Tips for Making the Best Coleslaw Ever

Got a picnic coming up? Need a family-friendly potluck dish? Trying to convince your kids that vegetables are, in fact, edible? Coleslaw is your friend. Here are some tips for making your coleslaw the very best.

Photo by LaurenM

Start With a Great Recipe

That pile of cool, tangy, subtly sweet, deliciously crunchy coleslaw you get at your favorite restaurant can be easily replicated at home. In fact, the ease of making coleslaw—and making a lot of it—is one of its most enticing features. Here’s a top-rated recipe, made by more than 1,000 home cooks!

Restaurant-Style Coleslaw

This simple, restaurant-style coleslaw uses buttermilk and vinegar to add a bit of tang to the standard creamy mayo dressing, and saves time by utilizing those store-bought bags of pre-chopped cabbage mix:

Tips for Making Better Coleslaw

• Get the right dressing-to-veggie ratio. Too much dressing results in a gloopy, soupy mess that most folks—particularly those with an aversion to mayonnaise—don’t want to eat. Too little dressing, and you’ve got a pile of tasteless cabbage. Get it right by mixing your dressing ingredients in a separate bowl and adding a few spoonfuls at a time to your bowl of veggies.
• Green cabbage makes the best basic slaw, though red cabbage’s peppery flavor and assertive crunchiness makes it pleasant addition.
• Think you can just slice and dice and serve? Think again. Cabbage benefits from a little tenderizing: Shred your cabbage, add some salt—or a combo of salt and sugar—and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes before draining off the excess moisture. Now you’ve got cabbage that is still crunchy but won’t give off too much liquid. Leave that to the dressing!
• How you shred your cabbage and carrots—by hand, grater, mandolin, etc.—isn’t so important as the result: We like thin shreds over the dicey, chopped style.

Don’t Forget the Supporting Cast

A simple slaw can be made with just a few ingredients. But think outside the box and you can make coleslaw much more than a boring side dish – it can be the hit of the picnic!

Asian Coleslaw

This cabbage slaw gets a slightly Asian twist with a peanut butter-y dressing with soy sauce and ginger:

Broccoli Slaw

This popular broccoli slaw benefits from the sweet-and-tart of dried cranberries and the surprising addition of pistachios:

Spicy Peach Coleslaw

Chile paste gives this slaw a spicy kick, while peaches add just the right juicy sweetness.

Photo by lutzflcat

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