Just a great, creamy, traditional Coleslaw recipe with a terrific homemade Coleslaw dressing. Everything you want, none of the unnecessary extras. A staple for that’s even better the next day!
For a healthier version with no mayo, make this Cole slaw with a Creamy Yogurt Coleslaw Dressing (it’s so good!) OR try the RecipeTin No Mayo Coleslaw.
Coleslaw recipe in a snap
- Type of cabbage for Coleslaw – green cabbage is the classic. Red cabbage is great too (but will bleed colour slightly), savoy and Napa cabbage can also be used.
- How long does Coleslaw last? Up to 5 days in the fridge.
- What’s in Coleslaw Dressing? Mayonnaise, sour cream or yogurt, vinegar, mustard, celery salt and sugar.
- Why does my Coleslaw get watery? Because you didn’t use enough dressing. The Dressing extracts water from the cabbage which thins the dressing. You need to start with plenty of thick Coleslaw Dressing which is then thinned out when the cabbage wilts and leaches water.
- How much Coleslaw to make per person? 1/2 a head of cabbage will make enough for 10 people as a side for a meal, or 15 people at a large gathering with plenty of other food on the buffet. So for 100 people, you will need 5 heads of cabbage as a side for a meal, or 3 1/2 heads as part of a larger buffet.
A great Coleslaw doesn’t need a ton of ingredients.
All you need is cabbage, carrot and a terrific Coleslaw dressing for this summertime classic. Along with Macaroni Salad and Caprese Salad, this is the salad we take to gatherings, that we lay out on buffets – because we know it’s a sure thing!
It lasts for days in the fridge so we have a great standby side for dinners and quick additions to lunchboxes. A traditional Coleslaw recipe is a classic that will never go out of fashion!
Coleslaw dressing
I’m a firm believer that Coleslaw should be JUICY. Just like it’s served up at KFC and other popular takeout chains. And juicy means plenty of dressing!
I like BUT if you just load up your dressing with tons of mayo, it weighs it down with too much fat, making the Cole slaw excessively rich and soaking the cabbage to the point of being soggy mush.
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.
Why does my Coleslaw get watery?
Most likely because you are not using enough dressing. Coleslaw is meant to be set aside to wilt before serving, during which time water is extracted from the cabbage which thins the dressing.
So you need to ensure there’s enough Dressing otherwise your Coleslaw becomes watery!
Key Tip: Give it time
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. At least 20 minutes, better at 2 hours or overnight.
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, as well as giving time for the flavours to meld.
Serve this with BBQ Pulled Pork (make sliders!), BBQ Brisket or these terrific sticky Country-Style Chicken Thighs with a side of steamed corn for a summer cookout indoors! – Nagi x
MORE SUMMER SALADS to take to gatherings
Pearl Couscous Salad <– personal fave!
Wild Rice Salad <– reader fave!
Browse all Pasta Salads and Rice Salad
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
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Coleslaw
Ingredients
- 7 cups green cabbage , finely shredded (Note 1)
- 1 medium carrot , shredded (1 1/2 cups)
Dressing
- 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
Instructions
- Mix Dressing ingredients together.
- Place cabbage and carrot in a bowl. Pour over Dressing, toss well. Set aside for at least 20 minutes before serving, preferably 2 hours – 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!
- Toss well before serving.
Recipe Notes:
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.
Nutrition Information:
LIFE OF DOZER
Flashback: when he was a puppy and couldn’t get down stairs….
Great recipe! It’s crisp and crunchy and perfect on a sandwich with Nagi’s pulled pork. I added celery and a dusting of nutmeg and otherwise followed the recipe exactly as written. Delicious!
I used to buy coleslaw every week for my husband’s sandwiches and I thought there must be a cheaper option. Of course Nagi has a recipe and it is AMAZING! I make it once if not twice a week now, no more shopping bought. I have even used soya yogurt when family members were coming and couldn’t have dairy, tasted great too! 😋
This dressing is the bomb!!! Thank you 👍
Another lovely recipe from the trusted Nagi. All the recipes I tried from Nagi are spot on. Her attention to details is fantastic
Amazing dressing!
Delicious – fab dressing. Made to accompany pulled pork brioche burgers.
Thanks Nagi
PS loved the puppy pic of Dozer
Wish I’d made this year’s ago. I made this to take on a road trip with your crunchy fried chicken and potato salad. So good. You’re right, the coleslaw got better and better. All devoured.
I made your quiche lorraine too for easy breakfasts. The best. So glad I made the effort and we had amazing food for our little adventure.
Hey Nagi….. What a bombin coleslaw….awesome…..
My wife caught me dancing to your cool tune on the video…
Thank you for making it fun….an real good 😉
Any tips on easlily shreddding the cabbage?
Certain Y shaped peelers (not all!) can shred cabbage. I got lucky, my newest peeler does the job (my other one, when newly bought, couldn’t handle the toughness of a cabbage). So do shop around, my peeler is a shop own brand
I used a mandoline and used the smallest shredder element. My husband said it was the best coleslaw he ever had!
Your pages aren’t resizable so I can’t read your tiny font on a mobile device.
So simple and delicious. Thank you RTE
Lovely. The celery salt adds another flavour that takes it up a notch. No more boring coleslaw for me! 😊
Forgot to add the 5 🌟to my previous review
The whole family loves this recipe, the dressing is spectacular. After a request from my son, I added finely sliced radish and red onion and it was a great addition. Thanks Nagi!
Love all your recipes Nagi! Have added celery and purple onions – so, so good!
Added celery seeds in addition to caraway seeds. Just awesome.
Fantastic recipe nagi! Even better now I have discovered how to shred cabbage in my food processor!
The dressing recipe is top notch! I had some bits & pieces left in the fridge & half a bag of pre shredded coleslaw.
I knew Nagi would have a recipe for dressing & it was delicious. So easy to make & insanely good. Thanks
This is a great basic dressing on its own and also could easily be dressed up as you wish. Hmmm, maybe some curry added in would be delicious! Might try it someday but it gets gobble up pretty quickly as is😊
Why no metric in this recipe? Or am I going mad!!
Agree! There’s no metric because it’s an old recipe but it’s so popular I thought it deserves a refresh, oh well. I had to approximate mayo and Greek yoghurt amounts to 20g per 1tbsp, 8tbsp = 1/2 cup. I wasn’t sure my dressing was thick enough so I added 2-3tbsp toasted wholemeal flour (can’t eat raw flour!) to thicken coleslaw as salt draws out and releases water in veggies as it sits. Otherwise with quick pickled red onions (1 very large red onion thinly sliced, 1/2 lemon juice, 1/2 lime juice, good pinch sea salt and 1/2-1tsp honey makes a “dry brine”. Sit for 30 minutes until onions are visibly wilted and pickled) this was an awesome coleslaw and definitely rivals the expensive high quality coleslaw I was buying!