Chef Bryant Terry’s Apple and Kohlrabi Slaw

Kohlrabi can seem perplexing seen from the outside. But within is a crunchy, sweet vegetable that’s perfect for refreshing salads like this apple and kohlrabi slaw made made with with two kinds of cabbage — napa and red. This delicious salad was contributed by chef Bryant Terry from his book, Vegetable Kingdom.

Colorful and crisp, this salad is welcome any time of year. You’ll be especially glad to have this recipe when you wonder what to do with the plethora of kohlrabi you’ve gotten from your CSA share or the farm market.

A tasty lime-flavored dressing: A bonus with this recipe is a deliciously tangy lime-infused dressing with plenty left over to use on future salads.

Bryant Terry showcases the vegetable kingdom

This recipe is from Bryant Terry’s beautiful book, Vegetable Kingdom: The Abundant World of Vegan Recipes, which elevates the veg-centric plant-based way of eating to ever new heights. Here’s what he has to say about this kohlrabi coleslaw:

“This is one of my favorite salads. Since the crunchy apple and kohlrabi are so refreshing, it would make the perfect palate cleanser between heavier courses at dinner, but most often I eat it for a light lunch.”

Vegetable Kingdom by Bryant Terry is available wherever books are sold

Reprinted with permission from Vegetable Kingdom: The Abundant World of Vegan Recipes by the Bryant Terry © 2020. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Photo at top: Ed Anderson © 2020.

Kohlrabi

Explore more …

• Vegan coleslaw recipes
• Vegan cabbage recipes
• Sesame-Ginger Red Cabbage and Carrot Slaw
• Kohlrabi Salad with Carrots and Cucumber

Continue to Content

Yield: 4 to 6

Apple and Kohlrabi Coleslaw

Print

Kohlrabi is a crunchy, sweet vegetable that’s perfect for refreshing salads like this coleslaw, made with apple and two kinds of cabbage.

Prep Time 20 minutes

Additional Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup shredded napa cabbage
• 1 cup shredded red cabbage
• 2 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more as needed
• 2 cups kohlrabi matchsticks
• 2 cups Granny Smith (or other green apple) matchsticks
• 1/3 cup minced fresh parsley, plus 1/4 cup whole leaves

Dressing (see Note)

• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 1/3 cup unseasoned rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon shoyu
• 1 teaspoon coconut palm sugar
• 1/2 cup safflower oil
• Freshly ground white pepper

Instructions

1. Combine the cabbages in a large bowl. Sprinkle with 2 teaspoons of the kosher salt. With clean hands, massage the cabbage until soft and wilted, about 3 minutes. 
2. Transfer the cabbage to a colander set in the sink and rinse the bowl. Put a plate on top of the cabbage and weight it (a 28-ounce can of tomatoes works well for this). Let sit for 1 hour. Rinse the cabbage in cold water and let drain for 20 minutes. Wipe the bowl with a clean kitchen towel. 
3. Return the cabbage to the bowl and add the kohlrabi, apples, and minced parsley. Toss well to combine. Set aside. 
4. In a blender, combine the lime juice, vinegar, shoyu, sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. With the blender running, slowly pour in the safflower oil through the hole in the lid and blend until emulsified. Season with salt and white pepper to taste. 
5. Pour enough of the dressing over the salad to lightly coat, toss, and garnish with the parsley leaves, then serve.

Notes

Note: You won’t need all of the dressing for the salad, as noted in the last step; store any unused portion in a lidded jar in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before using. 

More about Vegetable Kingdom by Bryant Terry

From the publisher:

Food justice activist and author Bryant Terry breaks down the fundamentals of plant-based cooking in Vegetable Kingdom, showing you how to make delicious meals from popular vegetables, grains, and legumes.

Recipes like Dirty Cauliflower, Barbecued Carrots with Slow-Cooked White Beans, Millet Roux Mushroom Gumbo, and Citrus & Garlic-Herb-Braised Fennel are enticing enough without meat substitutes, instead relying on fresh ingredients, vibrant spices, and clever techniques to build flavor and texture. 

The book is organized by ingredient, making it easy to create simple dishes or showstopping meals based on what’s fresh at the market. Bryant also covers the basics of vegan cooking, explaining the fundamentals of assembling flavorful salads, cooking filling soups and stews, and making tasty grains and legumes. With beautiful imagery and classic design, Vegetable Kingdom is an invaluable tool for plant-based cooking today.

About Bryant Terry

Bryant Terry is a James Beard Award-Winning chef, educator, and author renowned for his activism to create a wholesome, just, and sustainable food system. Since 2015 he has been the Chef-in-Residence at the Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) in San Francisco where he creates public programming at the intersection of food, farming, health, activism, art, culture, and the African Diaspora. Visit him on the web at BryantTerry.com.

“In the great Black American tradition of the remix and doing what you can with what you got, my friend Bryant Terry goes hard at vegetables with a hip-hop eye and a Southern grandmama’s nature. To paraphrase Maya Angelou, Bryant wants us to know that once we know vegetables better, we will cook vegetables better. He ain’t lyin’.”

—W. Kamau Bell, comedian, author, and host of the Emmy Award–winning series United Shades of America

If you like this tasty coleslaw, you might also enjoy …

Here are lots more tasty vegan salads & sides.