This Southern Coleslaw Recipe is a refreshing mix of crisp cabbage, carrots and onions in a creamy delicious dressing. It’s a classic side dish that’s perfect for any picnic or gathering.
This crunchy and tasty coleslaw is the right balance of creamy and crunch.
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Why this Southern Coleslaw Recipe is a Keeper
I love this classic coleslaw recipe because it’s so fresh, creamy and crunchy. I tend to make this tangy coleslaw recipe for pulled pork barbecues!
- 10 Minute Prep: Before chilling, this coleslaws only take 10 minutes!
- Easy Ingredients: These ingredients can be easily found at your local grocery store.
- Family Friendly: Everyone loves this crisp and refreshing coleslaw for pulled pork.
- Adaptable: This recipe is super customizable, making it easy to put your own spin on it.
- Makes Great Leftovers: It’s even better the next day.
If you’re looking for more coleslaw recipes, try these Broccoli Coleslaw, Japanese Coleslaw and Sriracha Coleslaw.
What is the Difference Between German Slaw and American Coleslaw?
German slaw tends to use a mix of oil and vinegar as the base, rather than a mayo base. German slaw also doesn’t usually have any carrots either.
Ingredient Notes to Make Southern Coleslaw
You need only a few simple ingredients that are all easy to find at your local grocery store.
- Cabbage: You’ll need both red cabbage and green cabbage for the best coleslaw recipe ever.
- Carrots: I like to use fresh ingredients from the garden for this easy recipe, but you can get carrots bagged at the store.
- Apple Cider Vinegar: Use vinegar and lemon juice in this bbq coleslaw recipe to serve as the tangy elements.
See the recipe card below for a complete list of the ingredients with measurements.
Variations and Substitutions for Homemade Coleslaw
- Greek Yogurt: This is a great substitute to use in place of mayonnaise.
- Jicama: If you don’t love shredded cabbage, you should try jicama!
Special Equipment Needed for Southern Style Slaw
- Food Processor: A food processor with a shredding option can come in handy to quicky chop up a head of cabbage and other fresh ingredients.
Best Coleslaw Pro Tip
Salting the cabbage, carrot, and onion purges excess moisture that would otherwise turn the slaw into a soupy mess.
How to Make Traditional Southern Coleslaw and Coleslaw Dressing
Tangy and creamy coleslaw salad can be made in an easy 2 steps. If you’ve never made it before, coleslaw is one of the quicker and easier best southern sides to make.
These are the basic steps for making Southern Coleslaw. Refer to the full, printable recipe card below for detailed instructions.
1. Make the Dressing
In a large bowl, add mayonnaise, combine together the sour cream, horseradish, mustard, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, sugar, salt and pepper.
2. Mix in the Veggies for the Southern Style Coleslaw
Add shredded cabbage, shredded carrots and shredded onion. Mix well and stick in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour before serving.
Classic Southern Cole Slaw Recipe FAQs
Homemade coleslaw can be stored in the refrigerator for 3-5 days. Store slaw mix in an airtight container and stir when you’re ready to serve.
There are a few ways to make this easy coleslaw healthier, such as using a light creamy mayo and using a sugar replacement.
The real difference between coleslaw and slaw is that slaw doesn’t contain any cabbage. It’s a shredded salad of raw vegetables that’s coated in a vinegar or mayo creamy dressing.
Sure! Red grapes, green grapes and apples would all be delicious in home made cole slaw.
This coleslaw recipe for fish tacos is great! You can also try pairing it with grilled chicken, your favorite bbq meats, bbq chicken, pulled pork sandwiches, southern fried chicken or smoked pork butt.
I would not recommend freezing coleslaw as mayo tends to separate when frozen.
Expert Tips to Make Coleslaw Recipe
- Make Ahead: You might be wondering how to make coleslaw in advance. Shred your veggies and store the dressing separately. When ready to serve, add cabbage and toss, then refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
- Other Veggies: Try adding shredded brussels sprouts or broccoli to the slaw dressing.
- Short Cut: Bagged coleslaw can be used to speed up this process. I’d recommend that you still mix the dressing for the coleslaw mix.
- Alternate Ingredient: Vegan mayo can be used for the easiest coleslaw I’ve ever made.
- Topping: You can top your slaw with shredded veggies or cheese.
- Seasonings: Add celery seed, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, coriander or any other spices to add some extra sweet and tangy flavor in the dressing.
- Cheese Grater: Use a cheese grater to efficiently grate your cabbages, carrots and onion.
- Dressing: This dressing makes it so good and enough for 10 servings, however you can make more dressing if you want!
What to Serve with Classic Southern Coleslaw
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Southern Coleslaw
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Ingredients
- 5 cups Green cabbage, shredded
- 5 cups Red cabbage, shredded
- 2 cups Carrots, shredded
- ¼ cup Green onions, finely sliced
- 2 teaspoons Lemon juice
- ½ cup Apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup Sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
- 1 ½ teaspoons Salt
- 1 teaspoon Black pepper, freshly ground
- 1 cup Mayonnaise
- ¼ cup Sour cream
- 1 tablespoon Creole mustard, or other coarse-grained mustard
- 3 tablespoons Horseradish
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine together the mayonnaise, sour cream, horseradish, mustard, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, sugar, salt and pepper.
- Add cabbage, carrots and onion.
- Mix well and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Christina’s Notes
- Make Ahead: This is a great recipe to make in advance. Shred your veggies and store the dressing separately. When ready to serve, add cabbage and toss, then refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
- Other Veggies: Try adding shredded brussels sprouts or broccoli to the slaw dressing.
- Short Cut: Bagged coleslaw can be used to speed up this process. I’d recommend that you still mix the dressing for the coleslaw mix.
- Alternate Ingredient: Vegan mayo can be used for the easiest coleslaw I’ve ever made.
- Topping: You can top your slaw with shredded veggies or cheese.
- Seasonings: Add celery seed, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, coriander or any other spices to add some extra sweet and tangy flavor in the dressing.
- Cheese Grater: Use a cheese grater to efficiently grate your cabbages, carrots and onion.
- Dressing: This dressing makes it so good and enough for 10 servings, however you can make more dressing if you want!
- Scale the recipe: Simply adjust the serving size in the recipe card and the ingredients will update automatically.
- Make your own All Purpose Seasoning: When a recipe calls for All Purpose Seasoning, you can use my homemade All Purpose Seasoning recipe or substitute salt and pepper to taste.
- Meat doneness: I always use a meat thermometer to test for doneness when cooking meat.
- Use unsalted butter: I use unsalted butter so I can control the salt level in the recipe.
- Preheat the oven: Unless otherwise noted, always preheat your oven before baking.
For more helpful information about this recipe, such as variations, substitutions and other pro-tips, check out the blog post.
Easy to prepare and delicious to eat. I prepared it for dinner yesterday with baked pork ribs and we all loved it.
This was a big hit at our family get together over the weekend. Delicious and so much better than store-bought!
Made this creamy coleslaw for my friend’s birthday party. The guests were amazed, it’s great, thanks!
Just the coleslaw recipe I was looking for! Thank You!
This sounds so creamy and delicious! Would be the perfect side dish for summer picnics and barbeques, for sure!