If you’re just entering your slaw era, or looking for a new recipe to change things up, this apple cabbage slaw is your go-to salad when you want something fresh and light. It’s so easy to make, and totally customisable for whatever is in season to keep enjoying all year round.

I love creating simple, delicious recipes that are easy to follow, repeatable and customisable. In this recipe I’ll show you the fundamentals of a good slaw, ingredient variations, step by step instructions, as well as some pairing suggestions for a complete meal.

What you’ll love about this recipe:

• It’s easy to make with only a few ingredients.
• Perfect for an occasion / entertaining, or serving alongside a weeknight dinner or simple BBQ at home.
• Slaw’s aren’t just for summer, you can tweak the ingredients and serve year round to compliment your main meal.

Fundamentals of a good slaw

• Crunch is key. Make sure your ingredients are fresh. Choose ingredients that have a crunch to them like cabbage, apple, fennel, kohlrabi, carrot, and a variety of savoury and sweet notes.
• Think about texture. Add in ingredients that give a little texture variation, for example the tuscan kale in this recipe.
• Preparation. Thin, uniform slicing is the hallmark of a slaw (versus a salad) giving a good distribution of flavours throughout.
• The perfect dressing should have a balance of sweetness (from mayo, honey or maple syrup), acidity / tanginess (from citrus and vinegars) and savouriness (from salt or soy sauce). A sweet element takes a slaw to the next level. I chose apple for this slaw but you can also use things like pear and even pineapple.
• The dressing to slaw ratio should coat the salad nicely but not be overly soggy. The general rule of thumb is ⅓ cup of dressing to 4 cups of slaw ingredients.
• Get creative. The best part about making a slaw is the creative freedom it gives you. Add your fave ingredients or whatever you have in the fridge. Make it yours. Make it yum.
• Let it sit for a bit. Once dressed, letting your dressing mix in with the salad and become friends with it, brings out more flavour. This can be for 10-30 minutes.

Tips for making this recipe

If you have a mandolin, use it to get nice fine slices from your cabbage and fennel. But it’s not necessary to use one. A sharp knife will do the trick.

To prepare this recipe in advance, I suggest making the dressing, store in a jar in the fridge. You can pre-slice the vegetables, but I suggest leaving the apple till you're ready to make the slaw. You can submerge the apple in lightly salted water which can prevent the apple from browning as an option.

A note on apples. The apple is one of the main flavours of this recipe, so choose your apple wisely. As an Aussie, my personal favourite is Jazz, they’re top of the crop here. Granny Smith is a good second choice. In the US, a Honeycrisp would work nicely as well. In the UK Braeburn or Fuji is good. Just make sure whatever you pick, they aren’t floury, that’s just gross.

Storage

This is best on the day it’s made however you can store any uneaten slaw covered in the fridge for a day or two.

What to serve with this slaw

This slaw goes perfectly with any BBQ or cooked meat like pulled pork, fish, or lamb. Or serve alongside these prawn tacos.

Looking for more salad-spiration?

My Apple, kale and mint salad is almost a vinaigrette version of this salad, and made a little chunkier, it’s epic. My pear, rocket prosciutto salad is another fave salad combining fruit flavours.