A versatile spicy pickled vegetable slaw for salads, meats, poultry, and fish made with red cabbage, red onion, jalapenos, carrots, turnips, beets, garlic, and lemon.
Quick Mix-In
Spice up your salad with pickled vegetables to give that tangy kick. Mix it with kale for a tasty Massaged kale Pickled Vegetable Side Salad. It’s also a great addition to your rice bowl dishes. Rice bowls are filled with a variety of flavors all in one dish. Each bite gives you a different taste; your palette will thank you for not eating another bland meal.
My Haitian culture inspires this pickled vegetable slaw recipe. We use a spicy condiment called Pikliz, made of shredded cabbage, onion, carrot, scotch bonnet peppers, citrus fruit, and spices. We serve it with fried dishes such as pork (griot) or fried fish with a side of plantains and a salad of lettuce and tomatoes. Try it in the Turkey Meatball Wraps.
If you like spicy slaw, try Spiced Salmon with Pepper Cabbage Slaw and Yellow Rice or this undoubtedly air fryer favorite, Loaded Plantain Fries with Crispy Chicken Thighs and Spicy Slaw .
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Mix the vegetable slaw with tongs or gloves to massage the ingredients together. Plus, gloves make it easier to fill the jar with shredded vegetables.
Ingredients
You'll thinly slice or shred the red cabbage, red onion, jalapenos, habanero (optional - depending on the season and location), carrots, turnips, and beets. Then, place the vegetables and garlic in a mason jar. Next, combine the kosher salt, ground black pepper, allspice, clove powder, honey, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, white vinegar, and water and pour over the mixed vegetable slaw, and tightly close and place in the fridge for at least 4 hours.
See the pickled vegetable pepper slaw recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
All the vegetables and peppers are either sliced or shredded. I suggest using a vegetable mandoline, like my Benriner Japanese Classic Slicer, a food processor with a shredder attachment, or a shredding peeler to finish the prep work quickly. Learn more about using the Japanese Mandoline.
Chocolate & Zucchini: Grated Carrots, Three Ways has an insightful post on what carrots visually look like when using different cutting methods, such as the mandoline and different sides of the box grater.
Substitutions
- Habanero - This is optional since it has a high heat level. But the benefit is its sweet, unique flavor. If you can't find it fresh, you can use habanero sauce, like Cholula Sweet Habanero Hot Sauce. I suggest 1 to 2 teaspoons per 1 medium habanero in the recipe.
- Apple Cider Vinegar Substitute - Try white or red wine vinegar. However, this may change the flavor slightly, especially the red. If you use red, it will probably not pair well with the habanero. I have not tried it this way with the pickled vegetable slaw recipe since they both have distinct flavors.
Change Heat Level - Modify the recipe's heat level to your liking and learn more about the Scoville Scale and Chili Pairings.
Variations
Add other vegetables that do great pickled!
- Try thinly sliced bell peppers, Pparsnips, or radishes.
- Experiment with Persian cucumbers.
- Try a mixture of cauliflower florets and sliced carrots.
- Have you ever had pickled watermelon rind? You peel the green skin and remove any of the red parts of the watermelon, slicing it into matchsticks.
Equipment
- Mandoline - To thinly slice or shred the vegetables. If your mandoline doesn't have teeth blades to make julienne/matchstick cuts. I suggest slicing it into 14-inch pieces, then stacking them and slicing them into strips. I've used my Benriner Japanese Classic Slicer for over 20 years; it's super convenient and tucks away in a drawer.
- Large Mixing Bowl - Used to combine all the shredded vegetables before placing them in the jar.
- Mason Jar - To store pickled vegetables to ensure long-lasting freshness. I recommend the Ball Regular Mouth 32-Ounces Mason Jars.
Kitchen Must Haves - Find other tools I use here.
Storage
Keep refrigerated to pickle for at least 4 hours to 1 day before use. Mason glass jars are perfect for preventing staining and maintaining the quality of taste and freshness.
Air Tight Food Containers - I use Glass Food Storage Containers with a plastic clipping lid to store food. For example, I always suggest glass storage containers since you can microwave them and hold food without staining the container, and the glass keeps them at a more stable temperature, which keeps the food fresher longer.
Cooking tips
- Beets - Prepare your area when cutting beets since it does bleed. I suggest you use a plastic cutting board (you can place a towel between it and your wooden cutting board). My Futouzy color-coded plastic cutting boards I bought work perfectly for this; I place them on top of my wooden board for protection with certain ingredients, such as beets. Some may choose to wear gloves. I usually rinse right after with no issues. Have paper towels handy to pick up any beet liquid spills quickly. Rinse everything right away.
- Cutting Chili Peppers - Do not touch your eyes afterward; immediately wash your hands and equipment. Keep your area clean and clear of unnecessary equipment and other items. You'll need a plastic cutting board; try Fotouzy BPA-Free Flexible Plastic Cutting Board Mats, knife, and gloves. You may want to wear gloves, especially for the habanero. The pith (white flesh) and the seeds contain the capsaicin oil that holds the heat level; if you want less heat, remove these parts of the pepper. Rubbing alcohol may help wash the capsaicin off of things; do not put the alcohol directly on foods.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Japanese Mandoline is primarily plastic with carbon stainless steel blades. It usually has no “kick” stand to prop it at a 45-degree angle. However, it is very convenient. It is slick in design, and the blades can easily be changed. This tool is used for shredding and slicing vegetables and fruit in various ways. An example would be the Benriner Japanese Classic Slicer that I use.
Side Dishes Ideas Recipes
Looking for other side dish recipes like this? Try these:
- Healthy Whipped Garlic Herbed Cottage Cheese Spread
- Curried Air Fryer Lamb Chops with Chickpea Cucumber Salad
- Curried Chickpeas and Mushrooms with Spiced Brown Basmati Rice
- Massaged Kale Pickled Vegetable Salad
Vegetarian Recipes
Looking for other vegetarian recipes like this? Try these:
- Homemade Easy Spicy Basil Pesto
- French Omelet with Whipped Garlic Herbed Cottage Cheese
- Easy Peanut Chocolate Caramel Candy Bar No-Churn Ice Cream
- Mango Cookies and Cream No-Churn Ice Cream
Video
Recipe
Pickled Vegetables Pepper Slaw
Ingredients
- ¼ medium red cabbage
- 2 medium carrots
- 1 small turnip
- 1 medium beet
- ¼ medium red onion
- 2 medium jalapenos (or 1 medium habanero - optional)
- 2 large garlic cloves, smashed
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- ¼ teaspoon clove powder
- 2 tablespoon honey
- 1 lemon, juiced
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- ¾ cup white vinegar
- ¼ cup water
Instructions
- Prep Veggies: Thinly shred the red cabbage into ½-inch thick slices with a knife.
- Then thinly shred the carrots, turnip, beet, red onion, jalapenos, and habanero to a ¼-inch thick with a mandoline or knife and place all in a large mixing bowl.
- Mix: Combine all the shredded vegetables well with the smashed garlic.
- Jar It: In a 1-quart mason jar, tightly pack the slaw mixture.
- Make Pickling Liquid: In the same mixing bowl, whisk together the kosher salt, black pepper, allspice, clove powder, honey, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, white vinegar, and water.
- Pour the vinegar mixture into the jar to cover the ingredients, and top off with more water if needed.
- Close the jar tightly. If you added water, carefully hold it upside down to incorporate it.
- Refrigerate: Store in the refrigerator to pickle for at least 4 hours to 1 day before use.
Notes
Habanero is optional since it has a high heat level. But the benefit is its unique flavor.
Apple Cider Vinegar Substitute - Try white or red wine vinegar. However, this may change the flavor slightly.
Shredding Alternative
- Instead of cutting all ingredients with a knife, you can use a food processor's shredding attachments, a julienne peeler, or a Japanese (plastic and thin) or French (metal with a kickstand) mandoline.
- I use my 20-year-old Benriner Japanese mandoline. It's thin and easy to store. But in the commercial kitchen, I did like using the French mandoline since it has a kickstand. How do you slice your vegetables? I highly suggest you find a mandoline that fits your needs.
Cutting beets
- Prepare your area when cutting beets since it does bleed.
- I would suggest you use a plastic cutting board (you can place a towel between it and your wooden cutting board).
- My Futouzy color-coded plastic cutting boards that I bought work perfectly for this. I place them on top of my wooden board for protection with certain ingredients, such as beets.
- Some may choose to wear gloves. I usually rinse right after with no issues.
- Have paper towels handy to pick up any beet liquid spills quickly.
- Rinse everything right away.
Cutting Peppers
- Do not touch your eyes afterward; immediately wash your hands and equipment.
- Keep your area clean and clear of unnecessary equipment and other items.
- You'll need: a plastic cutting board, knife, and gloves
- You may want to wear gloves, especially for the habanero
- The pith (white flesh) and the seeds contain the capsaicin oil that holds the heat level. If you want less heat, remove these parts of the pepper.
- Rubbing alcohol may help wash the capsaicin off of things, but do not put the alcohol directly on foods.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
53.96Fat
0.15 gSat. Fat
0.02 gCarbs
11.69 gFiber
1.94 gNet carbs
9.76 gSugar
8.31 gProtein
1.09 gSodium
913.84 mgCholesterol
0 mgThese are calculations based on search results of the ingredient's nutritional information.
Food safety
- Cook chicken to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C).
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food that previously touched raw meat to prevent foodborne illness from contaminated uncooked meats.
- Wash hands after touching raw meat to prevent cross-contamination.
- Don't leave food at room temperature for extended periods; this can breed bacteria.
- Never leave cooking food unattended to prevent burns and fires.
- Use oils with a high smoke point to avoid harmful compounds.
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning.
See more guidelines at USDA.gov.
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