An easy to make Mexican coleslaw that pairs well with anything! Eat it in tacos, as a side salad or even as a main dish piled with toppings.
I'm not generally into creamy mayo filled coleslaw. But I love the texture of crunchy cabbage, especially when it's on other food, so I had to create a coleslaw recipe I would love.
Mexican Coleslaw
Are you surprised that I gave this a Mexican twist? You shouldn't be. Tacos and burritos are life around here. I did write a cookbook all about burritos...
I paired this coleslaw with cilantro lime dressing to add a little tang with the Mexican theme of the salad. It tastes amazing and there is a trick I use to get the onion flavor into the dressing.
I add the chopped onion into the dressing with the vinegar instead of adding it in with the cabbage. This marinates the onion a little and cuts the sharpness, plus gives the dressing some onion undertones.
Is bagged or fresh cabbage better?
The answer to this really depends on what you are looking for in terms of better. Fresh cabbage is great, and in general fresh veggies are best, but if you're looking to save time then preshredded bagged cabbage is a big time saver.
However, if you are buying the cabbage the week before you plan to serve it, then the bagged variety may go bad quicker. Fresh cabbage tends to last a really long time in the fridge.
The other issue with bagged cabbage, is that it's more expensive. A head of cabbage can be found very cheap so if you are looking to save money then go with the fresh.
Can I make this Mexican coleslaw ahead of time?
There are definitely steps you can take to prep this cabbage slaw ahead of time. The first thing I would do is make the dressing. It keeps well for up to a week in the fridge.
If you are using fresh cabbage, you can also slice it the day before and keep it in the fridge. Then when you are ready, toss it with the dressing and the coleslaw is ready to go within a few minutes.
You could make the whole Mexican coleslaw ahead of time, but the cilantro lime dressing may wilt the cabbage a little and soften it. So I wouldn't make it too far in advance unless you don't mind a softer coleslaw.
How can I serve this Mexican coleslaw?
The great thing is how versatile this coleslaw is. It pairs well with a variety of things, and can be eaten in so many ways. Here are some of my favorite ideas:
- put it in a sandwich
- add it to your taco or burrito
- make it a main salad with any toppings you like
- eat it as a side salad
- serve with chips as a quick snack
- put it on a vegan burger
- make it creamy by tossing it in this cilantro cream sauce or my vegan sour cream
How To Make Mexican Coleslaw
This recipe is super easy to throw together, especially if you are using preshredded cabbage. Here are the few simple steps it takes to have this ready in no time;
- Mix the dressing ingredients.
- Put the cabbage and red pepper in a bowl and pour the dressing on.
- Mix well.
You might also enjoy:
Mexican Coleslaw With Cilantro Lime Dressing
Ingredients
- 4 cups shredded cabbage mix , I like a mix with red and green cabbage and shredded carrots (you could also use some broccoli slaw)
- 1 red pepper , medium sized
Dressing:
- ½ cup chopped cilantro
- ½ cup chopped red onion
- ¼ - ½ cup red wine vinegar , or vinegar of choice (adjust for tang preference)
- ¼ cup olive oil , or veggie broth for oil free
- 2 tablespoons lime juice , about one lime
- 1 - 3 teaspoons cumin , adjust for taste preference
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- Extra veggie broth to thin out dressing if needed , I used ¼ cup
Instructions
- Place all dressing ingredients in a mason jar or container and mix well. After mixing, allow dressing to sit while prepping the rest of the salad so that the flavors can combine. You can also do this the day before.
- Thinly slice the red pepper.
- Place it in a bowl with the cabbage.
- Combine dressing and coleslaw ingredients and serve.
Notes
- Recipe makes about 8 cups, serving size is 1 cup
- I put the red onion in the jar with the dressing to allow it to “marinate” a bit and it cuts the bite of it a little. This doesn’t have to be done but it gives it a nice flavor.
- I have used apple cider vinegar here too and although it gives it a slightly different taste, it works well.
Recipe by Veggies Don’t Bite, visit our site for more great plant-based recipes.
Nutrition
Nutrition and metric information should be considered an estimate.
Vickie
Loved the recipe. I did make a twist to it though by putting all the dressing ingredients through a food processor and pulsed it to a chopped vegetable consistency. (That was to hide the onions from the kids) i added 2 tsp of honey to give a slight cut to the tang and they loved it.
Sophia DeSantis
Awesome! Love the food processor trick too! 🙂
Diana
This is an amazing salad!! My family loved it so much we had to “fight” over the last bits, haha! This recipe is now on the repeat list ❤️
Sophia DeSantis
Ha! Yay! Happy you liked it!
Melissa
We loved this, just the right amount of tang. I used it for Cantina style burritos.
Sophia DeSantis
I am so thrilled you loved it!! Thanks Melissa!
Steve
The dressing calls for 2/5 cup of red wine vinegar. Do you mean 2/3's or am I missing something?
Sophia DeSantis
Hi Steve, the recipe on the website has a range of 1/4-1/2 cup depending on your preference. The print feature averages these two out to get 2/5 cup. I would start with 1/4 cup and add from there.
Robin
Sadly the printed recipe states “cup” of red wine vinegar whereas the recipe in the original article states 1/4 to 1/2 cup. Quite a difference! Unfortunately I missed the 1/4 to 1/2 cup as I was in a hurry so my coleslaw was ridiculously tangy. My rating would have been a 5 otherwise.
Sophia DeSantis
Hi Robin, it's a bummer that you rated my recipe based on making it while you were in a hurry. You state that it would have been a 5 star recipe otherwise. The printed recipe is a tech option and tech options sometimes glitch. The actual recipe on my site is the real recipe. I looked and it seems that there is an amount stated so not sure if the technology glitched when you were trying to print it or what. Just a heads up that when people rate our recipes it does affect us and our business. We work hard to create these so that everyone can use them for free. I understand a low rating if a recipe isn't what you liked but when it's related to a glitch it's quite disappointing and not helpful in regards to the actual recipe on the site. Hope next time you can take a moment to cross check as us recipe creators can't control all the technology and the glitches they create.
Jeanette
Delicious dressing. A nice twist on typical coleslaw.
Sophia DeSantis
Glad you liked it Jeanette! Thank you so much.