It’s May and summer cookout season is right around the corner! Hamburgers, hot dogs, and a baffling array of side dishes will be weighing down picnic tables everywhere. Perhaps the most classic American side dish is coleslaw. Always at the picnic, usually dripping with watery mayonnaise, and frequently eaten out of a sense of obligation, slaw is a dish with great potential that goes unrecognized all too often. This zingy slaw recipe lacks any mayo at all. Far from dry, it’s a tasty, tangy, and sure to impress at the company picnic.
Ingredients for Tangy, Mayo-Free Slaw
- ⅓ cup of extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons of lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon of apple cider or rice vinegar
- 1 medium clove of garlic, minced and/or crushed
- ⅓ cup of scallions, chopped.
- 1 smallish jalapeño pepper, cored, seeded, and minced. Leave the seeds in for added hotness!
- 1 medium cabbage
- 2 medium carrots, or about 1 dozen baby carrots
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- A handful of cilantro leaves, chopped, to taste
- Before you even start shredding your cabbage, mix up the dressing. It needs time or the flavors to meld!- For the garlic, you can use pre-minced garlic, or prepare your own.
- Use one medium/large garlic clove, or more, if you'd like. Chop it as finely as you can and then crush it with the flat of your knife blade.
- Next, carefully core, seed, and chop your jalapeño.- Finally, chop about ⅓ of a cup of scallions.
- After your dressing is made, peel away the cabage's tough, outer leaves and shred or finely chop it. I like to shred most of it and then chop the last little bit that's annoying to shred, anyway.
- Grate or finely chop your carrots and combine with the cabbage in a large bowl.
- Add the dressing to the carrot and cabbage mixture. Stir throughly to coat the vegetables.
- Add salt and pepper, to taste. I advise adding lots of tasty, freshly-ground black pepper! Even though I don't usually like to add salt to things, adding a pinch of salt helps draw some moisture out of the cabbage and makes the slaw, overall, a little more moist.
- Cover tightly with a lid or plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour. It is fine in 24 hours, but it will begin to dry out after a few days in the fridge.
- To finish and serve the slaw, chop a hand full of cilantro leaves.
- Remove the slaw from the fridge and stir it to recoat the vegetables. Sample some and add more salt or pepper, if desired. Finally, stir in the cilantro and serve immediately!
I hope you enjoy this mayo-free slaw recipe and have a fantastic summer! I am always more than happy to answer questions, so please let me know if you’re curious about anything in the recipe. Thanks for stopping by =)
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I make a coleslaw without mayo too. Yours sounds really good and I’ll have try it soon.
Yay for other people that don’t use mayo! I hate when I get a sandwich or hamburger from a restaurant and it’s covered with mayo. Ugh!
Hi Natasha!
Thanks for stopping by my blog today! I added you on bloglovin and google+.
I’m not a big fan of coleslaw, that I would try this one!!
Beth @ The First Year Blog
Thanks for stopping by and following!! I appreciate it. I’m not a big fan of the usual coleslaw, but I’m loving this! It’s a good thing, too, because I have a lot and just me to eat it =)
This sounds delicious! 🙂
Thanks for joining the Link Up this week!
Thanks for 1) hosting and 2) stopping by!
this looks awesome! i hate going to bbq’s with the soggy, warm cole slaw. what a great alternative…can’t wait to try it!
I think this is so much better! I hope you enjoy it. I’m intrigued by your link and about to stop by to see what a chicken parcel is.
Cole slaw is one of my favorite summer or BBQ side dishes and I have always made it with mayo and everytime I think this is so full of calories. Your recipe looks so much healthier and quite tasty with the combination of spices. Will try this next time I make slaw. Thanks so much for linking up your recipe on the BBQ Block Party Thursday.
Yes, it is so much healthier! It isn’t calorie free, but it’s pretty darn close. The only real source of calories is the olive oil, but there simply isn’t that much of it. It’s a great way to get some veggies without all the fat of most side dishes! Thanks so much for stopping by.