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.
Easy Cole Slaw (Coleslaw) Recipe
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.
What to serve with ColeSlaw:
Cole Slaw is a classic summer side dish best served with BBQ Pulled Chicken, BBQ Chicken, Barbecue Ribs or any other summer favorites you love including corn on the cob and Potato Salad.
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Why buy pre-shredded cole slaw mix? For us the time involved in 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. For us in the summer we love to keep things easy. 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 give it at least 2 hours. Even better if you can do it the night before.
This Cole Slaw recipe is your classic cole slaw. Think going to the grocery store, about to spend four dollars a pound on cole slaw, cole slaw. Instead of spending so much, you can make it at home and with ingredients you can control.
I’ve actually spoken to heads of deli departments who have told me 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.
So why post a third cole slaw recipe on the same site? Well, it’s the CLASSIC summer side dish and I love options. So choose your favorite version.
Easy ColeSlaw Recipes:
- KFC Cole Slaw: Made with milk, buttermilk, lemon juice chopped cabbage, onion and carrots, this is the perfect KFC copycat. It has a bit of a bite from the onions.
- Tony Roma’s Cole Slaw: This recipe is the perfect higher end recipe with celery seeds and a bit less creamy texture. If you’re serving up a summer dinner menu, you can go a bit fancier with this version.
- Easy Cole Slaw: This recipe, this is the standard classic version made to take the place of buying pre-made.
Recipe
Easy Cole Slaw Recipe (Coleslaw)
- Yield: 8 Servings
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Course: Side Dish
- Cuisine: American
- Author: Sabrina Snyder
Ingredients
- 14 ounce coleslaw mix with red cabbage and carrots*
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
Instructions
Note: click on times in the instructions to start a kitchen timer while cooking.
- 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.
Recipe Notes
* If you want to uses your own mix for the coleslaw, I use 8 cups shredded cabbage, 1 cup shredded red cabbage, and 4 julienned carrots.
Nutrition Information
Yield: 8 Servings, Amount per serving: 120 calories, Serving Size: 1 , Calories: 120g, Carbohydrates: 6g, Fat: 10g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 5mg, Sodium: 170mg, Potassium: 84mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 4g, Vitamin A: 60g, Vitamin C: 19.2g, Calcium: 20g, Iron: 0.3g
All images and text © for Dinner, then Dessert.
Loved this recipe. It was so delicious my family was in love with it.
Thanks for the 5 stars, Eileen.
I added a little onion and green pepper. It is our favorite cole slaw recipe so far.
Yum! Glad you liked and were able to make it like you like!
Wow I like it
Happy to hear that!
I haven’t had coleslaw long time.
This recipe is easy wonderful.
So glad you enjoyed it! Thank you so much for the review!
Hi
The bacon corn looks very gd. I am not keen on BBQ sauce.what other sauce can i use instead pls.
Many thks
You can use whatever flavor sauce you’d like.
Tried it with eggless mayo and asked kids for review.. got 5 stars, Thank you Sabrina !
Yay!! Thanks for letting me know Suren.
Love this recipe! I doubled it and added some celery seeds, dry mustard, and onion powder as suggested in the comments. So good!
Fantastic! Thanks for the 5 stars.
Can you use miracle whip in place of mayo?
I’ve not tested it that way before but if you decide to try, I’d love to know how it turns out. Thanks!
What are the serving sizes for the Cole slaw recipes….1 cup, 1/2 cup etc.? I am doing WW and need to know serving size to determine points
Thank you
1/2 cup 🙂 Enjoy!
Simple. Tasty. Fast. Bada bing, bada boom!
It’s as easy as that!
How do you think it would come using avacodo mayo?
I’ve not tested it but I would think it would be fine. I hope you enjoy it!
Made this and WOW. So darn good. Now I keep bag slaw on hand and make this couple times a week. So very easy and tastes better the next day.
Thanks for dropping by to let me know! I’m so glad you enjoy it so much!
Great love this
How long does this last in the fridge please
About 3-5 days. 🙂 Enjoy!
Yum. Used a “southern style” slaw mix (onions, cabbage, finely chopped bell pepper) and used 2Tb of White Wine Vinegar (didn’t have a lemon or white vinegar) and it came out DELICIOUS!
Very nice recipe – thank you!
So glad you enjoyed it, Dom!
Whenever I’ve made coleslaw in the past, it’s sucked. I couldn’t figure out what was so hard and had pretty much given up making it. (Even though it seems rather simple?) I was always looking at some famous chef’s recipe, but it always tasted bleh… This slaw was delicious and EASY as promised. I made the dressing as written and sliced one head of cabbage thin. Maybe a hair too much dressing but not by much. May I never lose this recipe, and bless you!
Yay!! So glad you didn’t give up the search Marika.
Love love love the recipes, will be making them all!! Thank you
Yay!! Look forward to seeing you around the site.
This is an easy and very tasty recipe. The dressing is creamy and it holds up well over time. I reduced the white sugar to 1 tablespoon and found the taste to be very pleasant.
This coleslaw is perfect! Simple and so delicious!
So glad you enjoyed it, Kathryn!
Love all the cookin styles ?????
This is a very good coleslaw as is. For a little flavor boost, add some mini marshmallows, very delicious.
Excellent!!
I used apple cider vinegar instead of white and added about a tsp of Dijon mustard…yummy!
Thanks for the suggestions, Rhonda!
Delicious the best coleslaw recipe for my taste to date. I like miracle whip so I used 1/2 mayo 1/2 miracle whip we also like a little celery seed so added it as well. Lovely balance of sweet and tart!
Sounds delicious!
This is the best cole slaw recipe , by far. Easy ,fast, and delicious. Thank you
So glad you enjoyed it, Debbie!
AMAZING. Only change I made was to use cider vinegar, but I am sure white would have been just as good. Really a very simple and tasty recipe!
Quick and easy recipe. I left out the lemon juice because I didn’t have any and it was delicious!
So glad you enjoyed it, Nadine!
Why do I have to scroll through so much BS just to get to the recipe?
There’s a “jump to recipe” button at the top of the page if you want to get straight to it.
You obviously don’t go on many web sites. They are all like that.
Made this yesterday for ribs today. Tasted it while making it and was tastey. Ate it today and fabulous. Definitely gets better for the next day.
Hi!
Can you make the dressing the day before or is it best made on the day? Xx
You can make it ahead of time. Enjoy!
Looks great! I tried with my hamburger. Awesome
The best coleslaw, and so easy. She nailed this one. Make it, you won’t be disappointed.
Awww, thanks! So glad you loved it!
Love this! Did half the sugar and 1.5tbls cider vinager and added garlic and onion powder. BINGO! The perfect savory side to our fried fish dinner!
Thanks!
It’s such a easy recipe, I have two broken arms , and I was to make this easy cole slaw, tastes perfect.
Oh no, Deanna! I hope you have a quick recovery!
Simple yet excellent!
Thanks, Bob!
PERFECT! Thank you!
You’re welcome!
thank you for the recipe
This was such an easy recipe to make and it was delicious. This will be my go to recipe from now on. Thanks!
Thanks so much! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I like it simple and easy straight to the recipte. Thank u.
You’re welcome, Tiffany!
Amazing! Quick, easy and tasty!! Thank you!
So glad you enjoyed it, Kathleen!
I love this recipe, reminds me of my moms coleslaw. I have been searching forever for a recipe like yours and i finally found it. Thank you for sharing.
I like using Miracle Whip for this recipe, gives it a great taste.
HELP – I’m wanting to make this today – can I use miracle whip in place of real mayo?
I’m so sorry I’m just now seeing this. 🙁
How did it turn out?
Miracle whip is mayo and will work fine with even better results.
Very good! Just made this and the dressing makes a good coleslaw.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Kim!
Quick and easy but ABSOLUTELY delicious! This slaw us a must have with any BBQ this summer.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for coming back to let me know!
A summer side dish I could eat every day!
Great side dish to any BBQ this Summer!
Definitely!
I love cole slaw and this looks perfect!
Thanks Amanda!
What a great recipe! This needs to happen at my house very soon!!
I made this tonight and my wife told me it’s a keeper. Perfect salad to accompany my summer grilling.
So glad you all enjoyed it!
Love easy and delicious! Saving!
Thank you!
This recipe is almost like the one my mother always made and I still make (I’m 78): 2 T sugar, 3 T ACvinegar, 1 t celery seeds, 1/2 to 3/4 c mayo, S&P. We never heard of Tony Roma’s! Although I’ve been cooking a long time, I still enjoy your blog.
This is such a perfect side for so many meals! I can’t wait to make a big batch.
Definitely!!