Coleslaw is a spring and summer staple dish at our house. Whether it’s enjoyed as a favorite BBQ side, or with a steak fresh off the grill. Coleslaw is such a fresh, easy, and quick to make summer salad. Your family will love The Best Easy Coleslaw Recipe!

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This easy 5 ingredient side will soon be your go-to recipe for all spring and summer get togethers! It’s quick to throw together using just a few pantry staples making it the best coleslaw recipe for any busy cook!

What Makes A Great Coleslaw

In my opinion, a great coleslaw is creamy, tangy, and slightly sweet! I like to keep things simple using a pre-made mix of cabbage and carrots, no washing or cutting! If you’d like to add other classic ingredients like purple cabbage, green bell pepper or finely chopped onions go ahead! This recipe is easy to customize to your own personal taste.

woman mixing the best coleslaw recipe with blue spatula in a white bowl

Do You Need To Use A Pre-Made Mix?

No you don’t need to use a ready made bag of cut cabbage and carrots, I just do this for simplicity sake. If you’d like to use your own garden fresh cabbage, or a whole cabbage and carrots from the grocery store, go ahead! The dressing for this mix makes enough to cover 1 small cabbage and 1 carrot.

hand holding pulled pork bun with coleslaw on it.

Allergen Friendly:

This recipe is great for people with food allergies! The ingredients are cabbage, carrots, mayo, white vinegar, white sugar, and salt. Making this recipe naturally dairy and gluten free! Traditional mayonnaise can also easily be substituted for egg-free mayo.

Can This Recipe Be Made In Advance?

This coleslaw tastes best a few hours after making it fresh because it only needs a few hours to soak up the dressing flavors. The longer you store, the more soggy it will get. So it is recommended you only store up to 3 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Tools You’ll Need:

Large bowl

Liquid measuring cup

Whisk

Silicone spatula

Teaspoons

Airtight container (for storing)

Ingredients:

Bag pre-cut cabbage mix with carrots (classic coleslaw mix, usually found by pre-made salad bags at the grocery store)

Mayonnaise

White vinegar

White Sugar

Salt

How To Make The Best Easy Coleslaw Recipe:

In liquid measuring cup measure out 3/4 cup of mayo

woman measuring mayo in liquid measuring cup using a metal spoon to make coleslaw dressing.

Add 2 tablespoons of white vinegar and mix

woman pouring vinegar into mayo using metal tablespoons

Add into liquid mixture 2 tablespoons white sugar and 1 teaspoon of salt

woman adding salt into liquid measuring cup with mayo and vinegar to make creamy coleslaw dressing

Whisk to dissolve sugar and salt

woman mixing white creamy coleslaw dressing in liquid measuring cup with metal whisk.

Pour creamy dressing mixture over 14oz. bag of classic coleslaw cabbage mix ( or 1 small head green cabbage and 1 carrot chopped finely or shredded) in large bowl

bowl of cabbage mix sitting next to cup of creamy coleslaw dressing in liquid measuring cup on dark wood table.

For best results, let sit a few hours for flavors to soak into cabbage. Stir before serving.

woman mixing big bowl of coleslaw with dark blue silicone spatula

Coleslaw can be stored in refrigerator for up to 3 days but it will get soggy over time so it’s best to make and eat the same day.