Homemade Coleslaw - Video Recipe

Coleslaw is made for summer backyard barbecue gatherings and shady picnics in the park. It's easy to make and travel with. Just keep it covered in the refrigerator until serving time for a cool presentation.

I like Coleslaw on my deli sandwiches. It adds a cool crunch to a sliced stack of Pastrami and Corned Beef between 2 slices of rye bread.

I have a Fried Fish Taco that is dressed with cabbage, but Coleslaw would kick the recipe up a notch.

I grew up eating Southern-style Coleslaw -- super creamy from all the extra mayo. Go to any local BBQ Joint and choose a side of Coleslaw to go with BBQ chicken or sliced smoked beef brisket.

I only use four ingredients for my Coleslaw, just shredded cabbage and carrot, a lot of mayo, salt and pepper, and extra black pepper for me.

The most work you will do is shredding the cabbage and carrot. I use a cheap box grater. But you can buy packaged ready-to-mix shredded cabbage and carrot.

You can slice and chop veggies by hand of course. The end result is a little chunkier, but it works just fine.

If you have a grater, I like to use the largest mandolin blade opening for the cabbage. Some graters have a few stacked blade slots so your shredding will go quicker. A whole cabbage grates into about 6 cups.

For carrots, I like it a little finer so I use the side with the largest holes, that look like teardrops. A grated carrot will make about 2 cups.

Cabbage is always cheap.  For my recipe, I used a head of cabbage, but you can easily half the recipe ingredients. You can use the other half a head of cabbage for a stir fry, too.

Click on any photo to see larger.

I use a whole inexpensive carrot. Again it's easy enough to make a half recipe. If you use packaged shredded cabbage, my recipe will be cut in a third, that is 2 cups of cabbage and half a cup of carrot.

The other ingredients are mayonnaise, salt, and pepper. I like fresh ground black pepper. Once you mix in the mayo add a little seasoning at a time to reach the desired flavor.

Keep it vegan with veggie mayo. There are a lot of mayo types to choose from these days. And real mayonnaise always shows up at my local 99c only Store and Dollar Tree.

I leave out extra ingredients a lot of recipes like to add. Extras include a tablespoon of celery seed. Some like their Coleslaw sweet, so add a tablespoon of sugar or your favorite sweetener. A splash of vinegar will give Coleslaw an extra kick. I have a Deli-style Coleslaw recipe that has a little olive oil, just click here to see that one.

I like a simple Coleslaw that's creamy with mayo. Chill it and serve it for your next family picnic or barbecue. And for a potluck, your host will be thrilled to set it out.

Coleslaw - Video

Play it here, video runs 2 minutes, 48 seconds.

My YouTube video link for viewing or embedding, just click here.

Ingredients

• 1 whole cabbage -- about 6 cups total when shredded.  I used the mandolin slicing side of a box grater. Okay to slice by hand.
• 1 whole carrot,  peeled and shredded - about 2 cups total shredded. Okay to use as little or as much as you like, you can even leave it out.  Used the large-course shredding holes of my grater.
• 1 cup mayonnaise - light or regular strength. Okay to start with half a cup and add a tablespoon at a time to desired creaminess.
• Salt & Black Pepper to taste - about half a teaspoon of salt and a whole teaspoon of black pepper. I like the extra pepper taste. 

*Recipes with real mayo should be kept refrigerated until ready to serve. Do not leave Coleslaw out more than an hour or so at a time.

Directions
Rinse cabbage and carrot. Discard old or brown outer cabbage leaves. Peel discolored parts of carrot if necessary.

Shred or slice one whole cabbage --  about 6 cups total when shredded.  I used the mandolin slicing side of a box grater. Okay to slice by hand.

The box grater will fill up with shredded cabbage and become hard to slice cabbage, so be sure to empty the grater once it gets half full.

Shred or fine chop one carrot. I used the largest hole side. You should get about 2 cups from one carrot.

Of course, be careful using a box shredder - it's easy to cut your fingertips! When you have just a nub of carrot or a chunk of cabbage left, chop it up with a knife. Discard tough cabbage and carrot root ends.

Add shredded cabbage and carrot to a large bowl. It's okay to use packaged and pre-shredded cabbage and carrots. Use less mayo depending on package size. A typical shredded package of cabbage is about 2 cups.

I start with half the mayo called for, then add a tablespoon at a time. Just add enough mayo to reach the desired creaminess. I use about a cup of mayo in total.

Finally season with salt and pepper. Add a little at a time and taste Coleslaw. A half teaspoon each of salt and pepper is about right. I do like extra fresh ground black pepper, so I add more.

Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. If you make it a day ahead, you may need to add a tablespoon or two of fresh mayo, to bring Coleslaw back to normal creaminess.

Hindsight
Other recipes call for celery seed, sugar, and vinegar. Make the recipe the way you like it by adding any of the above.

Each day the Coleslaw is in the refrigerator, the mayo will break down some and become watery or just dryer. You can drain liquid from Coleslaw and add a tablespoon of mayo at a time, to bring back desired creaminess.

Vegan mayo works fine. There are Coleslaws without mayo. You can just use vinegar and a little olive oil instead of mayo. You may want to add a little sweetener. A handful of roasted peanuts are a nice extra addition for vinegar/oil Coleslaws.