Cruciferous Crunch Salad

Move over coleslaw – Cruciferous Crunch Salad is destined to become everyone’s favorite cookout side dish! A copycat of a Trader Joe's favorite, this salad is super easy to make using cabbage, kale, Brussels sprouts, carrots, and a creamy, dairy-free cashew based dressing. This recipe is vegan, gluten-free, and oil-free.

Trader Joe’s Cruciferous Crunch

I’m quite the nutrition geek, so when Trader Joe’s introduced their Cruciferous Crunch—a mix of shredded kale, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, and broccoli—a few years ago, I went a little nuts with it. I bought bags and bags of it, and ate it in salads all summer.

It seems to be a seasonal item, much to my disappointment when I couldn’t find it a few months later. It reappeared the following summer, and since then, it’s been a summertime mainstay of mine. I really love to mix it with non-dairy mayo, making a coleslaw-type salad.

The only problem I have with Trader Joe’s Cruciferous Crunch is the large amount of stems and big, uncut chunks of vegetables in the bag. I often find myself picking those bits out when mixing up a salad.

Another problem I have is that, while I love shopping at Trader Joe’s it’s 20 minutes away. I realize that there are people in other parts of the country who will drive an hour or more to shop at the beloved store, so I know I sound a little spoiled. But I have to pass about 5 other grocery stores on my way there, which seems a little silly.

Homemade Cruciferous Crunch

So what’s a girl to do? Make it at home, of course! Making it at home is pretty easy, since it’s just a mix of shredded vegetables. It’s super easy to do if you have a food processor. I just threw the veggies in, and out came a colorful salad! If you don’t have a food processor, you can use a mandolin, a box grater, or just a sharp knife to make thin cuts.

This salad is dressed with a homemade cashew-based mayo. You can use my homemade tofu based dressing if you have a nut sensitivity. If you're short on time, you can use pre-made mayonnaise, but I’d suggest mixing in a little garlic and Dijon mustard, to give it a little tang. 

 How to Make Cruciferous Crunch Salad

This recipe is super easy to make!

• Once your vegetables are shredded, you make the mayo by throwing all of the dressing ingredients into a blender and mixing until it's smooth and creamy. It whips up super quickly in my Blendtec. I like to use the Twister Jar, which I find is better for small blends.
• Then you just mix the vegetables with the mayo until everything is coated well.
• Serve your salad topped with almonds and hemp seeds. 

 Recipe Notes

All measurements in this recipe are approximate, so don’t worry too much about making sure you have exactly 2 cups of everything. Just make sure you have a nice mix of cabbage, kale, and Brussels sprouts, and you’re good to go.

You’ll notice that I omitted broccoli from mix, which is included in the Trader Joe's salad. I’ve had bad luck with broccoli stalks in the past, and so I thought it was best to leave them out. I’ve used carrots in their place to give the salad some color.

This Cruciferous Crunch Salad makes a great side, but you haven’t really lived until you’ve topped your veggie burger or buffalo cauliflower tacos with it.

Cruciferous Crunch Salad

Dianne

Move over coleslaw! Cruciferous Crunch Salad is destined to become everyone’s favorite cookout side dish! 

All measurements are approximate, so don’t worry too much about making sure you have exactly 2 cups of everything. 

This recipe makes a lot of salad, so invite some friends over and have a cookout! It will keep fully dressed in the fridge for about 3 days.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Course Salad

Cuisine American

Servings 8 servings

Calories 168 kcal

Ingredients

  

• 1 cup raw cashews soaked for 2 hours or more
• ¼ cup water
• ¼ cup lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• 1 garlic clove
• ½ bunch of kale shredded or cut chiffonade style (about 2 cups)
• 8 ounces Brussels sprouts shredded or thinly sliced
• 2 cups shredded purple cabbage
• 2 cups shredded green cabbage
• 2 carrots shredded or julienned
• 2 tablespoons hemp seeds
• 2 tablespoons slivered almonds

Instructions

 

• In a high-speed blender, mix together the cashews, water, lemon juice, salt and garlic until smooth. If the mixture is too thick, add a little more water, a tablespoon at a time.
• Mix together the vegetables in a large bowl. Add the cashew dressing and mix until the vegetables are thoroughly coated. Mix in the hemp seeds.
• Refrigerate for an hour or two let the flavors mix. Top with almonds and serve! Serve cold or at room temperature.

Originally pushed May 21, 2018. Updated May 4, 2022.

Serve your salad with:

• Grilled Tofu Skewers
• Grilled Lemon Rosemary Tofu Sandwiches 
• Chipotle Lentil Burgers
• Grilled Eggplant Sandwiches

Other great cookout side dishes include:

• Broccoli Slaw
• Kale Slaw
• Tomato and Feta Pasta Salad
• German Potato Salad