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.
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“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.
This is my go-to slaw recipe! I always check to see if you have a recipe first because they never fail. Thank you for your amazing recipes, Nora!
Hi Sally. Thank you for your support, and for loving and trusting my recipes! I am thrilled you are loving the coleslaw, and appreciate you taking time to share your glowing review! Wishing you lots and lots of happy cooking!
I made this Cole slaw and other recipes from Nora. They are all perfect. If I need a recipe I always look here first.
Hi Diane. Thank you for your support and for loving my recipes! Wishing you lots of happy cooking!
I’ve made this numerous times. Love it!
Thank you for sharing, Heather! I’m thrilled you are loving the Coleslaw! I appreciate your awesome review! Happy cooking!
This recipe is delicious and easy. Nora is the OG for vegan recipes! I’ve said it before on other recipes, but if not for her, we would’ve never made the switch to becoming vegan! Thank you so much!
Thank you for your support, and for loving my recipes! I appreciate your awesome review and encouraging comments! Wishing you lots of happy cooking!
Super easy and so tasty. I am not vegan, but have a son with allergies to many things including eggs and dairy. I used Hellmann’s plant based mayo and it was perfect. Used it for a pulled BBQ chicken recipe, placed in bun and it was delicious!!!! Could not tell it was plant based. Thank you for your recipes!
I found this to be waaaayyyy too sweet! Had to add more of everything but sugar to balance it out & then ended up with way too much sauce. I recommend less sugar to start & taste it!
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!
This is so delicious! I made a batch yesterday and my mom enjoyed it so much I made more for the weekend. I subbed the ACV for lemon juice and left off the sugar. I used a seasoning pack (GOYA) and it came out wonderfully! Thanks for such a simple and yummy recipe. We haven’t had coleslaw for awhile so this was a real treat.
Wow!
I tried this without celery seed (didnt have any) at first and my family seemed to enjoy it. Although i did feel the flavour lacked depth and suspected it was because i hadnt followed the recipe.
So, today i made it with the celery seed….what a game changer?! Truly delicious yet so simple.
Thanks for sharing this. I need look no further for coleslaw again. This is the one.
For my preference, i made a little extra sauce and added 100g grated cheese (i know… im not vegan) and chopped chives, to mellow the contrast of sweet and sour.
However, even as it is, i give this recipe 5* for sure. Really impressed. Thank you Nora
You are welcome, Sheena. Thank you for sharing your recipe experience and great feedback! I’m glad that you and your family enjoyed the coleslaw. Wishing you lots of happy cooking!
This is the best vegan cold slaw recipe I have ever made. Been using it for years❤️
Easy and delicious!
Made this today! Simple and delicious! Baked some tofu with BBQ sauce to go with it…so good!
Hi Kathleine. I’m so glad you loved the coleslaw. It’s perfect with BBQ tofu! Thanks for your awesome review and feedback! Happy cooking!
I’ve been making this for years and love it. Thank you, Nora!
You are welcome, Jill! I am so glad you are loving the recipe! Thanks for sharing your terrific recipe review!
So yummy and super simple! Made this recipe to go with “hot wing” style tofu and it was a perfect pair! Thank you for the awesome recipe, as always. I will definitely be making this again.
I’m so glad you loved the coleslaw recipe! It does sounds like the perfect pairing with “hot wing” style tofu! Great idea! I appreciate your stellar review and feedback! Wishing you happy cooking!
This is so easy to put together and tastes so delicious. I make it frequently in summer to top bb barbeque soycurls.
I am glad you are loving the coleslaw, Deb! Thanks for your fabulous review and feedback!
I have been making this recipe for years. Without fail, it checks off all the boxes for flavor, consistency and easy to assemble! Thank you so much, Nora!
Thank you for a tasty recipe that I served today at a picnic! I have a ton of allergies, so I had to modify this a bit: I only used green cabbage sliced thin and an inch or two long, and I replaced the carrots with canned shoestring sliced beets (1 entire can) that was drained, rinsed and dried off a bit on paper towels. I coarsely chopped them a little smaller. Even with the rinsing and drying the beets still turned the dressing pink but this combo was very tasty. My mother-in-law suggested I add pineapple tidbits or apple – I can see both of those as being something to try in the future. Thanks again!
You are welcome, Roni! Oh, what delicious add-in ideas! Thanks for those! I’m thrilled that you enjoyed the coleslaw recipe! Thanks for your wonderful review! Happy cooking to you!
Surprisingly yummy! You’re good at this, Nora!
Why thank you!
How long does the dressing stay good for without mixing in the cabbage? Thanks!
About 4 days or so.
This is absolutely delicious. I have not had coleslaw since going vegan over 7 years ago. This tastes exactly how I remember and I make it constantly now. Thank you Nora!
Excellent slaw! Loved it! 💖💖💖
I use Stevia instead of sugar and it’s deeeelicious
Thanks for sharing, Merry! I’m glad you loved the recipe!
I have this recipe on repeat. It is so simple and refreshing. I use allulose in place of the sugar and add a chopped apple if I have any lying around. Delicious!!