This homemade coleslaw dressing recipe will take any coleslaw to a whole new level! Made with just 5 ingredients, it's creamy, tangy, and delicious.
Once you learn how to make coleslaw dressing at home, you’ll never buy it at the store again! Here’s why:
- It’s super easy. This creamy coleslaw dressing recipe calls for 5 basic ingredients, and it only takes a few minutes to whisk together.
- It’s made with good-quality whole foods ingredients. When you make homemade coleslaw dressing, you know exactly what’s in it. There aren’t any additives or stabilizers here, and it’s sweetened naturally with maple syrup instead of processed sugar.
- And last but not least, it’s delicious! This creamy, tangy dressing makes fantastic coleslaw, but it’s darn good on other salads too. Toss it with lettuce, baby greens, or kale, or use it to make broccoli salad. Once you have it on hand, you’ll find all sorts of ways to use it.
If you like coleslaw, you’ll love this easy dressing recipe. Let’s cook!
Coleslaw Dressing Recipe Ingredients
You only need 5 simple ingredients to make this homemade coleslaw dressing:
- Mayo – For the best flavor, use really good mayonnaise in this recipe. If I’m using store bought mayo, my first pick is Sir Kensington’s. My homemade vegan mayo is great here too!
- Apple cider vinegar – It makes the dressing nice and tangy.
- Dijon mustard – It adds extra tang and a mild peppery flavor.
- Maple syrup – It balances the assertive vinegar and mustard.
- Celery seed – If you’ve made my egg salad, deviled eggs, or creamy potato salad, you know that celery seed, mayo, and mustard taste fantastic together. These little guys add a delicious savory flavor that takes this dressing over the top.
Whisk these ingredients together, and season to taste with salt and pepper!
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
How to Use Homemade Coleslaw Dressing
I most often use this coleslaw dressing in my homemade coleslaw recipe, but it works well with pre-shredded coleslaw mix too. Whether you shred the veggies yourself or use a mix, aim to have about 8 cups of shredded cabbage and carrot. That way, you’ll have enough dressing to lightly coat all the vegetables.
Once you toss the the dressing with the slaw mix, it’s time to eat! I love to serve my homemade coleslaw as a side dish with these classic cookout recipes:
- Best Veggie Burger
- Portobello Mushroom Burger
- Quinoa Burger
- Vegan BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches
- Crispy Cauliflower Po’ Boy Sandwiches
Round out the meal with fruit salad, grilled vegetables, or corn on the cob, and don’t forget the brownies for dessert!
If you have leftover dressing, store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. It tastes great with any type of greens, but I especially love it in my kale salad recipe!
More Favorite Sauces and Dressings
If you love this coleslaw dressing recipe, try one of these delicious dressings next:
- Homemade Caesar Dressing
- Cilantro Lime Dressing
- Green Goddess Dressing
- Greek Salad Dressing
- Lemon Vinaigrette
- Classic Basil Pesto or Vegan Pesto
- Tahini Sauce (4 ways!)
Coleslaw Dressing
Ingredients
- Scant ¾ cup mayo , or Vegan Mayo
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- ¾ teaspoon celery seeds
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the mayo, apple cider vinegar, mustard, maple syrup, celery seeds, salt, and several grinds of fresh pepper.
- Serve with about 8 cups cabbage coleslaw mix.
Yum!!
I used caraway seeds instead of celery as that’s what I had. Also subbed out maple syrup for honey. Used Norganic soy Mayo (my favourite)
Mixed through a slaw of cabbage, brussel sprouts, carrot, spring onion, nashi pear and raw beetroot yum yum yum ?
So good! I did make a few changes because I don’t have any Dijon on hand( substitute for regular yellow mustard and about a tea spoon of horseradish) and I also added spike seasoning. The best coleslaw dressing. Never thought of putting maple syrup in a dressing before but I’m glad I tried it. Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Deanna, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Ooo, the maple syrup makes this great! I used a bag of broccoli slaw and cut the dressing in half. Very tasty!
I’m so glad you loved it!
I needed a quick dressing recipe and this was great?Thanks . Nice flavour and just enough zing with the sweetness from the syrup.
I’m so glad you loved it!
This was delightful! Thank you!!
Bang on! Love this coleslaw dressing recipe. Thank-you’
How would apples added in be?
Absolutely wonderful! Yum, yum, yum is all I heard from my sweet DH. Can’t wait to have the leftovers tomorrow for the Chiefs football game!!!!
I’m so glad you both enjoyed it!
This is the best dressing I’ve ever made!
Delicious and easy, thank you!
My, my, my!! This dressing is delicious. I am making broccoli slaw so I did not add celery seeds. I better finish the slaw because I am eating it with raw veggies. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Can’t wait until dinner!!
I’m so glad you loved it!
This is an awesome recipe for coleslaw! The dressing, of course, makes this dish! Lighter on the mayo and adds interesting ingredients you might not expect or predict! Followed exactly, you will experience a “coleslaw shift” for life.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Honestly just made this recipe because I had all of the ingredients but it was AWESOME.
I’m so glad you loved it!
Hi, can I use celery salt instead of seeds and how much?
Hi Stephanie, I would replace the salt measurement here since celery salt is salty. Add the 1/4 teaspoon (and no sea salt), and more to taste if you’d like.
I made this tonight with some ribs and mac and cheese… Delicious! It had just the right amount of sweet, tang, and creaminess. I don’t normally like coleslaw as I just can’t stand the grocery store dressings… I would like to try this with pulled pork next. Thanks very much!
Absolutely delicious ? I used apple cider balsamic mine!
Really good cole slaw dressing! I added dried cranberries, touch of lemon juice and pinch of dill seeds…yum!
Wow wow wow, I just made this and it’s a night and day difference between your dressing and the bottled stuff. And it didn’t even take me five minutes! Thank you for the awesome recipe!
I’m so glad you loved it!
This recipe was so good! My 7 year old, who has never had coleslaw before, had 3 helpings! I will look for celery seed for next time.
Ha, I’m so glad she loved it so much!
Excellent dressing!!! Will never buy store dressing. Easy and quick. My family loved it.