Summer slaw with lime tahini miso dressing
Your free June recipe!
Hello and happy June! My sister is visiting from Virginia this week, and it’s Day 3 of wrangling six kiddos, ages 1-11, between various hot weather activities and keeping them happy and fed (that last one on it’s own is quite possibly the biggest feat!).
I’m so grateful for sister time, for family time, and for the sweetest cousins who also happen to be the sweetest of friends.
This week, I’m sharing one of my go-to summertime slaws. I always modify it a little bit based on what I have in our fridge. This week, I had every element for it and it proved to be the perfect light dinner after a really hot day spent at the zoo.
This slaw combines fresh, crunchy cabbage with carrot and snap peas, bell pepper and cucumber and cilantro. We’re trading in the extra-sweet, mayo-based coleslaw sauce for a lime-tahini-miso vinaigrette. Top the salad with grilled chicken and you have a main meal that requires little cooking, and will hold up beautifully in the fridge, as slaws usually do.
Since this is the first Thursday of the month, this recipe is free to all! The entire recipe, nutritional calculation, and printable PDF are available at the bottom of the post (so keep reading!).
If you make it and enjoy it, I hope you check out the Recipe Index, find a few others to try out, and consider joining a growing community of paid subscribers who appreciate simple, flavorful, low-glycemic and real-food meals!
(If you’re new here, I think you also might enjoy these free recipes!)
Did you know… I took my four favorite week-long meal plans and put together an all-in-one resource, At the Table: Dinners! It’s available for purchase on my website but right now I’m giving away the 50-page, printable e-book for free to every paid subscriber. It’s a great way to kickstart four weeks of low-carb, low-glycemic eating with flavor-packed, protein-forward meals, and you’ll have every recipe and shopping list in one place!
Have you made this oregano and olive chicken skillet I shared last Thursday? It’s part of our dinner plan with family in town and it received the below comment which made my week!
“Abby, I made this last night for dinner (it was a great way to have some leftovers for the week too.) I just really loved the flavor combinations. Thank you for providing me with some new recipes to get me out of my slump. I was getting tired of the same ol’ same ol’. The recipes you create have made cooking fun again as well as tasty!”
Check out the recipe below!
Oregano and olive chicken skillet
Hello! I hope you’re having a great week and soaking up all the lovely things about summer. I’ve been testing out some low-sugar/low-carb summer desserts and I can’t wait to share them with you in the coming weeks!
How (and why) black tea can help treat sunburn! An fascinating and timely post by Mary Ann Rollano, RN .
This refreshing hibiscus lemonade! It’s sugar free and can be easily made using a hibiscus sun tea, too.
How cute are these flats? (An Amazon find from my sister!)
A summery peach dessert that’s ready in minutes.
Tahini is one of those secret ingredients that can add so much to a recipe! In this case, it creates a smooth and sort of creamy base for the dressing, and adds a light nutty flavor that naturally goes well with an acid like lime.
If you’re looking for other ways to use tahini, try my low-carb tahini bread, these keto tahini chocolate chip cookies, or this Mediterranean eggplant with tahini dressing!
Yield: 4-6 servings
Prep time: ~25 minutes
For the chicken
1 pound boneless and skinless chicken thighs
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon dried basil
1-½ tablespoons olive oil, avocado oil or coconut oil
For the slaw
1-½ cups finely sliced/shredded purple cabbage
2 cups finely sliced/shredded green cabbage
½ English cucumber, diced small
1 orange or yellow bell pepper, diced small
2-3 large green onions, chopped small
½ to ¾ cup snap peas, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 medium carrot, grated
1 large handful cilantro, finely chopped
Sprinkle of hemp hearts or chopped peanuts, optional
For the dressing
¼ cup tahini, well-stirred
1 tablespoon white miso paste
1-½ tablespoons apple cider vinegar or rice vinegar
2 large limes, juiced
2 tablespoons liquid allulose (see notes for subs)
1 tablespoon coconut aminos
2 tablespoons olive oil or avocado oil
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil, optional
pinch of black pepper
pinch of chili powder
Preheat your grill (or Blackstone/skillet) to medium heat. Pat dry the chicken thighs. In a small dish, combine the salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and dried basil. Mix, then season the chicken thighs on both sides using all of the seasoning.
If cooking the chicken in a skillet or on a Blackstone, add the oil to the surface. When it glistens, add the chicken and cook (or grill) for 5-8 minutes per side, or until done (time may vary based on cooking method). Set aside to cool, then slice.
Add the purple and green cabbage to a large salad bowl. Add in the cucumber, bell pepper, green onion, snap peas, grated carrot, and cilantro to the cabbage. Toss to mix well.
In a food processor or small blender (or in a bowl with a whisk), add all of the dressing ingredients. Process or whisk to mix well. The dressing will be slightly thin. If yours seems on the thick side, add 1-2 tablespoons of water until it reaches the right consistency.
Pour the dressing onto the salad (I usually use all of it) and toss to mix. Add the sliced chicken on top and sprinkle with the hemp hearts or peanuts. Serve and enjoy!
The slaw is great on its own, or served with another protein of choice (think grilled salmon, shrimp, or steak!). You can skip the instructions for making the chicken and serve this with any pre-cooked chopped/shredded chicken you have on hand.
The slaw will keep well in the fridge for 1-2 days.
Cabbage: Use any mix of cabbage you prefer! You can also substitute some or half of the cabbage for shredded Brussels sprouts or finely-chopped kale.
Chicken: You can swap the chicken thighs for any other type of chicken, or another kind of protein like shrimp, salmon, or steak.
Lime: The flavor of lime is really noticeable in the dressing, but any fresh citrus will work just as well.
Tahini: I love the sort of nutty, more neutral-ish flavor of tahini (and especially like Soom!), but if you’re not a fan, I’m convinced this dressing would taste just as good with all-natural peanut butter, almond butter or cashew butter.
Liquid allulose: I like using liquid allulose to sweeten dressings, sauces, etc. It’s a zero-calorie, sugar-free sweetener. If you don’t have it, you can sweeten the dressing with another sugar-free option like pure monk fruit drops or stevia. Honey or pure maple syrup are other good substitutes, but will add extra grams of sugar to each serving.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is calculated by MyFitnessPal, based on an estimate of 4 servings.
Calories: 425
Total fat: 26 g
Total carbohydrate: 15 g
Dietary fiber: 5 g
Total sugar: 8 g
Protein: 28 g
Total net carbs: 10 g
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I’ll be back next Thursday with another all-new recipe! Have a great week!
This post contains a blurb about an ebook that is free to subscribers. How can I access the free version, as a subscriber? The link takes me to the paid/for purchase version. Thanks!
Just yum!