Vinegar Coleslaw is an easy BBQ side dish staple using a no mayo coleslaw dressing including vinegar, oil and salt and pepper! Tangy vinegar paired with crunchy veggies, can you go wrong?
What You’ll Need
Besides the vegetables, I can almost guarantee you have everything you need to make this vinegar coleslaw! A full list of ingredients with measurements for this recipe is available in the printable recipe card below.
- Coleslaw mix – You can shred your own veggies using a mandolin slicer, but buying a store bought pre shredded cabbage salad is a shortcut I am willing to take. Check the section below for more vegetable options.
- Red wine vinegar
- Vegetable oil
- Kosher salt
- Ground black pepper
- Sugar
5S Philosophy 👩🏻
- Salt – I use coarse kosher salt to bring out the other flavors of this vinegar coleslaw. If using a different type of salt, keep in mind that salts all measure differently.
- Seasonings – Try adding things like celery seed, minced bell pepper, red pepper flakes or poppy seeds for a slightly different flavor.
- Sauces – You can use any type of vinegar you prefer. White wine, champagne, rice wine, apple cider, pomegranate or even plain white vinegar.
- Swaps – You can Substitute maple syrup, honey or agave nectar for the sugar. Try any multitude of shredded veggies. Some of my favorites include:
- Red Cabbage
- Green Cabbage
- Cabbage mixture (both red and green)
- Kale
- Broccoli
- Jicama
- Brussels Sprouts
- Carrots
- Celery
- Fennel Bulb
- Zucchini
- White Onion, Sweet Onion or Red Onions
- Radish
- Green onions
- Senses – Vinegar coleslaw is crisp and tangy, with a zesty bite that wakes up your taste buds. Cool, crunchy, and refreshingly sharp—it’s the perfect palate cleanser.
Perfect Pairings
This tangy vinegar coleslaw the perfect side dish to make and take to a bbq or throw together to pair with a weeknight meal. It’s also great for topping sandwiches!
One of our favorite ways to use it is to pile it on a pulled pork sandwich. It also tastes great on fish tacos or alongside something like grilled chicken or burgers. I also like mine as coleslaw on hot dogs!
Vinegar Coleslaw
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 14 ounces coleslaw mix
Instructions
- In a small mixing bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the 1/3 cup red wine vinegar, 3 tablespoon vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon Kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper and sugar until 2 tablespoons sugar and salt dissolves. This step is important so that you don't get grainy bits of undissolved sugar or salt in your coleslaw.
- Pour over the 14 ounces coleslaw mix. Toss well. I find that using forks works best for coleslaw.
- Cover and refrigerate for 1-24 hours. If you remember to toss it every few hours, great, if not, it will be fine.
- Drain excess liquid before serving. The cabbage will lose its water, so you will have more liquid than you started with. This is normal.
- If you've tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was in the comments or ratings!
Nutrition
Storage and Freezing
You can prep and assemble everything up to 24 hours in advance. Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Because this is not a mayonnaise based coleslaw, you can actually freeze it. I recommend doing so in smaller portions and using within a few months.
Frequently Asked Questions
Typical coleslaw ingredients like red cabbage, green cabbage, carrots and radish, these all contain a lot of water. Adding salt draws out the water and lands in a pool at the bottom of your bowl.
You can either take it for what it is and drain it before serving. After sitting for several hours, the ingredients are pretty pickled and have taken on the correct flavors anyhow.
It is actually only one word, coleslaw. Although you’ll commonly see it referred to as just slaw. The term, “cole slaw”, arose in the 18th century as a partial translation from the Dutch term “koolsla”, a shortening of “koolsalade”, which means “cabbage salad”. It was commonly called cold slaw in England until the 1860s when “cole” (meaning cabbage) was revived. In addition to calling it “coleslaw”.
More Easy Side Dishes
When you put effort into your main dish, easy side dishes are a must. Here are some of our favorites!
this is my favorite vinegar slaw recipe. i add lots of pepper. it’s my go to for bbq and fish/shrimp tacos.
So simple and so good! I didn’t miss the mayo at all, even though I really thought I would.
I used half the dressing to marinade the coleslaw in the fridge and saved the rest of the dressing for sprinkling on my serving of coleslaw when I was ready to eat.
An excellent recipe to serve with a variety of meats. If you don’t like or can’t tolerate mayonnaise, but you like coleslaw, this is the recipe for you!
Thank you, Anne!
This was really good and so simple! Just what I wanted to go with blackened fish from the grill…
Yay! So glad you loved it. It tastes great with nearly anything off the grill.
This is the best dressing for slaw I have found. We were just gonna eat the slaw but put it on grilled fish gir fish tacos, BEST IDEA EVER. Have used it numerous times, everyone loves it.
Yay!!!! Funny thing- I had some today too on leftover porks chops. It’s literally the most verstile thing ever!
I hate Mayo, so this is my new favorite coleslaw recipe! So good!
I LOVE a tangy coleslaw and the speedy prep puts this one on my list for sure! Thanks for sharing.
We love this lightened up version of coleslaw. My partner is vegan, so it is so nice to be able to enjoy something so delicious together! Will make again.
I’ve never had coleslaw because I don’t like Mayo so finding this was awesome. It was delicious!
This coleslaw went so well with my pulled pork. My family loved it.
Yay! That is what love to hear. Enjoy!