Traditional Swedish Pizza Salad Recipe – Pizzasallad
Traditional Swedish Pizza salad is a side dish served at pizza restaurants all over Sweden. It’s a simple recipe that combines shredded white cabbage, olive oil, white wine vinegar, and black pepper to make a fresh cabbage salad. Its soft texture, slight crunch, and refreshing acidity make it surprisingly perfect with pizza!
Swedish pizzerias
Modern Swedish food culture takes influence from around the world, and the first pizzerias were brought to Sweden by Italian immigrants in 1947. Even the smallest towns can have at least one pizza place!
They serve really thin-crusted pizzas with a side of complimentary salad. If the pizza is made ‘to go,’ the salad is often packed in small plastic bags or disposable plastic containers with lids.
It’s unknown where Swedish Pizza Salad originates from, but it’s quite a unique salad. In consistency, it’s more like sour kraut, like Kupus Salata ( Croatian coleslaw), and is found exclusively in Swedish Pizzerias.
Ingredients
This recipe requires just a half head of cabbage, but you might consider making a bigger batch as it can be enjoyed with many other dishes—not just pizza! You can make it ahead of time and allow it to rest overnight in the refrigerator. You might also enjoy this Caramelized Cabbage Meatloaf - Swedish Kålpudding and this classic Swedish Lingonberry Jam - Lingonsylt
- 1Pound / 500g White cabbage – Roughly half a head
- 4 Tablespoons Olive Oil – You can use any mild flavored oil for this recipe
- 2 Tablespoons White wine vinegar – Or apple cider vinegar. White vinegar will work fine, but a pinch of sugar or drizzle of maple syrup may be needed to sweeten it slightly.
- 1 Teaspoon Sea Salt
- 1/4 Teaspoon Black pepper – Coarsely ground. Pizza restaurants often use coarse black pepper that isn’t freshly ground and, therefore, relatively mild in flavor. Feel free to adjust the amount to suit your taste buds.
- Optional ingredients: Red pepper, maple syrup, dried oregano.
Equipment
To shred the cabbage finely, you can use a food processor, mandolin, Swedish cheese slicer, vegetable peeler, or a sharp knife and a steady hand.
A Large bowl
Instructions
1. Remove the outside leaves and core of the cabbage and finely slice the cabbage(you can use a food processor for convenience) into a big bowl.
2. Whisk together the olive oil, white wine vinegar, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Pour the dressing over the shredded cabbage.
3. Massage the salad with clean hands for a few minutes to soften the cabbage, or allow it to rest for a few hours or overnight before serving.
Serving suggestions
Serve chilled with homemade pizza!
Many Swedes put their pizza salad on top of their pizza slice, so no cutlery is needed!
It is also a great side dish to serve with burgers, grilled meats, pita bread, or even tossed into a green salad.
Storage
Store refrigerated in an airtight container for up to a week.
Variations
Some restaurants develop their own signature pizza salad. Dried herbs such as dill and oregano are commonly added. Less common variations contain finely chopped red pepper ( sometimes pickled red pepper), chili flakes, sweet corn, red onion, and even mustard. You can easily swap out white cabbage for red or even finely sliced kale for variation.
Sweden’s most popular pizza toppings?
Sweden’s most popular pizza is the Kebab Pizza ( kebab meat and garlic sauce), closely followed by the Hawai ( ham, cheese, and pineapple). More unusual but also very popular is the Africano (pineapple, curry, peanuts, and banana) and Pincessa ( ham, pawns and pineapple).
Traditional Swedish Pizza Salad Recipe – Pizzasallad
Equipment
- To shred the cabbage finely, you can use a food processor, mandolin, Swedish cheese slicer, or even a vegetable peeler, or a sharp knife and a steady hand.
- A Large bowl
Ingredients
- 1 Pound White cabbage Roughly half a head of cabbage.
- 4 Tablespoons Olive Oil Or any mild flavored oil
- 2 Tablespoons White wine vinegar Or apple cider vinegar. White vinegar will work fine, but a pinch of sugar or drizzle of maple syrup may be needed to sweeten it slightly.
- 1 Teaspoon Sea Salt
- ¼ Teaspoon Black pepper Coarsely ground. Pizza restaurants often use coarse black pepper that isn’t freshly ground and, therefore, relatively mild in flavor. Feel free to adjust the amount to suit your taste buds.
Optional
- Red pepper, dried oregano, dill, chili pepper flakes.
Instructions
- Remove the outside leaves and core of the cabbage and finely slice the cabbage(you can use a food processor for convenience) into a big bowl.
- 2. Whisk together the olive oil, white wine vinegar, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Pour the dressing over the shredded cabbage.Massage the salad with clean hands for a few minutes to soften the cabbage, or allow it to rest for a few hours or overnight before serving.
Notes
Many Swedes put their pizza salad on top of their pizza slice, so no cutlery is needed! It is also a great side dish to serve with burgers, grilled meats, pita bread, or even tossed into a green salad. Store refrigerated in an airtight container for up to a week. Some restaurants develop their own signature recipes. Dried herbs such as dill and oregano are commonly added. Less common variations contain finely chopped red pepper ( sometimes pickled red pepper), chili flakes, sweet corn, red onion, and even mustard. You can easily swap out white cabbage for red or even finely sliced kale for variation.
Nutrition
Please note:
This nutritional information is an estimate and values may vary. It is for guidance only and should not be considered dietary advice.
Let me knwo if you have any questions about this pizza salad recipe! I’ll try my best to answer them here! Holly xx
Great, simple recipe! We eat ours on top of each pizza slice too!