Seriously Good Homemade Coleslaw Recipe
My favorite homemade coleslaw recipe with the most delicious creamy dressing. This coleslaw is quick and easy to make. It is even easy to make in advance. Jump to the Easy Coleslaw Recipe or watch our quick recipe video showing you how we make it.
Watch How We Make Coleslaw
How to Make the Best Coleslaw
This coleslaw recipe is packed with fresh, lively flavors that wake up anything you serve it with. Try this as a topping to sandwiches, served next to ultra-savory meats, like braised beef or pulled pork. Or mound some on top of your next hot dog or hamburger.
You won’t believe how easy coleslaw is to make at home. Here are my best tips for making it.
What is the Best Cabbage for Coleslaw?
I love using a combination of red and green cabbage when I make coleslaw. It makes the dish really pretty. You can use just one variety, though. Try green cabbage, red cabbage, savoy cabbage or Napa cabbage.
How to Cut the Cabbage for Coleslaw
Whatever type of cabbage you choose, the way to prepare them are generally the same. Here’s how to do it:
- Remove any tattered or bruised outer leaves.
- Cut the cabbage into quarters, and then cut out the core.
- Slice the cabbage quarters into thin shreds. You can hand shred with a knife (like in the photos below), use a mandoline or use your food processor shredding attachment.
Recipe Shortcut: Use Bagged Coleslaw Mix
As an alternative, you can buy bags of pre-shredded cabbage or coleslaw mix. They usually range between 10 and 16 ounces, so you may need a
Replace the cabbage and carrot called for in our recipe with your favorite store-bought bag. We have even seen bagged coleslaw mixes that include shredded broccoli stems (delicious) and other vegetables if you’re in the mood to try something a little bit different.
My Favorite Coleslaw Dressing
Our favorite coleslaw dressing is quick to make and calls for simple ingredients. It’s creamy, flavorful, and fresh.
Mayonnaise is the base and makes the dressing creamy. When we have a batch in our fridge, we love to use homemade mayonnaise.
Apple cider vinegar adds a fresh and zesty note to the dressing. You can substitute other kinds of vinegar like red wine vinegar or champagne vinegar.
Dijon mustard adds extra flavor and a bit of spice.
Celery seeds taste like mild celery and really do add that “something-something” to the dressing. Their flavor is mild, so if you aren’t a celery fan, I’d still recommend using at least some of the celery seeds called for in the recipe.
Salt and pepper are a must and bring the flavors in the dressing together.
We don’t add any sugar. Some coleslaw recipes call for sugar. For our tastes, the cabbage and carrots are sweet enough. If you disagree, add a teaspoon or two of sugar to the dressing before mixing with the cabbage and carrot.
Adding the Dressing
When you’re ready to mix up your coleslaw, don’t just dump in the whole bowl of dressing. Instead, start with about two-thirds, give everything a stir and then see just how much more dressing you feel your coleslaw needs.
If you decide it’s perfect the way it is, don’t throw away that leftover coleslaw dressing! Keep it in the fridge (it will last for days, if not weeks). Use it as a spread for sandwiches, a dip for vegetables or sauce for meats and roasted or grilled vegetables.
How to Make Coleslaw Ahead of Time
Coleslaw is easy to make in advance. The vegetables can be shredded a day or two in advance and kept in a resealable bag in the refrigerator.
As for the dressing, mix it up and store covered in the refrigerator for weeks. Combine the cabbage, carrots and dressing the night before or day of serving — we like the crunch of the vegetables to still be present. The longer the cabbage sits in the coleslaw dressing, the softer and less crunchy it will become.
What Our Readers Are Saying
If you don’t believe that our recipe helps you achieve the best coleslaw from scratch, take a look at what our readers are saying about the recipe! More reviews are in the comments section below.
“This is seriously the best coleslaw I have ever made or tasted.” – Judy
“Wow, fantastic slaw!” – Bryant
“Amazing! I wanted to eat the whole bowl!” – Caitlin
More Cabbage Recipes
- For a mayonnaise-free coleslaw, try our Mayo-Free Cilantro Lime Coleslaw Salad.
- This Warm Cabbage and Apple Salad has red cabbage, apples, pecans, and a simple apple cider dressing.
- For an easy side dish, try our Sauteed Lemon Garlic Cabbage or our Bacon Fried Cabbage.
- If you have leftover cabbage, use it to make this Ham and Cabbage Soup or add it to Homemade Vegetable Soup (I love cabbage in soups).
Recipe updated, originally posted January 2015. Since posting this in 2015, we have tweaked the recipe to be more clear. – Adam and Joanne
Seriously Good Homemade Coleslaw Recipe
- PREP
With a generous amount of acidity from apple cider vinegar and Dijon mustard, our coleslaw recipe is anything but dull. Instead, it is packed with fresh, lively flavors that wake up anything you serve with it. Unlike some of the more traditional or popular recipes for coleslaw, we skip the addition of sugar to our coleslaw dressing. For our tastes, the cabbage and carrots are sweet enough. If you disagree, add a teaspoon or two of sugar to the dressing before mixing with the cabbage and carrot. Try this as a topping to sandwiches, served next to ultra-savory meats, like braised beef or pork. Or, mound some on top of your next hot dog or hamburger.
Makes approximately 10 servings
You Will Need
1 medium cabbage (about 2 pounds), outer leaves removed
3 medium carrots, peeled and shredded
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh parsley leaves, coarsely chopped
1 cup (170 grams) mayonnaise, try our homemade mayonnaise recipe
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar or more to taste
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard or coarse ground mustard
1 teaspoon celery seeds
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt or more to taste
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper or more to taste
Directions
Quarter the cabbage through the core, and then cut out the core. Cut each quarter crosswise in half and finely shred. Place the shredded cabbage in a very large bowl (you will have 6 to 8 cups).
Add the shredded carrot and parsley to the cabbage and toss to mix.
In a separate bowl, stir the mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard, celery seeds, salt, and pepper together. Taste for acidity and seasoning then adjust as desired. Pour two-thirds of the dressing over the cabbage and carrot then mix well. (Clean hands are the quickest tool).
If the coleslaw seems dry, add a little more of the dressing. Eat right away or let it sit in the refrigerator for about an hour to let the flavors mingle and the cabbage to soften.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Cabbage: Use green cabbage, red cabbage, savoy cabbage or Napa cabbage. For a multi-colored or multi-textured coleslaw, use a combination of two varieties.
- Store-bought bagged coleslaw mix: You can buy bags of pre-shredded cabbage or coleslaw mix. They usually range between 10 and 16 ounces. Simply replace the cabbage and carrot called for in our recipe above with your favorite store-bought bag.
- Make ahead: The vegetables can be shredded a day or two in advance and kept in a resealable bag in the refrigerator. As for the dressing, mix it up and store covered in the refrigerator for weeks. Combine the cabbage, carrots and dressing the night before or day of serving — we like the crunch of the vegetables to still be present. The longer the cabbage sits in the coleslaw dressing, the softer it will become.
- Leftover dressing: This can be used as a spread for sandwiches, dip for vegetables, served alongside the coleslaw or with grilled or roasted vegetables, chicken or meats.
- Nutrition facts: The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We have used the USDA Supertracker recipe calculator to calculate approximate values. We have omitted salt since you will need to add to your tastes.
If you make this recipe, snap a photo and hashtag it #inspiredtaste — We love to see your creations on Instagram and Facebook! Find us: @inspiredtaste
Nutrition Per Serving: Calories 183 / Protein 2 g / Carbohydrate 7 g / Dietary Fiber 3 g / Total Sugars 4 g / Total Fat 17 g / Saturated Fat 3 g / Cholesterol 9 mg
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Didn’t add mustard because Grandma didn’t, but added just a pinch of cumin and ground sumac. The apple cider vinegar (I use the raw unfiltered kind) is key to the touch of sweetness, balanced by the sumac and celery seed. The cumin adds an earthy level; you can’t taste it as cumin like in a Mexican dish, but it seems to ground the whole batch. Got the idea from a Jane Brody recipe eons ago. Really good stuff.
Yes- absolutely brilliant recipe and without a doubt the best traditional slaw I’ve ever built! A few tweaks you may want to try- a mixture of mayonnaise and natural yoghurt works a treat. Plus grating some extra mature cheddar in is also a rather nice addition! For a different and entirely zingy slaw, skip the mayonnaise (yoghurt) entirely and substitute the parsley for coriander use a touch extra cider vinegar then fine cut a large whole peeled orange letting the juice add to the mix:) Very fresh!!
A delicious recipe, I made the same recipe with the exact ingredients BUT I added a handful of raisin 😍 to bring that sweetness. Thank you for the delicious recipes posted.
You could use celery salt, finely diced celery leaves, or a ground celery stalk. (I love grinding things in my small coffee bean grinder) I don’t drink coffee, so I use it to finely grind, nuts, seeds, frozen diced veggies, & even diced fresh veggies & herbs,etc.)
I am making this tomorrow for a “last race of the season” party. These folks are big slaw fans, so I will let you know how it went over. It sounds wonderful. I already shredded my cabbage (red and green) and carrots and it’s in the fridge. Will add dressing just before I leave tomorrow.
The recipe is great. I modified it by adding raisins to it. The amount of raisins depends on the quantity of coleslaw you are preparing.
Good recipe. I like just a pinch of tarragon and as an alternative to sugar try a little pineapple.
Just made the coleslaw recipe and I have to say this is so delicious! Best I’ve tasted. I can’t wait till I have an occasion that I can bring it to. I did chop mine up a bit in mini food processor. I like the finer consistency better.
I made today for our family potluck, I made it as the recipe said but really felt it needed some sweetening, (sorry) so I added about a tablespoon of sugar, that’s it. It was perfect, and it got a ton of thumbs up at the potluck, I will definitely be switching to this recipe as my go to…
Just made the coleslaw and I have to say we have not tasted a better one, it has shot straight to our number 1 thank you for such a delicious recipe.
I made the coleslaw and oh my goodness it’s amazing and the whole house loves it!