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This delicious chopped cabbage salad with carrots and kale is a powerhouse of veggies with a touch of {optional} bacon. A hearty make-ahead salad that is packed with so much flavor, it might just become your new favorite side dish.
If salads typically make you cringe, this chopped cabbage and kale salad might just change your mind!
It’s packed with flavor and has a delicious texture similar to coleslaw. Even better, we’re putting some bacon, AKA the candy bar of meats, in it!
And if you want to take it to the next level, top your salad with a batch of our air fryer croutons.
Reader Review
“This is now a way I can get kids to eat the cabbage we get in our CSA shares that I never can used up! My youngest said, “Mom, this is a ‘Make-Again’ one!” That is high praise in this house!! I did use bacon crumbles from Costco and heated them up a bit along with the seeds, and had them on the side for people to add as they wanted. I’m sure that had nothing to do with the love. 🙂 Thank you!”
Tina
If you’re adding the bacon to this recipe, start by baking it in the oven or cooking a few slices in a skillet on the stovetop or air fryer bacon. This post on how to cook bacon in the oven has more details on the oven method.
I love using my food processor for this recipe, because it makes very quick work of chopping all the veggies. Just make sure you use the “pulse” or “chop” function to keep the veggies from getting pureed.
Without a food processor, you can still easily make this salad by using a chef’s knife, a cutting board, and a wee bit of patience.
This salad will keep for days in the fridge, and all the veggies will stay crisp if you add the dressing to each portion prior to serving.
Rainbow Chopped Cabbage Salad
Ingredients
- 5 cups kale {cut into thin ribbons}
- 4 cups green cabbage {chopped}
- 4 cups purple cabbage {chopped}
- 2 cups carrots {chopped}{about 3 medium carrots}
- 1 cup celery {chopped}{about 2 stalks celery}
- 1/3 cup sunflower seeds
- 1/3 cup raw pumpkin seeds
- 1 cup bacon {cooked, cooled, and minced}
- Dressing of your choice
Instructions
- Wash and dry all produce.
- Lay your kale on a cutting board, and remove the ribs by slicing along the middle of each side. Thinly chop and place in a large mixing bowl.5 cups kale
- Finely chop the cabbage or pulse in a food processor. Add to the mixing bowl.4 cups green cabbage, 4 cups purple cabbage
- Peel and chop the carrots or pulse in a food processor. Add to the mixing bowl.2 cups carrots
- Chop the celery and add it to the bowl.1 cup celery
- Add sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and chopped bacon.1/3 cup sunflower seeds, 1/3 cup raw pumpkin seeds, 1 cup bacon
- Mix all ingredients with tongs and top each serving with your dressing of choice.Dressing of your choice
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is now a way I can get kids to eat the cabbage we get in our CSA shares that I never can used up! My youngest said, “Mom, this is a ‘Make-Again’ one!” That is high praise in this house!! I did use bacon crumbles from Costco and heated them up a bit along with the seeds, and had them on the side for people to add as they wanted. I’m sure that had nothing to do with the love. 🙂 Thank you!
Yay, Tina! I love helping convert people to new recipes.
Since your family now enjoys bacon and cabbage, give my fried cabbage and bacon a chance. Fingers crossed.
Yum, doesn’t this salad just look amazing (minus the kale which I do not eat)!! Looks like the perfect easy side dish summer BBQs. The addition of the sunflower seeds and bacon sounds particularly delish. Gonna have to make this immediately!
I hope you love it, Dori!
Looks very healthly and freshy. Great for summer hot days.
It’s a great summer recipe, and keeps so well for leftovers!
We don’t eat pork but I bet some turkey or beef bacon cooked nice and crispy would work great. It makes so much I’ll have to see if my neighbor wants some.
Honestly, I leave out the bacon about half the time and still love the salad. And yes, it makes A LOT!
Sarah! This salad is delicious. I expected it to be a nice, healthy salad, but I couldn’t get enough. I left out the bacon and didn’t have any pumpkin seeds, and still, it was wonderful. Thank you for providing me with another great way to use my abundance of kale.
Paula, I’m so glad you liked it! I find it’s almost a cross between a salad and coleslaw and for whatever reason that makes me happier when eating it. 🙂
Great salad! My husband loved it went back for seconds! He doesn’t like kale so he says…..
Hurray! I love when we can introduce new/hated foods to others. 🙂
This recipe made a ton of delicious salad! I had it without bacon but with tofu and avocado. And then the bacon on the side. Thanks!
Bacon on the side is the name of my band. 🙂
This is by far one of our favorite ways to eat veggies. With the heat and humidity on MI this summer, I think this will need to be a staple. I’ll cook up some chicken, hard boiled eggs, and get some deli meat to round it it.
Looks like I’ve loved this salad for about 6 years now!!!
Just recommended this for the millionth time. And now I want to make it.
I love this salad so much!
You’re the sweetest, thank you Tina! I need to take some updated photos of it soon.
Wow, what a great idea!
We LOVE this salad. It’s especially amazing with a hard boiled egg or two for work lunches. So yummy! Thank you!
Adding hardboiled eggs = genius move Brandi!
A kitchen hack for removing the central rib in chard, kale, spinach etc… instead of slicing twice for both sides of the rib, I fold the leaf in half and then just slice once down the side of the rib! I know, it only takes a second or two off the time, but when you are doing a TON of leaves for any sort of dish, it just makes the job a little quicker!
That is a great hack!
Do you eat this salad with a spoon? 🙂 I think I’ll shave the carrots and chop into little ribbons. I kind of dislike chunks of carrots in salads. Maybe toss with goddess dressing!
Nah, I used a fork! 🙂
I love chunks of carrots, but ribbons would be fine too. If you already have your food processor out, maybe shred them in that?
Adding these ingredients to my grocery list. Looks easy enough that I might insist that the hubby and child make it.
Did they do it? Did you pull the “I’m busy with school” car d and make them do this? 🙂
We went camping (for the first time!) this weekend so we haven’t tried the salad yet. These items are on the list for tomorrows grocery shopping.
On a side note, the hubby did run to the store after we got back from camping to pick up hot dogs and tater tots that HE made for supper so I could finish up my school work :0)
Only thing missing from the salad is the Pork BBQ and bun. I am with Troy….everything is better on bread 🙂
I would totally do this as a mason jar salad!! I make one very similar but I add chopped dates or raisins for a little pop of sweetness! Sweet, salty, bacon = Yumm!!
This looks yummy and healthy. I wonder if it would work as a mason jar salad for lunches?
I don’t see why not! But even though I don’t love salads, I can eat a ton of this one. I’d have to probably do a quart mason jar, because a pint wouldn’t be enough for how quickly I can mow this down.