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If you’re looking for the perfect summer side dish, this coleslaw with apples is easy and delicious. Crisp and refreshing with a light creamy dressing, the apples give the dish slight sweetness and a nice crunch. A perfect pairing with barbecue, this coleslaw recipe only takes 15 minutes to make.
Quick Look: Apple Coleslaw
- Prep time: 15 minutes.
- Servings – Serves 4 to 6 as a side dish.
- Main ingredients: Shredded cabbage mixture or coleslaw mix, mayo, apple juice, fresh apple, and vinegar.
- When to serve: A perfect and easy summer side dish or potluck recipe that goes great with dry rub oven ribs or crockpot BBQ chicken thighs. It’s also great on shrimp tacos.
- Dietary information: This recipe fits a Mediterranean-style diet, gluten free, and dairy free, as well as vegetarian and an HYH diet.
- Why you’ll love it: This recipe combines coleslaw with crisp apples to jazz up your basic recipe with extra flavor and natural sweetness. It’s my go to when I need an easy and fast side dish for burgers or steak. It also has no added sugar.
If you’re making this for a summer holiday, pair it with fingerling potato salad, slow cooker pork shoulder, and a cream cheese mac and cheese for the ultimate meal.
Table of Contents
Ingredients
Below are just some details on what to shop for with the main ingredients. See the recipe card below for all ingredients and amounts used.
- Cabbage mix – You can typically find “pre-shredded cabbage slaw” or coleslaw mixes (then just toss the dressing in the bag). You can also buy green cabbage, red cabbage, and carrots separately, and just use a mandoline or thinly slice them with a sharp knife.
- Apples – I find honeycrisp to be the best apples for slaw because they’re the perfect mix of sweet and crisp. Fuji or gala apples are great too. And for a less sweet, more tart flavor, you can use green apples or “granny smith apples”.
- Mayonnaise – Chosen Foods avocado oil mayo is my go-to, but if you don’t want to use mayonnaise, you can substitute yogurt, if tolerated. I do suggest a mix of the two, just because mayo has a deeper depth of flavor that tastes more traditional.
- Apple juice – Any regular, plain apple juice will work! Also, if you don’t have apple juice on hand but have apple cider vinegar, that can make a good substitute.
- Parsley – Fresh or freeze-dried will work.
Substitutions & Variations
- Coleslaw without mayonnaise – Mayo can be substituted with yogurt (not HYH). Icelandic skyr recommended (my favorite is Icelandic Provisions plain). You could also do this with 2 tablespoons of mayo, and 2 tablespoons of yogurt or skyr. Sour cream will also work, although I recommend splitting that with mayo as well.
- More sweetness – If you’re used to a Miracle Whip type coleslaw that’s a little sweeter, you can add 1-2 teaspoons of honey and whisk it into the dressing.
- More crunch – Add thinly sliced and toasted almonds or pumpkin seeds.
- Egg free/vegan – Use this egg free mayonnaise recipe.
- HYH Diet/Low Histamine – Make the recipe as written, without the variations.
How to Make Coleslaw with Apples
Step 1: Make the dressing
In a large bowl, combine the mayonnaise, vinegar, apple juice, parsley, and green onions (pictures 1-2). Whisk everything together till combined. Add about 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper. Taste and adjust the seasonings to your liking, adding honey for sweetness, if needed.
Step 2: Add the coleslaw mix and apples
Stir in the coleslaw mix and chopped apples till combined. Allow it to sit for 5-10 minutes in the fridge for the flavors to combine (pictures 3-4).
Recipe Tip
Chop the apples right before serving to avoid them turning brown. If you need to prep them ahead, place them in a bowl of water, then drain and pat dry. Pre-shredded cabbage mix will save you so much time!
Prep Ahead
If you’re planning to make this apple coleslaw recipe ahead for the 4th of July, Memorial Day, or a potluck but you’re worried about it getting soggy, my favorite tips are:
- Mix the dressing in the bottom of a large bowl and then place the cabbage, carrots, and apples on top. Then place the bowl in the fridge.
- Toss everything together about 5-10 minutes before you intend to serve, but place back in the fridge once tossed.
Serving Suggestions
While this makes a great side dish, it also adds extra vegetables and flavoring to other dishes. Some of my favorite ways to mix it up are:
- Topped on slow cooker pork shoulder sandwiches (or tacos).
- As a side dish for honey chipotle chicken or Mexican grilled chicken.
- With oven baby back ribs.
- On top of chicken tinga tacos or Baja fish tostadas.
- With buffalo chicken thighs (pictured above)
Storage Suggestions
Once the apple coleslaw has been mixed with the dressing, it will be best to consume within 2-3 hours. Store in the fridge till you are ready to serve.
After that, coleslaw will be good the next day but will be a bit more soggy. This would make it better to use as a topping for tacos, rather than as a stand alone side dish.
Recipe FAQ
Yes! Pre-shredded broccoli slaw would also work in this apple coleslaw recipe and be just as delicious as a side dish or topping.
Wait to mix the shredded slaw with the dressing. Salt from the coleslaw dressing draws out the moisture in the cabbage, softening it, but also increasing the water content. This can happen within 20-30 minutes of mixing everything together.
To enhance the flavor, you can make coleslaw the day before, especially if you like a really soft texture. I personally prefer a really crunchy coleslaw so I recommend eating within 2-3 hours of mixing the apple slaw with the dressing.
If you don’t like apples in coleslaw, just omit them from the recipe. Or for a version that’s a little more low carb, use jicama instead. It’s crunchy like an apple but without the sweetness.
Summer Side Dish Recipes
For more easy side dishes like this coleslaw with apples, you’ll love other salads like this watermelon basil salad, or Mediterranean cucumber salad. If you have some cabbage leftover, you can use it in this kale crunch salad.
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 review in the recipe card! Don’t forget to tag me @thedizzycook on Facebook and Instagram, and follow along on Pinterest for more great recipes!
Creamy Apple Coleslaw
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon apple juice
- 2 green onions, chopped
- 2 tablespoons Italian parsley, or freeze-dried parsley
- 12 oz coleslaw mix (shredded cabbage and carrots)
- 3/4 cup fresh apple, chopped, honeycrisp recommended
- kosher salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix the mayo, apple juice, vinegar, green onions, and parsley together until combined. Taste and adjust any seasonings, adding kosher salt and black pepper as needed. Place coleslaw mix and chopped apple on top.
- Toss the coleslaw together when 10-20 minutes away from serving your meal, and put back in the fridge to continue to chill for about 5 minutes. Taste and adjust any seasonings! Serve cold.
Notes
- You can buy pre-shredded coleslaw or thinly slice green and red cabbage. If you buy a coleslaw mix bag, just toss out the dressing if it comes with it. Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods have ones with just the shredded cabbage and carrots.
- No soggy coleslaw – Place the dressing at the bottom of the serving bowl and wait to toss it till about 10-20 minutes before your meal so it still maintains the crunch. If you do have leftovers, these are best on sandwiches or tacos since it will not be as crisp the next day.
- Don’t have apple juice? Substitute the apple juice and vinegar for 1 1/2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar. You may need to add a touch of sweetness, like 1 teaspoon of honey. Taste the dressing first and see if it’s to your liking.
- Gala, Granny Smith (green) or Fuji apples can be subbed for honeycrisp, but honeycrisp gives you a good blend of sweetness as well as a crisp texture.
- This serves 4-6 people depending on portion sizes and whether you’re using it as a side dish or topping on BBQ sandwiches.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is AMAZING! I didn’t use vinegar and swapped out a pear instead of the apple (sensitive to apples) and oh my goooooooodnesssss! 🥳🤩 Delicious! 🤤 Thank you for another great one, Alicia! 💞
This coleslaw recipe is fast and easy to make and it is really tasty. Not too sweet, not too much vinegar. I put it in pulled pork and pork tacos or eat it on the side. Make it every couple of weeks.
Delicious!! My husband and I like the sweeter coleslaw so we left the vinegar out of it. Love the addition of the apples. Great recipe!
Thanks, Brittany!
I was missing Kentucky fried chicken coleslaw so I made this recipe. I absolutely love it! Even more than Kentucky fried chicken’s. Hubby also approved and wants to try it on hamburgers.
Really yummy on hamburgers!
I thought I would miss all the sugar from traditional coleslaw but this is delicious! I made it with shredded broccoli and it turned out to be the perfect compliment to lunch yesterday. Another wonderful recipe!
So happy you enjoyed this!! I agree it doesn’t need sugar like you’d expect with the apples!
Really tasty coleslaw and the apple made it stand out. Used it with pulled pork so it paired really well. Added shallot instead of green onion.
Thanks so much for taking the time to review, Claire!
Thank you, Claire! You’re the best!