Here’s one amazing side dish for steak and BBQ. Or frankly, for chicken or fishes dishes, too. Spicy kale slaw is crazy versatile as a side dish. It’s one big salad: big on flavor, big on crunch, big on presence on the plate, and big on healthiness. And of course, you could go big on the serving, too. It actually works really well as a lunch salad. Serve it with bread or a baked potato, and you have a terrific vegetarian meal.
Our spicy kale slaw gets its heat from Sriracha Sauce, with a little added warmth from the black pepper. You can adjust that heat easily by adding/subtracting the amount used. But if you’re looking to really amp up the spiciness (and even add a little sweetness), toss in a diced red jalapeño (or another red chili.) You could even go as far as a habanero here if you’re up for more extreme eating.
Enjoy this salad straight away as the vegetables will only hold there nutrition and freshness for so long. And they will discolor quickly too, so for the most appealing side salad, eat fast and don’t refrigerate.
And just like many coleslaw recipes, this spicy slaw lends itself very well to ingredient experimentation. You could sub out the kale for a dark leafy cabbage. Or try adding additional ingredients. We mentioned a diced fresh red chili pepper, but you could also try raisins, apples, almonds, and many other ingredient twists. They all add to the flavor and provide some unique textures, too.
See it being made:
Like this recipe? You’ll love these too:
- Daltjie Chili Bites: They don’t look like much, but boy do they explode in flavor!
- Smoky Chipotle Potato Salad: Another side that works incredibly well with steak.
- Fiery Watermelon Salad: Looking for a fruit salad with some oomph? This is it.
Explore the Scoville scale through our Up The Scale spice set, featuring medium heat jalapeño, extra-hot habanero, and fiery super-hot ghost powders.
Spicy Kale Slaw
Ingredients
- 3 cups kale finely shredded, dark cabbage will also taste great
- 1/2 onion peeled and finely sliced
- 2 carrots peeled and grated
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon Sriracha sauce add more to taste and heat tolerance
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice approximately the juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1/4 cup walnuts crushed
Instructions
- Add the shredded kale or cabbage to a large bowl.
- Add the onion slices and grated carrots to the bowl with the kale.
- Sprinkle the ingredients with salt pepper, and squeeze the lemon juice into the mixture.
- Add the mayonnaise and Sriracha sauce. Stir to combine until the slaw is fully coated.
- Plate the slaw then sprinkle crushed walnuts on top. Serve.