This easy restaurant-style cabbage salsa (Mexican pico de gallo) is fresh, healthy, crunchy and delicious. It is excellent for tacos, quesadillas and to serve with Mexican pasta or simply alongside some tortilla chips.
This easy cabbage salsa is so popular in Mexican restaurants; it is loaded with veggies such as green cabbage, tomato, cilantro and jalapeno and marinated in lemon juice with a hint of spice.
Also, check Cabbage Patties and Pan Fried Green Beans.
This cabbage slaw is a refreshing appetizer that is absolutely delicious and super easy to put together. This recipe will elevate and transform any meal. If you want to have a great appetizer without going through a tedious cooking process, cabbage salsa is the recipe you should pick.
It is flavorful, crunchy and quite the eye candy with the different colors of ingredients. This is a great way to sneak in extra veggies in your meals. This recipe shows that vegetables do not have to be boring with a bland taste. It is an interesting combination of the heat and tang of a spicy salsa.
Cabbage salsa is a great twist on ordinary tomato salsa and will most definitely be a hit at every barbecue.
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Why Does This Recipe Work?
If you have some cabbage in your kitchen, do not allow it to go stale. Here are a few reasons you should use it to make this recipe:
- This traditional salsa is super easy to make. The process of preparing this recipe is simple, straightforward and does not require any specialized skills.
- There is no cooking or heating required. Chopping ingredients and mixing them together is all you need to do. This dish allows you to enjoy a delicious appetizer without spending cooking time.
- It is versatile. The flavors in this recipe can be customized to meet a person’s individual preferences. Besides, there are several ways to enjoy this salsa because it can be combined with a wide variety of other foods. You can also customize the spiciness to your liking!
How To Cut Your Cabbage?
You can chop, Julian or shred the cabbage according to your preference. For me, the best way to prepare the cabbage for salsas is to shred it in the food processor.
Ingredients
Fresh Tomatoes: They combine with the cabbage and other ingredients in this recipe to give this dish great taste.
Garlic: It adds flavor to the recipe.
Red onion: It gives a sharp flavor to this recipe.
Jalapeno pepper: It gives the recipe mild heat effect. You can also experiment with other pepper varieties.
Lemon juice: It helps to marinate and soften the cabbage. It also gives the recipe a tangy taste. You may use lime juice instead.
Cayenne pepper: It is a useful seasoning in this recipe.
Salt: It combines with cayenne pepper to season your dish.
Fresh cilantro: It adds flavor to the recipe. It also makes the salsa visually appealing.
Cabbage: It is the key ingredient of this recipe hence its name. Shredded cabbage gives this recipe its extra crunchy texture.
How To Make Fresh Cabbage Salsa Recipe?
One: Finely dice red onion, tomatoes, jalapeño, and cilantro, mince the garlic and shred the green cabbage.
Two: In a medium-sized mixing bowl, mix together tomatoes, garlic, jalapeño, cilantro and red onion until combined.
Three: Stir in salt, cayenne pepper and lemon juice.
Four: Finally, mix in the shredded green cabbage until combined and serve.
Top Tips!
Use fresh produce for this recipe. Since there is no cooking required in this recipe, there will be no way to mask bad produce. Fresh produce tastes great because it still has its original taste.
This recipe involves a lot of chopping, so ensure that you set aside time for it.
Chop or shred the cabbage according to your preference. The way you chop your vegetables in this recipe will determine how the end product will look like.
Ensure that you clean your vegetables effectively, especially the cilantro, which can be sandy.
Put this salsa in the fridge for an hour before serving to allow the ingredients to blend together and also for the lime to soften the cabbage. The longer It sits, the better it tastes.
Use a glass or ceramic bowl to mix the ingredients of this dish. The metal in some bowls can react with the cabbage and citric acid in the lemon juice resulting in an alteration of color and flavor.
To achieve a crunchy homemade salsa, prepare it the same day you are serving it. If you choose to make the salsa a day in advance, wait until an hour or 2 to serving before you add jalapenos and other seasonings.
This salsa gets more spicy or hotter with age.
The ratio of the ingredients used in this recipe will be determined by the flavor and visual appearance you want to achieve. The ratio determines how the cabbage salsa looks when served in a bowl. For instance, it may have more of one color or the colors may be in equal parts.
Use ripe tomatoes to prevent the salsa from being bland.
Adjust salt and pepper seasoning to achieve your desired taste.
Seed the jalapenos to get a milder flavor, but you could still use them with their seeds if you want your salsa to be really spicy. The hot properties of jalapenos are more concentrated in the seeds.
Recipe Variations
- Add vinegar to this recipe for an extra tangy taste. However, ensure that the different flavors in this recipe balance out well. Vinegar is useful in taming down the very hot taste in this recipe.
- You can prepare this recipe without tomatoes.
- Replace jalapenos with either red or yellow bell pepper if you are preparing this salsa for the whole family or for people who do not like spicy food. You can substitute the spicy ingredients and still achieve a great taste that will no doubt entice children to eat their vegetables.
- Add a few tablespoons of orange juice to give this recipe a sweet fruity flavor.
- You can add mango pieces to this dish right before serving to give it another dimension of flavor.
Serving Suggestions
Serve this fresh cabbage salsa with some tortilla chips, it can be served alongside other great meals such as chips, burritos, tacos or grilled fish.
It is also a great way to compliment seafood and other meats as a side dish. It is recommended that you serve this dish cold to enhance its refreshing quality.
Storage
Salsas are best used up on the day they are prepared because they are more crunchy. However, leftovers can also be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for a day or two.
Recipe FAQs
Ensure that you use fresh ingredients and serve the salsa 1-2 hours after preparing it.
No. This recipe uses raw cabbage that is shredded into desirable pieces.
There is no specific size for the shredded cabbage. You can have them thick or thin, depending on your preference. You are also free to cut them up in the shape that you prefer.
You can seed your jalapeño if you would want to achieve a mild flavor.
Yes, you may use green or red cabbage in making salsa; it is a personal preference.
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Recipe
Cabbage Salsa
Ingredients
- 4 cups cabbage , shredded
- 2 tomatoes , diced
- 1 small red onion , finely diced
- 1 jalapeno pepper , finely diced
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 3 cloves garlic , minced
- pinch of cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoon fresh cilantro , chopped
Instructions
- Finely dice red onion, tomatoes, jalapeño, and cilantro, mince the garlic and shred the green cabbage.2 tomatoes, 1 small red onion, 1 jalapeno pepper, 2 tablespoon fresh cilantro, 3 cloves garlic
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, mix together tomatoes, garlic, jalapeño, cilantro and red onion until combined.
- Stir in salt, cayenne pepper and lemon juice.¼ cup lemon juice, ½ teaspoon salt, pinch of cayenne pepper
- Finally, mix in the shredded green cabbage until combined and serve.4 cups cabbage
Notes
- Use fresh produce for this recipe. Since there is no cooking required in this recipe, there will be no way to mask bad produce. Fresh produce tastes great because it still has its original taste.
- This recipe involves a lot of chopping, so ensure that you set aside time for it.
- Chop or shred the cabbage according to your preference. The way you chop your vegetables in this recipe will determine how the end product will look like.
- Ensure that you clean your vegetables effectively, especially the cilantro, which can be sandy.
- Put the salsa in the fridge for an hour before serving to allow the ingredients to blend together and also for the lime to soften the cabbage. The longer It sits, the better it tastes.
- Use a glass or ceramic bowl to mix the ingredients of this dish. The metal in some bowls can react with the cabbage and citric acid in the lemon juice resulting in an alteration of color and flavor.
- To achieve a crunchy homemade salsa, prepare it the same day you are serving it. If you choose to make the salsa a day in advance, wait until an hour or 2 to serving before you add jalapenos and other seasonings.
- It gets more spicy or hotter with age.
- The ratio of the ingredients used in this recipe will be determined by the flavor and visual appearance you want to achieve. The ratio determines how your salsa looks when served in a bowl. For instance, it may have more of one color or the colors may be in equal parts.
- Use ripe tomatoes to prevent the salsa from being bland.
- Adjust salt and pepper seasoning to achieve your desired taste.
- Seed the jalapenos to get a milder flavor, but you could still use them with their seeds if you want your salsa to be really spicy. The hot properties of jalapenos are more concentrated in the seeds.
Bill
Unique salsa recipe! It is delicious and crunchy.
Martha
I loved this recipe so much! I used garlic salt and some chilli powder.
Jaclyn
Such an easy and delicious salsa recipe. It is full of flavours. Definitely will make it again.
Joanne
Fresh and so quick and easy! Thank you for this!