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Lebanese cabbage salad, or Malfouf Salad, is light, crisp, and healthy. The salad comes together quickly without any mayonnaise for a healthier version of coleslaw that is just as delectable!
A “cousin” of mine suprised me when, standing in her floral shop, she taught me how to make her husband’s delicious “malfouf salad.” Malfouf?, I asked. โWell yes, thatโs cabbage,โ she said with surprise. I was thrown because I had really only considered malfouf in relation to stuffed rolls (must be a second-generation thing). I had to get details, which of course werenโt hard to pry loose. It took me a host of details before I realized we were talking coleslaw, Lebanese-style, and you know I love a good Lebanese salad (including my Chickpea Feta Salad , Fattoush, and my Easy Cabbage Salad).
And my goodness if this slaw didn’t include every single favorite flavor-maker from the Lebanese pantry you could want. It’s practically a twin to tabbouleh salad in that there is a bunch of chopping to do, so get your knife ready!
Ingredient Notes
I was told to make the malfouf based on what you have on hand, and the salad can be Standard, the salad can be Premium, or the salad can be The Best. But really, she said, youโre feeding your family, so you know it has to be: The Best.
That means you pull together beautiful radishes, cucumber, red onion, sweet grape or cherry tomatoes, a shower of herbs (parsley and mint, but cilantro is also great). Choose a hard, tight head of cabbage and a smaller head of purple cabbage too.
It’s salads like this one that put Lebanese spices to such delicious use, in concert.
My Tips for making excellent Malfouf Salad
You may not want to hear this, but use a head of cabbage and slice it yourself. Bags of slaw are so thinly sliced, who knows how long ago, and they just don’t stand up to the wonderful dressing and many other vegetables included in a good Lebanese cabbage salad recipe.
You can, however, use pre-cut purple cabbage, since there’s just a handful of that in the salad for added color and flavor.
Wait to dress the cabbage salad until just before serving. To take along to a cookout or pot luck dinner, I like to tuck the various cut veggies in their own sections in the serving salad bowl, and tuck a jar of the dressing in as well. Cover that with plastic wrap and keep it chilled until it’s time to eat. Then dress the salad, toss, top with more herbs (and spices if you like) and taste it. I always taste before I consider the salad ready because the last thing we want is someone to ask you to pass the salt!!
Storage
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. If there is any excess vinaigrette in the base of the salad bowl, store that separately and you can add that to the salad when you are ready to eat the leftovers.
Lebanese Cabbage Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 head white cabbage, thinly sliced
- 2 pints cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
- 1 English cucumber, quartered lengthwise and sliced
- 1 small head purple cabbage, thinly sliced, or 1 small bag sliced purple cabbage
- 4-5 radishes, sliced thin
- 1 small red onion, sliced in thin half-moons
- 1/4 cup flat leaf parsley leaves, minced
- 1/4 cup mint leaves, minced
- 2 small garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 lemons, juiced
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons za’atar
- 2 teaspoons sumac
- 2 teaspoons crushed dried mint
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Combine all of the salad vegetables except the herbs in a large, beautiful salad bowl.
- In a small bowl, whisk the garlic, 1 teaspoon of the salt, and lemon juice. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil, whisking continually. Add the zaโatar, sumac, dried mint, and cayenne and stir to combine. Taste and adjust the seasonings, adding more salt and any other spices to taste.
- Dress the salad just before serving. Finish the salad with the chopped parsley and mint just before serving, giving it another stir.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Best salad ever! Comes together in crunch, spices that linger so you want seconds! Thank you!
Marcia thank you so much! It is addictively good!!
Absolutely delightful , loved it .
Just so delicious, thank you Alli!
My dear, you need to repost this recipe!
SO good!
The juice of 2 lemons can vary quite a bit, small/large/juicy…etc.
Can you also give an estimate of quantity in cups or ounces?
Also some lemons are sweeter than others, does this make a difference?
Cathy, use large lemons because you can’t use too much lemon juice here! If your lemons are smaller, though, it’s not a problem. Vinaigrette, unlike in baking, does not need exacting measurements. One lemon is about 3 tablespoons of juice. Taste the vinaigrette and adjust if you’d like more or less acidity (to adjust down, add more oil). I call for standard lemons unless otherwise stated; the sweeter lemons are Meyer lemons and not used unless specified in the recipe.
So fresh, delicious, and healthy! I loved it and can’t wait to make it again. All of your recipes look so good, I’ll be working through more of them.
Thank you, Andi–this one is a real favorite. Love to hear what else you make!
Oh my gosh… so good!!!! My family eats a lot of salad. This is our new favorite! I’m far away from anywhere that has Sumac, so the small amount I have is like gold to me. It’s perfect in this slaw. Thanks so much!
Sumac gold, for sure!! Thanks Tanya!
Delicious and everyone loved it! Thank you for the recipe.
Used savoy cabbage and my own mint (growing in the garden)!
I’ll have to try this with savoy! Thanks Janet–
Soo Good it rocked the 4th cookout- everyone loved it!
Glad to hear it Anne!
I made with everything I had on hand. Used dried mint and parsley. Will buy sumac and zatar on my next grocery trip. Taste great can’t wait to try it again tomorrow, because I will have mayo potato salad.
Perfection!
So delicious, thank you Margaret!
I really like coleslaw but absolutely loved this version. Thanks for a wonderful recipe.
That’s great April–me too, I can’t get enough of this slaw!! Seems like we are eating it weekly…
We have found that the dressing’s flavor develops over the next 3 days of preparing it. We have omitted the herbs, onions and tomatoes and its still so good! We absolutely love this make ahead salad, thank you very much for sharing the recipe, Maureen!
I love that you love this salad as much as we do!! I’m making it weekly it seems, so healthy and delicious.
Thank you for publishing this Lebanese cole slaw recipe, Maureen! I have food allergies that prevent me from using either mayo or vinegar and this I can do!
Pam Knowles
Wonderful Pam, such a great one!
I am the “Cole Slaw Queen” of the family and always get asked bring one of my creations to our gatherings. I tire of the mayo based dressings so I am very excited to find this recipe. Mint, sumac and za’atar = manna from heaven!
Manna!
Tell them, cucumbers are called mikta, or miktha and they are thin and sometimes scrawny Arab cucumbers, best pickled (you know the kind, Maureen). And, an English cucumber is different, with similar crunch and a darker, edible skin.
Lucky me! Although I don’t have a drop of Lebanese blood. BUT your cousin Celine gifted me with all the spices from your store that this recipe calls for! Will def try. Love your site.
Becky, that makes me so happy! Thank you! You are an honorary Lebanese cousin!
The small cucumbers recently available at my coop here in Oregon are called “Persian” — and are different than the three listed by Ella. I’ve never seen this variety before and having just purchased them this morning, I have yet to have a taste. They are smooth and a bit lighter shade of green. Would this be the small cucumber you’ve mentioned, Maureen?
Thanks Anoel–I think the definition of the Mitta can vary, though in Lebanon it seems distinct. So it may include these but I think it’s different. The cucumber you describe is very popular and widely available now, the small Persian cucumbers. They are delicious!
Celebrating last Saturday night at a wonderful restaurant in Glendale and this salad was served! It was our favorite and now here it is! Can’t wait to make it! Thanks, Maureen:) Susan
How great!
What kind of seeds does the cousin use in Bakklawa? Sesame?
Also, do you know any gluten free filo dough or any substitutes?
Rosie, I haven’t delved into the seed variations yet, but it’s a combo of pepitas, sunflower, and sesame. I’ll have to look into a substitute for phyllo–that’s a tough one!
Love reading all the background family ,cousins etc stories – want to make everything! Brought your pita bread down to Florida to visit family Yea !they invited me for 10 days and made your pita chip recepie. The were all gonzo .. I gave you complete credit of course. โญโคโ
I love that Jill! Hugs to you and yours! YOU get the credit!
This salad looks amazing. I cannot wait to try it.
For the other commenter, the name of the cucumber only distinguishes it between the long seedless ones and the short round seeded ones or the small pickling ones. It doesn’t mean they’re “English”, it is simply a variety, just as English Breakfast tea is a blend ๐ Cucumbers are enjoyed in many many cuisines. I adore Lebanese cuisine but I would not know what mitta is although I do now, thanks! ๐ I find it helpful to know which variety I should use in a recipe.
Pray, why do we give a bow to the supermarket sales promotion types who call OUR cukes, our Mitta, “English(sic) cucumbers”? These are no more English than tea is English. Could we do that please? Do we all know what “Mitta” is? No. Do we all have the ability to find out what it is? Of course yes–you are reading this online, right?Mr. Google will help.
I’ve discovered that even the Mitta is thought of differently by different people here–small cucumbers, sometimes a different look altogether than the cucumbers we see in the grocery stores here.
I live in Melbourne, Australia, where there is a large Lebanese presence. We call small cucumbers Lebanese cucumbers and the big dark green ones English cucumbers. I did Google
โmittaโ and got precisely nothing. Luckily, I knew exactly which cucumber to use for this delicious salad.
Thank you!