Just say no to bland store bought coleslaw and hello to this delicious homemade creamy southern coleslaw recipe.
Coleslaw is one of the most underrated BBQ and grilling side dishes, most likely because it is often store bought, poorly made, or is simply lacking in personality. Or all of the above.
Recipe Overview: Southern Coleslaw Success Formula
- Prep: green cabbage, carrot and onion by either chopping, grating or shredding it.
- Whisk: the vinegar, mayo, sour cream, white sugar, black pepper, celery seed, and Morton’s kosher table salt together in a bowl.
- Pre-salt: the veggies to let some water drain if you want; omit the salt in the dressing if you do that.
- Rinse: the salt and hold the veggies in the fridge for up to a day if desired.
- Pour: the dressing over the veggies, either with or without the salt.
- Refrigerate: for an hour at least before serving.
Summarize & Save this Content on:
The science of our Southern coleslaw recipe
Here’s a mayonnaise-based creamy cole slaw that’s not too sweet and a few little tweaks to make it really special. Hash it and heap it on top of a pulled pork sandwich as they do in Memphis or the Carolinas. It would be a great choice for a West Virginia Slawdog (it’s shown with the recipe). Prepare this simple, yet classic, homemade coleslaw for your next cookout and your guests will certainly notice the difference.
Ingredients and substitutions for Southern coleslaw recipe
- Distilled vinegar is made from distilled spirits. This is the first choice for pickling, some dressings, and many sauce. I think it works best. Use apple cider vinegar at your own risk; they’re not generally interchangeable because they don’t have the same acidity or sweetnes. (My article on the science of vinegar is worth reading.)
- Mayonnaise is a blank slate. It gives coleslaw a creamy and rich base that balances the sharpness from vinegar. The fat in mayo also cuts through the heaviness you can sometimes get with BBQ foods.
- Sour cream adds fat but it also contributes a necessary tanginess that you can’t get from just mayo alone.
- White sugar is required here to balance the acidity and creaminess. Regular sugar works here. You don’t need the complexity of a brown sugar.
- Black pepper is world’s most traded spice, beloved in cuisines around the world, and so named for its ability to perk up almost anything it touches. Consider that its job here in the coleslaw.
- Celery seed is not the same as celery salt; don’t make that mistake or your coleslaw will be too salty. It’s a bit earthy and the flavor is far more pungent and concentrated than celery itself. You don’t need much, but you do need it.
- Morton’s coarse kosher salt is always my go-to salt. Just remember that kosher salt is half the concentration of table salt so if you use table salt, use half as much. Read more about the science of salt and how it works.
- Sweet pickle relish, or chopped sweet pickles, is optional. I first tasted this in Charleston, South Carolina and love it. Just a tablespoon is all you need. Pickles may seem unusual, but they add a lot.
Southern coleslaw recipe, step by step
- Decide how you want to prep the cabbage, carrot and onion: chop, hash, shred, or grate.
- Whisk together the dressing ingredients in a large bowl.
- If you want your slaw to be as crispy as possible, pre-salt the veggies and let them drain over a colander. (Omit salt from the dressing if you do this).
- Hold the pre-salted veggies in the fridge for up to a day if desired.
- Combine the dressing and the veggies together and mix completely. Taste, and adjust seasoning as needed.
- Cover and chill for up to an hour before serving if time permits.
Southern coleslaw recipe FAQs
Typically, this kind of coleslaw includes crispy and crunchy vegetables such as cabbage and carrots tossed in a sweet, creamy, and tangy dressing.
This side dish isn’t exclusively Southern. It just so happens that it pairs really well with the standard foods of the region, such as brisket, pulled pork, fried fish, and other smoked and grilled meats.
It’s all about balance. If your coleslaw tastes flat, it’s not balanced. Try changing the sweetness, salt, acidity, or fat. You can do this by bringing in lime or lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, chopped pickles, honey, buttermilk, Greek yogurt, mustard (Dijon in particular), chopped apples, celery seed, fresh herbs such as dill or chives, or toasted nuts or sunflower seeds.
If you like our Southern coleslaw recipe, you’ll love . . .
- Classic Sour Cream Deli Coleslaw
- Sweet and Sour Coleslaw, the Perfect BBQ Side
- The Best Hot Dog Recipes for National Hot Dog Month and More
- Classic Waldorf Salad Reimagined as a Flavorful Slaw
- Andrew Zimmern’s Bacon “Dog” Will Have You Wagging Your Tail
Up your game: Join our Pitmaster Club. Try it out for free for 30 days. No credit card is needed. No spam. Join now and Be Amazing!
Creamy southern coleslaw recipe
Simple Creamy Southern Coleslaw Recipe
Ingredients
Method
- Prep. First, read my article on The Science of Slawsome Slaw. Then decide how you want to cut the cabbage, carrot, and onion: Chopped, grated, or hashed. And have at it. I prefer the veg shredded or chopped. Now, you have another choice. You can finish the recipe by making the dressing, and mixing it with the vegetables. Or you can use a technique from the article The Science of Slawsome Slaw that helps prevent the slaw from becoming watery as it sits. To do that, salt the cabbage, carrot, and onion (use 2 tablespoons Morton's coarse kosher salt per pound of cabbage) and let it drain in a strainer or colander for an hour or two, then rinse off the salt and pat dry. If you pre-salt the veg, omit the salt in the dressing. After rinsing the salted veg, you can also hold it in the fridge for a day before mixing in the dressing.
- Dress. Whisk together the dressing in a large bowl. Add the cabbage, carrot, and onion mix. Taste, adjust the seasonings, cover and chill for at least 1 hour before serving if time permits.
Before you can post a comment or question you must sign into our commenting partner, Disqus. This helps make sure everyone hanging around the grill is civil. We do not tolerate nastiness, racism, porn, inappropriate language, or attacks on others. All comments are the property of AmazingRibs.com and we reserve the right to quote them, edit them, delete them, and block people from making future comments.
Please leave comments and questions on the same page that is devoted to that subject so others can see questions and our answers when they are reading about the subject. You must enable JavaScript to use the comments section, and you must accept cookies to post comments. Note: the software that runs Disqus is different from the Pitmaster Club, so members need to sign into the Pitmaster Club separately.