This easy pickled slaw recipe is a refreshing summer side dish that pairs well with veggie burgers, sloppy joes, kebabs and more!
It’s deceptively difficult to find a great easy coleslaw recipe. Or maybe we’re just challenged by coleslaw. For some reason, out of the many we’ve tried over the years, we still haven’t found the one we really liked. They were too fat, too cabbage, whatever. We finally found one we love, this easy pickled slaw recipe inspired by Jennifer Houston and Ruth Tal’s Fresh cookbook. We enjoyed the “fresh” version of the meatless food book, based on recipes from restaurants of the same name (unfortunately for us in Toronto!).
We adapted this easy pickled coleslaw recipe from her healthy coleslaw recipe and found it flavorful, delicious and, yes, fresh! It was a great side to pair with two bean sloppy joes. And we were able to use kale from our local farmers market. Read on for the easy pickled coleslaw recipe!
All About Pickled Coleslaw!
The key ingredients in this easy pickled slaw recipe are red onions, red and green cabbage, and celery. Although this is a simple recipe, combining these frugal veggies results in a healthy coleslaw recipe that won’t weigh you down.
Unlike many coleslaw recipes, this vinegar-based coleslaw tastes best right away and doesn’t need time in the fridge for the flavors to meld. The flavorful dressing absorbs easily into the cabbage, making it a great last-minute meal. It’s also a mayo-based alternative to creamy coleslaw dressing for potlucks, where the food sits on a table in the sun for a few hours.
Would you like a different variant? Try our Red Slaw, Creamy Slaw or Broccoli Slaw instead!
Serve this pickled slaw
Serve your homemade pickled slaw with veggie burgers, skewers, and any other summertime dish you love. This recipe makes enough for four to six people and can easily be doubled to feed a larger crowd. If you don’t want to serve this coleslaw right away, we recommend prepping the veggies and dressing ahead of time and storing them separately. Then, when ready to serve, simply mix everything together and enjoy!
Video: how to cut cabbage
The only tricky part about making a coleslaw recipe with vinegar is knowing how to cut the cabbage! Alex and I recently learned a cabbage slicing trick that makes slicing much easier. We used to cut it in half and then chopped it until we had uneven “scraps”. Once you learned this little trick to chopping cabbage, making cabbage or coleslaw was a breeze! Watch the video below where I show how to cut cabbage in our home kitchen.
And that’s it!
Ok, are you convinced to try our pickled coleslaw recipe? Would you like to try our method of cutting cabbage? Let us know if you try it and what you think in the comments below!
This pickled coleslaw recipe is…
Vegetarian, gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan and plant-based.
The description
This easy pickled slaw recipe is a refreshing summer side dish that pairs well with veggie burgers, sloppy joes, kebabs and more!
- 1/2 head kale (approx 4 cups)
- 1/2 red cabbage (approx 4 cups)
- 3 celery sticks
- 1 Red onion
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon dill
- ¼ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Thinly slice the cabbage and measure out 8 cups. Thinly slice the onion and celery.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the rice vinegar, apple cider vinegar, dill, chilli powder, and kosher salt. Stir in the olive oil, tablespoon by tablespoon, until a creamy emulsion forms.
- In a large bowl, toss the cabbage, red onion, and celery with the dressing. Add ground black pepper to taste and additional salt if needed. Serve immediately. (Note: It’s best to serve coleslaw the day it’s made; leftovers don’t store well. One idea is to only add the dressing to the veggies you plan to eat.)
- Category: garnish
- Method: Raw
- Kitchen: American
Keywords: Pickled coleslaw, coleslaw recipe, easy coleslaw recipe, pickled coleslaw
Looking for healthier side dishes?
Aside from this easy pickled coleslaw recipe, here are some of our favorite side dish recipes:
