Tangy Coleslaw With Vinegar Dressing

By
Diana Rattray
Diana Rattray
Diana Rattray
Southern-cuisine expert and cookbook author Diana Rattray has created more than 5,000 recipes and articles in her 20 years as a food writer.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Updated on 01/29/23
Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 2 mins
Chill: 2 hrs
Total: 2 hrs 17 mins
Servings: 6 to 8 servings

Switch up your coleslaw recipe so that instead of it being the forgotten condiment on your BBQ table, it becomes the star of the show. Coleslaws are thought of as just a side dish that adds some tang or creaminess to your plate, offering some balance of flavor. They are never thought of as salads on their own. Our recipe for a tangy and perfectly crunchy coleslaw might change your mind.

The hot dressing wilts the cabbage somewhat and acts as a marinade but leaves the shredded cabbage with the perfect amount of crunch so that it doesn't become a soggy mixture but a vibrant and fresh addition to your menu. Assembled in minutes, the cabbage needs to be chilled for a few hours before serving so it's cold and delicious.

A simple apple cider vinegar dressing adds the perfect coat of flavor to any cabbage of your liking. It makes this mixture a great addition to any meat-heavy meal and also a wonderful base for other dishes. Think strips of grilled fish, shrimp, or chicken on top of the slaw, or hummus wraps stuffed with coleslaw for a vegan and vegetarian meal. The options are varied as this cabbage preparation proves as versatile as an ingredient as it is easy to make. Excellent for topping pulled pork sandwiches, the slaw is also a delicious topping for burgers, hot dogs, fish tacos, fried shrimp, oysters, or fish and chips. Choose any cabbage of your liking or whatever is freshest at the store. Napa, savoy, red, or green are all delicious options, and a combination of two or three makes a visually beautiful dish.

Tangy Coleslaw With Vinegar Dressing

The Spruce / Tara Omidvar

Ingredients

For the Slaw:

  • 1 head cabbage, shredded; or about 1 1/2 to 2 pounds of packaged shredded coleslaw mix

  • 1 medium red onion, quartered and thinly sliced

For the Dressing:

  • 1 cup vinegar

  • 2/3 cup vegetable oil

  • 1 cup sugar

  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt

  • 1 teaspoon dry mustard

  • 1 teaspoon celery seeds

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Coleslaw recipe ingredients

    The Spruce Eats / Tara Omidvar

  2. Combine shredded cabbage or coleslaw mix with the sliced onion. Combine the dressing ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from the stove.

    Cabbage and onion in a bowl

    The Spruce Eats / Tara Omidvar

  3. Pour the hot dressing over the cabbage and toss well to coat.

    Wet ingredients in a pan poured into the bowl of cabbage and onions

    The Spruce Eats / Tara Omidvar

  4. Cool the coleslaw slightly, cover, and then refrigerate until serving time.

    Tangy Coleslaw With Vinegar Dressing in a bowl

    The Spruce Eats / Tara Omidvar

  5. Enjoy!

Delicious Add-Ons

This basic tangy slaw is a great base for adding other ingredients to and experimenting with additional flavors and textures. Here are a few ideas for inspiration:

  • Add shredded carrots, thinly sliced celery, or thinly sliced green apples. As the apples might oxidate quickly, add them last before serving.
  • Add about 1/4 cup of thinly sliced radish.
  • Add about 1 cup of shredded red cabbage to the coleslaw.

How nutritious is cabbage?

Packed with vitamins K and C, cabbage is a nutritious vegetable to add to your weekly shopping list. A two-pound cabbage has barely 227 calories but 22 grams of fiber and 11 grams of protein. It has 690 micrograms of vitamin K and 332 milligrams of vitamin C, so the chances are that eating one serving of this slaw will cover almost all your recommended daily intake of the former, as you only need a microgram of vitamin K a day per kilogram of weight.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
307 Calories
19g Fat
35g Carbs
2g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6 to 8
Amount per serving
Calories 307
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 19g 24%
Saturated Fat 1g 7%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 172mg 7%
Total Carbohydrate 35g 13%
Dietary Fiber 3g 12%
Total Sugars 30g
Protein 2g
Vitamin C 60mg 299%
Calcium 86mg 7%
Iron 0mg 3%
Potassium 335mg 7%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)
Article Sources
The Spruce Eats uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

  1. Cabbage, Raw. FoodData Central. United States Department of Agriculture.