Vinegar Based Coleslaw Recipe – Try this amazingly delicious and easy to make side dish for a Vinegar Based Coleslaw recipe at your next barbecue or backyard get together!
If you are looking for a ridiculously easy recipe for slaw, then look not further than this Vinegar Based Coleslaw recipe. It definitely seems like vinegar coleslaws has been all the craze in the coleslaw world the last few years.
They’re more flavorful and to me provide way more flavor when either eat by itself or when topped off on a big fat smoked brisket or pork sandwich. One of my favorite coleslaws is done by a local restaurant right here in Chicago called Smoque.
Yes, I said a really good BBQ joint in Chicago and it wasn’t an oxymoron. Believe it or not my favorite BBQ place in the entire country is in Chicago, Green Street Smoked Meats, and I’ve had BBQ in just about every state in the south.
Often times it’s not just the smoked meats that make BBQ so good, it’s all of the side accompaniments. I mean what would BBQ be without cornbread, peach cobbler, baked beans, vinegar based coleslaw, you name it. It would definitely not be the same.
SLICING VEGETABLES FOR COLESLAW
There are few ingredients in this vinegar based coleslaw recipe, with a great sweet and tangy vinegar based dressing that compliments perfectly. It all starts with the vegetables of course.
A bulk of the vegetable comes from a head of green cabbage, and I for one like it shaved super thin, more times than not using a mandolin. CHEF NOTE: Now just know that when you shave vegetables super thin and apply an acid to it, like vinegar, it’s going to break down faster and become wilted or to put it simply, soggy.
If you do not have a mandolin it is completely fine to slice thing using a chef knife.
MAKING THE COLESLAW RECIPE AHEAD
If you make this vinegar coleslaw ahead of time and slice the vegetables super thin, it may not be perfect when you go to serve it several hours later or the next day. If you plan on making it ahead of time I would recommend combining the vegetables and keeping the dressing separate right until you are ready to serve.
CHEF NOTE: Also don’t plan on seasoning it to the end because if you salt the vegetable they will wilt super quick. Yeah that was a lot of explanation on just the first ingredient. Let’s get back to this Vinegar Based Coleslaw Recipe.
VEGETABLES TO USE FOR COLESLAW
For the rest of the vegetables including the green cabbage, I use red cabbage and carrots, which I also shave super thin on a mandolin. It’s always weird when a vegetable you’ve eaten your entire life is cut or sliced a bit different than normal that it seems to take on a completely different flavor and is so much more flavorful.
Wonder if it’s just our minds playing tricks on our palettes?? This coleslaw with vinegar dressing is pretty versatile in the simple fact that you can get creative and add other ingredients to it as well.
In addition, the shaved green cabbage, red cabbage and carrots, I add sliced green onions, cilantro leaves, celery seed, sea salt and pepper and of course the dressing.
However, you could add:
- sliced red, green, yellow or orange bell peppers
- sliced spicy peppers, like jalapeños
- thinly sliced kale or jicama.
Look, what I’m trying to tell you is that you are only limited by your own creativity, so have fun with this for crying out loud.
To save some time, If you don’t want to slice the cabbages and carrots yourself for this vinegar based coleslaw recipe then I suggest buying the pre-made slaw mix, it will work just as well. I will caution that sometimes those bagged up veggies can have weird things on them to help preserve them and keep them crisp, so I always believe in buying fresh and doing a bit of the labor yourself, I promise it’s not that bad.
With that being said, I did use honey in the recipe, but it can certainly be substituted with 1 tablespoon of sugar, totally up to you. Heck if you are on a total natural ingredient kick you could even use agave nectar.
VINEGAR COLESLAW RECIPE DRESSING
Making the dressing for a vinegar based coleslaw is actually super easy. A traditional vinaigrette is 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar. Well for me to maximize flavor we have to bring down that oil count to like 2 or even equal at 1 to the vinegar.
This will help make the vinegar based coleslaw taste so much better. Also, remember that oil hates vinegar so add a little mustard in there to help bring them together.
- Simply add the vinegar, mustard, sugar to a bowl and whisk while slowly drizzling in the olive oil until emulsified. Finish with celery seed, salt and pepper.
Lastly, and of course, I recommend putting this slaw on top of a Smoked Pulled Pork Sandwich or a Smoked Chicken BBQ sandwich, it’s absolutely delicious!
If you are as infatuated with BBQ and all things coleslaw like I am then you for sure want to try a few other killer coleslaw recipes that I’ve created at: Blue Cheese Coleslaw, Creamy Coleslaw, or a Vegetable Dill Coleslaw.
STORING AND SERVING: It is best to store this coleslaw recipe undressed and unseasoned covered in the refrigerator until ready to serve. It can stay in the refrigerator undressed and un seasoned for up to 3 days. When ready to serve simply pour the vinaigrette over top, season with salt and pepper, toss and serve.
*If you love this coleslaw recipe then be sure to serve it up alongside my Smoked St. Louis Style Ribs recipe is a must try, and be sure to drop me a comment below and a rating if you’ve had the chance to make this amazing coleslaw recipe*
Remember to check out the step by step video below!
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Video
Vinegar Based Coleslaw Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 thinly sliced head of green cabbage
- 1 cup of thinly sliced red cabbage
- 2 whole shredded carrots
- 3 thinly sliced green onions
- 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon of grainy mustard
- 1 tablespoon of honey or 1 teaspoon of sugar
- 1/4 cup of olive oil
- 1 teaspoon of celery seed
- Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a small bowl whisk together vinegar, mustard, honey and olive oil and set aside. In a separate bowl mix together cabbages, carrots, green onions and celery seed.
- Next, pour a small amount of the dressing on the cabbage mixture and mix together until combined and until desired amount of dressing is achieved.
- Season with salt and pepper, and chill before serving.
Joy Bradley says
July 21, 2019 at 11:54 amSo yummy! I did cheat and used the bagged prechopped coleslaw (red and green cabbage and carrots) I used two bags and doubled the rest of the ingredients by following the recipe SOOOOO GOOD! My daughter who is allergic to dairy and my daughter who doesn’t eat eggs were both so happy to have a delicious coleslaw they didn’t have to worry about. Thank you.
Chef Billy Parisi says
July 21, 2019 at 8:58 pmLOVE this! Thanks for trying.
Patrice Coleman says
July 4, 2019 at 4:11 pmLoved it! Now it is a staple for all of my bbq’s going forward!!
Deb says
June 28, 2019 at 7:02 pmWe are having a party for about 80 people and will be serving pulled pork sandwiches. This looks like the perfect coleslaw recipe (no mayonnaise to spoil!). How far in advance can you make this and how long will it keep? Thanks!
Chef Billy Parisi says
June 29, 2019 at 7:50 amyou can make it a day in advance but do not toss it in the dressing or season it with salt and pepper until 20-30 minutes before serving it.
Kerry says
June 22, 2019 at 6:22 pmGreat recipe–was looking for one with less sugar than the one I used to make and this one is a keeper. WIll try adding some minced bell pepper and maybe sub vidalia onion next time for added sweetness, but love it as written too.
Now I just need my husband to pull the pork butt off the smoker and dinner will be ready!
Judy from Arkansas says
June 1, 2019 at 2:10 pmThis was absolutely perfect!! And I love cooking and trying out new recipes. This was most definitely by far the best oil and vinegar slaw I have ever tasted. I only subbed one ingredient-stevia instead of honey and I don’t think I missed a thing, delicious!!
Sherry says
May 23, 2019 at 1:56 pmExactly what I was looking for! Having a BBQ where half coming eat meat and the other half are vegetarians/vegans. This will go great with the pork BBQ sandwiches and the other sides that are for everyone. Thank you!
Trudy Hendrickson says
May 13, 2019 at 10:02 pmCould you use stevia instead of sugar ? Can’t wait to try it based on the great reviews ‘
Chef Billy Parisi says
May 14, 2019 at 5:32 amyou could try, I just can’t guarantee what it will taste like or recommend an amount for you.
Phillip says
May 13, 2019 at 1:59 pmI liked this recipe. I used a whole grain spicy brown mustard and added some finely sliced ginger for an extra bite. What is the protein content of this? or is there truly none for your recipe?
Chef Billy Parisi says
May 13, 2019 at 3:39 pmMan that sounds good! There actually may be none…
Anne says
April 20, 2019 at 2:50 pmTo add a little extra to my comment: I used Grey Poupon Country Grain Mustard. It has a sharper bite then the whole seeded GP mustard. I followed the recipe exactly. But added another teaspoon of sugar after the finish. My 3 spring onions were on the very skinny side. I think less onion was a good thing for us. This coleslaw is going on some bbq pork sandwiches. No offense to creamy coleslaw people because it is a good thing too, this is just a different take on coleslaw. We have food allergies, so eggs and mayo are out. (However, creamy can be done with adding beloved apple cider vinegar to sour cream, let it sit, and then make regular creamy coleslaw: for the diehard allergic creamy coleslaw lover.)
Anne says
April 20, 2019 at 2:31 pmVinegary, mustardy yum. I needed to add a touch more sugar to satisfy my kids but fantastic.
Chris says
March 30, 2019 at 2:50 pmVery excellent. Goes great with crab cakes!s
Chef Billy Parisi says
March 31, 2019 at 7:05 amawesome!
John Coleman says
March 22, 2019 at 9:09 amvery good, I don’t like Green Onion, so I didn’t put that in.
Chef Billy Parisi says
March 22, 2019 at 9:52 amNo problem, glad it worked!!
rodney robinson says
March 15, 2019 at 4:11 pmIf you leave out the green onion and mustard, and swap white vinegar for the apple cider vinegar, and swap vegetable oil for the olive oil, but everything else the same, I am pretty much 99% dead certain this is the recipe for a slaw that is sold in 100s of locations of a chain BBQ joint called Bill MIller’s BBQ that is HQ’d in San Antonio Texas.
This richer version is interesting, but I have been looking for a copy cat recipe of the Bill Miller’s BBQ chain’s slaw for a while now that I have an adjustable pro mandolin….and I think I’ll find a match for theirs first….and then try this one as well.
Now…how to adapt this into an asian slaw….hmmmmm…..rice wine vinegar and sesame oil for the apple cider vinegar and olive oil….try it with and without the mustard….maybe a tny bit of chinese mustard….and a little red chile flake…..okay…that’s next.
Thanks for the recipe.
Chef Billy Parisi says
March 18, 2019 at 5:53 amThanks for checking it out!
WILLIAM TOOMBS says
February 23, 2019 at 7:50 amI found a slaw simular to this recipe at a local barbque place and love it. This one sounds like one I have to try.
What exactly is grainy mustard or what do you recommend?
Chef Billy Parisi says
February 23, 2019 at 2:12 pmjust whole grain mustard.
Tonya Sutter says
February 14, 2019 at 4:26 pmTo begin with, creamy coleslaw is gross.
This coleslaw is so stinkin good. Crunchy, fresh, and pretty. What were we all ever doing wo apple cider vinegar?
Thank You!!!
Chef Billy Parisi says
February 14, 2019 at 7:30 pmawesome Tonya, so glad you liked it!
Bill says
February 4, 2019 at 11:14 pmSalt the shredded cabbage until it sheds some water than rinse it in a colander and it won’t go soggy.