I love this homemade coleslaw recipe, the crunchy texture of the creamy coleslaw makes it my favorite anytime salad. I promise after tasting this American Classic this will be your go-to coleslaw.
My Easy Coleslaw Recipe, can be made in 10- 15 minutes, and It’s the perfect side dish for all of your barbecue dishes.
I always serve it with BBQ Baby Back Ribs and my world-famous Buffalo Style Chicken Wings.
My homemade coleslaw goes great on sandwiches (or with sandwiches), and my BBQ Beef Brisket is a delicious example! It’s great with pulled pork and a topping for tacos.
Looking for a dish to bring to a summer potluck? You can’t go wrong with my cole slaw, it goes with everything!
Ingredients for my Coleslaw Recipe
Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make my Coleslaw Recipe. In Chef Speak, this is called the “Mise en Place,” which translates to “Everything in its Place.”
Not only does setting up your ingredients ahead of time speed up the cooking process, it also helps ensure you have everything you need to make the dish.
Basic Ingredients
- green cabbage
- carrot
- mayonnaise
- apple cider vinegar
- sugar (I use raw cane sugar)
- fresh lemon juice
- salt and black pepper
You’ll find some recipes include celery seed or celery salt, but I’ve never enjoyed the flavor of that seasoning. If you want a more colorful coleslaw, add some shredded purple cabbage to the mixture.
How do I prepare the cabbage?
The first step is using a sharp knife carefully cut the head of the cabbage in half. Then remove the core and any of the thicker white parts of the cabbage
You can use a food processor with a shred attachment or slicing blade to cut make short work of the cabbage. If you slice the cabbage by hand or with the food processor it will still need to be chopped. How much is your decision. I like to chop it fairly small, but you can leave the pieces of cabbage up to about an inch if you like.
My favorite way to prepare the cabbage is with a box grater, making the pieces very small and tender.
How to make the dressing
See this post for more information on making my coleslaw dressing.
- Add one cup of mayonnaise, sugar, vinegar, lemon juice, salt, and pepper to a medium bowl.
- Combine the ingredients mixing until smooth and creamy. *Refrigerate until needed.
This mayonnaise dressing can be made with light mayonnaise, and I have seen some recipes add sour cream to the dressing, but it’s not necessary.
How to make my Coleslaw Recipe
Add the shredded carrots to a large bowl with the chopped cabbage.
*You can use precut cabbage or coleslaw mix at your grocery store, but fresh shredded cabbage is so much better.
Mix the carrots into the chopped cabbage.
Add the coleslaw dressing to the cabbage mixture.
Mix the slaw dressing into the cabbage mixture. Make sure that all of the cabbage mixture has been thoroughly coated. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
The cabbage can be a little tough, so letting it marinate in the slaw dressing overnight will help soften the cabbage and improve its overall flavor. The cole slaw can be made up to 2 days ahead of time.
After one bite, I’m sure you’ll agree this is the best coleslaw recipe, and you won’t be buying store-bought coleslaw anymore.
Recipe FAQ’s
This is a personal decision. It takes all the work out of making cole slaw, but you will sacrifice a little flavor with any precut lettuce or cabbage. There are preservatives added and I can always notice the lingering flavor. But they do work well when you’re pressed for time and still a much better option than buying grocery store salads.
The short answer is no, but it really needs time to marinate in the flavors and soften the cabbage. Letting cole slaw sit for 2-4 hours will help the flavor and texture. If you can make it the day before it will be even better.
Place the shredded cabbage in a colander, sprinkle the cabbage with a tablespoon of salt, mixing to distribute the salt. Let the salted cabbage sit for an hour or two, then rinse it with cold water to remove the salt and pat dry with paper towels. You may want to cut back on the salt in the recipe, as the cabbage will absorb some of the salt.
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Best Coleslaw Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 small cabbage shredded and chopped
- 1 large carrot shredded
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 ½ teaspoon lemon juice fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon salt more or less to taste
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper more or less to taste
Instructions
- Cut the cabbage in half and remove the core from each side.
- Using a sharp knife cut the cabbage in very thin slices, then chop the slices into small pieces. Place the prepared cabbage in a large mixing bowl.You can use a food processor to slice or shred the cabbage, or you can also use a box grater to shred the cabbage and carrot. Personally, I prefer the box grater method but my wife doesn't like it that fine.
- In a medium bowl, combine mayonnaise, sugar, vinegar, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Mix until smooth and creamy.
- Pour the slaw dressing over the cabbage and carrots. Thoroughly mix to combine. Refrigerate until ready to serve.Cole slaw is always better after sitting for a day, make sure to mix the slaw a few times as it sits in the fridge.
Notes
- you can buy a bag of pre-shredded cabbage, but I’m not fond of the taste that the preservative gives the cabbage.
- you can also buy cole slaw dressing, but none will taste as good as my homemade slaw dressing.
Noelle
Chef! I loved your coleslaw recipe! I used avocado oil mayo and it was delicious! The step by step photos were super helpful. Thanks for the tips!
Tammy
Can’t beat a good homemade coleslaw especially for all the spring and summer gatherings! Looks delish!
Jacqueline Debono
This is a very good cole slaw recipe, I enjoyed the dressing very much. I add apples or raisins to muy cole slaw and it was delicious.
Leslie
I appreciate your tip on steering away from the bagged pre-cut cabbage. Sometimes I can rush things and like to save time, but it was a good tip, and your recipe made the best coleslaw I’ver ever made.
LaKita
This coleslaw was so delicious, easy to make, and had the perfect crispy texture. I will definitely be making it again!
Elaine
This coleslaw was so easy to make and delicious! I love it! Thanks for sharing your recipe! 🙂
Enriqueta E Lemoine
This salad was the perfect side dish and a classic. So simple and yet so tasty. Thank you, Chef.
Bernice
This coleslaw recipe came together quickly and had just the right amount of dressing. The dressing was the perfect balance between creamy and tangy, just how I like my coleslaw dressing!
Marta
I love making coleslaw at home and your version, with the apple cider vinegar, was exceptional. I’ll be making it again this weekend when we bbq!
Holly LaBanc
Coleslaw recipe is excellent. I added little garlic powder. Thank-you.
Chef Dennis Littley
I’m happy to hear you enjoyed my coleslaw!
Lisa maciejewski
Not too sweet and easy so easy to make. Will be great with our leftover pork tenderloin sammiies on the grill! Thanks for keeping it simole!
Marlee
I have tried many coleslaw recipes over the years; this is hands down the BEST of all time. I wanted a classic cabbage/sliced carrots slaw and can’t believe I finally found the most delicious slaw that can go with all kinds of different situations – side dish, sandwiches, or just plain snacking (it’s that good). I made a 4 serving recipe for my husband and I as a side dish, but had to make another full recipe the next day. It’s got just the right amount of sweet, tang, and fresh flavors. Thank you Chef Dennis, wish I had found this years ago!
Chef Dennis Littley
Thanks for the great comment and review! I’m happy to hear you enjoyed my coleslaw recipe, its a family favorite
Janice Huwe
I doubled this coleslaw recipe for Thanksgiving, it is DELICIOUS!
Chef Dennis Littley
I’m happy to hear you enjoyed my cole slaw recipe. I have a big batch in my fridge for Thanksgiving!
Diane
Absolutely the best coleslaw I have ever had!! Followed recipe and the dressing is spot on, thank you friend for sharing!!
Annalisa
Simply delicious! Not too sour and not too sweet.
Cookee
Love so many of your recipes!!! RE coleslaw, super dressing but what do you do when it gets so watery? I don’t like losing any flavor but it seems so diluted.
Thanks for your help!
Cookee
Chef Dennis Littley
Place the shredded cabbage in a colander, sprinkle the cabbage with a tablespoon of salt, mixing to distribute the salt. Let the salted cabbage sit for an hour or two, then rinse it with cold water to remove the salt and pat dry with paper towels. You may want to cut back the salt in the dressing recipe, it will absorb some of the salt.