This creamy coleslaw recipe is irresistibly bright, lemony and tangy. It’s easy to make with simple ingredients: cabbage, lemons, mayo, salt, and celery seeds. Vegan-adaptable and Gluten-free.
This creamy coleslaw recipe was given to me by my Aunt Dee, and in my mind I always call it Aunt Dee’s Lemony Coleslaw. I hope you call it that too, because she taught me how to make it, and every time I do, I feel a little of her bright and spunky spirit in the kitchen.
It’s the perfect marriage of crunchy cabbage and creamy lemony goodness. It’s an old-fashioned coleslaw recipe, one she inherited and one to be passed on. Though you may be tempted, resist the urge to add carrots or red cabbage or to doctor it up in any other way because the synergy of flavors is truly magical. It literally glows in the bowl!
Why You’ll Love This Coleslaw!
- Irresistible flavor. Perfectly creamy, bright, zesty, and tangy!
- Made with simple ingredients. Just six ingredients-cabbage, lemon, mayo, salt, sugar and celery seeds.
- Vegan-adaptable. Simply use our Vegan Mayo or Vegenaise.
Coleslaw Recipe Ingredients
- Green cabbage: Buy a medium green cabbage and slice it thinly.
- Mayo: Use store-bought or homemade mayo, or for a vegan variation, use Vegan Mayo or Vegenaise.
- Salt: Enhances the flavor, particularly bringing out the tanginess of the mayo and the citrusy lemon!
- Lemon: You’ll need fresh lemon juice from 2-3 large lemons, along with lemon zest from just one. The lemony flavor makes this coleslaw so summery and refreshing.
- Sugar: To balance the acidity of the lemon, reduce the bitterness of the cabbage, and add a touch of sweetness.
- Celery seeds: To add aromatic, astringent flavor- plus they’re pretty!
- Garnish: Top with chives or sliced green onion.
How to Make Coleslaw
Step 1: Shred cabbage. Start by cutting the cabbage into quarters through the stem end, and then remove the core along with any wilted leaves.
Slice the cabbage very thinly, then slice through the slices to chop it up a bit. Toss the cabbage mixture into a large bowl.
Step 2: Make the coleslaw dressing. In a medium bowl, whisk together the mayo, kosher salt, sugar, and lemon juice.
Step 3: Mix the coleslaw together. Pour the coleslaw dressing over top of the cabbage and toss to create a coleslaw mix. Add lemon zest and sprinkle in celery seeds, mixing well.
Step 4: Taste and adjust for salt and lemon juice. For richer flavor, add more mayo. It should taste bright, zesty and tangy!
Step 5: Refrigerate. Place the coleslaw in the fridge until ready to serve. Garnish with chives or scallions and black pepper. Serve it nice and cold!
Faqs
Coleslaw is primarily made with cabbage, but it can also be made with any crunchy ingredients, like shredded carrots, broccoli, or snow peas.
You can store coleslaw in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Only slaws with oil and vinegar based dressings can freeze. Mayonnaise will separate when frozen and will not thaw well.
Coleslaw Serving Suggestions
Creamy Coleslaw is the perfect side dish for summer potlucks and barbecues. Here are some recipes it pairs well with:
- Cedar Plank Salmon
- Huli Huli Chicken
- Portobello Mushroom Burger
- Salmon Burger
- Perfect Grilled Salmon
- Grilled Lamb Burger with Harissa Aioli
- Jalapeño Corn Fritters
- Grilled BBQ Chicken
For more ideas check out our 50 Best Grilling Recipes for Summer!
Storage & Make Ahead
Leftover creamy coleslaw will keep up to 4 days in an airtight container in the fridge.
If making this ahead, make the dressing, and chop the cabbage up to 3 days ahead, and refrigerate separately until the day of serving.
I hope you enjoy Aunt Dee’s Lemony Coleslaw. It has brought me so much joy through the years and is truly the BEST coleslaw recipe!
xoxo
More Coleslaw recipes to Enjoy!
Creamy Coleslaw Recipe
- Prep Time: 30
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 cups 1x
- Category: salads
- Method: Tossed
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
This creamy coleslaw recipe is irresistibly lemony and tangy. It’s made with simple ingredients: cabbage, lemons, mayo, salt, and celery seeds. Vegan-adaptable and Gluten free.
Ingredients
- 1 medium green cabbage (2–2 1/2 pounds), sliced thinly (6–7 cups, packed)
- 3/4 cup mayo– or use vegan mayo or homemade mayo, more to taste
- 1 1/4– 1 1/2 teaspoon salt, more to taste
- zest from one lemon (set aside)
- 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice, more to taste (2-3 large lemons)
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon celery seeds
- Garnish- 1-2 tablespoons chives or sliced green onion
Instructions
- Cut the cabbage into quarters, through the stem end and cut out the core. Remove any wilted leaves. Slice the cabbage as thinly as you can, then slice through the slices, chopping it up a bit.
- Place all the cabbage in a large mixing bowl.
- Whisk the mayo with the salt, sugar, and lemon juice.
- Pour the coleslaw dressing over the cabbage and toss well.
- Add the lemon zest and celery seeds and mix to combine.
- Taste, adding more salt and lemon juice to your liking. For richer flavor, add more mayo if you like. It should taste bright, zesty and tangy!
- Refrigerate until ready to serve- garnish with chives or scallions and serve this really cold!
Notes
This creamy coleslaw pairs incredibly well with salmon- in fact, when my aunt made it, it was always served with salmon!
Creamy Coleslaw will last up to 4 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Some coleslaw recipes suggest salting the cabbage to release and drain the liquid—yes, you can do this—but to stay true to my aunt’s recipe, I personally do not do this and love how it gets a bit watery. The juices are so flavorful, and I use it as a dressing for whatever else is on the plate.
If you insist on salting the cabbage, toss it with 1 tablespoon of salt until it softens and releases its liquid, about 45 mins. Rinse well, drain well, and wring out the cabbage in a kitchen towel to dry it a bit before tossing it with the dressing- you may need less dressing at this point.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ½ cup
- Calories: 82
- Sugar: 6.8 g
- Sodium: 243 mg
- Fat: 4.6 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 10.1 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 1 g
- Cholesterol: 10 mg
This was SO GOOD that I made it THREE TIMES the first week.
I originally made it for a neighborhood pot luck in August. Then I made the mistake of tweaking it the second time I made it and it wasn’t as good, so I returned to the original. This recipe is excellent as written.
This has all the key elements for a delish dish: acid, sweet, and salt. I went from never cooking cabbage before to making this dish all summer. Good to know that it’s great with purple cabbage too.
I’m wondering what vegetarian protein this would pair well with, maybe Tempeh? If so, do you have a good Tempeh recipe? Thanks!
So happy to hear you are enjoying this Nicole! Check out our Tempeh Salad- you can use the tempeh method from that recipe, it would be really yummy with the coleslaw. Also our Crispy BBQ tofu sandwich- it has a slaw with it but this one would be great too! It would be good with the Veggie burger, black bean burger, and great with beans too.
Following up: My mother and I decided to make a vegetarian & Gluten Free Thanksgiving this year and this Lemon Coleslaw will be one of the dishes. Any suggestions for other V & GF dishes that would be great for Thanksgiving. In addition, since fresh citrus is hard to come by in Nov, have you had success making this with lemon juice from a glass (or frozen)? Thanks in advance.
We have the perfect post for you Nicole! Search for -65 Vegetarian Thanksgiving Menu Ideas! Many recipes are vegan and gf adaptable.
Fresh frozen lemon juice would be great. Canned lemon juice will work if nothing else is available. Dehydrated lemon crystals work really well too.
I’ve made this twice in the past month. So, so good. I’m a lemon fanatic so this is right up my alley. The second time I made it I only had purple cabbage, so it turned out pink! Still delicious!
Fun! Happy you are enjoying this one!
So good. I am not surprised. I served it with smoked salmon and cold roasted beets. Divine.
Thanks Fiona!
The best coleslaw ever….will now be on summer salad repetoire!!!
I really love your cooking style and have enjoyed many of your recipes.
With much appreciation!
Thanks so much for this Lee!
This coleslaw will now become our go-to. Made it twice, first with your Huli Huli Chicken and then Bbq chicken with homemade BBQ sauce. Everyone asked for the recipe. Gotta say, every recipe I make from this site is delicious.
Great to hear this Bill!
Made this, this past weekend and followed directions exactly. I could not agree more, that this is perfect as is. It was refreshing and delicious 😋 Your Aunt Dee has a winner here.
Served it with peri peri chicken and a caprese salad. I will always make coleslaw this way. I don’t mind that it gets a bit of liquid.
Awesome Kathleen, happy you liked it!
This is definitely a keeper! The lemon juice and zest make the dressing very bright, while the simplicity of using only very finely shredded and chopped green cabbage makes it feel very sophisticated. I used my fresh chives as a garnish, and it was very simple and pretty. Thanks to you and aunt for sharing this fantastic recipe!
So happy you gave it a try Marcene and thanks for the kind review!
Just wanted you to know that I took your “Aunt Dee’s Lemony Coleslaw to our first summer rally and
it was a giant hit! Comments were “it was so refreshing” different” “delicious” “should have made more” !!
I plan on making a bigger helping of it for the next rally because we are having Salmon. Thank you for
sharing your love of food and good recipes.
Awesome Stephan! Really appreciate hearing this.:)
Delicious! You know the coleslaw is not just another coleslaw when people comment on how tasty and tangy it is. It’s my new go-to slaw!
Yay, great to hear this Catherine!
Tried it because it’s so close to my wife’s traditional show recipe and it was great. Reminded us that we should or lemon in more things, yum!
Seemed about twice as much liquid than was needed though (perhaps due to pre shredded slaw).
Great to hear Thomas! And yes, it does get juicy over time- there are notes for salting the cabbage first to help mitigate this, but I wanted to keep this as close to her recipe as possible. I’ve come to like that juicy dressing, maybe I’m weird!
This looks good! Would it work to sub purple cabbage?
I don’t see why not!
I see the recipe makes 6 cups, but what is a serving size? Curious how the nutrition breakdown shows 12.9 grams protein…is there a decent amount of protein in mayo? Also, is there a suggestion for lowering the per serving amount of sodium? That’s pretty hefty. Thank you!
Hi Debra- I had the wrong nutritional info linked- thanks for catching that. All fixed now!