What is traditional coleslaw made of?

What is traditional coleslaw made of? Traditional coleslaw is little more than shredded cabbage and a creamy dressing . This recipe adds a bit more flavor with shredded carrots and onion. The creamy dressing is made with mayonnaise, sugar, cider vinegar, salt, and pepper, for a just right tangy-sweet flavor.

What is the dressing made of in coleslaw?

What Is Coleslaw Dressing Made Of? This creamy, mayo-based dressing uses ingredients you likely have on hand: sugar, lemon juice, vinegar, salt, pepper, and of course, mayonnaise . The resulting dressing is just the right balance of sweet, tangy, creamy, and peppery!

Why is KFC coleslaw so good?

Fresh ingredients are key to a good slaw , and KFC does alright for a fast food restaurant. You won't find any wilted cabbage pieces, and the carrots are nice and hard as well. What's more, KFC finely dices everything so you don't have to chew that much, and all the flavors and textures blend perfectly.

What is creamy coleslaw made of?

Combine the mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard, maple syrup, celery seed, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. Whisk until smooth! Then, combine the veggies. Add the scallions, red cabbage, green cabbage, and carrot to a large bowl, and toss to combine.

Homemade Coleslaw (2024)

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Basic ingredients make this Easy Coleslaw Recipe a cinch to make! With a Creamy Coleslaw Dressing, this side will be a welcome addition to any table.

This recipe uses ingredients you already have on hand – you can have this ready in 30 minutes (you need some time in the refrigerator!)

Around these parts, we love some pulled pork (or pulled chicken), fried chicken and steak. While I do love a Caesar salad and garden salad, there really is nothing quite like a good, easy coleslaw.

This one is made from really basic ingredients, meaning you can make it any time you want. I take a shortcut and buy already shredded green cabbage/red cabbage and carrots (coleslaw mix) in a bag from the produce department, but shredding it yourself is pretty easy too using a box grater. You’ll want 2/3 shredded cabbage, 1/3 shredded carrots if you’re doing it yourself. Then, just whisk up the creamy dressing recipe, and you’re good to go!

I make this to serve with pretty much anything. It’s easy, it’s cheap, and it’s made with pantry staples. My kind of recipe.

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What you'll find in this post: hide

1 What to Serve with Coleslaw

2 Why does Coleslaw get watery?

3 Homemade Coleslaw Ingredients

4 How to make Coleslaw from Scratch

5 Kylee’s Notes

6 Easy Coleslaw Recipe (Homemade Coleslaw Dressing)

What to Serve with Coleslaw

This coleslaw goes great with my Pulled Pork Recipe, as well as Oven Fried Chicken or The Best Steak Sandwich You’ll Ever Eat. You definitely need cole slaw on fish tacos, too!

Why does Coleslaw get watery?

Cabbage releases a lot of water, so making this too far ahead can make your coleslaw a little soupy. If you are making this to eat in an hour, it’s no problem. If you are making this ahead – you can combat the watery-ness by salting the cabbage.

How to prevent watery Cole Slaw: Pour the cabbage into a colander and sprinkle about a teaspoon of kosher salt over the top, and mix the cabbage. Let it stand over a large bowl for an hour (up to 3 hours), and marvel at the amount of liquid that drains out!! Then, simply use a salad spinner, or a dry kitchen towel to remove the excess moisture. Continue and add your slaw dressing, and allow to hang in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Homemade Coleslaw Ingredients

The full list of ingredients and quantities is found in the printable recipe card below.

Coleslaw mix. You’ll need about a pound of this, i buy it in a bag, pre-shredded from the produce section. Feel free to shred your own cabbage and lettuce. Red cabbage makes a really pretty color!
Mayonnaise. I use full fat, quality mayonnaise. Use the one you love best! If you are saving calories, do half mayo, half Greek yogurt.
White wine vinegar. You can sub for regular white vinegar, or apple cider vinegar if that’s what you have. I just like the flavor of this!
Sugar. Don’t worry. Your salad won’t be sweet! It helps balance the vinegar and lemon juice.
Salt/pepper. When you’re finished mixing. Test a forkful! Add more salt or pepper as needed. Start with half of a teaspoon of salt and a pinch of pepper, and go from there.
Lemon juice. I used fresh juice, there really is no substitute, unfortunately!
Green onions. Totally optional, but they’re pretty, and they taste good!

How to make Coleslaw from Scratch

Scroll for Recipe

The full list of ingredients, quantities and instructions can be found in the printable recipe card below.

In a large bowl, whisk together the mayo, vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper and lemon juice until smooth.

Add the cabbage mixture and toss lightly to combine, add green onions if using.

Refrigerate 30 minutes.

Kylee’s Notes

Add a teaspoon of dijon mustard to the dressing – it adds a delicious flavor!

Add 1/2 teaspoon celery seeds to the dressing – it’s awesome!

Want more salads?

Summery Vegan Chickpea Salad. An excellent make-ahead salad, that will stay good for a few days in the fridge, making this perfect for lunches.
Southwestern Pasta Salad. Black beans, corn, red peppers, jalapenos, cilantro and red onions feature in this easy to makepasta salad. With the addition of the lime vinaigrette… oh, myyyyyyy.
Summer White Bean Salad. A short prep time means you can have it on the table fast!
Bacon Parmesan & Arugula Potato Salad. A combination of tiny buttery potatoes, peppery & spicy arugula, salty bacon, parmesan…. this extra special potato salad is out of this WORLD.

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Easy Coleslaw Recipe (Homemade Coleslaw Dressing)

5 from 3 votes

Ingredients

1 lb coleslaw mix
½ cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon granulated white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt (to taste)
1/4 teaspoon pepper (to taste)
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Directions

In a large bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper and lemon juice until smooth.
Add the coleslaw mix and toss lightly to combine.
Refrigerate 30 minutes.
Devour.

Tried this recipe? Tag me!Mention @kyleecooks or tag #kyleecooks!

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Nutrition Facts

Disclaimer

Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.

About Kylee Ayotte

I am a born and raised New Zealander (a Kiwi), now living in Phoenix, Arizona. I’m happily married to the love of my life – a hot American boy I met while traveling the world. I’m a mama to 2 awesome little boys and love red things, rugby, cheesecake, and bacon. Mmmmm. Bacon. Read More

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Comments

Pat Dunham says
Posted on 05/05 at 1:22 pm
Fresh & bright taste! Prepared right before serving pork bbq. It was a wonderful crisp contrast and very easy to prepare!
Reply
Brian says
Posted on 04/09 at 12:47 pm
Just made this with white vinegar and its perfect. Sweet tart and juicy. My wife tried it and said it should be my go to cole slaw.
Haven’t tried the dijon version yet.
Reply
Ellen Brown says
Posted on 08/02 at 12:32 pm
This is now my go-to coleslaw recipe. I always have the ingredients on hand & always add the teaspoon of Dijon. It’s perfect!
Reply
John says
Posted on 06/02 at 9:15 pm
Thanks Kylee, great recipe & beautifully presented. I especially liked the tip on draining the moisture from the cabbage. It makes such a big difference, especially since I make a batch, keep in fridge & use over several days.
Reply