Mediterranean Coleslaw
HELLO, NEW FAVORITE! Sorry about the caps, but I’m really excited about this Mediterranean Coleslaw. It’s so freaking delicious. This coleslaw is actually very similar to my Marinated Cauliflower Salad, but with a coleslaw (shredded cabbage and carrot) base instead of cauliflower, and a more lemon-y dressing. It’s fresh, crisp, colorful, and the perfect side dish for dinners or potlucks!

What is Colesaw Mix?
This recipe uses bagged “coleslaw mix” that you can purchase in most grocery stores in the U.S. It’s simply a mix of shredded green cabbage and carrots. While I don’t use convenience products like this often, I find that coleslaw mix is extremely convenient, usually very inexpensive, and doesn’t leave me with ½ head of leftover cabbage.
If you do want to use fresh cabbage, you’ll need about six cups of shredded cabbage (loosely packed) and one shredded carrot.
What to Serve with Mediterranean Coleslaw
I think this slaw would make a great side dish to burgers (particularly my Mediterranean Turkey Burgers), Sheet Pan Greek Chicken and Vegetables, or even Beef Kofta Meatballs. Or, make it part of a vegetarian platter with Herby Potato Salad and some Hummus.
You could also pile this coleslaw into a wrap with some Garlic Marinated Chicken to make a wrap sandwich. Or top the Mediterranean Coleslaw with some Garlic Butter Shrimp and make it a meal salad.
How Are The Leftovers?
As with any coleslaw, the cabbage will begin to wilt as it is refrigerated. I enjoyed the leftovers of this coleslaw for about two days before it got a little too limp for my tastes. You’ll definitely want to give it a stir every time before serving to make sure the dressing and all the flavors get redistributed.

Mediterranean Coleslaw
Ingredients
Lemon Garlic Vinaigrette
- 1/4 cup olive oil ($0.42)
- 1/4 cup lemon juice ($0.18)
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder ($0.05)
- 1 tsp dried oregano ($0.10)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper ($0.02)
Salad
- 16 oz. coleslaw mix (shredded cabbage and carrots) ($1.69)
- 1/2 red bell pepper, diced ($0.75)
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley ($0.23)
- 1 2.25oz. can sliced black olives ($1.50)
- 1/2 12oz. jar banana pepper rings ($1.00)
- 2 oz. feta, crumbled ($1.25)
Instructions
- Prepare the lemon garlic vinaigrette first. Combine the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic powder, oregano, salt, and pepper in a bowl or jar. Whisk until combined, or close the jar and shake until combined. Set the dressing aside.
- Dice the bell pepper and chop the parsley. Add the coleslaw mix (shredded cabbage and carrots), bell pepper, black olives (drained), banana peppers, feta, and parsley in a large bowl.
- Pour the vinaigrette over the salad ingredients then toss until everything is combined and coated in dressing. Let the slaw sit for 15 minutes before serving. Stir one last time just before serving to redistribute the vinaigrette.
Nutrition
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How to Make Mediterranean Coleslaw – Step by Step Photos

Prepare the lemon garlic vinaigrette first. Combine ¼ cup olive oil, 1/4 cup lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a bowl or jar. Whisk until combined, or close the jar and shake until combined. Set the dressing aside.

Dice ½ a red bell pepper and chop about ¼ cup fresh parsley. Drain the black olives. Add one 16oz. bag coleslaw mix (shredded cabbage and carrots) to a large bowl along with the bell pepper, parsley, black olives, about ½ jar of banana peppers, and 2 oz. crumbled feta.

Pour the prepared lemon garlic vinaigrette over the salad ingredients in the bowl.

Toss the ingredients together until everything is combined and coated in the vinaigrette. Let the salad sit for about 15 minutes for the flavors to combine, then toss once again before serving.

Made this as a side dish with lemon souvlaki chicken and it was delicious! Only thing I added was a little rice vinegar as I love the zing that it adds to the dressing. I don’t like my slaw too crunchy so I added dressing earlier. With this slaw I think I’d wait a bit so it still a little crunch. Maybe add about 1/2 before serving next time. Will definitely make again!
this is a fun spin on coleslaw.
This looks amazing. I love coleslaw, can’t wait to try this totally homemade version.
What a great looking version of cole slaw. I’ll have to try this out for summer bbqs.
Great cole slaw recipe.
This. Was. Delish! Paired with the Black Bean Burger Patties (original recipe with Worcestershire of course) and your Mushroom rice… Mwuah! So good! I actually omitted the peppers bc I didn’t have them but added in some finely chopped red onion. Very good recipe. Thank you. I also followed some comments advice about waiting to add certain ingredients e.g. the dressing till later when you’re ready to eat except the only thing I omitted was the feta till the serving of the dish bc I think leaving the dressing on the hearty cabbage and carrots really helped to kind of soften and pickle them a little bit before eating. I’m excited to have some today (the following morning) to see how the flavors have developed overnight. Thank you for the recipe. I like how this was a twist on the conventional Asian style cabbage slaws grocery stores tend to lean towards in their bagged salads. Keep coming out with new variations, please! Always a fan of how simple but delish your recipes are and how as a new cook, I can practice my hand at tweaking them to our family’s liking!
Hi! If I were to make this recipe meal prep style to eat throughout the week, would you keep the dressing on the side and add it in the morning before I am going to eat it?
It just depends if you prefer the salad to be really crunchy or not. If you want it to stay super crunchy definitely keep the dressing on the side. If you prefer your cabbage a little softened (sometimes it’s easier to digest that way), you can dress it ahead of time and let the dressing wilt the cabbage. :)
I can’t stand soggy salads or slaws, so I just kept the dressing separate and my husband and I just dressed our slaw at the table. It was delicious and stayed crunchy for a couple of days. Yum.