Authentic German White Cabbage Salad – Just Like in German Bakery Rolls

This authentic German white cabbage salad is crisp, lightly sweet and tangy, and full of fresh flavour. It’s the same style of cabbage salad often found in beautiful German bakery rolls, layered with ham and cheese or other meats and spreads. In our family, we love serving it with crumbed chops and creamy potato dauphinois, where its freshness balances the richness of the meal perfectly.

German White Cabbage Salad

Prep Time: 20 minutes mins

Cook Time: 5 minutes minutes

Chill Time: 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 12 servings

A crisp, glossy German white cabbage salad made with finely shredded cabbage and a sweet-and-sour dressing. Wonderful as a side dish and especially delicious in sandwiches and rolls.

Print Recipe

Ingredients

 

For the salad

• ½ small to medium white cabbage, finely shredded (about 400–500 g prepared weight)

For the dressing

• 1 very small onion or 1 French shallot finely chopped
• ½ cup apple cider vinegar 125 mls
• ⅓ cup white sugar 70 grams
• ½ cup neutral oil 125 mls
• ½ teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon celery salt (or a stick of celery grated if celery salt is not available)

Instructions

 

Prepare the cabbage

• If time allows, remove the core from the cabbage and soak the cabbage in cold water for 1 hour to crisp it up well. Weight it down if needed. Whilst the cabbage is soaking you can make the dressing.
• Drain thoroughly and dry well.
• Shred the cabbage very finely and place into a large bowl.

Make the dressing:

• Place the chopped onion or shallot into a small saucepan.
• Add vinegar, sugar, oil, mustard seeds, salt, and celery salt.
• Bring gently to the boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
• As soon as it reaches the boil, remove from heat.
• Pour into a jug and allow to cool completely.

Finish the salad:

• Pour the cooled dressing over the shredded cabbage.
• Toss thoroughly to coat evenly.
• Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Video

Notes

• You can also use celery seed in place of celery salt; if you do, simply increase the salt to 1 teaspoon.
• Keeps well in the fridge for 3–4 days.
• Excellent served with crumbed chops, schnitzels, grilled meats, or tucked into sandwiches and rolls. It also makes a lovely addition to salads and homemade coleslaw.
• Traditionally in Germany this salad is often dressed more generously, but this version uses the dressing more lightly as a fresh salad dressing. If you prefer a more heavily dressed salad, feel free to double the dressing quantity.