Make Coleslaw Dressing

Whether you're looking for an easy way to spice up a prepared coleslaw mix from a bag or interested in trying a new dressing with your favorite homemade coleslaw blend, then the following coleslaw dressings can do just the trick.

Ingredients

Traditional Coleslaw Dressing

Makes 6 servings

• 1/2 cup (125 ml) mayonnaise
• 2 Tbsp (30 ml) white granulated sugar
• 1 Tbsp (15 ml) rice vinegar or rice wine vinegar
• 2 tsp (10 ml) lemon juice
• 1/2 Tbsp (7.5 ml) prepared horseradish
• 1/4 tsp (1.25 ml) onion powder
• 1/4 tsp (1.25 ml) dry mustard
• 1/4 tsp (1.25 ml) celery salt
• 1/4 tsp (1.25 ml) salt
• 1/4 tsp (1.25 ml) ground black pepper

Low-Fat Coleslaw Yogurt Dressing

Makes 6 servings

• 1/2 cup (125 ml) plain low-fat yogurt
• 2 Tbsp (30 ml) Dijon mustard
• 1 Tbsp (15 ml) water
• 2 tsp (10 ml) low-fat mayonnaise
• 2 tsp (10 ml) lemon juice

Spicy Peanut Coleslaw Dressing

Makes 6 servings

• 1/4 cup (60 ml) honey
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) rice vinegar
• 1 Tbsp (15 ml) soy sauce
• 1 tsp (5 ml) sesame oil
• 1 Tbsp (15 ml) peanut butter
• 1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) salt
• 1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) Thai hot sauce
• 1 Tbsp (15 ml) minced fresh ginger
• 1 garlic clove, minced

Vinaigrette Coleslaw Dressing

Makes 2 servings

• 3 Tbsp (45 ml) apple cider vinegar
• 1 Tbsp (15 ml) water
• 1.5 tsp (7.5 ml) white sugar
• 1 tsp (5 ml) Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp (5 ml) olive oil
• 1/4 tsp (1.25 ml) dried basil
• 1/4 tsp (1.25 ml) ground black pepper
• 1/8 tsp (0.625 ml) garlic salt

Lemon Caper Coleslaw Dressing

Makes 8 servings

• 1/2 cup (125 ml) mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup (125 ml) plain yogurt
• 1 Tbsp (15 ml) capers
• 2 Tbsp (30 ml) Dijon mustard
• 2 Tbsp (30 ml) lemon juice
• 1 tsp (5 ml) lemon zest
• 1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) salt
• 1/4 (1.25 ml) ground black pepper
• 1 tsp (5 ml) hot sauce (optional)

Wasabi Coleslaw Dressing

Makes 4 servings

• 1/4 cup (60 ml) lime juice
• 2 Tbsp (30 ml) wasabi powder
• 1.5 tsp (7.5 ml) white sugar
• 2 tsp (10 ml) soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) red chile powder
• 2 tsp (10 ml) peeled and minced fresh ginger
• 1.5 tsp (7.5 ml) fish sauce
• 2 tsp (10 ml) sesame oil
• 1/3 cup (75 ml) grapeseed oil, peanut oil, or canola oil

Poppy Seed Coleslaw Dressing

Makes 8 servings

• 1 cup (250 ml) mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) honey
• 3 Tbsp (45 ml) poppy seeds
• 1.5 tsp (7.5 ml) salt
• 1 tsp (5 ml) ground black pepper

Steps

Traditional Coleslaw Dressing

1. Combine the dressing ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sugar, vinegar, lemon juice, horseradish, onion powder, dry mustard, celery salt, salt, and black pepper until well combined.
   • You will need to whisk for a minute or two until the sugar is fully dissolved by the liquid ingredients.
   • For this particular recipe, seasoned rice wine vinegar is the recommended vinegar option. If this is not available, however, you can substitute it with plain rice vinegar, white wine vinegar, or apple cider vinegar. If you have nothing but plain white vinegar, you can use that as well, but you should substitute it in proportions of three parts vinegar to one part water.
2. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Taste test the dressing with a clean spoon and add more seasonings as needed.
   • Mind the consistency as you make alterations. An added dash of salt or pepper will not make much difference, but if you add much more lemon juice, vinegar, sugar, or mayo, the consistency might become thicker or thinner than it should be.
3. Chill until ready to use. For this dressing, it is recommended that you wait at least 1 hour before serving it with coleslaw so that there is adequate time for everything to reach the right temperature.
   • Fold your coleslaw mix into the dressing, thoroughly coating all the vegetables with dressing.

Low-Fat Coleslaw Yogurt Dressing

1. Combine the dressing ingredients. Whisk together the low-fat yogurt, Dijon mustard, water, low-fat mayonnaise, and lemon juice in a large bowl until well combined.
   • The coloring should be even throughout, with no visible streaks of mustard.
   • The consistency should also be even.
2. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Taste test the dressing using a clean spoon. If it tastes bland, you could add salt and pepper according to your own preferences.
   • You could also add about 1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) dill seeds as well, for additional dimension.
   • This recipe has a lot of liquid ingredients, so you should proceed with caution when adjusting the amounts to avoid creating a runny dressing.
3. Chill until ready to use. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.
   • Fold your coleslaw mix into the dressing, thoroughly coating all the vegetables with dressing.

Spicy Peanut Coleslaw Dressing

1. Determine how spicy you want the dressing to be. If you like the peanut taste but are not a big fan of spicy slaws, you can tone down the amount of hot sauce the recipe calls for, or skip it completely without dramatically altering the consistency of the dressing.
2. Combine the dressing ingredients. Whisk together the honey, vegetable oil, rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, peanut butter, salt, hot sauce, ginger, and garlic in a large bowl.
   • The sticky, thick honey and peanut butter will be the last things to dissolve. In particular, once the peanut butter is dissolved, you can take that as an indication that the dressing is ready.
   • Since some of the ingredients are fairly thick and sticky, you may have difficulty using a whisk to combine them. If this happens, you can switch the whisk out for a mixing spoon.
3. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Taste test the dressing using a clean spoon and make minor adjustments to the seasonings to meet with your preferences.
   • As a general rule, avoid changing the amount of "staple" ingredients used, such as honey, oil, vinegar, or peanut butter. The "seasoning" ingredients can be altered more easily, though.
4. Chill until ready to use. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until you are ready to serve the coleslaw.
   • Fold your coleslaw mix into the dressing, thoroughly coating all the vegetables with dressing.

Vinaigrette Coleslaw Dressing

1. Combine the dressing ingredients. Whisk together the cider vinegar, water, sugar, Dijon mustard, olive oil, basil, pepper, and salt in a large bowl until evenly blended.
   • Continue whisking until the sugar is completely dissolved. This could take a few minutes.
   • Note that this produces a fairly liquidy dressing.
2. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Use a clean spoon to taste test the dressing. Adjust the salt, basil, pepper, and salt as needed to match you own tastes.
   • Since the consistency is so runny already, altering the amounts used for each ingredient will not have a dramatic effect on the texture of the dressing.
3. Chill until ready to use. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until just before you are ready to serve or otherwise mix it.
   • Fold your coleslaw mix into the dressing, thoroughly coating all the vegetables with dressing.

Lemon Caper Coleslaw Dressing

1. Roughly chop the capers. Place the capers on a plate and roughly chop them into smaller pieces using a knife with a sharp, smooth blade.
   • Use a plate or cutting board with a shallow lip to catch and capers that go flying off as you attempt to cut them.
2. Stir the primary dressing ingredients together. Whisk together the mayonnaise, yogurt, chopped capers, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, and pepper in a large bowl until combined.
   • When ready, there should be no visible streaks of mustard running through the dressing and the consistency should be even throughout.
3. Add hot sauce if desired. If you prefer coleslaw with a bit of heat, you can add roughly 1 tsp (5 ml) of hot sauce to the dressing.
   • Whisk well to combine, making sure that there are no visible streaks of hot sauce running through the dressing.
4. Chill until ready to use. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes, or until you are otherwise ready to mix and serve your coleslaw.
   • Fold your coleslaw mix into the dressing, thoroughly coating all the vegetables with dressing.

Wasabi Coleslaw Dressing

1. Toast the sesame oil. Heat plain sesame oil in a dry skillet for a few minutes to toast it. This draws out more dimension in the flavor of the oil.
   • The pan must be completely clean before you add the oil.
   • Warm the pan first over medium heat before you add the sesame oil.
   • Make sure that the oil is constantly moving in the pan as you toast it.
   • When ready, the oil should turn golden brown and take on a nutty odor.
2. Combine the lime juice and wasabi. Whisk the two ingredients together in a large bowl until well combined. Let it sit for 5 minutes before pressing forward.
   • The wasabi powder needs time to absorb the lime juice. It will turn into a thin paste, which will be much easier to mix into the remaining dressing ingredients. If you do not let the wasabi soak up the lime juice first, you may have trouble getting it to dissolve later.
3. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Add the sugar, sauce, red chile powder, ginger, fish sauce, toasted sesame oil, and cooking oil to the wasabi and lime juice paste. Whisk well to blend.
   • Make sure that all the sugar is dissolved before continuing on.
4. Add more lime juice, if needed. Taste test the dressing with a clean spoon. If it needs more of a kick, you can add another splash or so of lime juice.
5. Chill until ready to use. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until you are ready to mix it into your coleslaw.
   • Fold your coleslaw mix into the dressing, thoroughly coating all the vegetables with dressing.

Poppy Seed Coleslaw Dressing

1. Consider how sweet you want the dressing to be. If you prefer a sweeter coleslaw, add the full amount of honey called for in the recipe. If you prefer tangier coleslaw, cut the amount of honey called for in half.
   • Note that this alteration should not negatively impact the consistency of the dressing.
2. Whisk the ingredients together. Combine the mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, honey, poppy seeds, salt, and pepper in a large bowl and whisk together until well blended.
   • It should be fairly easy to tell when the dressing is well combined since the dressing should be evenly speckled with poppy seeds.
3. Taste and adjust as needed. Taste test the dressing using a clean spoon. Add more honey, salt, or pepper as needed to meet your preferences.
   • You could also alter the amount of mayo or vinegar used, but changing these ingredients around too much can have a dramatic impact on the consistency of the dressing.
4. Chill until ready to use. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate the dressing until you are ready to combine it with your coleslaw mix.
   • Fold your coleslaw mix into the dressing, thoroughly coating all the vegetables with dressing.

Things You'll Need

• Large mixing bowl
• Whisk
• Plastic wrap or lid
• Sharp kitchen knife (for Lemon Caper Coleslaw Dressing only)
• Skillet (for Wasabi Coleslaw Dressing only)

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Sources and Citations

See also

• Make KFC Coleslaw
• Make Coleslaw