Slaw can be so much more than cole slaw (though we like eating it that way) too, but take note, this This slaw is a choose your own adventure kind of salad, chock full of Southwest flavors, from a barbecue ranch dressing recipe to smoky roasted chickpeas.
Mix-ins make salad pop. Our Orchard Choice and Sun-Maid California Dried Figs add their own sweet sparkle to a giant chopped salad full of other morsels that bring texture and flavor to a salad meant for main course. Add grilled chicken, shrimp, fish (any of which could be marinated ahead of time in an extra batch of the dressing) or try baked tofu, slathered with the dressing to tie in these extra proteins.
Scale Up Salad
You can scale this salad up to 8 servings by preparing a double batch of the barbecue ranch dressing recipe and tossing with an extra bag of Mann’s Broccoli Cole Slaw®. There are enough of the mix-ins for each bowl to still feel abundant.
Prep Ahead
Prep ahead by roasting the chickpeas and whisking together the barbecue ranch dressing recipe. The slaw also becomes a weekday lunch star if you layer the mix-ins on top of undressed slaw, all to be tossed at the last minute in the barbecue ranch dressing. We like serving the slaw with the mix-ins mounded around the top, but you could certainly toss it all together—your call!
How to Make Barbecue Ranch Dressing
You could make fig barbecue sauce from scratch to make it your own or use your favorite bottled BBQ sauce.
Southwest Slaw with Barbecue Ranch Dressing
Ingredients
Smoky Chickpeas:
- 1 can chickpeas drained, rinsed + patted dry (15.5 oz.)
- 1 tablespoon safflower oil or other neutral oil like canola or grapeseed
- 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon sweet paprika
Barbecue Ranch Dressing:
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1 tablespoon minced parsley
- 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
- 4 teaspoons barbecue sauce divided + 1 tablespoon
- 1 clove minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon minced scallions
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dried dill
Southwest Slaw:
- 1 Mann’s Broccoli Cole Slaw Mix® package 12 oz.
- 4 ounces white cheddar cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 1 jicama cut into 1-inch matchsticks (13 oz.)
- 1 cup corn kernels
- 8 ounces Orchard Choice® or Sun-Maid® California Dried Figs stems removed + sliced crosswise (1 cup)
- 1 large yellow or orange bell pepper cored + sliced into 2-inch strips
- 16 cherry tomatoes sliced crosswise
- 1 large avocado peeled, pitted + thinly sliced
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400Line a sheet pan with parchment.
- Toss chickpeas with oil, salt, chile powder, and paprika. Tumble onto lined sheetpan, jostling so they’re in a single layer. Roast for about 37 minutes. They will finish crisping as they cool.
- Make the Barbecue Ranch Dressing Recipe: Whisk together the buttermilk, parsley, mayonnaise, BBQ sauce, garlic, scallions, vinegar, salt, and dill until combined.
- Assemble salad bowls: Toss slaw in BBQ Ranch Dressing. Nestle a bed of slaw into four pasta bowls. Disperse slaw ingredients among four bowls, nudging close together in mounds: cheese cubes, jicama, corn, California Figs, bell pepper, tomatoes, avocado slices, and chickpeas. Drizzle on the remaining 1 tablespoon of BBQ sauce on top.