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What’s a staple at BBQs, potlucks, birthday parties, and all sorts of celebrations? A creamy classic coleslaw recipe with mayo and vinegar dressing. It’s one of the foods that often gets invited out. But don’t reserve this perfect coleslaw just for entertaining! When you have this ultimate side dish on your plate, everything just tastes better.
Serve it alongside other easy recipes such as scalloped potatoes, sauteed vegetables and elbow macaroni salad. It’s also great paired with our cheesy pull apart bread.
RECIPES THAT GO GREAT WITH CLASSIC COLESLAW
Beer Marinated Chicken | Pulled Pork
classic Coleslaw ingredients
You will need:
- 1 (14-ounce) bag coleslaw mix
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 1 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup milk
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
- 2 chopped green onions
Substitution AND ADDITIONS
SOUR CREAM: Substitute buttermilk or sour cream for about half the amount of mayo in the recipe.
LEMON JUICE: Lemon juice can be used instead of vinegar, and it dials down the tang a little.
HONEY AND GINGER: Swap out sugar and use honey and a little ginger. Spice it up with a teaspoon of dijon mustard or horseradish cream.
SEEDS: You can also toss in a sprinkle of celery seed or sunflower seeds. Finely chopped celery and bell peppers add interesting diversions, too.
COLESLAW: The easiest route for this recipe is using a bagged coleslaw mix. If you prefer, you can make your own shredded cabbage mix with green cabbage, red cabbage or purple cabbage. Using a food processor, you can shred your own cabbage quickly.
MAYONNAISE: You can replace the store-bought mayo in the recipe with homemade mayonnaise if you prefer making your own.
HOW TO MAKE THIS CLASSIC COLESLAW RECIPE
STEP ONE: In a small bowl, whisk mayonnaise, milk, vinegar and sugar together. I also like to add chopped parsley and onions for an extra flavor kick.
PRO TIP: If you love this salad and plan to make it frequently, double or even triple the dressing and store the extras in a mason jar in the fridge for next time.
STEP TWO: In a large bowl, toss together the coleslaw mixture and carrots.
PRO TIP: To shred the carrots, you can either use a box grater or a food processor to make the process quick and easy.
STEP THREE: Pour the creamy dressing over the cabbage and carrot mixture. Toss it well, so the veggies are fully covered.
STEP FOUR: Pop the coleslaw into the fridge to chill for about an hour because the slaw tastes much better when the cabbage has time to marinate in the dressing. Just don’t leave it in there too long if you want to retain the fresh crunch.
How to Serve
We can’t list all the meals to serve this traditional coleslaw recipe with because it’s such a versatile and perfect side dish. A few options include hamburgers, pork sandwiches, grilled meat, grilled tilapia, veggie burgers or hot dogs. Add our iced tea, raspberry iced tea, sweet peach iced tea, or our southern strawberry sweet tea on the side.
STORAGE
IN THE FRIDGE: Classic coleslaw is one of those recipes that keeps well in the fridge for a couple of days if you store the cabbage and carrots undressed in an airtight container. Pour dressing over the slaw about an hour before you want to serve it to retain that fresh, crunchy taste.
IN THE FREEZER: We don’t recommend freezing this recipe. Since the creamy coleslaw dressing is made with mayonnaise, it will separate and not taste the same after freezing.
You’ll often find signature classic coleslaw recipes at places like Chick-fil-A, KFC and Jamie Oliver. For good reason: all generations enjoy the sweet-sour taste crunchy raw cabbage and it pairs well with anything you serve it with.
I love the tang of a good classic coleslaw and this is one of the best mixed salads I’ve tasted! But whatever recipe you choose to serve it with, homemade coleslaw makes everything taste better and your taste buds will thank you!
FAQ
This great side dish can be made ahead of time. Don’t add the dressing until about an hour before you are ready to serve it though or your cabbage will lose it’s crispness.
Traditional coleslaws do not freeze well since they are made with mayonnaise. The mayo separates during freezing and will not taste the same after.
You can buy full or half heads of cabbage and shred them yourself for this recipe.
More RECIPES You’ll Love
Classic Coleslaw
Ingredients
- 1 bag coleslaw mix 10 ounces
- 1 cup carrots shredded
- 1 ½ cup mayonnaise
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup milk
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon parsley chopped
- 2 green onions chopped
Instructions
- In a large bowl toss the coleslaw mix with shredded carrots.
- In a small bowl whisk together mayonnaise, milk, vinegar, sugar, parsley, and green onions.
- Toss dressing with mix and refrigerate until serving.
I love this coleslaw! It is fantastic and we will be enjoying it for years to come, thank you for sharing the recipe! I only added a dash of cayenne pepper and some celery seed, otherwise followed the recipe to a tee. It’s a winner!
Very good and easy. I omitted green onions and added celery seed.
Very good and easy. I ate it for 3 days and didn’t tire of it.
À gréât idéal to serve ali gaude camerounian soya that I love over any BBQ receipes.
Of course… îm living in cameroun 😂😂😂😂
Delicious! I made it to go with a fish fry. It was perfect just as the recipe states. I didn’t change a thing. It was a big hit with the whole family.
This is such a delicious classic!