I never knew I was a coleslaw person until I made it myself. I had eaten it plenty of times at restaurants, never once having been impressed, and always wondering what the appeal was. But then I decided to make a quick batch of creamy coleslaw to go on a sandwich one day and that coleslaw totally stole the show. Something about that creamy-crunchy combo made me keep coming back for more, and I’ve been making on the reg ever since.
The super simple dressing for my Creamy Coleslaw is made with a few pantry staples, including a little Dijon mustard for tang and a dab of honey for sweetness. Then the dressing is just tossed with shredded cabbage, carrots, and sliced green onions, and you’re done! Creamy crunchy heaven ready to be piled onto a sandwich or taco, stuffed into a wrap, or enjoyed as is.
This post contains some affiliate links, which means that we make a small commission off items you purchase at no additional cost to you.
There’s something about that combo of sweet-tangy-creamy dressing over super crunchy cabbage that is everything. Like, once I take one bite I just can’t stop. So I made this recipe a “small batch”. Just about two cups total once done, or just enough for about four sandwiches. (Or two sandwiches and four mouthfuls, LOL)
Shredded Cabbage Shortcut
I used pre-shredded bagged “coleslaw mix” (shredded cabbage and carrots) for this recipe because I think it’s one of the few times using pre-chopped vegetables is cost effective. And then you’re not left with half a cabbage in your fridge wondering what to do with it. Because no matter how small a cabbage is, it always seems to be too much.
BUT, if you happen to have that half head of cabbage and want to make this with it, you’ll need about 3 cups finely shredded cabbage and about one medium carrot, shredded.
How to Keep Coleslaw from Getting Watery
Part of what makes cabbage so crunchy is that it contains a lot of water. The salt in the dressing pulls the water out of the cabbage through osmosis, leaving water in the bottom of your bowl, and your cabbage a little less crisp. The only way to prevent this from happening is to store your dressing separate from the shredded vegetables. So, if you don’t plan to eat the whole batch right away, make sure you only add dressing to the portion you plan to eat.
What to Serve with Creamy Coleslaw
Creamy coleslaw is absolutely perfect with anything BBQ, or anything with buffalo sauce. That creamy goodness perfectly balances the sweet tang of BBQ sauce and the fiery heat of buffalo sauce. But it also goes great on tacos, or as an extra topping in bowl meals. Here are a few recipes where I use coleslaw: Sloppy Joes, BBQ Bean Sliders, Blacked Shrimp Tacos, Buffalo Chicken sandwiches, and Buffalo Tempeh Sandwiches. It would also be great with something like: BBQ Chicken Burrito Bowls, BBQ Wings, fish sticks, or Loaded Mashed Potato Bowls.
Easy Creamy Coleslaw
Servings 4 1/2 cupIngredients
Dressing
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise ($0.55)
- 1/2 Tbsp honey ($0.06)
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard ($0.03)
- 1 tsp red wine vinegar (or apple cider vinegar) ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- freshly cracked black pepper ($0.03)
Vegetables
- 1/2 14 oz. bag coleslaw mix (shredded cabbage and carrots)* ($0.75)
- 3 green onions ($0.17)
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the ingredients for the dressing (mayonnaise, honey, Dijon, red wine vinegar, salt, and pepper).
- Slice the green onions. Add the coleslaw mix (shredded cabbage and carrots) to a large bowl with the green onions, then pour the dressing over top. Stir until the cabbage is evenly coated in dressing. Serve immediately.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!Try These Other Easy Coleslaw Recipes
If you love coleslaw as much as I do, you’ve got to try these other fabulous slaws:
How to Make Classic Creamy Coleslaw – Step by Step Photos
First, make the dressing. In a small bowl, stir together 1/3 cup mayonnaise, 1/2 Tbsp honey, 1 tsp Dijon mustard, 1 tsp red wine vinegar, 1/4 tsp salt, and some freshly cracked pepper (about 5 cranks of a pepper mill).
Add 1/2 of a 14 oz. bag of coleslaw mix (shredded green cabbage and carrots) to a large bowl. Slice three green onions and add them to the bowl as well.
Pour the prepared dressing over top of the cabbage mixture…
And then stir until all the cabbage is coated in dressing.
Then dig in (or put it on your sandwich, taco, stuff it into your wrap, or serve it on the side with your ribs)!
Love the dressing mix. I make a double batch and cut up my own cabbage using both green and purple, julienne a few carrots and apples and toss everything together. Today I added walnuts and dried cranberries. When pomegranates are in season I add the arils as well. So delicious.
This recipe is good! Our family likes a little more dressing so I usually make 1.5-2x the dressing and I sometimes add a splash of buttermilk if I have it.
I’ve also subbed in white vinegar and/or plain sugar if I’m out of red wine vinegar or honey. It’s good with these alterations as well.
Super easy and tasty.
This is my go-to recipe for coleslaw. It’s very easy to make and I get a lot of compliments on the taste. I don’t eat coleslaw, but everyone else who does loves this recipe.
Great coleslaw dressing! Not as sugar-sweet as some store-bought dressings. I used bagged broccoli slaw in lieu of cabbage for something that would keep in the fridge for a few days without wilting. Plan to eat with pulled pork sandwiches.
Coleslaw is such a frugal and versatile dish. Thanks for posting your recipe.
can you make this and freeze it? how long does it last in fridge?
This recipe would not be a good one to freeze, unfortunately. It will stay good in the fridge for a few days.
Can I store this in a refrigerator?
Yes, this should be kept refrigerated. The cabbage will wilt and become more soft, but some people enjoy coleslaw that way.
Added dates…..oh my!
Thanks for this wonderful site. I have tried a few things and everything has been good. I love that you keep the number of ingredients manageable, and the budget aspect.
Can you give me an estimate of how many cups of chopped cabbage and shredded carrot this would take? I buy cabbage and carrots whole, as I cook with them a lot. It seems like a half bag of 14 oz, is only a scant cup of slaw. Is this right? I’m wondering if weight of ounces might not directly translate to cups (liquid) and the recipe would take more in cups? Thanks in advance. Just wanting a guesstimate, if possible.
Yes as it shows above, this recipe only makes 4 – 1/2 cup servings of the coleslaw. As for rough amounts of raw veggies, I’d say about 1 cup of each would be fine.
14 0z bag of coleslaw mix is about 8 cups so 3 1/2-4 cups total.
Just made this tonight since I was already planning on pulled pork for dinner. I’ve tried a couple different coleslaw recipes, but most are larger batches and we usually don’t eat up the leftovers before it gets too soggy. Tonight there were no leftovers, so I think this is our new standard coleslaw recipe! It’s similar to my old one, the main differences being honey instead of sugar and all mayo instead of mayo/sour cream mixture. Which I prefer because I don’t always have plenty of sour cream on hand.
I’ll try this, but for me, it’s not coleslaw without celery seeds, so I’ll be adding them!
I love this recipe! I’ve used this recipe (which was posted on the BBQ bean sandwiches forever ago) for years! I’ve had people even ask for (and use!!) it so many times! This is the only slaw I ever make. Trust me, you will not be disappointed with this one!! (Just a preference thing- I usually don’t bother with the green onions, but I’ve had no luck changing anything else about it. It just works!!)
Do you think you could replace the mayonnaise with Greek yogurt? My husband and I rarely have mayo on hand, but we tend to keep Greek yogurt in the fridge.
I used greek yogurt in place of mayo for her honey mustard broccoli salad and it worked out really well. I plan to try greek yogurt in this as well. I think it will taste good, you may just have to add a little more salt, vinegar, or seasoning to make up for some of the mayo flavor.
Yes you could certainly give it a try!
I’ve actually done this with this recipe and the texture was fine and everything, but the taste was… not great. It didn’t taste like ‘coleslaw’ to me at all. Maybe you won’t mind it, though!
Good one Beth and simple. I’ve been making lots of coleslaw in different variations this winter. My Grandkids like it with sandwiches.
Coleslaw is one of my very favorite salads! This recipe looks so good! I need to try it soon!
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.com
i usually use a little bit of sugar + white balsamico, but i think i’ll try honey the next time.
Homemade coleslaw is always better! One variation that I’ve tried is mixing Panera’s fuji apple dressing with mayo and using that as the dressing with some diced apple.. Still trying to figure out how to do a copycat version of the Panera dressing.
I’ve never been a fan of coleslaw either. However, the dressing for this one seems similar to the Dijon dressing from your grape feta salad and that dressing is my favorite dressing ever (I never use any other salad dressing), so I bet I would enjoy this coleslaw.