Marinated Red Cabbage Carrot Salad with Pecans & Vanilla

I’m here to help those of you who waited until the last minute to throw your Thanksgiving menu together.

Flavor and color are the stars of this Thanksgiving holiday-inspired red cabbage salad.  This is the easiest Thanksgiving side dish ever. There is a one-hour marinade time and I recommend toasting the pecans. Other than that, it takes minutes to throw together.

Shredded red cabbage, carrot curls, dried cranberries, and toasted pecans are tossed together in a vanilla vinaigrette. The eye-catching result is sweet and crunchy and not too filling.

How perfect is that for a Thanksgiving side dish?

Making several of your dishes ahead of time really saves your butt on Thanksgiving day. This one can be made up to three days ahead of time or in this case, the day before the dinner.

For those of you celebrating tomorrow, have a wonderful, delicious, and blissful Thanksgiving!

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Marinated Red Cabbage Carrot Salad with Pumpkin Seeds & Vanilla

Course salads, Side Dish

Cuisine American, German

Keyword carrot salad, fall recipes, fall side dishes, Red Cabbage, salads, side dish, Thankgiving Side Dish, Thanksgiving Recipes

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes

Marinate Time: 1 hour

Servings 6

Author Lora Wiley-Lennartz

Ingredients

• 6 cups shredded red cabbage
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans plus a few whole for garnish
• 4 tablespoons orange juice
• 1 teaspoon mustard
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large carrot peeled and cut into strips with the peeler
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Place the red cabbage in a bowl.

2. In a small separate bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, 2 teaspoons salt, and the apple cider vinegar.

3. Rub the mixture into the shredded red cabbage. Cover the bowl with plastic cling film and place the bowl in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

4. Place the pecans in a naked small skillet over medium heat and toast. Set aside.

5. In a separate bowl, whisk together the orange juice, mustard, honey, vanilla extract, and olive oil.

6. Remove the cabbage from the refrigerator, drain the excess liquid, and toss with the carrot strips, dried cranberries, and the toasted pecans to combine.

7. Pour the dressing over the top and toss to coat. Let stand for another 30 minutes at room temperature.

8. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Garnish with extra raw pecan and dried cranberries and serve.

Try these other ridiculously good red cabbage recipes:

Butternut Squash Sauerkraut Quinoa Cabbage Rolls

Red Cabbage and Potato Valentine’s Flammkuchen

Red Cabbage Pumpkin Torte