I never knew I was a coleslaw person until I made it myself. I had eaten it plenty of times at restaurants, never once having been impressed, and always wondered what the appeal was. But then I decided to make a quick batch of creamy coleslaw to go on a sandwich one day, and it totally stole the show. Something about that creamy-crunchy combo made me keep coming back for more, and I’ve been making it on the reg ever since.
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“I love this recipe! I’ve used this recipe (which was posted on the BBQ bean sandwiches forever ago) for years! I’ve had people even ask for (and use!!) it so many times! This is the only slaw I ever make. Trust me, you will not be disappointed with this one!! (Just a preference thing- I usually don’t bother with the green onions, but I’ve had no luck changing anything else about it. It just works!!)”
Elle
Easy Recipe for Creamy Coleslaw
The super simple dressing for my creamy coleslaw is made with a few pantry staples, including a little Dijon mustard for tang and a dab of honey for sweetness. Then the dressing is just tossed with shredded cabbage, carrots, and sliced green onions, and you’re done! It’s creamy crunchy heaven ready to be piled onto a sandwich or taco, stuffed into a wrap, or enjoyed as is.
I rarely need a ton of slaw at once, so I made this recipe a “small batch.” It’s about two cups total once done, or just enough for about four sandwiches. (Or two sandwiches and four mouthfuls, LOL).
Budget-Saving Tip
I used pre-shredded bagged “coleslaw mix” (shredded cabbage and carrots) for this recipe because I think it’s one of the few times using pre-chopped vegetables is cost-effective. And then you’re not left with half a cabbage in your fridge, wondering what to do with it. Because no matter how small a cabbage is, it always seems to be too much.
BUT, if you happen to have that half head of cabbage and want to make this with it, you’ll need about 3 cups finely shredded cabbage and about one medium carrot, shredded.
Easy Creamy Coleslaw
Servings 4 (1/2 cup each)Ingredients
Dressing
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise ($0.55)
- 1/2 Tbsp honey ($0.06)
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard ($0.03)
- 1 tsp red wine vinegar (or apple cider vinegar, $0.02)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- black pepper (freshly cracked, $0.03)
Vegetables
- 1/2 14 oz. bag coleslaw mix (shredded cabbage and carrots, $2.18*)
- 3 green onions ($0.30)
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the ingredients for the dressing (mayonnaise, honey, Dijon, red wine vinegar, salt, and pepper).
- Slice the green onions. Add the coleslaw mix (shredded cabbage and carrots) to a large bowl with the green onions, then pour the dressing over top. Stir until the cabbage is evenly coated in dressing. Serve immediately.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Equipment
- Small Bowl
- Large Bowl
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!How to Make Classic Creamy Coleslaw Step-by-Step Photos
Gather all of your ingredients.
Make the dressing: Stir together 1/3 cup mayonnaise, 1/2 Tbsp honey, 1 tsp Dijon mustard, 1 tsp red wine vinegar, 1/4 tsp salt, and some freshly cracked pepper (about 5 cranks of a pepper mill) in a small bowl.
Prep the veggies: Add 1/2 of a 14 oz. bag of coleslaw mix (shredded green cabbage and carrots) to a large bowl. Slice three green onions and add them to the bowl as well.
Make the slaw: Pour the prepared dressing over top of the cabbage mixture…
And then, stir until all the cabbage is coated in dressing.
Then dig in (or put it on your sandwich or taco, stuff it into your wrap, or serve it on the side with your ribs)!
What Else Can I Add?
I don’t often stray too far away from the classic coleslaw ingredients whenever I make this recipe, but when I do, it’s always delicious! Here are some fun add-in ideas to try (with some suggestions from our readers included!):
- Celery seeds
- Dried cranberries
- Pomegranate seeds
- Use a broccoli slaw mix instead of a cabbage-based one
- Pickled red onions (drained well)
- Chopped walnuts or almonds
- Cooked macaroni (for a twist on classic macaroni salad)
Serving Suggestions
Creamy coleslaw is absolutely perfect with anything BBQ or anything with buffalo sauce. That cool, tangy crunch balances out the sweet smokiness of BBQ and the fiery heat of buffalo like nothing else.
One of the first recipes I paired it with was my BBQ bean sliders, and it’s still a favorite of mine for summer. I also love it with Sloppy Joes, as it’s just what I need to cut through the saucy sandwich filling. It’s great on tacos, too, like my blackened shrimp tacos, where the slaw adds freshness and crunch, or alongside spicy dishes like Nashville hot chicken or Buffalo cauliflower wings for game days, cookouts, midweek dinners, and everything in between.
Storage Instructions
Part of what makes cabbage so crunchy is that it contains a lot of water. Over time, the salt in the dressing pulls the water out of the cabbage, leaving water in the bottom of your bowl and your cabbage a little less crisp. The only way to prevent this from happening is to store your dressing separately from the shredded vegetables. So, if you don’t plan to eat the whole batch right away, make sure you only add dressing to the portion you plan to eat.
However, if you don’t mind a thinner dressing, you can store this homemade coleslaw in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
More Delicious Slaw Recipes
Our Creamy Coleslaw recipe was originally published 1/14/20. It was retested, reworked, and republished to be better than ever 6/18/25.
Love the dressing mix. I make a double batch and cut up my own cabbage using both green and purple, julienne a few carrots and apples and toss everything together. Today I added walnuts and dried cranberries. When pomegranates are in season I add the arils as well. So delicious.
This recipe is good! Our family likes a little more dressing so I usually make 1.5-2x the dressing and I sometimes add a splash of buttermilk if I have it.
I’ve also subbed in white vinegar and/or plain sugar if I’m out of red wine vinegar or honey. It’s good with these alterations as well.
Super easy and tasty.
This is my go-to recipe for coleslaw. It’s very easy to make and I get a lot of compliments on the taste. I don’t eat coleslaw, but everyone else who does loves this recipe.
Great coleslaw dressing! Not as sugar-sweet as some store-bought dressings. I used bagged broccoli slaw in lieu of cabbage for something that would keep in the fridge for a few days without wilting. Plan to eat with pulled pork sandwiches.
Coleslaw is such a frugal and versatile dish. Thanks for posting your recipe.
can you make this and freeze it? Â how long does it last in fridge?
This recipe would not be a good one to freeze, unfortunately. It will stay good in the fridge for a few days.
Can I store this in a refrigerator?
Yes, this should be kept refrigerated. The cabbage will wilt and become more soft, but some people enjoy coleslaw that way.
Added dates…..oh my!
Thanks for this wonderful site. I have tried a few things and everything has been good. I love that you keep the number of ingredients manageable, and the budget aspect.
Can you give me an estimate of how many cups of chopped cabbage and shredded carrot this would take? I buy cabbage and  carrots whole, as I cook with them a lot. It seems like a half bag of 14 oz, is only a scant cup of slaw. Is this right? I’m wondering if weight of ounces might not directly translate to cups (liquid) and the recipe would take more in cups? Thanks in advance. Just wanting a guesstimate, if possible.
Yes as it shows above, this recipe only makes 4 – 1/2 cup servings of the coleslaw. As for rough amounts of raw veggies, I’d say about 1 cup of each would be fine.
14 0z bag of coleslaw mix is about 8 cups so 3 1/2-4 cups total.
Just made this tonight since I was already planning on pulled pork for dinner. I’ve tried a couple different coleslaw recipes, but most are larger batches and we usually don’t eat up the leftovers before it gets too soggy. Tonight there were no leftovers, so I think this is our new standard coleslaw recipe! It’s similar to my old one, the main differences being honey instead of sugar and all mayo instead of mayo/sour cream mixture. Which I prefer because I don’t always have plenty of sour cream on hand.
I’ll try this, but for me, it’s not coleslaw without celery seeds, so I’ll be adding them!
I love this recipe! I’ve used this recipe (which was posted on the BBQ bean sandwiches forever ago) for years! I’ve had people even ask for (and use!!) it so many times! This is the only slaw I ever make. Trust me, you will not be disappointed with this one!! (Just a preference thing- I usually don’t bother with the green onions, but I’ve had no luck changing anything else about it. It just works!!)
Do you think you could replace the mayonnaise with Greek yogurt? My husband and I rarely have mayo on hand, but we tend to keep Greek yogurt in the fridge.
I used greek yogurt in place of mayo for her honey mustard broccoli salad and it worked out really well. I plan to try greek yogurt in this as well. I think it will taste good, you may just have to add a little more salt, vinegar, or seasoning to make up for some of the mayo flavor.
Yes you could certainly give it a try!
I’ve actually done this with this recipe and the texture was fine and everything, but the taste was… not great. It didn’t taste like ‘coleslaw’ to me at all. Maybe you won’t mind it, though!