Coleslaw Dressing
Coleslaw dressing is a creamy, mayonnaise-based dressing for making delicious homemade coleslaw. You can use either a store-bought bag of coleslaw mix or shred the cabbage and carrots yourself. Healthy coleslaw is the perfect summer BBQ, picnic or party treat for all guests.
You can visit my Coleslaw recipe if you need more instructions for shredding your cabbage and grating carrots by hand.
Coleslaw Dressing Recipe Video
While it’s easy to make this recipe, it always helps to watch a quick video. Give it a watch below!
What is Coleslaw Dressing Made Of?
Coleslaw dressing is made with mayonnaise, a sweetener (such as honey), apple cider vinegar, celery seeds, salt and pepper. Some coleslaw dressings are made with dairy (buttermilk), but I don’t think it’s necessary and prefer this dairy-free option.
My creamy coleslaw dressing recipe is also low in sugar and calories, compared to what you would get at a store or restaurant. This was by design. But if you want something a little more reminiscent of your favorite KFC coleslaw, add more sweetener.
My sweetener of choice is honey, but maple syrup works great as well. And either of those is better than the processed white sugar used in most traditional coleslaw recipes.
If mayonnaise-based coleslaw isn’t your thing, check out my recipe for Vinegar Based Coleslaw. You can also read more about the health benefits of cabbage there. Don’t let the mayonnaise fool you, cabbage is an amazing vegetable to have and keep in our diet.
What Should I Serve With Coleslaw?
My easy coleslaw recipe would serve up well with Crispy Baked Chicken Thighs, Honey Mustard Chicken or my BBQ Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potatoes. For gatherings, I’ll make my Slow Cooker Pulled Pork or grill BBQ Ribs which are a huge hit with the creaminess and crunch of coleslaw. Alternatively, if I’ve got slaw left over I may add them to my Shrimp or Fish tacos that I wrap with my gluten-free Cassava Tortillas.
Coleslaw Dressing (So Easy!)
Ingredients
Dressing
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp honey or maple syrup, (or more if desired)
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp celery seeds
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
Instructions
- Combine mayonnaise, honey, apple cider vinegar, salt, pepper, and celery seeds in a small bowl and whisk together. If you want the dressing to be sweeter, add another tablespoon of honey.
- Add a little bit of the dressing to the cabbage and carrots, then toss. Slowly add more dressing until you’ve reached your desired consistency.
- Serve and enjoy!
Lisa's Tips
- You can store this coleslaw dressing for up to a week in a storage container in the fridge.
Thank you for your recipe for CREAMY COLESLAW. I haven’t made it yet but it looks, after reading it, that it will be yummy! I am cooking for 40 people. I do a fair amount of cooking and baking, so I will return back to you how it turns out.
Hi Lisa,
Easy! Yummy! Perfect! Tasty!
Made this today.
Used 1 Tbsp red apple balsamic vinegar with
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar.
Saved to my favourites!
P.S. Also loved the recent Italy travelogue with your niece 🙋♀️
I’m doing ribs and making coleslaw this weekend. I went to my local grocery store to get the fixings. Believe it or not,there wasn’t one bottle of dressing in the house. So I googled a recipe and chose this one. I had everything but the celery seed,which they did have. I know everyone’s taste is different. But let me tell you something. This dressing is outstanding. Better than any dressing I’ve ever purchased. And so freaking easy to make. I’m really looking forward to the meal.
I thought this was absolutely perfect. I used the honey, and the rest of the recipe as written. It’s delicious, and I’ll never buy coleslaw again!
Super easy and perfect everytime. I did double the honey and my husband loves it!
I can’t wait to try the recipe.
Hope you enjoy this coleslaw dressing!
Favorite slaw dressing so far- I played with quantities and used 1/2cup of mayo and 1/4 cup of yoghurt to health it up a little. Did the trick for me and the fam👍
Glad the whole family enjoyed this coleslaw!
This one is a little too tangy for me, adding more maple syrup did help though!
I love this recipe! I had to make it because my local restaurant drains all the dressing out of the cole slaw and then serves it so I needed something to dress up my “chopped Cabbage!” It’s ridiculous because the dressing is what makes it cole slaw otherwise it’s just chopped cabbage! I’m in the south but used to live in NY with the tastiest varieties of coleslaw. Thanks for this recipe, it’s perfect!
Sounds yummy trying it soon , but how much bagged coleslaw for the 1 cup Mayo recipe? I was getting a 2 lb bag. Will that work or do I need to adjust the amounts thank you
Depends how coated you like your coleslaw. But I would say one bag is good enough.
Perfect. Perfect. Perfect!
Did I mention it was perfect?
This will now be in my go to recipes. Love love love the addition of honey!
Thank you for sharing!!
Thrilled to hear you enjoyed this dressing Mary!
2nd time only I’ve dabbled with my own slaw. This is the ‘dogs’😉 best ever dressing for me all the way from here. Didn’t have celery seeds? Thank you very much Lisa 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Glad you loved this recipe!
Maple syrup is a nice addition away from the norm.
Love the maple syrup sub for sugar! I also add dill seed. Hubby loves slaw in the summer, esp when we pair with air-fried fish’n’chips.
Tried making this using sugar all our maple syrups were strongly buttered flavored had too tweak it a bit added more sugar a little bit more salt and next time we will use less mayo but worked rly well for a tweak recipie I’d recommend
It’s great
Glad you love this recipe Bob!
Wow 😳 I have to say that this definitely came out way better then I thought. However I did improvise on the amounts of the ingredients a little bit more pepper and celery seed and it’s my new favorite recipe for coleslaw dressing
Glad you found a winning coleslaw recipe Shannon!
I didn’t have any mayonnaise so I used tarter sauce and only one Tbsp vinegar. Awesome recipe
Glad this turned out great with the tarter sauce instead!
Very easy n you can tweak the taste according to your preference! Done in 5 mins as stated in recipe!
Best coleslaw dressing I’ve ever tasted.
Happy to hear that Lisa!
Can the celery seeds be omitted all together? Maybe substitute mustard seeds?
Yes, you can omit or change up the seeds. It will just alter the flavor slightly.
I don’t have celery seeds but I have celery and used the leaves.
Wow! looks delicious and simple recipe.
Very nice coleslaw salad dressing recipe.
Great chicken herb thighs recipe and yes healthier.
Hi Randy- Happy to hear you enjoyed both the coleslaw and baked chicken thighs!
Just used this on a slaw of cabbage, kohlrabi and scallion. Used homemqde garlic mayo. Delicious and simple, total keeper recipe.
Hi Katie- Glad you loved this recipe! Definitely one to keep on hand for all your summer festivities :)
Great recipe. I had lots of compliments. Lots of coleslaw dressings are too sweet but this turned out perfect with the maple syrup. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Becky- Glad this came out perfectly!
This recipe is just perfect. Made as in and wouldn’t change a thing! Had to print it out and add it to my cookbook binder.
Hi Christopher – So glad you enjoyed this coleslaw dressing!
I’d like to try your coleslaw recipe but wondered how plain yogurt would substitute for mayo?
I’ll give it a try and let you know.
Do let me know how it turns out!
This was absolutely fantastic!! Simply delicious!
Delicious! Added a little brown mustard.
That sounds delicious Peggy!
Made your dressing today and liked the honey addition vs sugar. Initial taste was a tad tart, so added a touch more honey. Thanks so much for sharing your recipe!
Hi Jill- Yep, you can always adjust the sugar level in this with a touch more honey :)
Hi,
This concerns a replacement for celery seeds. Is there any?
Hi William – you could dry dill seed or celery salt as an alternative.
Delicious and a little different with maple syrup. THANK YOU
Hi Clio – So glad you enjoyed this dressing!
Forgot the stars…!!!!!
Delish! I added a little lemon zest, agave and horseradish. Meowww!
My whole family loved this coleslaw dressing.
I substituted balsamic vinegar for the apple cider vinegar, used celery salt instead of seed and used maple syrup instead of honey… delightful! Will be my go to for coleslaw…
Hi Stacie – Glad you found a few substitutes for this recipe :) Can’t wait for you to make it again!
Could stevia be used instead of honey?
Hi Karen – That’s fine!
Just made this recipe and it is delicious. I did not realize how easy it is to make. Love it! Thanks for sharing.
Hi Iris – So glad you loved this coleslaw! It’s definitely a lot easier than you think :)
IF we wanted to keep this sugar-free, do you know how much granulated erythritol (only ingredient) I would add?
Hi Monika – This would be dependent on how sweet you would want the dressing. I would start with a teaspoon and then taste test and add more from there.
My family loves coleslaw, So I can’t wait to make this for them to try!
Awesome! Well they’ll love this recipe, Krissy! :)
absolutely delicious! my new favourite dressing.
Thanks, Tilly! So glad yo love the dressing! :)
This is exactly how I like my coleslaw dressing, creamy and slightly sweet. So delicious!
Thanks for the kind comment, Sophia! Glad you loved it! :)
Love this dressing! And I love I can make a batch to have on hand whenever I need it! So delicious and easy to boot!
Thanks, Beth! So glad you love the dressing! :)
I’m definitely in the mayo based cole slaw dressing camp. I really like how this is easy to whip up and I can even put it on a bag of store bought shredded cabbage for a quick side. Perfect for summer when I don’t want to be in the kitchen ;)
We’re definitely in the same camp, Michelle! Enjoy making this quick coleslaw recipe! :)
I love a really good and creamy coleslaw that I usually get in restaurants. It’s great that I can make it right at home now.
Mmmm then you’ll love this homemade coleslaw dressing, Sharon! :)