Easy Cole Slaw, also known as Coleslaw, in just 5 minutes with the perfect homemade dressing, this is the ultimate side dish for summer because it gets even better the next day. Perfect for cookouts and planning ahead.
Cole Slaw is the quintessential side dish for the summer. We love it so much we already have two versions on the site! Both are copycats, one is KFC Coleslaw (Copycat) and the second is my personal favorite unique cole slaw, Tony Roma’s Coleslaw with celery seeds.
More Coleslaw recipes:
Sweet Coleslaw
Coleslaw Macaroni Salad
KFC Coleslaw (Copycat)
Popeye’s Cole Slaw (Copycat)
Why buy pre-shredded cole slaw mix? The time required for chopping plus the leftovers of the cabbage make it an easy swap. In addition to that, for some reason we find buying the vegetables whole costs almost twice as much as buying the pre-shredded bag. This recipe shouldn’t take you more than a few minutes to put together the morning of your bbq.
Important Note about Cole Slaw: YES, this recipe takes about five minutes, but one of the most important things about Cole Slaw is letting it sit, so that the dressing can soften the crunch of the cabbage. We recommend at least 2 hours. Even better if you can do it the night before.
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This classic Cole Slaw recipe is a perfect easy barbecue side dish. Instead of spending four dollars a pound on grocery store cole slaw that could have been sitting there a week, you can make it at home and with ingredients you can control.
If you speak to the head of deli department in your local grocery store, they’ll likely tell you that cole slaw comes in either pre-made or in two parts, mix and dressing. This is a way to have fresh cole slaw without the added preservatives you’ll find in packaged cole slaw dressings.
MORE GREAT SUMMER SIDE DISHES
Potato Salad
Southern Baked Beans
Super Creamy Macaroni and Cheese
Classic Egg Salad
HOW TO STORE
- Serve: Make sure to refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving, serve chilled, and don’t leave it out longer than 2 hours.
- Store: Cole Slaw can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 1 week. If it starts to break down, add more coleslaw mix to keep it fresh longer.
- Freeze: Coleslaw doesn’t freeze well, so just throw it out and make a fresh batch when needed.
Ingredients
- 14 ounce coleslaw mix with red cabbage and carrots*
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
Instructions
- Add the mayonnaise, sugar, lemon juice, white vinegar, salt and pepper to a large mixing bowl and whisk together until fully combined.
- Add in the coleslaw mix and stir well to combine.
- Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.
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Nutrition
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Very tasty and so easy!! Also not many ingredients. This is my new go to for coleslaw!
Yum! The addition of lemon juice adds dimension, usually I just use vinegar, never again!
Loved this! Simple but so tasty!
Great Recipe! Easy to make and taste way better then any jar. My husband’s new favorite coleslaw recipe.
I made your coleslaw with fresh cabbage and carrots from my garden. Refrigerated for 4 hours. Served with barbecued chicken. The coleslaw was a hit. Thankfully I doubled the recipe.
This is the best recipe. My husband would not eat coleslaw until he tried this recipe.
I love your recipes looking forward to trying it. I am guessing it’s bottled lemon juice?
I use fresh but bottled is just fine!
Simply perfect!
I made this a few times recently, it’s really tasty. Added a grated apple, some dijon mustard and garlic pepper to taste.
If I omit the vinegar in this recipe should I increase the lemon juice by that much ?
Perfect coke slaw
Delicious!
Couldn’t find my moms recipe but this one was spot on
I substituted sugar with 1 1/2 packets of zing, and instead of kosher salt I added celery salt.
replaced the Vinegar with pickle juice and halfed the sugar amount using dark brown sugar, yum.
Thanks for posting your comment here about subbing dill pickle juice & dark brown sugar. I was reading the comments to see what recommendations were suggested to sub for the white vinegar because II’m running too low on it before next shopping trip to buy more. You have a GREAT solution. I can’t recall what happened when I made a similar recipe with acv (which I have more of in the pantry), but it doesn’t matter now. I’ll follow your resolution to my dilemma.
I ‘ve been making this recipe since it was published. I love this recipe. Today, I’m going to try it with Broccoli slaw.
It came out just as good as regular coleslaw!
What kind of Mayo! Hellman’s? Or could I use miracle whip?
this is perfect!!!!!! My Mom always made her own dressing for cole slaw & it was great. Finally I found the one that tastes just like what she made…….thanks so much….have been buying bottled stuff that never pleases me.
Super easy and Super delicious! Can’t buy a better coleslaw from the deli. We make it 2 times a week at least.
Easy recipe and it’s tastes good ! I made a batch and will have with pork chops and I can eat it alone as a salad.
Thanks ?
Easy, quick and delicious! Tonight with bbq pulled pork sandwiches and left~overs tomorrow with cheeseburgers and fries! Always perfect!
This was a huge hit at my house. I made this to top off my homemade pulled pork sliders with. I’m thrilled with the way the slaw pulled it all together. YUM! It’s definitely on my list for making in the future and can’t wait to make it for a party.
Great quick recipe. Kept the dressing in a glass jar and mixed it with the cabbage just before serving. Coleslaw stays crisp and it keeps a bit longer this way. Thanks for the recipe.
I’ve been making this recipe since it was published. I love this recipe. Today, I’m going to try it with Broccoli slaw.
I started using this recipe a few years ago. I’ve never wanted to look for another one! This has the perfect balance of everything. I don’t like celery in coleslaw but I DO like the flavor. After making this a few times as is, I decided to add celery seeds. IF you’ve never cooked with celery seeds, please note that a little goes a long way…my first batch using it was overpowering.
Also, my brother won’t eat coleslaw anywhere else cause it’s not as good as ‘mine’! Glad I found this recipe!
Awesome every time I make it.
When making this can I use Miracle Whip instead of true Mayo it’s what we have in the fridge?
Great easy Cole slaw recipe.
I had this at a friends house. It is the best I ever tasted.
Easy to follow and put together. I use apple cider vinegar instead of plain while vinegar. Salad tastes great! This is my go to cole slaw recipe! Thanks.
I use apple cider vinegar too – love it! No sugar for us (diabetic) but everything else the same. My go-to recipe for life!
Hello Sabrina, I’ve been making your cole slaw recipe for several years now, every time I make cole slaw I go right to yours, it’s easy and taste very good my family and friends enjoy it. Thank you for all your great recipes.
Double the sauce if you like it saucy. Also substituted celery salt for salt, lime for lemon (what I had), and added teaspoon of dijon mustard. Turned out great!