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: 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.
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….
Ooooh! Another variation is to put maybe a teaspoon or less of wasabi into the dressing. Adds a little kick to it!! I put the coleslaw on my portobello mushroom burgers. Soooo yummy…..
YES! That’s an awesome tip!
Yum, turned out delicious!
I’m so glad to hear that Alexis! N x
Delicious! The ingredients are simple but just the right flavor blend, I didn’t need to add anything to the dressing like other recipes I’ve tried. Added a little green onion only because I like it, but it wasn’t necessary. Thanks, I’ll definitely use it again!
That’s so great to hear Alexis! Thank you for taking the time to let me know! N x
To reduce or eliminate cabbage for fussy folks I sometimes substitute finely sliced iceberg lettuce. But it needs to be used that meal.
Shredded Brussels sprouts are great to.
Hi Nagi, thank you so much for your wonderful recipes, and best of all you live in Sydney. When I make my coleslaw, I grate the carrot and then roll it in paper towel to take out some of the moisture, that way the dressing does not become watery. My kids also love me to add finely diced celery, red capsicum and raisins. I also use mayonaise and coleslaw dressing with a touch of lemon and salad dressing….Look forward to trying your recipe. Have a wonderful Christmas and may the New Year bring you wonderful gifts.
I love that tip, thanks Carol! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you too! N xx
I made this using Greek whole milk yogurt with honey instead of sour cream and ommitted the sugar, plus used celery seed instead of celery salt and added thin sliced green onion. It was delish!!!!!
That’s so great to hear Gail! I’m so pleased you enjoyed this, thanks for taking the time to let me know! N x
This coleslaw was a fabulous addition to accompany smoked & BBQ pulled pork, brisket and ribs. Only change to the recipe was using celery seed in place of celery salt – which was not in my pantry.
I have not made coleslaw before and was unsure of which online recipe to use. Finally decided on Recipe Tin Eats because none of Nagi’s recipes have been a disappointment. Our dinner guests and I were so glad I made this choice.
Thanks for another great recipe! (I’m looking forward to trying out the wing recipes in the ebook!)
I’m so pleased to hear you enjoyed this Darlene!! Thanks for letting me know – N x
My husband has an egg allergy so can’t eat mayonnaise- can you suggest a substitute?
Yoghurt and plenty of olive oil. Absolutely divine!!! 🙂 N xx PS Maybe increase the seasonings a teeny bit too – an extra pinch here and there. Because Mayo has flavour in it 🙂 N x
Love your recipes! I always add grated garlic and sliced onion to my coleslaw otherwise pretty much the same. Adds that extra sparkle?
YES to that! Definitely extra sparkle! N xx
I love adding about half a red capsicum cut I to fine strips and about 3 or 4 green shallots finely diced.
Oooh that’s a great tip, thank you Sue! I will add it!
Lovely dressing, Nagi! We made it with homemade Mayonnaise and it was beautiful! Thanks 🙂
I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed it Nikki! Thanks so much for letting me know. Happy weekend! – N xx
I love coleslaw and this one looks classic and perfect. I top fish and shrimp tacos with spicy slaw, just classic coleslaw with a healthy dose of sriracha for kick.
OOOH YES to THAT!!!! N xx PS Hope you are keeping warm, I imagine it is kinda cold over there? 🙂
I would sub Greek yogurt for the sour cream, because the flavor is similar (especially if you use whole milk yogurt) and that’s what I keep in the house – and like better. I haven’t bought sour cream in several years, because the last time I did, I was disappointed in the flavor. If you have fat free Greek yogurt, adding about 1 teaspoon of sugar to a cup of it gives the flavor of sour cream. At some point I’ll have to try this recipe. When I make coleslaw, I usually make a vinegar and oil dressing for it.
Oh that’s a great tip Susan! Thanks I will add that to the list!! N xx
Hi Nagi,
I have to tell you I made your coleslaw last night and it was absolutely the BEST I’ve ever had!!! It was so easy and fantastic! I cheated and used a 1lb bag of coleslaw mix that I got from the grocery store and it worked out perfectly. My whole family enjoyed it!! Thank you so much for another fantastic recipe!
Wow what a compliment! And there I was thinking that this is so boring, and who would want my coleslaw recipe? 🙂 Thanks for letting me know Alana! N xx
Hi,
Just a quick question. How many cabbages is 7 cups roughly?
HI Penny! Thanks for the question, i’ll add it in the notes 🙂 It’s less than half a medium sized cabbage, 1/4 of a large one (i.e. just smaller than the size of a basketball). Hope that helps!
hi nagi – what mandolin slicer do you use to make those carrot matchstick??? i have been looking forever 🙂
Hi Amber! This is the one I have, I didn’t get it from this store -> http://www.kitchengadgets.com.au/productDetails.php?productid=SSL15 There are mandolins out there that do both fine slicing and julienning but I like this one because it cuts it into the perfect size strips, finer than the multi-purpose mandolins that I’ve tried. And no fiddling around with adjustments and knobs, it just does one thing and I use it ALL THE TIME!
ooh … thank you!!!
I can’t wait to try this one. I have my whole family turning to you for recipes, each one is so full of flavor.
I have 3 young children and they love Granny Smith apples chopped like matchsticks added to their coleslaw. They can easily eat an entire head of cabbage this way.
Awww what a compliment! Thank you Karen! PS I LOVE the tip about adding apple! I’m going to add a section to it now for variations using reader tips. ❤️
Hi Nagi!
Your recipes inspire me a lot:-) and save my life many times when I was in rush to prepare dinner:-) Thank you>3
Gosh thanks so much Pommy, that’s quite a compliment! N xx
This is very similar recipe to my grandmother’s which was the best cole slaw I’ve ever eaten. Only difference is she added some finely chopped onion. Absolutely delicious!
I like adding a bit of onion sometimes too! 🙂 I usually slice it though, didn’t think about finely chopping it, I’ll give that a go! Love that your grandmother makes her Coleslaw dressing with sour cream and mayo too. I really find that using only mayo is SO RICH!