce
- Sweet Potato and Parsnip Spiralized Latkes
- Broccoli Noodle Stir Fry
- Pesto Zucchini Noodles
- Zucchini Noodle Lo Mein
Easy Apple Slaw
Ingredients
- ½ small head red cabbage, shredded or spiralized (about 3 cups)
- 1 large fuji apple, shredded or spiralized
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
- 1 cup baby spinach, chopped
- â…“ cup sunflower seeds
- ¼ cup raisins
Instructions
- Prepare the dressing by adding all ingredients (tahini, apple cider vinegar, oil, nutritional yeast, salt, pepper and water) into a small bowl.
- Whisk dressing until smooth.
- Toss the cabbage, apple, quinoa, spinach, sunflower seeds and raisins in a large bowl.
- Add the dressing and toss to combine.
- Serve and enjoy. Store any leftover slaw in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This recipe looks great and I absolutely love apples especially with fall around the corner!
Love,Heyrosa
this looks like Indian/Pakistani fruit chat. looks yummy though
What a beautiful and delicious salad!! And…I need a spiralizer 🙂
Love your inspirations for salads! Thanks.
I am WFPB no oil. This looks so awesome! What would you suggest for the adjustment of leaving the oil out?
Maybe try adding 1 Tablespoon of water instead of the oil or 2 tablespoons fresh avocado? Let me know how it turns out. 🙂
Thanks! I feel silly now I should have thought about avocado. I’m still new so thanks for answering! I am going to make this tomorrow.
No problem at all! Let me know how it turns out. 🙂
How much does this make? I’d like to make it for our Easter celebration…about 20 people…double/triple the amounts? Looks great – can’t wait to try it!
I’m not sure the exact yield for the recipe. If you’re doing a potluck style Easter celebration I think doubling the recipe should work great! I hope you love it.
Not sure why this recipe did not get any ratings, but it’s so damn delicious!
It’s the perfect combination of crunchy, sweet, savory and creamy!
This is going to be another favorite of mine!
Ahh yay!! That makes me so happy to hear, Nadine!! So pumped you loved this salad 🙂 Hoping it’ll get some more love soon!
I have really been enjoying this slaw recipe! Lighter without the Mayo, and I love the addition of apples. Have been putting chicken in it and eating it as a slaw salad for dinners- highly recommend.
So happy to hear you’re loving this apple slaw, Gretchen! Love the addition of chicken! Thanks for trying it out and coming back to leave a review. I really appreciate it!