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Home » Swedish recipes

Swedish pizza salad

Published: Nov 6, 2021 · by Cecilia Hoikka · Affiliate links are marked with an *asterisk

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This grated cabbage salad is served in pizzerias in Sweden. Hence the name. This Scandinavian cabbage salad is marinated with vinegar, oil, salt, sugar, and oregano. This salad is great; crispy and refreshing side with pizza and other food.

This cabbage salad is something I really crave living in Finland. I miss the time when ordering home pizza in Sweden and you always get this cabbage salad and garlic dressing as a condiment.

We always make this at home and I want to share with you my go-to recipe. Check also out my post about Swedish pizzas, pizza toppings, and the most popular pizzas they eat in Sweden.

Origin of the Swedish cabbage salad

I often wondered why it is only served in Swedish pizzerias, but this was invented in Sweden by a pizza bakery owner who wanted to serve free salad with his pizzas. Cabbage was really cheap, so he used that as the base. Origin to the salad idea was from his childhood. He used "Kupus Salata" as an inspiration. So it has actually an Italian origin.

Ingredients and replacements

  • Cabbage. Use white cabbage to get a nice neutral flavor and crisp.
  • Vinegar. White wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar. Vinegar amount is easy to adjust to your taste.
  • Olive oil. Also rapeseed or sunflower oil works.
  • Salt. Salt makes the juices in the shredded cabbage come out better.
  • Black pepper. Black pepper adds some punch. If you don't have black pepper, then use white pepper.
  • Oregano. This can be replaced pizza spice, pizza spice also has some other herbs and garlic, hoes really well in this salad.
  • Sweetness. Some sweetness balances the vinegar taste. Use sugar, maple syrup, or even honey.

Other things to add

  • Garlic. Add 1 garlic clove or 1 teaspoon garlic powder to get a garlicky salad.
  • Roasted Red Bell pepper. Add canned roasted bell pepper in thin slices for additional taste and color.
  • Chili. Add sambal oelek paste, sriracha or chili flakes. Small amount goes far. ½-1 teaspoon is enough.

Some Finnish people like to add chopped pineapple to their shredded cabbage salads.

What to serve this pizza salad with

With pizza of course. But this goes with other dishes also. It is a great topping to hot dogs, grilled meat, and other fatty dishes. I like this in tacos also, it gives a really nice crisp.

How to make the salad?

  • Take the outer leaves of the cabbage away
  • Cut your cabbage in half.
  • Slice the cabbage into really thin slices with a knife, a cheese slicer, or a mandolin.
  • Put the shredded cabbage in a jar/pot and add rest of the ingredients. Give it a good stir.
  • Let your salad rest at least 30 minutes. Preferrably for some hours in the fridge. It is actually best the next day.
shredded cabbage salad in blue bowl.

Swedish pizza salad

Crispy, vinegary, refreshing side to your dish.
5 from 2 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes mins
1 hour hr
Course Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine Swedish
Servings 8
Calories 50 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • ½ small/medium white cabbage ( 500 grams)
  • 3 tablespoon vinegar
  • 3 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon oregano

Instructions
 

  • Shred the cabbage into slices with a mandolin, or cheese slicer. Some food processors also have slicing options.
  • Add in the rest of the ingredients.
  • Gve your salad a good stir.
  • Let your salad rest for 30 minutes to several hours in the fridge before serving.

Video

Notes

You can also add ½ cup canned sliced roasted bell peppers.
Sugar can be replaced with maple syrup. Or even erythritol for a keto version. 
Oregano can be replaced with dried basil or pizza spice mix.
1 teaspoon of garlic powder can be added for garlic spiced salad.
This stores 3-5 days in the fridge, can not be frozen. Keep covered.

Nutrition

Calories: 50kcal
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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Comments

  1. Vida

    November 30, 2022 at 10:42 pm

    5 stars
    Delicious!!

    Reply
  2. Cecilia Osladil

    November 24, 2024 at 12:22 am

    Hi Cecilia,
    I'm Cecilia too!
    Thanks for posting this recipe.
    Very tasty and so easy!

    Reply
5 from 2 votes (1 rating without comment)

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Hi, I'm Cecilia. I want to share Scandinavian and Nordic recipes for you who want to connect with your Nordic heritage and learn to make delicious, simple Scandinavian food and learn about the food culture.

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Hi, I'm Cecilia. I want to share Scandinavian and Nordic recipes for you who want to connect with your Nordic heritage and learn to make delicious, simple Scandinavian food and learn about the food culture.

More about me →

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