KFC Coleslaw (Copycat)

by Sabrina Snyder

Last Update:

362 Comments

4.87 from 87 votes
8 servings
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 0 minutes
Refrigerate 8 hours
Total Time 8 hours 5 minutes
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KFC Coleslaw is an easy side dish you’ll enjoy all summer long served with your favorite chicken and more! Tastes exactly like the original!

This crunchy, creamy Coleslaw is probably one of the easiest Copycats I have worked on in a long time. The ingredients were readily available, and it’s easy to throw together to serve with my KFC Original Fried Chicken and make your own chicken plate for a lot less money!

coleslaw piled high in mound in bowl

Sabrina’s KFC Coleslaw Copycat Recipe

KFC Coleslaw is one of my most personal childhood food memories. As a young kid I would walk from my elementary school with my great aunt and we would stop at KFC (then Kentucky Fried Chicken). I just remember the most happy memories of our time together there, we would sit and talk and laugh. To this day anytime I eat or make this coleslaw I think of her. I’m sure many of us have memories like this, which is why copycat recipes are so personal.

Recipe Card

Dinner, then Dessert

KFC Coleslaw (Copycat) Recipe

KFC Coleslaw is an easy side dish you'll enjoy all summer long served with your favorite chicken and more! Tastes exactly like the original!
Yield 8 servings
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 0 minutes
Total Time 8 hours 5 minutes
Course Dinner
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder
coleslaw piled high in mound in bowl
PrintRate

Ingredients
 

  • 8 cups diced cabbage , (I used a food processor shredding disc)
  • 1 large carrot , (also used the food processor)
  • 2 tablespoons onions , grated
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon white pepper
  • 1/4 cup whole milk
  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/4 cup buttermilk , (I used buttermilk powder to make mine)
  • 2 tablespoons white vinegar
  • 3 tablespoons lemon juice

Instructions

  • In a large bowl add the cabbage, carrot, onion.
  • In a second bowl whisk the rest of the ingredients together until combined and smooth.
  • Toss together thoroughly and put in the refrigerator for 4-8 hours (the longer, the better).

Nutrition

Calories: 160kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Cholesterol: 8mg | Sodium: 263mg | Potassium: 178mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 1377IU | Vitamin C: 28mg | Calcium: 51mg | Iron: 0.4mg

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Table of contents

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Ingredients

  • Buttermilk Powder: Instead of buying buttermilk, I keep this on hand for dressings, waffles, homemade ranch seasoning and more. One container has served over 100 recipes to date. You don’t have to throw away 50% full buttermilk containers anymore.
  • Mayonnaise: I’ve tried a number of different brands. I find Best Foods Real Mayonnaise has the most spot on flavor for this KFC copycat.

Kitchen Tools & Equipment

  • Food Processor: This is the newer version of the one I have used and loved for ten years. It is a workhorse and the new model has similarly awesome reviews,and it is so affordable!

What to Pair With

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KFC Coleslaw in just a few minutes with easy ingredients. It tastes exactly the same!

Photos used in previous versions of post.

Collage with two images of homemade coleslaw
bowl of coleslaw piled high
side view of coleslaw in bowl

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

See more posts by Sabrina

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. I just made this and other than my cabbage not being chopped as fine, it tasted exactly like KFC‘s. I recently moved and have a lot of my appliances in boxes in the garage so I couldn’t get to my little Oscar food processor. It chops cabbage into really small pieces. KFC’s is better only based on the size of the cabbage pieces, but next time I make it, it’ll be exact! Thank you so much for this recipe. I almost ordered some mashed potatoes and gravy from KFC to go with my coleslaw because I like the sweet and savory mixed together. Delicious.

    Reply

    1. You’re welcome, Anne. Delighted that the flavor still delivers despite the size of the chopped cabbage, yum! Thank you for the 5 stars.

      Reply

  2. Does using buttermilk powder have a superior flavor addition over bottled buttermilk or is it more for convenience?

    Reply

    1. I use the powdered buttermilk for the convenience, and to prevent food waste, it’s amazing! I can never use a whole container of buttermilk before it goes bad, and this gives me piece of mind.

      Reply

  3. This tastes just like kfc the only problem was the onion is to strong. I’d either use a teaspoon or no onion at all.

    Kfc Coleslaw Copycat - Patricia Harrison
    Reply

  4. I worked for KFC back in college. I used to make the coleslaw all the time. The dressing contained MIRACLE WHIP. Not MAYONNAISE.

    Reply

    1. Hi Adrienne, thank you for letting me know. We decided to go with mayonnaise in this recipe instead of Miracle Whip, especially since there is sugar added to create the sweetness that Miracle Whip gives. Most online recipe blogs list mayonnaise over Miracle Whip, so we’re with the majority on this one.”

      Reply

  5. This is the closest tasting recipe to KFC I’ve ever had! Two thumbs up from my 7 year old and me!! Love all your recipes ?

    Reply

    1. I just love hearing that the family enjoys the recipe Becca. Appreciate your feedback and five star review from you AND your 7 year old!

      Reply

  7. I have made this a few times. I used a Cole slaw mix that I chop in food processor. Also use Miracle Whip, my husband prefers over mayo. I also make my own buttermilk. Husband says the taste is close. I think it is good but a little sweet.

    Reply

    1. I love the way you know your husband’s opinions Mary! Thank so much for the kind review.

      Reply

    1. ?. 1 carrot , (also used the food processor)
      Size depends on your love of carrot crunch!
      Please let us know what you think of the recipe!

      Reply

  10. in your KFC COLESLAW. YOU SAY YOU USE BUTTERMILK POWDER. DO YOU USE JUST THE POWDER OR DO YOU MIX THE POWDER WITH MILK OR WATER TO GIVE YOU A QUARTER CUP? Thank you.

    Reply

    1. I follow the directions on the buttermilk powder container for a 1/4 cup. Hope that helps.

      Reply

    1. Glad you all enjoyed the recipe Helen and thank you for the five star review.

      Reply

  13. I have never been a coleslaw person until maybe 2 years ago, this is by far the best I have ever had.. I just have 1 question is there a way like say if I made a batch and it ended up coming out a little strong on the onion side, is there a way to fix that batch to even out the flavor or no?

    Reply

    1. Oh bummer, try adding ingredients with contrasting flavors like sour cream, lemon juice, or vinegar, or increase the quantity of other ingredients to dilute the onion flavor. By the way, if you soak onions in ice water before adding them to the salad it helps reduce their sharpness.

      Reply

    2. You could use the Greek method where you soak the cut onion ib ice water for 15 minutes. It takes a lot of the bite out.

      Reply

      1. I agree with you Will, that’s a great way to cut down on the sharpness of the onion. You can also rinse thoroughly under cold water if you don’t have 15 minutes to spare.

        Reply

  14. I can’t wait to try this! I’ve never used buttermilk powder, do you follow the containers instructions adding it to water to make the correct amount needed in your recipe? So the container says for 1 cup buttermilk, mix 4 Tbsp powder and 1 cup water.

    Reply

    1. Exactly – following the container instructions. How did you like the KFC Coleslaw?

      Reply

    1. oh oh, sorry for the confusion. The package used says 1/4 cup. Let us know how your coleslaw turns out!

      Reply

  17. Perfect. I’ve made this too many times to count. Fam likes it better than KFC. I just use a bag of Cole slaw mix and add the onions and other items (yes use buttermilk powder) and it’s always a win. Very well done recipe

    Reply

  18. Oh my gosh ! This is so good ! The only thing I did different was I added a tablespoon of horseradish sauce to the mayo. I like it with a bit of a bite ! Thank you so much !

    Reply

  20. Have tried many coleslaw recipes and by far this is the best and it’s spot on to kfc. My family loves it thank you for this recipe.

    Reply

    1. Yes you can Leah! Let us know which milk substitute you decided to use and how it turned out for you!

      Reply

  23. Wow, this was excellent! Still tastes great a couple days after. The only change I made was to use less sugar (1 TBSP vs 1/3 cup).

    Thank you for bringing back great memories…

    Reply

  24. This was delicious! I did a double batter dip for extra crunch. I dressed with a sauce of miracle whip and honey Dijon mustard. SO GOOD!

    Reply

    1. So glad you enjoyed the KFC Coleslaw and thank you Paula, for the five star review!

      Reply