Sweetheart cabbage salad with gyoza chickpeas and parmesan

With just 15 minutes of active cooking you can make this delicious sweetheart cabbage salad that's sure to win over any salad hater. Spinach, sweetheart cabbage and the most flavorful chickpeas are topped with a good amount of Parmesan cheese to turn this salad into a feast - healthy, delicious and easy to make.

Why you will love this recipe

• It's easy - even my friends that don't like cooking enjoy making this recipe
• It's hands off - with just 15 minutes of active prep & cooking time
• It's healthy - with loads of leafy greens and cabbage
• It's cheesy - with a good dose of Parmesan cheese
• It's packed full of flavor and texture and every component brings a distinct flavor and texture to the table

What you need to make it

Ingredient notes

• Sweetheart cabbage can also be called pointed cabbage, hearted cabbage or hispi cabbage
• Chili flakes vary in strength, so please adjust to suit your taste & the strength of your chili flakes. I use Aleppo chili, which is pretty mild.
• Cooked chickpeas can be from a can or cooked at home

Ingredient substitutions & exclusions

• Cabbage - you can use any type of cabbage for this
• Chili flakes can be excluded if you don't want it spicy
• Shredded parmesan cheese can be switched for shredded Pecorino cheese or crumbled Feta cheese
• Olive oil can be switched for another type of vegetable oil
• Garlic can be excluded
• Rice vinegar can be switched for apple cider vinegar
• Japanese soy sauce can be switched for a light Chinese soy sauce, tamari or liquid aminos
• Spinach can be switched for another leafy green like kale

How to make it

Making this salad is done in four steps:

1. Roasting cabbage
2. Making gyoza sauce
3. Making gyoza chickpeas
4. Putting it all together

Below, I go through the details of each step.

How to roast cabbage

1. Start by preheating your oven to 225C / 440 F. Then cut your cabbage in four wedges, rinse them under water, and place them on a sheet pan lined with a baking sheet.
2. Drizzle over the olive oil
3. Follow with salt and black pepper
4. Roast in the middle of the oven for 30 minutes, until they have a nice golden color and are a bit burnt at the edges

How to make gyoza sauce

5. Bring out a small bowl and pour in the soy sauce
6. Add the rice vinegar
7. Add the sesame oil
8. Mix

How to make gyoza chickpeas

9. Drain the chickpeas and let them dry a bit. Then heat a pan over medium-high heat and add in the chickpeas. Roast while stirring often.
10. Roast the chickpeas until they are golden, this takes 5-10 minutes. Then lower the heat to medium and add in the minced garlic.
11. Pour over the gyoza sauce and mix. Let cook until most of the liquid has evaporated.
12. Mix in chili flakes according to taste, taste test and adjust as needed, and then take off the heat

Putting it all together

13. Place spinach in individual bowls or plates, or on a large serving platter
14. Top with a wedge of cabbage
15. Follow with gyoza chickpeas
16. Top with shredded Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately!

Tips & tricks

• This salad is delicious as a bring-along-lunch - store the cabbage with the chickpeas, and the spinach with the Parmesan. Then heat up the cabbage and chickpeas and serve with the cold spinach and Parmesan.
• Sweetheart cabbage can vary a lot in size. A large one will serve 4 people, and a small one 2. Go for around 300 g of cabbage per person.
• Store the cabbage in the fridge in an air tight container for up to 3 days
• Store the chickpeas in the fridge in an air tight container for up to 5 days

Recipe FAQ

More delicious salads

Love salads that are good for you, but also make a filling meal? Then I think you will love these:

• Roasted Beetroot Salad with Feta Cheese [Vegetarian, Gluten-free]
• Roasted Sweet Potato & Feta Cheese Salad with Tahini Sauce
• Caprese Salad with Cashews & Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette

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