This Classic Vegan Coleslaw is easy to make with a shredded cabbage and carrot mix and a 5-ingredient mayo dressing. It’s creamy, tangy, and perfect for picnics, potlucks, or weeknight dinners!
For the best summer meal, serve your creamy vegan coleslaw with a scoop of Vegan Baked Beans, these soft Southern-Style Vegan Buttermilk Biscuits, and a BBQ Jackfruit Pulled Pork sandwich.
Creamy and so refreshing, my easy Vegan Coleslaw recipe uses pre-shredded cabbage and carrots and a super simple dressing that comes together in only 5 minutes.
This is one of those must-have recipes to keep on hand all summer long. It’s one of my favorite side dishes for cookouts, barbecues, and potlucks! I love it on the side of these Grilled Veggie Burgers, my finger-licking good Baked BBQ Tofu, and this crispy Vegan Fried Chicken.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“This is the only recipe I use for slaw. Nora knocks it out of the park every time! It’s also a very easy recipe. We love it!” – Jen
Why you’ll love this easy vegan coleslaw
- A must-have summer side – I make vegan coleslaw usually a few times a month in the summer. It’s ridiculously good layered on a Vegan Sloppy Joe or served with these Sticky BBQ Tempeh Ribs!
- So quick & easy – This 10-minute coleslaw recipe is made with time-saving, store-bought ingredients, like a pre-shredded cabbage and carrots mix, vegan mayo, and pantry staples.
- The best dressing – The simple mayo and vinegar dressing makes this coleslaw. It’s flexible, too! Make it with your favorite vegan mayo, reduce the sugar, or swap the vinegar for lemon juice.
How to make vegan coleslaw
Find the complete recipe with measurements in the recipe card below.
Add the vegan mayo, granulated sugar, apple cider vinegar, celery seed, and salt to a large bowl. Whisk to combine.
Stir the shredded coleslaw mixture into the bowl with the dressing until coated. Taste, and adjust the flavors as needed.
Serve the creamy vegan coleslaw right away or chill it in the covered bowl for a few hours before serving. Enjoy!
Refrigerate the coleslaw for 3 to 6 hours
I highly recommend chilling the coleslaw in the fridge for at least 3 hours before serving. This lets the flavors mingle and gives the cabbage a chance to soften a bit without losing its crunch.
Frequently asked questions
Sure! Feel free to chop or shred a mixture of green cabbage, red cabbage, carrots, green onions, and/or fresh herbs if you’d prefer. Just make sure you have about 5 cups total.
Pro tip: If you’re shredding the veggies yourself, use a food processor fitted with a shredding/grating blade. It’s so much faster than doing it by hand with a box shredder or knife!
You can omit the mayo from the recipe to make a tangy, vinegar-based coleslaw instead.
Or, if store-bought vegan mayo isn’t available to you, I’d suggest making your own. My Vegan Mayo recipe is easy to make with cashews, and my Tofu Vegan Mayonnaise is oil-free.
Sure. Try using only 1 tablespoon of sugar for a less-sweet version. Or, swap the white sugar for coconut sugar, agave, or pure maple syrup.
I actually find that the coleslaw tastes even better when it’s made a few hours in advance. Before get-togethers, I’ll whip up a batch and store it covered in the fridge for about 3 to 6 hours.
The coleslaw will keep for up to 4 days in a covered container in the refrigerator, but it’s best served on the same day you make it. Otherwise, it gets limp and not so crunchy.
Classic Vegan Coleslaw
Ingredients
- 5 cups coleslaw mix with red cabbage and carrots
- 1/2 cup Vegan Mayo
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1/8 teaspoon celery seed
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Add the vegan mayo, granulated sugar, apple cider vinegar, celery seed and salt to a large mixing bowl and whisk together until fully combined.
- Add in the coleslaw mix and stir well. Cover, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving, if possible. It's also fine served immediately. Enjoy!
- Coleslaw will keep in the refrigerator in a covered container for up to 4 days, but it will get rather limp and less crunchy with time.
Notes
- I used a bag of coleslaw mix to make this really easy, but you can of course chop up your own mixture of green cabbage, red cabbage and carrots if you’d prefer. Make sure you have about 5 cups total.
- Instead of sugar, you can substitute coconut sugar, agave or pure maple syrup.
- If desired, chop your cabbage mix smaller before adding to the bowl with the dressing. I prefer smaller pieces so I often do this, but it’s not necessary.
Another winner recipe from Nora!
Thank you!! ?
Thank you for sharing your kind review! I’m glad you love the coleslaw! Thanks for using my recipes!
Best. Coleslaw. Eeeeevverrrr.
I made this tonight. I made a half recipe because we usually throw away a lot of leftover coleslaw. This turned out to be a mistake. My family loved it so much they asked me to make more after the wiped out the entire bowl. When that bowl came to the table, it was gone in 30 seconds. A bit hit!!!
Hi Kristin! I’m glad the coleslaw was a hit! Thank you for taking your time to share your great review!
Great!
Thanks Peter!
This coleslaw is perfect! Thank you so much for the recipe! ?
You’re welcome!
This recipe is perfect! I am on a new vegan, grain free and processed sugar free diet but had a craving for coleslaw. I made this recipe substituting only the granulated sugar with light agave and it came out wonderfully! Thank you so much for this recipe!
Ok, I’ve had a lot of coleslaw in my 63 years and this one is my new, all time favourite. Just had it on my BBQ Seitan bun. I had to stop myself from eating all the coleslaw before it made it to the bun. I used cabbage fresh picked from the garden and added just the tiniest bit of thinly sliced onion. So good! Thank you
You’re welcome!
Fantastic recipe! Cole Slaw is “my thing” and I’ve missed a really good version since becoming vegan. This is totally delicious – even addicting! Love it as I have all of your recipes!
That’s so great!
SOOO GOOD!
Total hit with whole family, including our 1-year-old and 3-year-old kids. I whipped up a double batch of the dressing and froze half. Combined with a Trader Joe’s bag of sliced cabbage and it wasn’t the easiest vegetable side dish. Thank you for all of the great recipes.
You’re so welcome!!
Girl, when are you opening a restaurant?! Your recipes always turn out amazingly delicious. I basically do all my meal planning from your website.
Thank you for sharing your awesome recipes with the world!
-A fellow vegan Portlander
You’re so welcome! Thanks for the great comment!!
I have made this so many times. Always a big hit and so simple!
That’s so great to hear!! Thanks for the comment!
I’m new to a plant-based diet, and I can’t believe how easy and delicious it is! I made my first batch of vegan mayo (your recipe) this morning along with this cole slaw for dinner tonight. HOLY SMOKES!! It’s absolutely AMAZING! My husband said nobody would ever know it was vegan. Thank you so much for all of your outstanding recipes and tips. You’ve definitely made this transition much easier and tastier for us! Thanks!
You’re so welcome!! Thanks for the great comment!
I’ve been craving coleslaw for weeks and finally made this recipe. It was super easy to follow. Most difficult part of the recipe is waiting two hours to dig in!
I’m so glad you liked it!!
This is fabulous! I wanted something that was easy and tasty and it fit the bill nicely. I used Hellmann’s vegan mayo, btw and mixed it with broccoli slaw, cause that’s what I had on hand. I love the celery seed and the cider vinegar. It’s the perfect tangy, slightly sweet and old fashioned flavor. My boyfriend, who is neither vegetarian nor vegan,loved it! Thanks for posting!
You’re so welcome!! I’m so glad you liked it!!
Delicious!! It tasted perfect and my whole family loved it!
I’m so happy to hear that!!
Just made and it’s perfect. Wanted a “traditional” coleslaw for some vegan barbecue burgers and this is great. I have tried some of your other recipes that were great, too. Thank you.
I’m so glad you loved it!
Best coleslaw I ever had, hands down. My entire family loved it. We had vegan sausage and peppers and this slaw for Christmas. I will say, bagged slaw is not as good in recipes as fresh, crispy cabbage. I used organic red and white cabbage and added grated carrots too. I’ve made it again since Christmas! Fabulous
Thanks so much for the lovely comment! I’m glad you all enjoyed!
How long will this keep in the fridge?
It should last about 2 days.
is celery seed necessary?
No, you can leave it out if needed.
Best slaw ever!! I added julienned red and orange bell peppers and sprouted sunflower seeds. Made her vegan mayo recipe. Fantastic!
Nora this is my go-to coleslaw recipe! It comes out perfect every time!
I make this at least twice a week. We use it to top our pulled ‘pork’ tacos on taco night, and we use it in lieu of lettuce and tomato on chicken wraps. It’s perfect!
This was incredibly tasty and great, thanks so much, I have not put you in my favorites.
Mila
Thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed it.
This coleslaw was classic tasting and very good, especially with the soy curl sandwich.