Carolina Coleslaw
Coleslaw is often an accompaniment to other meals – we often serve it with baked potatoes. It is easy to buy in the supermarkets, often in a wide range of styles but it is also super easy to make at home. From the classic coleslaw to something a little different such as Carolina Coleslaw, it is a great accompaniment to lots of meals and ideal to go with summer BBQs.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases and sometimes recommend products from other sellers at no extra cost you. For more details see my disclosure policy and privacy policy.
What is coleslaw?
Coleslaw comes from a Dutch term ‘koolsla’ which means ‘cabbage salad’ and that tells you a lot about the basic dish. Going back to its roots, coleslaw would be made with finely shredded cabbage and some kind of dressing such as a vinaigrette or just mayonnaise. Along the way, the cabbage was sometimes pickled to make the dish last longer.
It has also led to a whole range of variations from different parts of the world:
- Germany – shredded cabbage marinated in oil and vinegar with onions and apples
- Italy – ‘insalata capricciosa’ with cooked ham and sliced pepper added
- Poland – rarely uses mayonnaise but served with a little oil and vinegar
- Russian – cabbage mixed with carrots, apples, cranberries and seasoned with sunflower oil
- UK – our traditional coleslaw mixed carrots with the cabbage along with onions and mayonnaise as well as sometimes having cheese added or dried fruit and nuts
What’s the difference between coleslaw and slaw?
So, coleslaw mostly uses cabbage as the base and then adds a range of different ingredients to give it extra flavour. But what is slaw? Generally, this is any type of raw, chopped vegetables that are served without a dressing. This can include broccoli, carrots, snow peas and more.
Generally, in the US, coleslaw will feature things like buttermilk, carrots and sometimes mustard. Red slaw is made with ketchup rather than mayonnaise and tangy ingredients such as lime and chipotle are often added in some parts of the country.
Basic coleslaw recipe
If you want to get started with a very simple coleslaw dish, then it would look something like this:
- 1 small head green cabbage (we use Sweetheart because we like it with roast dinner)
- 2 large carrots, shredded
- ½ white onion
To that, we would normally just mix in mayonnaise and sometimes add some grated cheddar. If you wanted to make a proper dressing, you would mix 1 cup mayo with ¼ cup apple cider vinegar, 1 tbsp granulated sugar and ½ tsp salt. Then mix this with the veggies. You could also mix half sour cream and half mayo into this recipe if you want something a little different.
What you’ll need
- 1 head cabbage (cored and sliced thin)
- 1 red onion (sliced thin)
- 1 white onion (sliced thin)
- 3 large carrots (sliced thin)
- 4 large kale leaves (stalk remove and cut into ribbons)
- 3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tsp celery seeds
- Salt & pepper (to taste)
How to make Carolina Coleslaw
Add the cabbage, red onion, white onion, carrots and kale leaves to a large glass bowl and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
Add the vinegar and sugar to a small saucepan set to medium-high heat. Stir the mixture until the sugar thoroughly dissolves.
Remove from heat and whisk in the vegetable oil, mustard and celery seeds. While still warm, pour over the cabbage mixture and toss to combine thoroughly.
Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for a couple hours before serving. If desired, season with additional salt and pepper before serving.
Recipe tips
This Carolina Coleslaw would work well for that but also as a salad-style meal for a light lunch. It is also great if you aren’t a fan of mayonnaise-based dishes as there’s no mayo to be seen. And for BBQ fans, it is perfect served with grilled burgers or chicken wings.
Carolina Coleslaw
Ingredients
- 1 head cabbage (cored and sliced thin)
- 1 red onion (sliced thin)
- 1 white onion (sliced thin)
- 3 large carrots (sliced thin)
- 4 large kale leaves (stalk remove and cut into ribbons)
- 3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tsp celery seeds
- Salt & pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- Add the cabbage, red onion, white onion, carrots and kale leaves to a large glass bowl and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
- Add the vinegar and sugar to a small saucepan set to medium-high heat. Stir the mixture until the sugar thoroughly dissolves. Remove from heat and whisk in the vegetable oil, mustard and celery seeds. While still warm, pour over the cabbage mixture and toss to combine thoroughly.
- Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for a couple hours before serving. If desired, season with additional salt and pepper before serving.
Notes
For best results, soak the red onion in a mixture of 1 part water to 1 part vinegar for 10-15 minutes before use to tame the strong flavor and reduce odour. In addition, tough kale leaves can be tenderised by rubbing them with some olive oil for a few minutes.
