Vinegar Coleslaw (no mayonnaise)

At a glance

What stands out: Tangy vinegar coleslaw is crunchy and bursting with color and flavor. With a mayonnaise-free dressing, this coleslaw is a lighter alternative to creamy coleslaw and it keeps well, too.

How long it takes: 15 minutes to make but allow an extra hour for chilling.
Equipment you’ll need: sharp knife, large bowl, measuring utensils
Servings: 10

Isn’t this a beautiful colorful salad? We love the purple, green, and orange explosion of color. It’s like fireworks in a bowl! The flavors of vinegar coleslaw explode in your mouth, as well. Maybe we're carrying the “explosion” theme too far, but really, we can’t say enough about this colorful and flavorful coleslaw.

This recipe is similar to German coleslaw recipes (“krautsalat”) which you may be familiar with. German coleslaw often contains whole caraway seeds. You could easily substitute caraway seeds for the celery seeds in this recipe.

Coleslaw with Vinegar Dressing

Straightforward to mix. Whether you use a couple bags of coleslaw mix, or shred your own cabbage, this is a straightforward salad to make. We use our food processor to shred both red and green cabbage for a colorful salad. Our seven year old son is so impressed by how the food processor annihilates the cabbage. It makes speedy work of the carrots, too. Watching his amusement reminds us to enjoy the small things in life.

A make ahead recipe. This coleslaw actually tastes better if it spends some time chilling in the fridge, at least an hour but up to a week. It’s almost like a speedy cabbage pickle. If you haven’t tried speedy pickles yet, make sure you don’t miss pickled red onions or refrigerator dill pickles. Pickled asparagus is tasty, too, and makes an elegant addition to your charcuterie plate.

Reliable for picnics and potlucks. Since vinegar coleslaw isn’t mayo based, you don’t have to worry as much about it spoiling on a warm day.

Michelle Said:

“we just love this crunchy, flavorful and colorful lighter coleslaw recipe! It is our go to … we searched online for awhile to find [a recipe] that did not have a lot of sugar in it and was balanced. Yours is the definite winner!”

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What goes in

• Green Cabbage and Red Cabbage: You can use a combination or just one kind of cabbage. You can also buy a bag of pre-shredded cabbage.
• More Veggies: Although traditional German coleslaw is usually just cabbage, we like to add shredded carrots and sliced green onions for more color, flavor, and nutrition. Other options are bell peppers, onions, pea pods, or celery.
• Straightforward Dressing: As we mentioned, this is a vinegar-based dressing. We like apple cider vinegar, but plain white vinegar or rice vinegar work fine. Add a few tablespoons of oil for richer flavor. To balance the acidity of the vinegar, mix in honey, agave or sugar.
• Flavoring: A tablespoon of Dijon, along with dried celery seeds, salt, and pepper season the salad. If you prefer, use caraway seeds instead of celery seeds.

How it comes together

Make the vinaigrette. Whisk the dressing ingredients in a measuring cup.

Combine with cabbage and other veggies. Pour the dressing into a big bowl with the cabbage mixture. Stir well.

Chill. Cover the bowl and refrigerate the coleslaw. You’ll notice that the cabbage will soften as it marinates in the dressing. It also will decrease in volume.

Serve. Give the coleslaw a good stir and taste a spoonful before you serve it. If it’s too tart, or tastes too strongly of vinegar, add a little extra sugar or salt. It should be tangy but not overwhelmingly “clean out your sinuses” tart.

Ways to serve it

Serve vinegar coleslaw as a side dish with pretty much anything. The tangy flavor and crunchy texture go well with grilled entrees, such as salmon, chicken, or steak. It’s great with burgers and hotdogs, too, and makes a rich fish taco. Try a spoonful right on your burger, hotdog, or pulled pork sandwich.

Ways to change it

• Go green. If you’re not a fan of red cabbage, or you don’t want to buy two cabbages, simply use extra green cabbage. If you’re planning on storing the coleslaw for awhile, we would use all green cabbage because the red cabbage tends to bleed color and make the coleslaw pink. The coleslaw can be made with Savoy cabbage, too.
• Add more veggies or fresh herbs. Try red or green bell peppers or chopped onion. Chopped fresh parsley or cilantro are rich, too.
• Substitute a different kind of vinegar. Try plain white vinegar, rice vinegar, white wine vinegar, whatever you like. Each type of vinegar will impart a different flavor. If you use plain white vinegar which is more acidic, you may need to add a little more sweetener to balance it.
• Boil the dressing. Our mom always boiled the vinegar dressing, then added the hot dressing to the cabbage. This type of cabbage salad will keep longer in the refrigerator.
• Make a creamy coleslaw. Try our creamy coleslaw or yogurt-based lighter coleslaw. We also have a creamy coleslaw dressing that can be added to shredded cabbage for a straightforward salad.
• Looking for something different? Try our Asian salad, another vinegar coleslaw with an Asian influence and lots of crunchy add-ins like ramen noodles, sunflower seeds, and almonds. Another favorite is this cabbage salad with mandarin oranges and honey lime dressing. Lately, we’ve been loving this shredded carrot salad.
• Don’t let the rest of the cabbage go to waste. Try straightforward sautéed cabbage (green) or German red cabbage (sweet & sour).

Keeping leftovers

Refrigerate: Store leftover coleslaw, tightly covered, in the fridge for up to a week. If you notice a bad or strong smell, see mold or cloudiness, or if it tastes different, discard the coleslaw. It’s never worth taking a chance.

Tip: Red cabbage tends to bleed color after a day or too, turning the salad kind of pink. This doesn’t affect the flavor at all and if you have a young daughter, it could be a selling point. If you would rather not experience this, simply make the salad using all green cabbage. Red cabbage does contain 30% more vitamin C than green cabbage.

Freeze: We've heard that you can successfully freeze vinegar coleslaws but we haven’t tried it. If you want to give it a try, package it in freezer-safe bags or containers.

Gazpacho Salad

• Yield: 10
• Prep: 15 minutes
• Total: 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients

For Coleslaw:

• 6 cups shredded green cabbage (about ½ head)
• 2 cups shredded red cabbage (see note)
• 1 ½ cups shredded (or matchstick) carrots (about 2 large carrots)
• ⅓ cup thinly sliced green onions (about 3 green onions)

For Dressing:

• ⅓ cup apple cider vinegar (see note)
• 3 tablespoons grapeseed oil (or olive oil, canola, or avocado)
• 1 tablespoon agave (honey or granulated sugar can be used)
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon celery seed
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper

Method

1. In a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk together dressing ingredients.
2. In large bowl, combine cabbages, carrots, green onions, and dressing. Mix well.
3. Refrigerate for at least one hour before serving. Stir well before serving. You'll notice that the volume decreases. This is normal as the cabbage softens in the dressing. Taste the coleslaw and make any adjustments you feel it needs. If it's too tart, add a little more sugar or salt.

Notes

Cabbage shortcut: If you prefer, substitute coleslaw mix for the cabbage and carrots. You’ll need roughly 10 cups which is about 24 ounces. You can also just use green cabbage instead of buying two kinds of cabbage.

Possible add-ins: Try red or green bell peppers or chopped onion instead of green onions. Add chopped fresh parsley or cilantro, for extra color and flavor.

Substitute a different kind of vinegar: If you prefer, instead of using apple cider vinegar, try plain white vinegar, rice vinegar, or white wine vinegar.

Storage: Cover the bowl, and refrigerate the coleslaw for up to a week. Red cabbage tends to bleed color as the coleslaw marinates; this is normal and won’t affect the flavor. To avoid this, you can use all green cabbage if you prefer.