Need a sweet and tangy option for your coleslaw that happens to be Whole30 compliant? Look no further. Great for a potluck or BBQ, this Kholrabi, Kale, and Carrot Coleslaw is a crunchy crowdpleaser.
Kale, carrots, and kohlrabi are abounding around here lately, and they team up well together in this coleslaw dish. What’s great about this coleslaw is it uses dates as a sweetener, which also happens to make it Whole30 compliant. But honestly, it just tastes like really good coleslaw. Read on to see how it’s done.
How to Cut a Kohlrabi
Kohrabi is a great vegetable – the texture is similar to a jicama but it’s less peppery and almost sweet. It gives the coleslaw a nice crunch.
Cutting up a kohlrabi is pretty easy – you just need to remove the outer layers of the skin. It’s easiest to cut off the bottom and top parts first, then slice off little pieces of the edges by letting your knife follow the curve of the kohlrabi.
Once the skin is completely removed, slice the kohlrabi into relatively thin pieces and make little matchsticks out of them. The picture below on the far right shows the approximate size.
Place the cut up kohlrabi in a large bowl and move on to the other veggies.
How to Cut Kale and Carrots
The carrots and kale are pretty easy to chop up. For the carrots, you can peel them if you want, or you can just wash them really well and use the outer layer. I like to do the latter as sometimes my vegetable peeler can take off more than I want.
When using the julienne peeler on a carrot, I find it easiest to hold the carrot down on the cutting board at the top and peel down toward the tip of the carrot. You’ll want to rotate the sides of the carrot as you go as it will be easier to peel that way.
The size of the julienned carrots doesn’t matter, as long as they’re not super long as those can get annoying to eat. Place the carrots in the bowl and get ready for the kale.
Cutting up the kale is pretty easy. Make sure it’s washed, then remove the leafy part from the stem. You can just pull it off since you’ll be chopping up the kale regardless.
Put the kale on the cutting board and use the large sharp knife to slice it into small ribbons. If you can’t get small ribbons, that’s fine, just chop it into bite-size pieces.
Put the chopped up kale in with the other chopped veggies and start in on the dressing!
How to Make a Whole30 Compliant Dressing
When developing this recipe, I struggled with how to make it Whole30 compliant. I knew I wanted to make it Whole30 compliant because I’ll be doing one again and while there are several Whole30 compliant recipes out there, they didn’t taste like “real” coleslaw to me. I don’t like my coleslaw overly sweet, but I also don’t like it straight up sour. Which is where the date paste comes in.
Typically to make date paste I would advocate cooking several at a time in a pot on the stove and using a food processor to blend everything together. This would get you a much nicer looking version of date paste. However since we’re only using 1 date, doing the same process in the microwave is easier and faster.
To start, cut the pit out of the date and chop the date into small pieces. Put the pieces in a single layer in a microwavable bowl, then pour the water over the date. Place the bowl in the microwave and set it for 3 minutes.
While it’s heating up, be sure and check it every 30 seconds or so to make sure the water isn’t bubbling up over the bowl. You may want to stop it at the 2 minute mark and poke the dates with a fork to see how soft they are. They should be VERY soft, so if they’re still a tad hard in the middle, put them back in until they completely soften.
Once the date piece are softened, take the bowl out of the microwave and use a fork to mash up the date with the remaining water. This may look kind of gross, but I promise it will make the dressing magic.
Now measure out and put the mayo, apple cider vinegar, and kosher salt into the bowl with the date paste. If you’re doing a Whole30, use Whole30 compliant mayo. When testing this recipe, I made my own mayo using the Whole30 mayo recipe. It’s pretty easy to do and I got it right on the first time. And honestly it’s the best tasting mayo I’ve ever had. Don’t be intimidated – you got this.
Once all the ingredients are in, mix everything together with a fork or small whisk. Next you’ll want to add the dressing to the veggies.
DO NOT ADD ALL THE DRESSING IN AT ONCE.
For most people, this will be too much dressing. Start by adding in 1/3 of the dressing and toss everything together. If it isn’t quite enough for you, add little bits at a time – you will need less than you think.
If you like a lot of dressing you may not have any left over, but if you do have leftover dressing you can keep it in the fridge for several days to use again. The same goes for the coleslaw, it will keep for several days in the refrigerator.
And that’s it! It’s a pretty easy recipe with sweet and tangy results.
If you’re looking for more dishes to take to a potluck or BBQ, look no further people.
– Gluten Free Instant Pot Potato Salad
– Gluten Free Shrimp Pasta Salad
– Citrusy Simple Guacamole
– Summer Cool Down Roundup
If you try out this Kohlrabi, Kale, and Carrot Coleslaw recipe (or any other recipe) then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how it went in the comments below. Seriously, I love hearing from you!
You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more good to eat, gluten free food and how I’m trying to get my kids into the kitchen (without losing my mind).
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Recipe for Kohlrabi, Kale, and Carrot Coleslaw
Kohlrabi, Kale, & Carrot Coleslaw
Ingredients
- 2 kohlrabi
- 2 medium carrots
- 4 leaves kale
- 1 date
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise whole30 compliant if necessary
- 1.5 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
Items Needed:
- A cutting board
- A large sharp knife
- A large bowl
- A vegetable peeler (optional)
- A julienne peeler
- A small microwavable bowl
- Measuring cups and spoons
- A fork
- A small whisk (optional)
- A pair of tongs or a wooden spoon
Directions:
Slaw
Remove the leaves from the kohlrabi.
Cut off the tough outer skin of the kohlrabi using a large sharp knife and cutting board. Begin by slicing off the top and bottom, then cut of the side in small pieces, angling the knife along the side of the kohlrabi.
Slice the kohlrabi into roughly ¼ inch slices and cut them into matchsticks. Set in a large bowl.
Wash the carrots and peel the outer layer with a vegetable peeler if desired. Using a julienne peeler and the cutting board, julienne the carrots. Place the pieces in the bowl with the kohlrabi.
Wash the kale leaves, then remove the stems by pulling the leaves off. Discard the stems, then pile the kale leaves together and chop into small slivers using the cutting board and large sharp knife. Place the kale slivers in the bowl with the carrots and kohlrabi.
Dressing
Remove the pit from the date and using the cutting board and knife, chop the date into small pieces. Put the date pieces in a single layer in a small, microwavable bowl.
Pour ¼ cup of water over the dates, making sure all the pieces are covered. Microwave the dates and water for 3 minutes, checking every so often to make sure the mixture isn’t bubbling over the sides of the bowl.
Once done, remove the bowl from the microwave (carefully if it’s hot) and use a fork to mash up the dates and remaining water. Keep mashing until the large chunks are gone and a thick paste is formed.
Measure out the mayonnaise, apple cider, vinegar, and kosher salt with measuring cups and spoons and add it to the date mixture. Combine everything with a small whisk or fork until thoroughly mixed.
Pour 1/3 of the dressing into the bowl with the slaw ingredients. Mix it together well with a pair of tongs or a wooden spoon. If you like less dressing, stop here. If you like more dressing, pour a little more in until you reach the desired consistency. If you have any remaining dressing it will keep in the fridge for several days, as will the coleslaw.
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