Name: Easy Homemade Coleslaw
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1/2 cup mayonnaise; 1/2 cup sour cream; 2 teaspoons lemon zest (from 1 large lemon); 1/4 cup lemon juice (from the same 1 large lemon); 1 tablespoon granulated sugar; 1 tablespoon whole grain mustard (or dijon (technically this is optional but try not to skip it)); 3 tablespoon white vinegar; 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt; 1/2 teaspoon black pepper; 1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds (optional); 1/4 teaspoon celery seeds (optional); 2 (10-ounce) bags angel hair cabbage; 2 large carrots (peeled and shredded); 1/4 cup green onions (minced ); 2 tablespoons fresh dill (finely chopped (optional))

I grew up HATING coleslaw, but I’m convinced that I had just never had a decent batch. This easy Coleslaw recipe is creamy, crunchy, and ZIPPY from the lemon! A tasty side dish that you can make in 10 minutes on a weeknight. It calls for bagged angel hair cabbage (read: minimal chopping). Perfect side dish for potlucks, cookouts, or any summer meal!

A close-up of creamy coleslaw being served with a spoon, showing shredded cabbage, carrots, herbs, and a creamy dressing. A sprig of dill garnishes the dish.

Eric and I have been on a quest to lose a few pounds the last couple months. We are heading to Italy this summer (!!!) and plan to eat it all back in the form of gelato and pasta. (Then we will worry later about the fact that we will be at a net zero loss. Great plan right?? yolo haha)

We have been using hacks to cut calories. On Mother’s Day, Eric made me an amazing dinner of Homemade Smash Burgers (Eric is the KING of incredible burgers). He decided to throw together a last minute coleslaw as a side dish.

But he replaced the mayonnaise with our high protein yogurt (Fage forever). And guys, I believe in Greek yogurt as a substitute in many cases, but this was NOT it. 😂 Bless your heart Eric, for trying to help me out with my diet!!

Coleslaw is Eric’s favorite side dish, and I didn’t have a quick and easy recipe for it. (He was recipe-less, and going rogue with the yogurt!!) I decided that needed to change, stat!

A close-up of a bowl filled with creamy coleslaw, featuring shredded cabbage, carrots, and green onions, garnished with fresh dill.

A super easy coleslaw that actually tastes good

Have you ever had one of those grocery store coleslaws where you take a bite and think, “mmm, mayonnaise cabbage”? It’s no good you guys. They never have enough acidic ingredients.

I already have a recipe for Fresh Herby Coleslaw Recipe (that is absolutely PHENOMENAL), but it takes some doing. It relies on a lot of bright lemon, buttermilk, and fresh herb flavor.

I decided to “dumb down” my original coleslaw recipe as much as possible, so that we can throw it together on a weeknight without having to bust out 4 different herbs. (Seriously.)

What I found is that you can get a REALLY delicious coleslaw in about half the time. I figured out which ingredients will make or break a decent coleslaw for me (mayonnaise, guys. Don’t sub with Greek yogurt 😂) The real magic comes from the lemony dressing.

I think with this recipe I will be able to “fix up” a grocery store coleslaw during desperate times. They usually just need a fresh lemon (zest and juice), maybe a bit more white vinegar, and some more salt and spices. You could use today’s recipe as a guide to easily fix up a grocery store coleslaw!

Why this recipe is easy

Here are some of the shortcuts:

We’re using bagged angel hair coleslaw to save you the time and effort of chopping a head of cabbage. If you have time and prefer to chop a cabbage head instead, go for it!
No onion saves time. Do green onions count as onion? I mean I guess so, but they are SO much easier to chop, so I feel like it’s a huge win.
Only the important spices. You can get by with just salt and pepper. But if you have them, celery seed, caraway, and mustard round out this coleslaw so well!

A close-up of creamy coleslaw with shredded cabbage, carrots, and fresh herbs being scooped with a fork.

Important ingredients

Here’s what you need to know about the good stuff in this recipe.

Lemon juice AND lemon zest add the perfect brightness, acidity, and citrus flavor to the coleslaw. Definitely use fresh, it won’t be the same without it! You CAN make coleslaw with just vinegar as the acid, but it’s not as good.
White vinegar is SO important. Acidic ingredients are what most store-bought coleslaws are missing. That extra kick of acidity, combined with the lemon, takes what would otherwise be flat-flavor to something that sings. You can play with other vinegars like apple cider or red wine. I like white vinegar as it is more mild and highlights all the other seasonings.
Sugar is the last surprise ingredient. It’s not much, and it definitely doesn’t make the coleslaw very sweet. Instead, it adds balance between the creamy mayo base, the acidic vinegar and lemon, and all the seasonings. It really is amazing how much it ties everything together! If you’re not sure if you like sugar in it, you can start with a less than what is called for and keep going until it tastes right to you.

How to make easy weeknight coleslaw

Here are all the ingredients you need to make this super easy coleslaw! Besides the veggies, these are all basic pantry ingredients for me. (If your fridge is not always stocked with sour cream…who even are you? My 6-year-old thinks sour cream goes on basically every meal.)

An assortment of coleslaw ingredients on a counter, including mayonnaise, sour cream, shredded coleslaw mix, carrots, a lemon, fresh dill, green onions, sugar, white vinegar, and various spices.

I know there is dill in this picture. Yes, I know that’s a little extra for a weeknight. You can totally skip it! I am just a huge sucker for fresh dill in coleslaw. If you don’t have any, sprinkle on some dried dill, or just skip it!

Grab a bowl and scoop in some mayo and sour cream.

A glass bowl with cream cheese and mayonnaise; in the next step, a hand squeezes a lemon and adds zest to the mixture with a grater beside the bowl.

Zest a lemon and squeeze in the juice. If you are in a hurry, just skip the zesting. But also, if zesting is the thing that makes you think “this recipe is too hard” then you need to get yourself a microplane grater. It makes this a 30 second step!!

Here is everything for the dressing, including the caraway and the celery seed. You can skip those two ingredients if you don’t have them! I know they are not the most common spices. I really love the earthy undertones it adds to the coleslaw. But make it yours. Don’t let some food blogger tell you what to do!!

Two images: The top shows a glass bowl with mayonnaise, spices, lemon zest, and seasonings. The bottom shows the same bowl with the mixture whisked into a smooth, creamy dressing. A whisk and some green herbs are nearby.

Whisk is all together, then dump the cabbage on top! This is just one bag of the cabbage.

The bagged cabbage is factory-shredded, which makes the shreds way thinner than you can get them with a knife at home. I LOVE this texture for coleslaw. But it also means that there are some of these big pieces, from the end of where the machine could shred. I like to pull these out and slice them with a knife, or just toss them.

A hand holds a piece of shredded cabbage over a bowl of coleslaw mix in the top image; in the bottom image, shredded carrots and a box grater sit on a white cutting board with a partially peeled carrot nearby.

Shred up a few carrots. Are we peeling carrots these days? You can just wash them really well and get shredding, if you want. A little dirt don’t hurt and all that, right? Did I lose you here? Come baaack 😂

Okay, add in all the other veggies: carrots are essential in my opinion to sweeten up the coleslaw and add great depth of flavor. Green onions are also essential in my opinion. You need that BITE to make it interesting. The other green is the dill, and you can leave it out if you must.

Top: A bowl with shredded cabbage, carrots, green onions, and herbs. Bottom: The same ingredients mixed together with creamy dressing to make coleslaw.

Stir it all together…it looks done, right? WRONG. Add in the other bag of cabbage!

Two glass bowls of coleslaw: the top bowl contains plain shredded cabbage, while the bottom bowl shows the cabbage mixed with dressing, carrots, and chopped herbs.

I know it might seem a little dry at first. But the thing about coleslaw is that as it sits, all the veggies start to release their juices.

Here is what it looks like after just about 10 minutes:

A close-up of a glass bowl filled with creamy coleslaw, featuring shredded cabbage, carrots, and herbs mixed with a dressing.

And if you wait 30 minutes or an hour, it will be even more juicy. I know it’s tempting to not add that second bag of cabbage, but I promise it works out.

Close-up of creamy coleslaw with shredded cabbage, carrots, chopped green onions, and fresh herbs, all mixed together in a bowl with a silver spoon.

This truly is one of my favorite side dishes!! I hope you get to try it soon with all your summer meals!

Awesome main dishes to go with coleslaw

You can find me adding coleslaw to just about any meal throughout the summer!

Any type of grilled meat! Some of my favorites are Pulled Pork (Slow Cooker/Oven or Grill Smoked), Ribs (Honey Balsamic or “Barb”ecue), Texas Beef Brisket, or Grilled Chicken Marinade
Turkey Burgers That Don’t Suck >> juicy, tender, and SO flavorful. And did I mention fast and easy?
Chicken Salad with Mandarin Oranges >> a classic recipe with the amount of oranges you actually want, perfect on a croissant or as a wrap.

A close-up of creamy coleslaw with shredded cabbage, carrots, green onions, and fresh herbs in a bowl with a serving spoon.

How to store leftover coleslaw

Transfer any leftovers to a tupperware with an airtight lid and keep in the refrigerator. It will stay good for as long as 5-7 days! Whenever I make it, I end up adding some to my plate for just about every meal until it’s gone. It really does add the perfect little side to just about anything.

Do NOT attempt to freeze coleslaw! It will be nasty and you will end up throwing it away, and that’s sad.

Close-up of creamy coleslaw with shredded cabbage, carrots, fresh dill, and a mayonnaise-based dressing in a green bowl, with a serving spoon partially visible.

More great summer sides

Do you get as excited as I do going into each new season? I think about all the food that I haven’t had for a while and loooove during that time period. These are tried and true favorites around here, but you can always check out my Summer Holiday page for even more ideas!