Red cabbage is a beautiful, vibrant cruciferous vegetable that is naturally rich in antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. We absolutely love to incorporate it into as many recipes as possible because it is so much more than a colorful addition to salads. While it is important to eat the rainbow, you also have to feature those rainbow colors, making them more than an afterthought.

For this recipe, the way you slice the cabbage is very important. Because purple cabbage can have a slightly bitter flavor profile, you don’t want large, thick slices; rather, you want super thin slices. For this reason, using a mandoline slicer can be a great way to achieve even, thin slices. If you have great knife skills, go off and show us your skills! Otherwise, slicing cabbage in a food processor is another viable option.

Even if your cabbage slices aren’t paper thin, the sweetness of the other ingredients will balance the flavor. Carrots, dried cranberries, and apples all exhibit sweeter flavor profiles, which create a nice balance in this slaw. Then you have the nuttiness from the walnuts to hit every corner of the flavor spectrum. Just make sure that the walnuts are raw and the dried cranberries are free of preservatives and added sugars.