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.
This is delicious. I am getting old and need to simplify cooking, so I used prepackaged coleslaw. This simple, tangy dressing makes a bag of shredded cabbage seem like “from scratch” coleslaw. Your recipes never fail me.
Hi Evelyn, I’m so glad you loved it and that you’ve been enjoying the recipes!
This is the only coleslaw dressing I make now. It’s also a nice dressing on a lettuce salad
Hi Robyn, I’m so glad you love the dressing!
I love this dressing! Just noticed, now that I’m making it for a large family gathering, that the amount of mayo in the recipe doesn’t change when you increase the number of servings. That doesn’t seem correct.
Hi Roslin, Our recipe card doesn’t include a feature to change the number of servings, so the recipe always calls for 3/4 cup mayo.
It happened once I chose the print recipe option.
Hi Roslin, oh yes, I see! The mayo quantity isn’t changing because we have “scant” in front of the 3/4 cup measurement. It prevents the recipe card from picking up that the number should be scaled up. Sorry about that!
Yummy!
Perfect for my “the day”party gate away
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So glad you enjoyed it!
Just made this recipe to go with super bowl Sunday grilled burgers ! It is perfect! I’ve been searching for a good recipe for a long time. Thanks!
I’m so glad you loved it!
This recipe has more ACV than others I’ve tried, and it makes it so much better! Delish. Our kids (who don’t like coleslaw) absolutely love it.
I thinly slice about 3 cups of chinese cabbage, one granny smith apple and one carrot. Throw this sparky dressing over it, et voila – HEAVEN.
That dressing is really good! My Dijon mustard had honey in it, however, I add a lil agave for a lil more sweetness. Would definitely use this recipe again. 10/10 delicious ?
Hi Kim, I’m so glad you loved it!
Yum! Had a bag of slaw in the fridge that was about to go off. Since it didn’t taste as fresh, I thought of whipping up a dressing. This recipe did not disappoint! So glad I came across it. It’s delicious!
I’m so glad you loved it!
This is so delicious. My search for a perfect coleslaw dressing is now over!
Thankyou☺️
Perfect , I’ve tried so many recipes to make dairy free and this is the best . I will be sticking with this . Thanks for sharing !
I’m so glad you loved it!
Simple and just right. I made this to go on our pulled pork sandwiches. Everyone loved it. I wouldn’t change a thing. I used bags of precut slaw from the grocery store. Easy peasy!
Perfect dressing and so easy to make. We love coleslaw and this is the best dressing and easiest I have ever made. It will be permanently in my recipe files. thank you.
Hi Phillis, I’m so glad you loved it!
Delicious! I don’t know if you have control over this but when printing the recipe all of the ingredients change according to the number of servings except the mayo which stays at a scant 3/4 cup.
Hi Pepi, thanks for pointing that out!
made this with broccoli slaw and it was SO good I will be making it again for sure.
I’m so glad you loved it!
So glad I found this easy coleslaw recipe. I’ve now made it a ton of times. It’s so easy, I just use what I already have in the pantry & fridge. Simple and delicious.
Hi Christine, I’m so glad you love the recipe!
Literally the best slaw dressing I’ve ever made.
I’m so glad you loved it!
Have you ever tried this with avocado mayo? We try to avoid regular mayonnaise, but wondering if the taste would be changed at all.
yep – it’s wonderful with avocado mayo!
Can I use honey instead of the maple syrup
yep!
This recipe is super easy and delicious. I followed the directions exactly the first time and it was wonderful. I added a teaspoon of fresh ginger, finely chopped, the second time and it added a nice little boost.
Thanks for this!
Hi Jen, that sounds delicious with the ginger, thanks for the idea!
Light, creamy, and incredibly good! Everyone LOOOOOVED it. Thank you
Hi Jodie, I’m so glad it was a hit!