Recipes › Cabbage (Winter) › Crunchy Winter Cabbage Slaw with Apple, Walnuts and Wholegrain Mustard Dressing
Crunchy Winter Cabbage Slaw with Apple, Walnuts and Wholegrain Mustard Dressing
A robust, properly textured slaw that earns its place at the table in its own right rather than propping up a burger. Winter cabbage is dense and sweet enough to hold up to a good punchy dressing, and combined with crisp apple, toasted walnuts and a mustardy crème fraîche vinaigrette it becomes something you genuinely look forward to eating. It actually improves after sitting for 20 minutes, which makes it ideal to prepare ahead.
Cabbage (Winter) is usually ready November to March. More cabbage (winter) recipes, or see what to sow this month where you are.
Ingredients
- 500 winter cabbage, very finely shredded
- 2 eating apple, cored and cut into thin matchsticksCox or Braeburn work best — avoid anything too sweet
- 60 g walnuts, roughly broken
- 3 celery sticks, thinly sliced at an angle
- 100 g crème fraîcheor use soured cream
- 2 tsp wholegrain mustard
- 2 tbsp cider vinegar
- 1 tsp runny honey
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 pinch black pepper, freshly ground
- 15 g fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Contains: celery, milk, mustard, nuts, sulphites.
Method
- Toast the walnuts in a dry frying pan over a medium heat for 4–5 minutes, tossing occasionally, until they smell nutty and are lightly browned. Tip onto a plate and leave to cool.About 5 min
- Put the shredded cabbage in a large bowl and sprinkle over 1 teaspoon of salt. Toss well and leave for 10 minutes — this softens the cabbage slightly and draws out some moisture so the dressing clings rather than pools at the bottom.About 10 min
- Meanwhile, whisk together the crème fraîche, wholegrain mustard, cider vinegar, honey and a generous grind of black pepper in a small bowl until smooth.About 2 min
- Squeeze the salted cabbage gently with your hands to remove any excess moisture, then return it to the bowl.About 1 min
- Add the apple matchsticks, sliced celery and most of the parsley to the cabbage. Pour the dressing over and toss thoroughly to coat everything well.About 2 min
- Scatter over the toasted walnuts and the remaining parsley. Taste and adjust seasoning — you may want a little more vinegar or mustard. Serve immediately or leave for up to 30 minutes for the flavours to meld.
Tips
- Salting the cabbage first is the difference between a slaw that stays crunchy and one that goes watery and limp within half an hour. Do not skip it.
- Cut the apple at the last minute and toss it immediately in the dressing — this stops it going brown.
- A mandoline makes shredding the cabbage very fine very quickly. If you do not have one, a sharp knife and a bit of patience gets you there.
Ring the changes
- For a dairy-free version, replace the crème fraîche with 80g of good mayonnaise thinned with an extra tablespoon of cider vinegar.
- Add 100g of coarsely grated raw celeriac to bulk it out further — it works brilliantly with the apple and mustard dressing.
Keeping it
Best eaten on the day it is made. If making ahead, dress the slaw no more than 1 hour before serving. Leftovers keep in the fridge for up to 1 day but will lose some crunch.
In the app this recipe finds you
Log what you've picked and GrowMore CookMore matches it to 1,918 more recipes like this one, tells you what's ready before the frost gets it, and keeps the freezer honest. Free to start.
More from the same crop
A deeply savoury braise that transforms winter cabbage into something truly special. The cabbage collapses slowly in stock and white wine, drinking up all the smoky, aromatic flavour from the bacon and caraway. This is proper cold-weather cooking — the kind of side dish that upstages the main.
1 h · easy · Cabbage (Winter)A hearty, warming dal where winter cabbage is cooked down into the spiced lentil base until it becomes almost silky, absorbing all the cumin, turmeric and ginger. The chickpeas add protein and body, making this a completely satisfying one-pot supper. Serve with warm flatbreads or rice and a dollop of yoghurt.
1 h · medium · Cabbage (Winter)A thick, honest soup built around winter cabbage — not the kind where the cabbage is an afterthought, but where it brings real character and sweetness to every bowlful. Floury potatoes dissolve into the broth to give body, and a generous amount of mature Cheddar is stirred in at the end to make it properly rich. This is the soup you want on a January evening.
45 min · easy · Cabbage (Winter)
Allotment keeper in the North East of England, the voice behind the Tony C Smith YouTube channel, and the gardener who built GrowMore CookMore. Club numbers on this page update as members log their plots. Last updated 4 April 2026.