This refreshing, bright, and filling twist on traditional slaw makes a great side or light lunch, and has been a fun way for me to connect with my heritage through food. Thank you to AncestryDNA for sponsoring this post!
I’m excited to share this recipe with you guys today – not only because slaw is one of my favorite foods (that vinegar tang + CRUNCH = perfection), but also because this recipe was inspired based on my family’s geographic origins!
Have you guys heard of AncestryDNA? It’s a company that uses a simple saliva test to discover your ethnicity and heritage. You can trace your lineage back generations and even find relatives and ancestors on their website – so cool! The at-home saliva test was fast and easy, and before I knew it my results were in. If you want to try AncestryDNA yourself, they have a sale going on right now through August 20 – only $59!
The test uncovers your origins from more than 350 regions around the world. Here are my official primary heritage results:
MY OTHER RECIPES
- 41% Europe West (Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein)
- 39% Ireland/Scotland/Wales
- 8% Scandinavia (Sweden, Norway, Denmark)
I knew we had a lot of ancestors from western Europe but didn’t realize Ireland/Scotland/Wales would be so heavily in the mix, too! The results also showed migration patterns of my ancestors, which was interesting. And if you enter a family tree, their birth and death places will be incorporated into/plotted on your personalized migration map. I wish that my grandfather on my mom’s side was still alive, because he LOVED genealogy and would have been incredibly fascinated by AncestryDNA.
When I got my results, my friends at AncestryDNA challenged me to share a recipe that would help connect me with my roots. I love quintessentially German red cabbage, but that felt a little heavy for summer, so I decided a red cabbage slaw would be a better fit for August instead. And here we are!
This recipe is so easy, and I love all the textures, colors, and fresh flavor. There is more protein and fat in this slaw compared to a traditional slaw, thanks to the sunflower seeds and white beans, so you can even make this a light lunch, although it also makes a fabulous side for summer BBQs as well.
This slaw still tastes very European-inspired, but it’s much lighter than braised cabbage/bean dishes. It will also hold up well in the fridge for a few days, so this is a nice make-ahead packed lunch option as well!
Here’s the full recipe. Enjoy it!
White Bean & Cabbage Slaw with Apples & Cider Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 1 small head red cabbage, shredded
- 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 granny smith apple, finely chopped
- 1 can white beans, drained and rinsed
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
- 1/3 cup roasted sunflower seeds
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- salt & pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Combine the cabbage, onion, apple, white beans, parsley, dill, and sunflower seeds in a large bowl.
- In a separate small bowl or jar, whisk or shake the olive oil, vinegar, honey, mustard, and a pinch of salt and pepper until combined.
- Drizzle the vinaigrette over the slaw ingredients and toss to coat.
- Enjoy!
Do you know where your ancestors come from? What are some dishes that you enjoy that help connect you to your ancestral roots?
Looks great! I will give this a try this week for easy side-dish and next day leftover lunch at work :) Great recipe for this hot weather…
I love cabbage! One of the things I learned when I started dating a German ;)
Haha love it! Let me know how you like the recipe :)
That looks great – and I love that you did the DNA test and then designed a recipe in response to it. Very creative! Well done –
Awesome..truly delicious. Will be making this several..times a week. I am a salad fanatic..thank you
Yay, glad it is right up your alley!
Love crunchy salads!! Can’t wait to make this for lunches :)
Yay, enjoy!
This salad was SOOOOOOOOOOO good. We celebrated my husband’s birthday (Actual birthday today) on Saturday and I made this for the celebration dinner. We have a friend who is super picky and not a veggie fan. I was surprised when he took a helping. He not only ate that helping, he went back for 2nds and actually took some leftover home. SCORE!!!!!!!!
It will be a new staple salad for us.!!!!!!
Side, but related topic about the leftovers. I buy a selection of the glad containers before a huge family meal. I set them out and people can create/take their own set of left overs. They save me the work, they get only the leftover dishes they want and no stress on either side of getting my containers back to me. Win-win.
Yay, that’s awesome! So glad it was a hit! :) Great idea re: the leftovers too – thanks for sharing!