Simple Cabbage Salad (Kupus Salata)
Recipe Highlights
This simple cabbage salad (kupus salata) is the most popular side salad served throughout the Balkans. Its crunchy and refreshing taste makes it a great complement to a wide variety of dishes, especially heavier meals, by helping to cut through the richness and fat.
Despite its simplicity, this salad delivers on flavor while being incredibly easy to prepare. So, if you have a small head or half a head of cabbage in your fridge, and you’re not sure what to make with it, this salad will be your new go-to every time.
Inspiration & Origins
I grew up eating this salad multiple times a week when I lived in Slovenia. With my parents being Serbian and Croatian, even when we moved to Australia, it appeared on the dining table frequently. It was, and still is, one of my favorite side salads. You really can’t go wrong!
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This recipe demonstrates that simple food, when paired with the right meal, can be really complementary. It’s all about knowing the right techniques and using fresh ingredients to get the best out of the humble cabbage. A traditional staple in Balkan cuisine, aka ‘kupus salata’, is one of the most affordable and humble salads you can make at volume.
Ingredients
This is all you’ll need for this recipe. Cabbage, salt, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, and freshly cracked black pepper. There is the option of adding sugar, if you want to make it the way that my great-grandmother did. I think that it’s great without it, but if you like it a little sweeter, feel free to add it to the dish.
Step by Step
Variations
This recipe is a wonderful base for you to experiment with if you want to add other things to it. I would suggest that you try it like this first and build on it from there. Here are some additions for you to try.
- Add a tablespoon or two of mayo if you’d like a creamier version
- Mix in other ingredients for variety:
- Grated carrot
- Borlotti, kidney, or cannellini beans for protein
- Cooked and sliced potatoes for a more substantial side
- Fresh chopped parsley is often added
- Thinly sliced roasted red bell peppers
- Grated green apple for a bit of sweetness if you don’t want to add sugar, but like a sweeter salad
TIP: Picking the right, fresh cabbage will make all the difference in this salad. Look for cabbage that feels heavy for its size, with crisp, tightly packed leaves, and has a slight shine. When the leaves start to become loose and paler in color, it’s an indication that the cabbage was picked a while ago.
Serving Ideas
Here are some wonderful plant-based ways to enjoy this cabbage salad:
- Sarma – stuffed cabbage rolls
- Burek -savory filo pie (spinach and plain)
- Pasulj – bean stew
- Punjene paprike – stuffed peppers
- Prebranac – baked beans
- Hearty stews
- Fried dishes
- With other sides like chargrilled peppers
It’s a great side salad for barbecues, larger gatherings, picnics, and the like, as it keeps quite well and doesn’t need refrigeration for a few hours. However, I would recommend that you serve it cold if possible.
The best part? It’s really affordable, quick, and easy to make.
Simple Cabbage Salad (Kupus Salata)
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Rest Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 6 as a side salad
Description
This simple mayo-free cabbage salad is so easy that it will quickly become your go-to recipe when you have some leftover cabbage in the fridge. Crunchy, fresh, and healthy, you can’t go wrong!
Ingredients
- 1 small green or white cabbage (approx. 1.2 kilos / 2.6 pounds)
- 1½ – 2 teaspoons / 7-10g small granulated salt (I used Celtic sea salt)
- ¼ cup / 50ml olive oil
- 3 tablespoons / 35ml apple cider vinegar (or white vinegar)
- Black pepper, freshly cracked
- ½ – 1 teaspoon granulated sugar (optional)
Instructions
- Remove any damaged outer leaves from the cabbage and rinse. Make sure all the excess water drains off.
- Cut the cabbage in half and remove the core and any other thicker veins on the outer leaves.
- Using a knife or mandoline, slice the cabbage thinly. Try to make it all a similar size.
- Place the shredded cabbage in a large bowl and sprinkle with the salt (1½ – 2 teaspoons). Massage the cabbage with your hands, tossing for about a minute to slightly soften it.*
- Let it sit for at least 15 minutes. In the meantime, start to prepare the main course or other dishes that you’ll be eating with it.
- Drizzle with the olive oil (¼ cup) and vinegar (3 tablespoons) and toss.
- Season with additional salt (only if needed once tried), freshly ground black pepper to taste, and the sugar if you like it sweet.* Toss well to combine, and it’s ready to serve.
- Place leftovers in the fridge for up to 2 days in an airtight container.*
Notes
Salt massage: Massaging the shredded cabbage with a pinch of salt helps to soften it slightly while maintaining its crunch and distributing the salt evenly.
Storage: This salad is best eaten within a couple of hours of being made. You can store it for up to 2 days in the fridge in an airtight container. However, the salad will be softer, and liquid will be at the bottom of the bowl, just toss it through.
Additions: Add beans, grated carrots, or other ingredients mentioned earlier in the post to give it variety. I do, however, suggest that a salad like this is great when kept simple.
Don’t need so many serves? Feel free to halve this recipe if you don’t need that much salad. It is designed for larger groups to enjoy, but can be overkill if you’re only serving a couple of people.
Ingredient quantities: This recipe is a guide, feel free to adjust the ingredients to your liking. It will vary depending on which salt you use and how acidic or sweet you like it.
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