Red Cabbage Slaw
on Apr 22, 2025
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This red cabbage slaw is a vegan, no-mayo coleslaw recipe. It gives you all the fresh crunch and creamy dressing that you expect from this side dish, but it has so much more going on than a traditional recipe. With a base of shredded red cabbage, carrots and bell peppers, I toss it in an avocado dressing made with fresh lime juice and cumin. This easy slaw recipe also has scallions, jalapeños and lots of cilantro.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
It is a no-mayo vegan coleslaw. I know I’m not the only one who isn’t a fan of mayonnaise. It has never made sense to me that a salad with a mayo-base would be a summer staple at potlucks, barbecues and other summer gatherings. Yes, cabbage can be a cooling with its crisp bite, but this version is so much better with an avocado-based dressing.
Once you make the avocado lime dressing, you will have it on repeat. It is simple and super fast because I make it in a food processor. You just need to start with an avocado that’s very ripe. It turns out creamy with the sharpness of fresh lime juice plus cilantro. I also toss this coleslaw dressing with my southwest pasta salad.
The flavors in this recipe are Tex-Mex, but you can serve the slaw with other cuisines too. It is a great topping or side for these chipotle cauliflower tacos, but keep it in mind for any dishes that are smoky and grilled or sautéed. It pairs perfectly with these grilled veggie burrito bowls or tofu vegetable skewers.
The Ingredients
This is what you need:
- Red cabbage: There are so many reasons to love cabbage. It is a budget-friendly vegetable that’s easy to prep. You can buy bags of it pre-shredded, but you can cut it yourself. Look for a small head of cabbage that’s about 2 pounds.
- Carrots: I typically buy a bag of shredded carrots because the cuts will be cleaner than if you do it yourself with the big holes of a box grater or the shredding disc on your food processor. Also, you can the extra carrots in other recipes such as this better-than-a-restaurant house salad for another meal.
- Red bell peppers: You slice a red pepper into thin strips lengthwise. I prefer red, yellow or orange peppers because they are sweeter than green peppers, but it is up to you.
- Scallions, sliced thinly, give the salad light green onion flavor. The white parts of the scallions are more crisp.
- Jalapeños: I don’t think the slaw turns out spicy especially with the cooling from the avocado dressing. If you are sensitive to heat and spice, you can use part of a jalapeño pepper instead of the entire thing.
- Cilantro: Even though there is cilantro in the dressing, I still include chopped cilantro in the salad.
- Avocado lime dressing: The ripe avocado, cilantro leaves, cumin, kosher salt, black pepper, fresh lime juice and olive oil all go in a food processor or blender.
How To Make Red Cabbage Slaw
1. Combine the slaw ingredients in a large bowl. That includes the shredded cabbage, carrots, red peppers, scallions, jalapeños and chopped cilantro.
2. Make the dressing. Puree the avocado, fresh cilantro leaves, cumin, kosher salt, black pepper, fresh lime juice and olive oil until the mixture is completely smooth.
3. Toss the dressing with the coleslaw. Start by spooning half the dressing with the slaw. Toss it so everything is evenly coated. Then add more dressing if you want.
Serving
As mentioned, the most obvious way to serve this vegan red cabbage slaw recipe is to go traditional and treat it like a side dish at a potluck or barbecue. You can also enjoy it as slaw for chicken or fish tacos.
I will also eat this avocado lime slaw as a hearty salad. You can add a protein such as baked tofu, shredded rotisserie chicken, salmon or shrimp. I sometimes sprinkle in pumpkin seeds. And don’t forget grain bowls and wraps! The slaw is good with a protein, seasonal roasted vegetables and grains such as brown rice or quinoa.
Leftovers & Storage
This no mayo slaw is best the day you make it, but you can store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 3 days. Cabbage is sturdy, but it will lose its crispness the longer you save it. The red cabbage coleslaw will still taste good. Repurpose the leftovers as taco slaw, grain bowls and wraps.
Keep any extra dressing in a mason jar. The lime juice should prevent the avocado from browning. Let it sit out at room temperature for at least 15 minutes before tossing it with the salad.
Recipe Tips
- Make sure the avocado is really ripe. That’s the only way it will easily puree. Also, the flavor will be better. If you use an avocado that isn’t as ripe, you may end up with avocado bits in the dressing. Ripe avocados have darker skin and they feel soft when you give them a gentle squeeze.
- The avocado dressing is thick and creamy. I like to start by tossing about half of it with the coleslaw. Then I will add more as needed.
- You can enjoy the avocado dressing as a dip too. Whenever a make it, I always dip a tortilla chips or Sun Chips in it if I have extra.
Reipe FAQs
Yes. Green cabbage is slightly sweeter and more mild than red cabbage.
Leave the chopped cilantro out of the slaw. For the dressing, use 4 sliced scallions instead of the half cup of cilantro leaves. The salad will have more pronounced onion flavor. With the rest of the ingredients, scallions are a better substitute than parsley.
More Cabbage Recipes
Asian Cabbage Salad
Apple Cabbage Salad
Roasted Red Cabbage
Roasted Green Cabbage with Tahini Sauce
Napa Cabbage Salad
Savoy Cabbage Salad
Looking for more salad inspiration? Check out my seasonal salad guide with recipes and tips on ingredients, meal prep and more.
Red Cabbage Slaw
Ingredients
For coleslaw
- 1 red cabbage (about 2 pounds), shredded
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced lengthwise
- 3 scallions, thinly sliced
- 1 jalapeno, minced
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
For dressing
- 1 ripe avocado
- 1 garlic clove
- 1/2 cup cilantro leaves
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 limes, juice
- 1/3 cup olive oil
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the cabbage, carrots, scallions, jalapeños and 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro.
- For the dressing, puree the avocado, garlic, 1/2 cup cilantro leaves, cumin, salt, pepper, lime juice and olive oil in a food processor or blender until completely smooth.
- Spoon half the dressing into the salad. Toss until everything is well combined. Add more dressing as desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
