Easy Napa Cabbage Salad Recipe with Sesame Dressing 🥬🥕

🥗 Napa Cabbage Salad Tossed with Homemade Dressing

napa cabbage salad on plate

A Napa Cabbage Salad is delicious and simple to make, especially when you toss it in your own homemade sesame oil dressing.

This recipe features a light, tangy dressing with just a hint of sweetness, complementing the crispy, crunchy vegetables perfectly.

The beauty of napa cabbage is that it remains crisp and holds up well even after the dressing has been added.

This salad can be enjoyed as a refreshing side dish or bulked up with protein to make a satisfying meal.

It’s a quick, no-cook recipe that is easy to prepare in about 10 minutes!

The choice of cabbage is key to the texture and flavor of this salad.

Crunch and Flavor: Crisp napa cabbage provides a wonderful base for a salad. Its flavor is milder than traditional cabbage, and it retains a nice, satisfying crunch even when coated with dressing.
Sourcing: Napa cabbage heads are often quite large, but you can also find convenient, ready-to-use packages of napa cabbage leaves at the grocery store.

The salad components and the homemade dressing work together to create a balance of sweet, savory, and tangy notes.

Carrots: Beautiful and delicious carrots add wonderful color and texture. For an interesting look, peel the carrots and cut them into thin diagonal slices.
Green Onions: Chopped green onions provide a sharp, fresh bite that cuts through the dressing’s sweetness.

Fresh minced cilantro is used for its flavor and vibrant green color, but this ingredient is easily customized:

If you love cilantro, feel free to be generous with it.
If you are someone who is not a fan (the percentage of the population who finds it tastes like soap), you can simply leave it out of this recipe without replacing it.

Make Dressing: Add the soy sauce, honey, sesame oil, rice vinegar, and garlic pepper to a small bowl. Whisk together until all the ingredients are thoroughly combined.
Prep Veggies: Chop the napa cabbage and green onions. Peel the carrots and cut them into thin diagonal slices.
Toss: Add the prepared vegetables to the large mixing bowl. Pour the dressing over the top and toss with tongs until the vegetables are evenly coated.
Cilantro: Mince the fresh cilantro (if using) and toss it into the salad for a final burst of flavor and color.
Serve: Serve and enjoy immediately for the best crunch!

This quick and easy salad recipe is perfect when you need a light, crunchy, and savory side dish for any meal!

Will you leave out the cilantro or add extra?