Need a side dish for your next BBQ or pot luck get-together that everyone will love? This crunchy coleslaw and macaroni salad is easy to make, very tasty, healthy, and can be made up to 2 days in advance.
As we start enjoying the warmer weather, we also start enjoying eating out on our decks, patios, backyards, and balconies. Summer salads are a welcome side dish especially for a pot luck get together.
This salad combines two old fashioned picnic favorites:
coleslaw and macaroni salad! Does it get better than that?
I happen to be a big fan of cabbage so thus I love coleslaw (I have a (link) Pinterest board just for all kinds of coleslaw recipes) and who doesn't love pasta?
I think the combination of coleslaw and macaroni salad is genius.
I originally saw this idea on a blog called The English Kitchen. I then googled coleslaw macaroni salad and found a number of good recipes at many different blog sites because it seems to be a very common and popular dish. (Who knew?)
However, the dressings I found were not vegan because they typically use a mayonnaise (which contains eggs) type dressing. I veganized the recipe to suit my needs using a creamy delicious vegan dressing. I was pleased with my adaptations and the absolutely delicious final product.
Health Benefits of Cabbage
- Cabbage is a humble vegetable, but it has impressive nutrients such as Vitamin C, Vitamin K, magnesium, folate, fiber, and powerful antioxidants that may help protect against cell damage caused by exposure to chemicals, pollution, exhaust fumes from the car, pesticides, smoking, oxidation, and even chemicals in cleaning products and cosmetics. This is a concern because cell damage may play a role in inflammation and even developing cancers. So that's a good reason to eat more protective cruciferous and high antioxidant foods like berries!
- Cabbage is in the cruciferous family same as kale, Brussels sprouts, and broccoli. It's also low in fat and calories making it a dieters friend.
- Cabbage has lots of nutrients and antioxidants to help build stronger immunity.
I used my creamy vegan cashew dressing in this recipe (oil-free).
link to recipe- creamy dressing or use vegan mayo.
If you like and use vegan mayo, it would work in this recipe or if you are not vegan, regular mayo will work of course as well. You can chop your own coleslaw or buy a bag to speed up the process.
Ditalini or small elbow macaroni works great in this salad, but it always depends on what I can find that is gluten free. This time I was able to find gluten-free elbow macaroni. For some reason I've been having trouble finding regular gluten-free pastas lately. Have you?
Think of this salad for guests with special eating needs. It meets gluten-free, vegan, dairy -free and kosher-parve standards. It can be made quickly and stored in the refrigerator for at least 2 days.
Make it with red or green cabbage or both!
Ingredients:
4 cups of coleslaw mix or chop cabbage to make your own
1 cup of diced celery
1/2 cup of shredded carrots
1/4 teaspoon of celery seed (optional-but I like it)
2-3 heaping cups of cooked (GF) elbow macaroni, drained well
Directions:
Toss all the ingredients together in a large mixing bowl and set aside.
Make the dressing or use vegan (or regular) mayo. When the dressing is done, mix 1/2 cup at a time into the salad until you reach what tastes good to you.
(recipe link) The dressing . I'm using my creamy ranch/Caesar dressing which works well.
Sharing on Souper Sunday link up where anyone can share a soup, sammie, or salad recipe.
So good for summer get-togethers :)
ReplyDeleteAll the best Jan
A coleslaw-slash-pasta salad that can be served at room temperature? Sounds like a crowd pleaser! That purple cabbage is so pretty, as is the bowl holding the salad.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you found some sneakers at Kohl's, even if you struck out otherwise. I find most of my stuff online, yet only a few things from the brick and mortar store.
Red cabbage is my favourite. You are having a lovely English summer most days!
ReplyDeleteI love cabbage as much as it hates me...LOL..I keep eating them though and they keep attack me and my digest system. I am not giving it up yet. That coleslaw looks awesome!
ReplyDeleteWe eat cabbage a lot. I never thought to add macaroni. Great idea…thanks.
ReplyDeleteThis salad looks awesome!.....what a great combination of flavors!!.....Abrazotes, Marcela
ReplyDeleteI bet my husband would like this.
ReplyDeleteYou ask did I know what happened with the owls in my post today...No, I have no idea. For years we could go to this strip mining area and always see pheasant all year long, as well as in the fall there were tons of Canada geese, and you just would not believe how many Short-eared owls we would see. The last year the owls passed through, there were so many you would not believe me if I told you. My husband did not believe me till I took him and he saw with his own eyes. Then the next year, not one single owl. I would say it has been close to a year since I saw a pheasant, and there are a few geese..but not many.
But in the spring, there are a LOT of snow geese and swans. It is just strange.
What a great way to get my coleslaw and macaroni too. Saw this at Miz Helen's Full Plate Thurs and glad I did.
ReplyDelete