This is THE best classic Coleslaw recipe. It’s perfectly flavorful and tangy, with lots of crunch, and easy to throw together thanks to a combination of bagged coleslaw plus some extra fresh ingredients. It’s the perfect side dish for any BBQ as it goes perfectly with smoked and grilled meats, and stuffed onto sandwiches like BBQ Pork or Corned Beef.
Ingredients Needed
This is just a preview of ingredients and method, keep scrolling for full printable recipe.
Dressing
- Mayonnaise – No Miracle Whip or fat-free mayo. Light is ok, but full fat is best.
- Dijon – Or other whole-grain mustard.
- Apple cider vinegar
- Granulated sugar
- Kosher salt
- Grated onion
- Celery seed – Make sure you’re using celery seed and not celery salt!
Coleslaw
- Bagged shredded cabbage with carrots – This is NOT a mix with a pre-made dressing pack inside. Just the bag of shredded cabbage with carrots. Make sure to not get the extra thin shreds, as those will get soggy in the dressing.
- Green bell pepper
- Carrot
How to Make Memphis-Style Coleslaw
- Empty a bag of shredded cabbage and carrots into a mixing bowl. Add some freshly chopped green pepper and shredded carrots. Set aside.
- Whisk together your dressing: mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, sugar, salt, grated onion, mustard, and celery seed.
- Toss the dressing and cabbage mixture well and, for best results, let chill in the fridge for a bit to let all those flavors sink in before serving.
Storing and Other Tips
- Store leftover coleslaw in an airtight container in the refrigerator and enjoy within 3-5 days for best results.
- Cabbage holds up to dressing quite well, but you may want to eat leftovers on the earlier end if you like it more crispy.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can definitely make this coleslaw several hours to a day ahead of time! It will stay good longer than that, but some of the cabbage may start to wilt after a couple of days.
In my opinion it’s just the right amount of sweet! If you prefer less sugar it’s absolutely ok to adjust it according to your taste.
Angel hair shreds are ok if you are going to be eating your coleslaw immediately. If you are making it ahead of time or think your might have leftovers it’s really best to use the thicker shreds as they will hold up to the dressing much better.
Memphis-Style Coleslaw
Ingredients
Dressing
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons Dijon or whole-grain mustard
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- ½ heaping teaspoon Kosher salt or an even 1/2 teaspoon of table salt
- 1 tablespoons grated onion
- 2-2 ½ teaspoons celery seed NOT celery salt
Coleslaw
- 1 16- ounce bag shredded cabbage with carrots
- ½ minced green bell pepper
- 1 carrot peeled and grated
Instructions
Dressing
- In a small mixing bowl combine mayo, mustard, vinegar, sugar, salt, onion, and celery seed.
Coleslaw
- In a large mixing bowl, combine shredded cabbage, carrots, and green pepper. Toss with dressing and for best results refrigerate for 2-3 hours before using.
Notes
- Store leftover coleslaw in an airtight container in the refrigerator and enjoy within 3-5 days for best results.
- Cabbage holds up to dressing quite well, but you may want to eat leftovers on the earlier end if you like it more crispy.
- Use thick shredded cabbage for coleslaw that will hold up. Angel hair shredded cabbage will wilt pretty quickly so only use this if you plan to eat it immediately.
Questions & Reviews
Interesting comment about the celery seed. I had the opposite experience. We had a cookout Saturday and the coleslaw was almost gone before the BBQ. It was great on the pulled pork BBQ. However, the quantity of cabbage I used was more so it may have effectively cut the amount of celery seed per serving.
Instead of a bag of pre-shredded cabbage/carrots, I bought a head of cabbage (so cheap) and ran it through the food processor. I threw the carrots, bell pepper, and an onion through the processor too since it was already dirty. The cabbage came out to about 3 lbs so I doubled the ‘sauce’ recipe (5 tsp celery seed). Since the original recipe called for a 16oz (1 lb) bag of cabbage, technically I should have tripled the sauce recipe, but I didn’t want the cabbage swimming in liquid. Doubling it worked out just right. If you like math, I tripled the cabbage but only doubled the celery seed, so I really used 2/3 the amount of celery seed the recipe called for.
I also added 1 tsp cayenne (in my doubled sauce) and it was just right. I threw away my old coleslaw recipe and replaced it with this one 🙂 Thanks Kate and Sara.
I made this coleslaw to compliment a pulled pork sandwich. However, it did not go over very well. My guests found that it had way too much celery seed. If I were to make it again, I would cut back the celery seed by half.
About how many do would you say this serves. I want to make it for my son and daughters cowboy/cowgirl birthday party this weekend and we have 45-50 people coming. P.S. I love you girls, you have THE BEST recipes. Ever. Can't wait to get my hands on your cookbook!!
I never like coleslaw… until now – Sooo good!! I always stop at your blog first when looking for a recipe!
AMAZING! Even my coleslaw hating husband was piling this on top of his BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich. So yummy!
So, I think I may have said this before — but, you're blog is awesome! I love to cook and tweak recipes, but I seem to find myself not messing with yours because you've already tweaked them to perfection. Totally making this recipe to go with BBQ beef sandwiches and baked beans this week.
I'm really not a big coleslaw fan, but my husband is and I thought I'd try this to go with our pulled pork sandwiches. I couldn't believe how much I loved it. Like, it was my favourite part of the meal! Now I'll be making coleslaw all the time and poor hubby will have to share. Thanks!
Finally made this the other night and let me tell you it's my new favorite coleslaw! Delicious!!
So guess what? I didn't know I liked coleslaw! I guess I've only had it at cheap-o restaurants and school cafeterias so after a few bad experiences I don't have a very good opinion of it. But I gave this one a shot today and it was SO good. I loved that it wasn't overly sweet like a lot of them are. It was so good in fact that I rushed out and bought some pre-made pork so I could make the pork sandwiches! I'm pretty sure it's my new favorite meal. YUM!
Have you seen the new canola oil mayo? It has 1/2 the fat but tastes just as good as the real thing. It also does not have soy. 🙂