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.
Excellent first time & every time!
Hi Anne, I’m so glad you love the dressing!
Absolutely delicious dressing for my broccoli slaw! Every other recipe I’ve made calls for sugar, but the maple definitely gave this something special. Thank you!!
Hi Johnny, I’m so glad you loved the dressing!
Such a great flavor combination. I did not have Celery Seed so I substituted caraway seed.
Hi Trish, yum! Caraway seed would be great here.
We are not into desserts and do not use sugar at all but we are big maple syrup fans in savory dishes (in modest amounts). Would have never thought to put it in coleslaw dressing but it really works! Only had a small bit of Sprouts brand honey dijon so we used it but added less of the maple syrup. Also did not have celery seed so left it out. It still tasted great on our preshredded bag of coleslaw from Whole Foods. Looking forward to trying it again with the celery seed. Thank you for the recipe!
Making this today and I’m not using Dijon mustard, only regular and I’m not using celery seed, I don’t have any. I’ll write another review to see if it turned out well.
How was it!?
This dressing was very good exactly as is. The mustard gives it a nice tang. It isvwey easy to make and I had all of the ingredients in my kitchen. Thank. You!
Hi Cindy, I’m so glad you loved it!
Used on a kohlrabi kale slaw and got rave reviews. Amazing!
Yum! I’m so glad everyone enjoyed!
Delicious dressing. Only change made was adding honey vs pure maple syrup. I used it for my coleslaw and broccoli salad. A keeper!
I’m so glad you loved it!
Awesome
I’ve made this coleslaw dressing several times. I always add another tbsp. of mustard. It is always a hit. Try adding a sweet apple. It gives it a little kick.
I’m so glad you love the dressing, Betty!
I just made this coleslaw dressing and it turned out delicious, the best coleslaw I’ve ever made,. I’ve never used Dijon mustard and maple syrup in coleslaw before, but I will forever more. Thank you so much, I can’t believe how delicious it is.
I’m so glad you loved it!
Made this to go on coleslaw mix from a bag to top bbq pulled chicken sandwiches.
Thanks for completing my meal tonight!
I’m so glad you loved it!
This was quick and easy and delicious. I had no maple syrup, so dissolved two brown raw sugar cubes in a couple of tablespoons of hot water. I used stone ground mustard, and forgot to add the vinegar. Nevertheless, it was yummy, and I’ll certainly make this again.
Hi Julia, I’m so glad you enjoyed the dressing!
I made it and thought the maple syrup was a bit much. I would also try sugar if I made it again.
The celery seed is pretty intense, so I put in a little over 1/4 tsp. and that seems to have worked out okay-fine. This recipe will be going in the Family Cookbook.
I used Kraft coleslaw dressing for my last coleslaw, and it was very disappointing.
Determined to make my own, I looked at a lot of coleslaw dressing recipes… when I saw this one I knew this was it – and it was.
Great recipe.
I added a TBSP of honey and a TBSP of horseradish to suit my taste, but it is fine without that.
Thanks.
Hi Dan, I’m so glad you enjoyed the dressing! I love the idea of adding horseradish.
I have always used ready made dressing. I had none, but had cabbage. I had all the ingredients on nHand. My husband thought it was just as good. I thought it was better because I made it.
I loved your coleslaw dressing recipe
Hi Carla, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Perfect! Thank you. I simply adore your recipes1 ??
I made a smaller batch and have extra dressing. Do you know how long this will last in the fridge?
Hi Ramona, up to 5 days.
Can I use plain greek yogurt in place of mayo?
Hi Jane, you could!