An easy Classic Coleslaw Recipe with crisp cabbage and carrots in a creamy, sweet and tangy homemade dressing. Coleslaw is the perfect side dish for potlucks, parties and cookouts.
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Coleslaw Recipe
Though you can purchase a store-bought coleslaw mix and dressing, nothing beats the homemade version. Not only is it so easy and quick to make, it’s less expensive and it requires minimal ingredients that you likely already have in your fridge. Crunchy shredded cabbage with carrots in a creamy dressing – so good!
Coleslaw is one of those recipes that everyone should know how to make – it’s as timeless as Chicken Salad, Caesar Salad, or Egg Salad and it will never go out of style. It’s also super simple and oftentimes, the simplest recipes are truly the best.
Ingredients for Coleslaw
- Green Cabbage – you’ll need 6 cups of loosely packed, finely shredded green cabbage (see my tips for finely shredding below) – this is about half a head of green cabbage.
- Red Cabbage – I recommend no more than 2 cups of red cabbage (avoid adding too much or it will tint your salad dressing pink).
- Carrot – 1 large carrot adds a nice contrast of color. You can add more if you prefer.
- Green Onion – about half a small bunch of green onion will yield half a cup chopped. It adds a fresh layer of flavor to a traditional coleslaw.
- Creamy Homemade Dressing – the perfect blend of mayonnaise, lemon juice, salt, and pepper, perfectly sweetened with honey.
Time-Saving Tip:
You can use a pre-shredded store-bought coleslaw mix and stir in the dressing when you’re ready to serve. If using store-bought, you can improve the flavor by adding some fresh chives or green onion to the mix.
The Best Coleslaw Dressing
A good coleslaw dressing can really make or break a recipe. This homemade slaw dressing is amazing; it’s creamy, tangy, and not overly sweet. I love that the dressing only uses 5 ingredients! To prepare the dressing, combine all of the ingredients until well incorporated and creamy:
- Mayonnaise – the creamy base of the dressing.
- Acidity – you can use either the classic apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, or white vinegar. (TIP: if substituting for ACV or vinegar, you’ll need about 4 tsp, or to taste)
- Sweetness – granulated sugar or honey may be used, or a combination of both. You can add more honey or sugar to taste
Coleslaw Variations
Once you have a great coleslaw base, you can spruce it up with different flavors and textures. Try mix-ins like:
- Fruit: Sliced apples, pineapple chunks, dried cranberries or raisins
- Nuts and seeds: Add a little crunch with pumpkin seeds or sliced almonds
- Veggies: add thinly sliced bell peppers, radishes, or julienned jicama
- Fresh herbs: try finely chopped parsley or even dill
How to Make Coleslaw
Unlike most salads that are time-consuming, coleslaw is really quick to make and can be completely ready in just 10 minutes!
- Shred the cabbage, grate the carrots (we used our favorite julienne slicer for the carrots), and chop the green onions. Transfer all of the salad ingredients to a mixing bowl and toss to combine.
- Combine the ingredients for the homemade dressing.
- Add the dressing to the mixed salad and enjoy!
Natasha’s Tip for Finely Shredded Cabbage
You can either shred the cabbage with a mandolin slicer or by hand with a sharp knife. If you like your coleslaw shredded fine and uniform in size, use a mandolin slicer. If you prefer chunky cabbage, shredding by hand will work.
What to Serve with Coleslaw
The beauty of coleslaw is that it’s so versatile! It can be served as a side, or a salad to a great Hamburger, or even great piled onto a BBQ Chicken or Pulled Pork sandwich. Here are more great options:
Can you Make Coleslaw Ahead?
Yes, coleslaw is great to prepare in advance. If you’re making it for a party or brunch, prepare the salad per instructions and keep the salad unmixed and covered, keep the dressing in a separate container. Before serving, mix the salad and add the dressing.
Storing Coleslaw
Once the dressing is mixed in, coleslaw is best enjoyed the same day it is made, but it can be covered and refrigerated overnight. Once the dressing is added, the cabbage starts to release liquid, and it can get soggy. If the dressing is stored separately, it will last 2-3 days in the refrigerator.
I hope you absolutely love this classic Coleslaw Salad. It’s such a versatile and satisfying year-round salad. Do you put anything special in your coleslaw? I’d love to hear from you in the comments.
Try These Easy Salad Recipes
- Avocado Corn Salad
- Greek Pasta Salad
- Strawberry Salad with Honey Vinaigrette
- Avocado Chicken Salad
- Chickpea Salad
- Smashed Potato Salad
Coleslaw Recipe with Creamy Dressing
Ingredients
For the Coleslaw
- 6 cups green cabbage, thinly shredded (Half a head)
- 2 cups red cabbage, thinly shredded (1/4 of a head)
- 1 large carrot, grated or julienned
- 1/2 cup chopped green onion, finely chopped
For the Creamy Dressing
- 2/3 cup mayonnaise
- 1 Tbsp honey, or granulated sugar, plus more to taste
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice, *
Instructions
- Finely shred the white and red cabbage, grate, or julienne the carrot, and finely chop the green onion. Add the prepared vegetables to a mixing bowl and toss to combine.
- Combine the ingredients for the coleslaw dressing and stir until well combined.
- Drizzle the dressing over the salad, adding it to taste, and toss to combine.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
I love coleslaw and Immlazy so I buy a bag of it and then add my favourite things to it and Heinz Salad Cream makes it perfect!
I like quick and easy!
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Hilary!
I made this but with a few changes wanting a savory flavour….instead of the mayo dressing I used homemade ranch, greek yogurt, sriracha, boursin cheese. I was pairing with Greek marinated pork kabobs. The flavour popped with a bit heat from the sriracha and some tang from the yogurt..
This is soooo delicious! I can’t get enough of this coleslaw recipe. Highly recommended!
Natasha, this salad dressing is very popular in England. Heinz Salad Cream. I’ll send a photo of the bottle.
I made this for a graduation party and it turned out perfect. I served it with chicken burgers!
This was such a quick and easy recipe that does not disappoint! Turned out crisp, creamy and delicious; definitely, a new favorite recipe!
I have always made this with one exception, I thin it down with a little milk. We just don’t like it so thick, we e been making it for many generations. Love it!
I love every recipe I’ve ever tried from you Natasha, and this is no different, my only tweak is a 1/3 cup of crushed pineapple
That sounds delicious!
Our go-to coleslaw recipe! It’s our family favourite and requested often. Thank you for making cabbage into a household staple!
I’m so glad you found your favorite go-to coleslaw recipe on my blog. I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Huge hit at our family potluck. Now part of our weekly side rotation! Thanks for the great recipe.
You’re very welcome, Amira!
Just what I was looking for, Natasha, thanks! My family likes it with a chopped red apple in the mix. I want to serve this with grilled flank steak. What other side would you suggest I make to round out our BBQ lunch
Hi Michele! That sounds great. Mashed potatoes or potato salad both sound like great sides. I have a recipe for both of those, use the search bar at the top of the page.
Hi.. really this Came out gr8
Thx❤️
Keep up the gr8 work👏🏽
I’m happy to hear that, Sherry!
Love this recipe! Added walnuts and cranberries. Delicious. Will make again.
Sounds delicious! I’m glad you loved it. Thank you for sharing.
I got rave reviews at a Christmas party with this recipe. I only had green cabbage, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, almonds and this dressing (with ACV). So flexible and delicious!
I’m so glad it was a hit, Beth!! Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
This looks delicious. If I substitute sugar for honey, how much sugar in total should I use? Love your recipes.
Thank you
Hi Carol! Yes, you can use sugar in place of honey. Equal amounts would be fine or used to your preference of sweetness.
Great coleslaw! And thanks for including the nutritional values.
Do you have a cookbook yet!?!
Thank you! You’re welcome. My cookbook is still in process, Fall 2023 is the expected release.
Best coleslaw ever!! Not too mayonnaise-ey, has a tart bite, not too sweet. Mmm mmm mmm! New summer go to!
Awesome feedback, Lena. Thanks for sharing!
see now, this is good but my grandma’s is the best.
depending on how much you want. finely slice half of a red & white cabbage. finely slice 2 white onions, grate 4 large carrots. mix all in a bowl & add a table spoon of caster sugar. mix together & leave for 30 mins at least. the sugar will bring out the natural flavours of the veg.
then add 2 tablespoons of salad cream. some may prefer mayo but salad cream gives a nice tang. mix well leave for another 30 mins and ………….. oh yeah this is it. maybe add a grind or two of black pepper but is good as is……………enjoy, you are welcome :o)
if you want the best ever potato salad, just ask ….. :o)
Hi John, I’d love to try it but what is salad cream? Did you mean sour cream?
I can’t be sure (because I’ve never heard the term before), but I THINK “salad cream” may be Miracle Whip (or its equivalent).
I’ll be making this (with Mayo, lol) this weekend for a Pot Luck. I’m sure it will be teriffic.
Salad cream is a British salad dressing made by Heinz,it can be purchased in any store that sell’s British groceries eg Safeway,Walmart or occasionally Co-op
That’s interesting! I haven’t seen that product but thank you for sharing. I’ll keep an eye out for it.
Web search:
Is Heinz Salad Cream the same as mayonnaise?
They may have almost identical ingredients, but crucially they use different amounts of each to provide a notably different taste. Heinz Salad Cream uses more vinegar than oil whilst mayonnaise is the other way round. For example, in Heinz Salad Cream is just 22% Rapeseed Oil whilst Heinz mayonnaise is 68%
More than likely Miracle whip…that was the big go to back in the day.
How do you keep the coleslaw from turning “pink” from the red cabbage when the dressing is added?
Hi Jean, keeping the red cabbage in moderation helps with the bleeding. We use more green cabbage than red. I have not tested any methods to reduce the bleeding but you could research this.
Would this dressing work over a bag of coleslaw you can buy at the store?
HI Maria, yes absolutely! That is a great shortcut. When using bagged coleslaw, one great way to make it tastier is to add some fresh chopped green onions or chives.
Very similar to The Fresh Market’s broccoli slaw, but they add finely chopped broccoli and Craisins.
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing that with us!