Ruby Coleslaw : Easy Summer Salad

Ruby Coleslaw is my new favorite salad! Perfect for summer picnics, barbecues and potlucks, it’s a vinegar-based coleslaw that uses all the scrumptious red and purple veggies I could find. The thinly sliced vegetables marinate in a DELISH lightly sweet and tangy dressing. It’s a unique summer salad your friends and family will love. Plus, the jewel-tone color is absolutely gorgeous!

Coleslaw is a summertime staple. I like it in all it’s forms, creamy mayonnaise-based coleslaws and vinegar-based ones, too. But, I also like mixing it up a little. Nobody wants to eat the same things over and over. Ruby Coleslaw is a unique slaw that brings some delicious variety to summer menus.

Ticking all the “good for you boxes”, Ruby Coleslaw is health food you’ll love to eat. Yes. Healthy food can be delicious food. I know you already knew that, right?

This coleslaw is gluten-free, dairy-free, and refined sugar-free. The purple cabbage is loaded with fiber and antioxidants, plus Vitamins K and C. (Love cabbage recipes? Check out my Ground Beef and Cabbage, too.) The beets add folate, manganese, iron, potassium and Vitamin C. Red onions add more antioxidants, manganese, as well as Vitamins B6 & C. Radishes and Bell peppers put this delicious salad over the top in vitamins, minerals and essential nutrients. If being beautiful and delicious isn’t enough, you have to get excited that Ruby Coleslaw is a powerhouse of nutrition.

Prepping the Vegetables

5 common fresh vegetables is all you’ll need to toss this pretty salad together. Grab a medium head of purple cabbage, a red onion, a beet, radishes and a red bell pepper.

Start by cutting the head of cabbage in half. You’ll only be using half in this recipe so you can wrap the rest and store it in the fridge to use later in the week.

Just like green cabbage, the purple cabbage has a center core. It’s easy to see once you cut it in half. Cut around that core and remove it.

Now, turn the cabbage over, placing the cut side down, on your cutting board. Slice the cabbage into very thin strips.

Now, turn your cutting board so you can cut the cabbage in the other direction. Cutting the long strips into thirds or fourths makes for more manageable, bite-size pieces after the salad has marinated. Place the cut cabbage into a large salad bowl that has a lid. I try to use glass, since that ruby color may transfer to your bowl if you use plastic.

Use a small red onion or cut a large one in half or thirds. We love pickled red onion, so half is more my speed. Cut the onion into very thin slices and then cut the round slices into thirds or fourths to create thin, short strips of red onion. Add the onion to the cabbage in your salad bowl.

Tips for Handling Raw Beets

The good news? The color is gorgeous. You can even use beet juice as natural coloring for your Easter eggs!

The challenge. These WILL stain your hands. It will wash and wear away in about 24 hours, but there will be stains. If that will be a problem, grab a pair of disposable kitchen gloves to protect your hands.

The juice from the beets can also stain countertops and cutting boards (anything porous, really). Wipe it off immediately to prevent it from soaking in and leaving a stain.

To avoid any issues, I typically work over a piece of parchment or waxed paper when I peel them. And for grating, I put parchment paper over my cutting board.

Peel the rough outer skin off the beet. Then use the largest hole side on a *box grater, to grate the beet. Lift the parchment paper and slide the grated beet into the bowl with the cabbage and onions.

Cut the radishes for Ruby Coleslaw into thin slices and then halve them.

Remove the stem and seeds from the bell pepper and cut it in half. Wrap the other half and store in the fridge for another recipe. Cut the bell pepper half into thins strips and then halve them to make them more bite-size.

Add the radishes and bell peppers to the salad bowl with your other veggies. All that’s left to do is whisk up the yummy dressing and pour it over the coleslaw, so it can begin marinating.

Make the Dressing for Ruby Coleslaw

This dressing is pretty standard for marinated salads and vegetables. It needs an acid, a healthy oil, a small amount of sweet and some herbs and spices for seasoning. You can whisk it up in a bowl or shake it up in a tightly covered pint jar. Do what’s easiest for you.

I almost always use avocado oil for dressings, since it really doesn’t interfere with any of the other flavors. Olive oil DOES have a stronger flavor, but it would also be a good choice for this dressing if you enjoy it.

Apple cider vinegar is the one I most often have on hand, but also love this dressing with red wine vinegar. Sometimes, I even use half and half.

I choose raw local honey as the sweetener simply because I try to avoid processed sugar where it makes sense. It’s in enough other foods that I buy or bake, so I don’t also need it in my salad dressing.

I also add stone ground mustard for an extra zing of acid and flavor.

The herbs and seasonings are simple: salt and black pepper, celery seed and parsley.

Place everything into your bowl or jar and whisk them, or shake them, until everything is combined.

Pour the dressing over the salad. Stir to coat all the cut vegetables and then cover the bowl and let it sit in the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours. Honestly, the best flavor will be after 8 or 10 hours or overnight.

You’ll be treated to a gorgeous ruby colored salad the next time you open that bowl. The beets will have added not only their high nutrient value, but also their color to every vegetable in your slaw. The whole salad will take on a jewel-tone ruby color. And thus, the name.

Add Ruby Coleslaw to your meal rotation this summer for scrumptious, refreshing flavor, powerhouse nutrition and beauty on the plate.

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