This traditional coleslaw recipe is a quick and easy dish to make! A classic summer salad side or topping for your BBQ sandwiches!
Cole Slaw is an essential Summer Side Dish for your backyard barbecue! From this classic easy recipe to old fashioned Amish Vinegar Slaw to Copycat KFC versions, I’ve got plenty of slaws for you to choose from!
Sabrina’s Easy Cole Slaw Recipe
This Cole Slaw is a classic barbecue side dish. The cool, creaminess of dressing and crunch of the veggies go perfectly with smoky meat hot off the grill, or my Oven-Baked Pulled Chicken. And who can resist a saucy pulled pork sandwich piled high with fresh coleslaw?!
Recipe Card
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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Table of contents
About this Recipe
This easy and delicious coleslaw comes together in just 5 minutes with the perfect homemade dressing. The hardest part is waiting for it to chill for a few hours before you can dive in for a crisp tangy bite! It is a great make-ahead dish because it gets even better the next day.
Chef’s Note: Playing with Flavor
The nice thing about a simple recipe like my slaw dressing is that it makes a great base to play with flavor using your spice cabinet. You can keep it simple with celery salt, white pepper or garlic powder. Or get bold and creative with curry powder, cumin, tarragon, or turmeric. I like to spoon a little dressing out into a small dish, add a tiny dash of spices, mix and taste. Once I have the flavors I’m looking for, I add the spices in ¼ or ½ teaspoon amounts to the actual dressing. This way I don’t risk wasting my whole dressing with the wrong seasoning combo.
Ingredients
- Cabbage: I used a pre-shredded cabbage mix since this is supposed to be an easy recipe! You can make your own using green cabbage, purple cabbage, and carrots. See below in Variations for my instructions on how to do this.
- Mayonnaise: This recipe calls for regular mayo for extra creaminess. You can use a lighter version or vegan mayo if you prefer.
- Vinegar: The tangy, strong white vinegar cuts through the rich mayo and helps soften the veggies as they sit overnight.
- Sugar: The sugar adds some balance and helps tone down the acidic flavors with the lemon and vinegar.
- Lemon Juice: Some fresh lemon juice also helps cut the richness of the mayo and adds a bold freshness to the dressing.
Can this be made ahead of time?
The beautiful thing with Cole Slaw is that you can make it in advance! While it is still really yummy as soon as it is mixed together, making it a day or two earlier and keeping it in the fridge will help bring all the flavors together and help them get into the cabbage mixture. Make sure it is sealed in an airtight container.
How to Store
- Serve: For best results, 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.
Frequent Questions
It is really up to you! I like to grab a pre-shredded bag for convenience, especially when it’s on sale. But chopping it up fresh isn’t that hard since it’s just cabbage and shredded carrots.
While this recipe takes only five minutes to put together, you want to let it chill so that the dressing can soften the crunch of the cabbage and the flavors can be absorbed. I recommend 2-4 hours.
Cole Slaw is a dish that comes from the Netherlands. Its first presentation showed up in a cookbook there in 1770.
Making coleslaw from scratch can be as easy as pouring and mixing! At the most, you may have to do some chopping if you don’t buy a bagged mix. All the ingredients are pantry staples which means you’ll likely have them already at home! If not, you can easily find the ingredients in your local grocery store.
Variations
- Homemade Shredded Cabbage Mixture: Cut up a full head of green cabbage into 4 large quarters using a sharp chef’s knife. Taking care, thinly slice each of the quartered cabbage pieces. Discard the thick root part. One head of cabbage should make about 8 cups of shredded cabbage. Next, shred enough red cabbage to make 1 cup, about a 1/4th of a cabbage head. You don’t want to use too much red cabbage or it will turn your slaw purple. Lastly, shred 4 carrots into short, thin strips. You can use a grater, the julienne setting on your kitchen mandolin or a food processor with a shredding blade.
- Fresh Herbs: Adding a few teaspoons of fresh dill, chives, or parsley will give your slaw a tasty herby kick! For a bold flavor, try finely diced green onion or grated white onion.
- Mustard: Adding a bit of mustard seeds or a tablespoon or two of Dijon mustard to the mix really adds a wonderful depth of flavor.
- Mayo vs Miracle Whip: Mayo is really creamy and rich while Miracle Whip is a bit sweeter in flavor. It really comes down to preference on this one!
- Vinegar: Try making your slaw apple cider vinegar or pickle juice instead of the white vinegar for a tangy flavor with a twist!
Related Recipes
More Delicious Homemade Coleslaw Recipes!
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