Purple Cabbage Slaw
This creamy purple cabbage slaw is made with thinly sliced red and green cabbage, carrots, and with a creamy and healthy dressing. It comes together in 15 minutes, making it the perfect quick and easy side dish for any meal!
This post was originally published with the title 5-Ingredient Everyday Creamy Cabbage Slaw, we’ve changed the name and updated it to improve the post but it’s the same great recipe.
About this Purple Cabbage Slaw Recipe
This is one of those side dishes that’s so simple it hardly needs an actual recipe.
I make it so often, though, and it’s such a go-to in our house that I knew I had to share it with you here so you can make it too!
This easy red cabbage slaw is a great vegetable side dish recipe to have in your weeknight arsenal and an effortless way to add more veggies into your day.
The colorful mix of green and red cabbage, together with shredded carrots and the creamy healthy dressing create the most delightful, crunchy coleslaw that you’ll wanna add to everything.
Whether it’s a topping for tacos, burgers & sandwiches or a satisfying side dish for homemade chili, barbeque chicken & anything-grilled – trust me, this slaw instantly elevates any dish!
Process & Tips
This recipe requires no cooking at all & truly couldn’t be simpler to throw together.
It’s really just a matter of thinly slicing some cabbage, and maybe a carrot or two, if you like.
Then a quick whisking together of some mayo (or Greek yogurt), a squeeze of lime juice, a little sprinkling of salt – finally toss everything together and you’re good to go!
As an added bonus, the slaw gets better as it sits, so it’s the perfect make-ahead option for potlucks or backyard barbecues.
If you happen to have extra veggies or herbs on hand, feel free to chop them up and throw them in here, too. It’s really a very versatile base recipe that you can experiment with and make your own!
How to Thinly Sliced Cabbage and Carrots At Home
The crunchy texture of this is everything, so slicing the ingredients very thin makes a BIG difference!
If you also like a finely shredded slaw – it’s easy enough to shred your own cabbage and carrots at home.
For the cabbage, I like to use a sharp chef’s knife to cut it into quarters, then cut out & discard the core, and thinly slice each quarter by hand into thin ribbons.
For really uniform slices, you could also use a mandoline or use the shredding attachment with your food processor.
For carrots, I find a grater or using a food processor with the grating attachment to be the quickest method, but a julienne peeler works too.
Time saving tip: on busy weeks, grab a bag of shredded cabbage & carrots or coleslaw mix from the store!
Ways to Enjoy this Everyday Coleslaw
You can serve it as a side to serve with tacos or as a quick slaw to stuff into tacos.
It’s also perfect as a bbq side dish and goes great with anything-grilled.
And it’s our go-to to add crunch & color to our hamburgers, chili, sandwiches, spicy foods – you name it!
I’ll leave a few of my favorite pairings here to get you inspired:
Tropical Pulled Chicken Sliders
Ingredients & Modifications
Cabbage: I used a combination of green and purple cabbage for this recipe but you can use all green cabbage or all purple cabbage, either way comes out great! You can use store bought coleslaw mix if you like, otherwise try to slice the cabbage as thin as you can for the best texture.
Carrots: These grated carrots are optional but they’re a delicious addition if you’ve got them! They add some natural sweetness, extra crunch and another hit of color to the finished dish!
Lime juice: Fresh lime juice adds acidity, fresh flavor and brightness to this creamy slaw. You could also use white balsamic or white wine vinegar in place of the lime juice.
Honey: The honey adds a little bit of sweetness that balances the other flavors in the purple cabbage slaw. But feel free to skip it if you’re watching your sugar intake or want to make this recipe vegan or Whole30 compliant.
Mayonnaise: You can make this cole slaw with any kind of mayo you like – including traditional, avocado mayonnaise, or vegan mayo for an egg-free option. Or make it with Greek yogurt for an easy no mayo cabbage slaw option.
Kosher salt: Look for kosher salt with the regular iodized salt at the grocery store (it has a subtler flavor). Use less iodized salt if that’s what you have on hand.
This Recipe Is…
Dairy FreeGluten FreeNut FreePaleoVegetarian
More Easy Vegetable Side Dish Recipes
Purple Cabbage Slaw
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1 teaspoon raw honey
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise , or Greek yogurt
- 6 cups very thinly sliced cabbage, green, purple, or a combination of the two
- 2 large carrots, grated (optional)
Equipment
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the lime juice, honey, salt and mayonnaise or yogurt, stirring until well combined.
- Add the cabbage and carrots if using, stirring until the cabbage is well coated.
- Let sit at least 5 minutes for the flavors to combine. Toss again and serve.
How is this so easy and SO delicious!?! I’m from the south and we eat coleslaw A LOT! It is often made with tons of sugar, so it’s hard to find a healthy substitute that even comes close. This slaw is so perfect and I think it’s the combo of honey (obviously) with the lime!
Soooo good!
Kathryn, yay, so happy to hear this one was a hit! Thanks so much for the review!
I wanted a slaw to top some pulled pork tacos but I didn’t have cabbage on hand. Instead, I used kohlrabi cut into matchsticks and made the dressing just as described. It was so good, it was the perfect creamy crunch I was looking for! My husband and I really loved it.
Robyn, love that you were able to sub kohlrabi, what a great idea! Sounds like a fantastic addition to pork tacos as well. Yum! Thanks for taking the time to leave a rating, too!