Coleslaw Dressing

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.

Coleslaw Dressing Recipe

Once you learn how to make coleslaw dressing at home, you’ll never buy it at the store again! Here’s why:

  1. It’s super easy. This creamy coleslaw dressing recipe calls for 5 basic ingredients, and it only takes a few minutes to whisk together.
  2. 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.
  3. 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!

Carrots and cabbage in a mixing bowl

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.

Homemade slaw with coleslaw dressing

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:

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!

Homemade Coleslaw

More Favorite Sauces and Dressings

If you love this coleslaw dressing recipe, try one of these delicious dressings next:

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Coleslaw Dressing

rate this recipe:
5 from 272 votes
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Serves 4 to 6
This homemade coleslaw dressing is creamy, tangy, and so darn easy to make. Use it in my creamy coleslaw recipe, or toss it with 8 cups of pre-shredded slaw mix.

Ingredients

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.

132 comments

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Rate this recipe (after making it)




  1. Jaya Manning
    03.12.2022

    5 stars
    Yum!!
    I used caraway seeds instead of celery as that’s what I had. Also subbed out maple syrup for honey. Used Norganic soy Mayo (my favourite)
    Mixed through a slaw of cabbage, brussel sprouts, carrot, spring onion, nashi pear and raw beetroot yum yum yum 🤤

  2. Deanna
    03.08.2022

    So good! I did make a few changes because I don’t have any Dijon on hand( substitute for regular yellow mustard and about a tea spoon of horseradish) and I also added spike seasoning. The best coleslaw dressing. Never thought of putting maple syrup in a dressing before but I’m glad I tried it. Thanks for the recipe!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      03.11.2022

      Hi Deanna, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!

  3. Tracy from Tracybondvoice.com
    03.01.2022

    5 stars
    Ooo, the maple syrup makes this great! I used a bag of broccoli slaw and cut the dressing in half. Very tasty!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      03.03.2022

      I’m so glad you loved it!

  4. Adrian
    02.14.2022

    5 stars
    I needed a quick dressing recipe and this was great😁Thanks . Nice flavour and just enough zing with the sweetness from the syrup.

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      02.15.2022

      I’m so glad you loved it!

  5. Nicole
    02.13.2022

    5 stars
    This was delightful! Thank you!!

  6. Grace
    02.05.2022

    5 stars
    Bang on! Love this coleslaw dressing recipe. Thank-you’

  7. trish
    02.05.2022

    How would apples added in be?

  8. Tracy
    01.23.2022

    5 stars
    Absolutely wonderful! Yum, yum, yum is all I heard from my sweet DH. Can’t wait to have the leftovers tomorrow for the Chiefs football game!!!!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      01.23.2022

      I’m so glad you both enjoyed it!

  9. Gwen
    01.15.2022

    5 stars
    This is the best dressing I’ve ever made!

  10. Lejay
    01.10.2022

    5 stars
    Delicious and easy, thank you!

  11. Lynda
    01.09.2022

    5 stars
    My, my, my!! This dressing is delicious. I am making broccoli slaw so I did not add celery seeds. I better finish the slaw because I am eating it with raw veggies. Thank you for sharing this recipe.

    Can’t wait until dinner!!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      01.10.2022

      I’m so glad you loved it!

  12. Marion Barnett
    12.18.2021

    5 stars
    This is an awesome recipe for coleslaw! The dressing, of course, makes this dish! Lighter on the mayo and adds interesting ingredients you might not expect or predict! Followed exactly, you will experience a “coleslaw shift” for life.

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      12.19.2021

      I’m so glad you enjoyed it!

  13. Pam
    11.22.2021

    5 stars
    Honestly just made this recipe because I had all of the ingredients but it was AWESOME.

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      11.23.2021

      I’m so glad you loved it!

  14. Stephanie
    11.20.2021

    Hi, can I use celery salt instead of seeds and how much?

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      11.21.2021

      Hi Stephanie, I would replace the salt measurement here since celery salt is salty. Add the 1/4 teaspoon (and no sea salt), and more to taste if you’d like.

  15. Ainslie
    11.11.2021

    5 stars
    I made this tonight with some ribs and mac and cheese… Delicious! It had just the right amount of sweet, tang, and creaminess. I don’t normally like coleslaw as I just can’t stand the grocery store dressings… I would like to try this with pulled pork next. Thanks very much!

  16. Bryd from Www.wbj-bakery.com
    10.24.2021

    Absolutely delicious 😋 I used apple cider balsamic mine!

  17. Jostor
    10.15.2021

    5 stars
    Really good cole slaw dressing! I added dried cranberries, touch of lemon juice and pinch of dill seeds…yum!

  18. Caitlin
    09.29.2021

    5 stars
    Wow wow wow, I just made this and it’s a night and day difference between your dressing and the bottled stuff. And it didn’t even take me five minutes! Thank you for the awesome recipe!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      09.30.2021

      I’m so glad you loved it!

  19. Jacque
    09.19.2021

    5 stars
    This recipe was so good! My 7 year old, who has never had coleslaw before, had 3 helpings! I will look for celery seed for next time.

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      09.20.2021

      Ha, I’m so glad she loved it so much!

  20. Sherrie
    08.20.2021

    5 stars
    Excellent dressing!!! Will never buy store dressing. Easy and quick. My family loved it.

A food blog with fresh, zesty recipes.
Photograph of Jeanine Donofrio and Jack Mathews in their kitchen

Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.

We love to eat, travel, cook, and eat some more! We create & photograph vegetarian recipes from our home in Chicago, while our shiba pups eat the kale stems that fall on the kitchen floor.