Cabbage Salad with Honey Lime Dressing — {easy meal idea}

This cabbage salad uses a store-bought rotisserie chicken to create a quick, easy, and healthy meal. Your whole family will love it. 

Does anyone else default to a rotisserie chicken on grocery shopping days? Ummm….I don’t know about you, but I can only do so many things in the day. Sample days for me are: 

3 loads of laundry + going to the park + making dinner = done for the day.

Play date + one load of laundry + shower = done.

Cleaning the house + making dinner = done.

3 freelance projects + running errands + making a friend dinner = done.

Going to the zoo = done.

Or whatever. You get the point. I do shower on days other than play date days, for the record. Usually.

Just to be clear: I don’t do all of this in one day! Yikes! I’m not superwoman, for sure. Each example on the list is one whole day.

Grocery shopping with two kids nearly maxes me out some days so I need a quick dinner to fall back on. I mean—all those people! And for Pete’s sake…STOP standing in the middle of the aisle staring off into space! Move left or right. Pick a lane. Grab something and move on. Not that difficult people.

And then there is the parking lot, don’t even get me started. Please try not to run my children over. And please, please, please…just put your carts away. ESPECIALLY if you don’t have kids waiting in the car. What’s your excuse?

Rant over….long story short, I love rotisserie chickens but we rarely ever eat them as is. I used to buy one every Sunday night for Ben and E so I can enjoy my popcorn + smoothie dinner, but these days I actually cook a Sunday dinner! I know! Regular ol’ Susie homemaker here. So the rotisserie chicken typically ends up in a salad or pasta of some sort, or a sandwich or soup. The possibilities are so fun!

We love this salad made of crunchy cabbage, sugar snap peas, carrots, mandarin oranges and a great honey-lime dressing.  Lots of great veggies and fresh flavors. And yes, meat from the rotisserie chicken. I think your whole family will love it!

Rather have vegetarian? Substitute black beans or tofu for the the chicken.

If you’re looking for more great recipes that you can use making a rotisserie chicken, try my enchilada flatbread or bbq chicken burrito bowls.

Looking for more main dish salads?

I’m happy when I can eat a salad for a main dish, one that incorporates enough protein so I’m not hungry an hour later. Try:

 

• Taco Salad
• Roasted Romaine Salad (sheet pan dinner)
• Tortellini Pasta Salad
• Southwest Chicken Salad
• Kale Quinoa Salad with Feta, Walnuts, and Cranberries
• Quinoa Salad with Avocado Dressing and Pinto Beans
• Lentil Salad with Feta, Lemon, and Parsley

Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @rachelcooksblog on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!

Recipe

Get the Recipe: Cabbage Salad with Honey Lime Dressing

4.75 from 4 votes

Prep Time: 20 mins

Total Time: 20 mins

8 servings

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This cabbage salad with honey lime dressing is crisp and delicious. Add rotisserie chicken, shrimp, or crispy tofu to make it a main dish.

Ingredients

• ▢ 2 cups shredded green cabbage
• ▢ 2 cups shredded red cabbage
• ▢ 1 cup fresh snap peas, thinly sliced horizontally
• ▢ 1 or 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• ▢ 1 can (15-ounces) mandarin oranges in light syrup (reserve 2 tablespoons juice for dressing, then drain)
• ▢ 1 cup shredded carrot (about 1 large carrot)
• ▢ ¼ cup loosely packed fresh cilantro (leaves and thin stems), roughly chopped
• ▢ ½ cup chow mein noodles for topping, optional

FOR THE DRESSING

• ▢ 3 tablespoons olive oil
• ▢ 2 tablespoons reserved mandarin orange juice
• ▢ 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (zest the lime first!)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon lime zest
• ▢ 1 teaspoon honey
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Sriracha, more or less to taste
• ▢ ½ teaspoon kosher salt, more if needed

Instructions

• In a large bowl, mix together green and red cabbage, snap peas, green onions, mandarin oranges, shredded carrot, and cilantro.
• In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine olive oil, mandarin orange juice, lime juice, lime zest, honey, sriracha and salt. Whisk until combined and pour over salad. Toss until well-combined.
• Serve immediately, garnished with chow mein noodles. Salad can be refrigerated 1 to 2 hours, garnish right before serving.

Notes

• Optional garnishes: chopped cashews, peanuts, sliced or slivered almonds.
• Main Dish Salad: Add up to 4 cups shredded chicken or rotisserie chicken, sautéed shrimp, air fryer tofu or baked tofu. Add more dressing if necessary.
• Recipe card revised 10/13/2022.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1cup, Calories: 98kcal, Carbohydrates: 11g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 6g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4g, Sodium: 205mg, Potassium: 218mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 6g, Vitamin A: 3531IU, Vitamin C: 40mg, Calcium: 34mg, Iron: 1mg

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.

© Author: Rachel Gurk

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