With the warm days of summer upon us, here's a cool and crunchy summer salad and side dish: broccoli slaw with creamy apple cider dressing. I've added tart dried cranberries and almonds for extra color and flavor against the veggies and tangy dressing. A food processor makes it a snap.
This broccoli slaw recipe has been hitting the spot for us lately. It's great with anything off the grill as a side dish and leftovers are welcome for a quick and healthy lunch the next day.
Chopping the Vegetables
When it comes to chopping the veggies, I use my food processor with the grating blade, like you use for hard cheese. You can use bagged pre-cut veggies, but it's so much fresher and better if you do it yourself and the food processor makes it easy.
Broccoli Slaw Ingredients
To make broccoli slaw you'll need the following:
- 2 heads broccoli
- 2 carrots
- ¼ green cabbage
- ½ small head purple cabbage
- ⅓ cup chopped cilantro or flat leaf parsley
- 4-6 scallions (green part)
- ⅓ cup dried cranberries (optional)
- ⅓ cup slivered almonds (optional)
Prep Your Veggies
Cut the broccoli stems and florets apart with a knife. Using a vegetable peeler, peel the broccoli stems. For the carrots, peel if you prefer or just scrub well with a vegetable brush. The peel, or skin, is edible and highly nutritious.
Use Your Food Processor
It takes no time at all to grate your own broccoli, cabbage and carrots for this broccoli slaw. I've used both a grating blade (large hole) and the julienne blade. Using the grating blade yields a fine, fluffy slaw. Using the julienne blade yields a slaw with more texture and larger pieces like you find in the bagged store brands.
Cut the cabbage into pieces that will fit into the feed tube of your food processor. Place the blade into your food processor and run your produce through. As the work bowl fills up, dump the slaw into a large bowl and complete the process. It takes just minutes to create fresh, colorful, healthy slaw.
Broccoli Slaw Dressing Recipe
The dressing is creamy, tangy and citrusy all at once and good for more than just this broccoli slaw. I use Vegenaise for it's mild clean taste (egg-free and vegan) but you can use your favorite mayonnaise. Apple cider vinegar (ACV) gives it the tang and that little bit of orange zest adds bright flavor. Shake it in a jar, whisk it in a bowl or use a blender on low speed.
How to Serve
To serve broccoli slaw, gently toss with dressing and add the cranberries and almonds. If you are reducing sugar or carbs, you can skip the dried cranberries, but just a handful are a nice compliment.
This recipe makes a big batch, about 3 pounds of slaw. That is the equivalent of 4 grocery store bagged broccoli slaw (12 ounces per bag). You can make the whole batch for a big family or cut the recipe in half. Without the dressing, the chopped raw veggies will last in the refrigerator for almost a week.
Ways to Use Leftovers
If you make the whole batch, here are more ideas on how to serve broccoli slaw.
- Inside tacos as the veggie component
- For a quick stir-fry
- Thin down the Asian Almond Butter sauce and use it as dressing for another flavor profile
For Histamine Intolerance
If you have histamine intolerance all of these vegetables are safe. The dried cranberries are questionable based upon your level of sensitivity. For the dressing, I use a refrigerated brand of mayo called Vegenaise. It is egg-free, vegan and comes soy-free as well.
Although the amount is small, citrus is a histamine liberator. If you are highly reactive to citrus you may want to skip the orange in the dressing. If ACV is a problem try organic white vinegar instead.
📖 Recipe
Broccoli Slaw
Equipment
Ingredients
Broccoli Slaw
- 2 heads broccoli about 1 ¼ pounds
- 2 carrots
- ¼ large head green cabbage 13 ounces
- ½ small head purple cabbage 10 ounces
- ⅓ cup chopped cilantro or flat leaf parsley leaves
- 4-6 scallions green part, chopped crosswise
- ⅓ cup dried cranberries optional
- ⅓ cup slivered almonds optional
Creamy Apple Cider Dressing
- ⅔ cup mayonnaise I use Vegenise or homemade
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar regular or apple balsamic
- 1 tablespoon fresh orange zest
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Wash all of your produce well. Cut broccoli stems from florets. Peel stems with a vegetable peeler. Scrub the carrots or peel. Chop the cilantro and scallions.
- Fit your food processor work bowl with the large hole grating blade or julienne slicing blade. Though the narrowest feed tube, push broccoli stems through to slice, then do the carrots. Through the largest feed tube, slice the broccoli florets. As the work bowl fills, place the veggies into a large bowl and continue slicing the cabbages. Dump all the vegetables into the bowl and toss gently to combine. Add the cilantro, scallions, cranberries and almonds.
- Portion out as much as you need for one meal, approximately 1 cup per person as a side salad or 1 ½ cups per person if using as an entree salad to be topped with leftover chicken.
- Whisk together the dressing ingredients or shake in a jar. When dressing, start with a small amount, toss and add more if needed. It is easy to add more but impossible to take too much away.
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