Just a great, classic, juicy Coleslaw recipe. Everything you want, none of the unnecessary extras. A staple for that’s even better the next day.
A great Coleslaw doesn’t need a ton of ingredients. All you need is cabbage, carrot and a terrific dressing.
I believe that Coleslaw should be JUICY. Just like it’s served up at KFC and other popular takeout chains.
And juicy means plenty of dressing. BUT if you just load up your dressing with tons of mayo, it weighs it down with too much fat, making the Coleslaw excessively rich and soaking the cabbage to the point of being soggy mush rather than the spaghetti-like texture of al-dente (sorry folks, that’s the best I can come up with to describe the texture of a great Coleslaw!).
So I like to make plenty of dressing with a combination of both mayonnaise and sour cream, plus mustard and celery salt for flavour, and vinegar to cut through the richness.
KEY TIP: GIVE IT TIME TO SOFTEN
To achieve that perfect Coleslaw texture, it needs time to soften so you don’t have stiff prints of cabbage poking out all over the place.
So the only must-do tip I have for Coleslaw is to give it time for the cabbage and carrot to soften and go limp. The salt and sugar in the dressing draws out the moisture from the cabbage, thinning out the rich dressing and making the Coleslaw ultra juicy.
Just as it should be! – Nagi x
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
- 7 cups green cabbage , finely shredded (Note 1)
- 1 medium carrot , shredded (1 1/2 cups)
- 1/2 cup Hellman's mayonnaise (or other whole egg mayo)
- 1/2 cup sour cream or yoghurt, full fat is best
- 1 1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar (or sub with white wine vinegar)
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp white sugar
- 3/4 tsp celery salt
- 1/4 tso black pepper
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Mix Dressing ingredients together.
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Place cabbage and carrot in a bowl. Pour over Dressing, toss well. Set aside for at least 20 minutes before serving - this will make the cabbage go limp as it should, and also draw moisture out of the cabbage and carrot to thin out the dressing. Overnight is even better!
1. 7 cups of shredded cabbage is less than half a medium sized cabbage, 1/4 of a large one (i.e. just smaller than the size of a basketball).
2. MAKE AHEAD: Coleslaw that's already dressed is terrific for 2 days. Beyond this, place carrot and cabbage in a ziplock bag, squeeze out excess air then refrigerate for up to 5 days. Make the dressing and store in the fridge separately. Then dress before serving (up to 2 days ahead).
3. This recipe serves 6 - 8 as a side. It makes enough for one batch of the BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches.
3. VARIATION suggestions from readers (and some from me!):
Add chopped or sliced onions
Add shallots/scallions finely sliced on the diagonal
Swap out some of the green cabbage for red cabbage (love the colour)
Granny smith apples cut into batons (YUM that would be fantastic!)
4. Nutrition per serving, assuming 8 servings.
LIFE OF DOZER
Flashback: when he was a puppy and couldn’t get down stairs….
Hello Nagi,
Thank you for the recipe! I’m just wondering what type of tool you use to shred your cabbage so finely. I have a food processor, but I don’t usually like to take it out and set it up – kind of a hassle. Is there a manual tool that’s easy?
Hi Cynthia! to be honest I just cut it by hand. I find because cabbage is “self stacked” with lots and lots of layers, I find it easy to cut loads with a knife! What I do is cut the cabbage in half lengthwise so the strands will be the length I want, then I finely slice. To make it easier, sometimes I take the middle of the cabbage out so you can flatten a thick wad of the outer layers making it even easier to cut 🙂 N x
Thanks so much!😊
Absolutely delicious cole slaw, and this is before fridge time even! Added a quarter onion mince, since it was on the island, and subbed caraway for celery seed, since that’s what was available. Can’t wait to try this on the pulled pork sliders soon … ugh, slow cooker, so slow …. Oh, and the home made rolls are risen now, just need some oven time. A perfect Sunday, thank you!
Glad to hear you enjoyed this Christopher!! Thanks for letting me know 🙂 N x ❤️
NAGI my hero, YOU are the best, my family and I never ever last coleslaw that super great, planing to put this up next party, no more store bough ever again, easy simple great taste. Go with your slow cook brisket perfect ( I think I have cooked this meal countless).
Thank you so much.
You’re making my head swell Ai!! 😂 Glad you enjoyed it! N x
I am a little confused (very unusual because your recipes are VERY easy to understand) about the timing. I have a friend who believes that coleslaw is better after several days, but I think it just tastes old, watery and flavorless. You say: “Place cabbage and carrot in a bowl. Pour over Dressing, toss well. Set aside for at least 20 minutes before serving – this will make the cabbage go limp as it should, and also draw moisture out of the cabbage and carrot to thin out the dressing. Overnight is even better!” But then you also say: “MAKE AHEAD: For the Coleslaw, place carrot and cabbage in a ziplock bag, squeeze out excess air then refrigerate for up to 5 days. Make the dressing and store in the fridge separately. Coleslaw tends to get watery after a few hours so it’s best made fresh.” Which is it? I have to make a very large amount for a church function, and I want it to be great. I thought I’d have to mix it up the day of the event because I want it to taste fresh, but would it be better if I mixed it the day before? Thank you so much!!!
VERY poorly worded on my part! I’ve tidied it up. It’s great for 2 days, and beyond that keep the components separate 🙂 Thanks for picking that up! N cc
Thank you so much for your quick reply and clarification. I LOVE your site!! I’ve learned so much from you and you’ve made me a hero at home!!! You are the best!!💖💖