Green and Red Cabbage Slaw with Ginger Peanut Dressing

Sliced green and red cabbage, shredded carrots, green onion, and peanuts come together in this crisp, crunchy slaw. Tossed in a ginger and peanut dressing, this is a delicious way to eat your veggies.

Oct 24, 2023

Today’s green and red cabbage slaw is tossed in a delicious and savory Asian-inspired ginger and peanut dressing. The dressing comes together quickly in a blender or food processor and of course, features peanut butter. When it comes to purchasing peanut butter, the choices have gone way beyond deciding between creamy and chunky. Today, options include reduced-fat, no-added sugar, low-sodium, and natural peanut butters. Let’s see if these seemingly healthy enhancements are worth the potential sacrifice in taste.

Reduced-fat peanut butter is officially called peanut butter spread because it contains less than 90% peanuts and includes other ingredients such as sugar, salt and additional fat. Reduced-fat peanut butter spread does contain less total fat (12 grams per 2 tablespoons) compared to regular peanut butter (16 grams per 2 tablespoons), but honestly, that’s not much of a fat savings. Also, when it comes to peanut butter, “reduced fat” does not mean “reduced calorie.” The reduced-fat peanut butter spreads I evaluated contained the same amount of calories as full-fat peanut butter – 190 calories per 2 tablespoons. For the best flavor, opt for regular, full-fat peanut butter.

I’m a big supporter of reducing the amount of added sugar in our diets. However, when evaluating nutrition labels of peanut butters with and without added sugar, the differences weren’t that substantial. Per the nutrition label information, most peanut butters containing some type of sugar had 2 to 3 grams added sugar per 2 tablespoons. Obviously, peanut butter with no added sugar had 0 grams added sugar.

The sodium content of different types and brands of peanut butter varied; ranging from 0 milligrams to 180 milligrams per serving. If you’re concerned about your sodium intake, selecting a peanut butter that contains 140 milligrams of sodium or less is a reasonable choice.

The popularity of natural peanut butters can be somewhat attributed to health-conscious consumers wanting to eliminate trans fat (trans fatty acids) from their diet. Trans fats can raise bad (LDL) cholesterol levels and lower good (HDL) cholesterol; a scenario linked to increased heart disease risk. Much of the trans fat we consumed came from partially hydrogenated oils, which were previously added to peanut butters to keep them from separating. Since June 2018, partially hydrogenated oils have been banned in the U.S. and are no longer added to food. Check your peanut butter label and you’ll see it’s trans fat free.

If you are a natural peanut butter lover and assume that your brand contains just peanuts, check the label ingredient list. I evaluated a couple brands of natural peanut butter and found they contained sugar, molasses, palm oil, and salt. If you’re looking for a peanut butter that just contains peanuts and nothing else, try Smucker’s Natural No Added Salt Peanut Butter. Smucker’s also makes a natural peanut butter that contains just peanuts and salt – a nice choice if you’re looking for a little more flavor. The sodium content was very reasonable, with just 110 milligrams per 2 tablespoons.

To your health,

Darlene

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Full disclosure – I did not receive payment or free product from the J.M. Smucker Company.

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GREEN and RED CABBAGE SLAW with GINGER PEANUT DRESSING

Yield: 8 servings

Serving Size: 2/3 cup slaw

Prep: 20 minutes

Ready: 30 minutes

Ingredients

1/4 cup peanut butter
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons chopped yellow onion
2 tablespoons minced fresh gingerroot
1 tablespoon fresh-squeezed lime juice
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1 clove chopped garlic
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
3 cups thinly sliced green cabbage
2 cups thinly sliced red cabbage
1 cup shredded carrots
3/4 cup sliced green onion (tops and bulbs), divided
1/4 cup peanuts, roughly chopped

DIRECTIONS

In a blender or food processor, place peanut butter, vinegar, hoisin sauce, yellow onion, gingerroot, lime juice, sugar, garlic, and black pepper. Process until smooth.
To a large bowl, add green and red cabbage, carrots, and sliced green onion (reserving 3 tablespoons to use as a garnish) and toss. Add ginger peanut dressing and toss to combine. Place slaw in a serving bowl and garnish top with reserved 3 tablespoons green onion and peanuts.

Nutrition Information per Serving

114 Calories, 6 g Total fat, 1 g Saturated fat, 0 g Trans fat, 0 mg Cholesterol, 117 mg Sodium, 10 g Total carbohydrate, 3 g Dietary fiber, 4.5 g Total sugars, 1 g Added sugars, 4 g Protein, 0 mcg (0%) Vitamin D, 30 mg (2%) Calcium, 1 mg (6%) Iron, 116 mg (2%) Potassium