Low Calorie Cabbage Coleslaw

Coleslaw is one of the popular summer salads. Coleslaw is a simple side salad prepared mainly with raw shredded cabbage with mayo or vinegar dressing. According to the wiki, the term coleslaw comes from the Dutch term “koolsla,” which means cabbage salad. Like every other salad recipe, there are many versions of this cabbage salad, aka cabbage coleslaw. I like to combine purple and green cabbage for my coleslaw, and also I have tried this recipe with and without carrots. Salads are healthy, but we should be cautious about the dressing, and that’s where all the calories are hiding. I love creamy salads, and you can find a few vegan mayo-based salads on my blog archives like beets and corn salad and macaroni pasta salad. Today I decided to skip the mayo and use yogurt in this salad. Yogurt forms the base for the dressing. And the other ingredients that you will find in the dressing are honey mustard, apple cider vinegar, salt, sugar, and ground pepper. And as far as the vegetables go, all you need is some cabbage, carrots and some onions. Now you can make this with green cabbage alone or use both purple and green like mine. And instead of regular red onions, you can use green onions as well. This salad is easy to make, and it’s a crowd-pleaser for sure. My in-laws who are here now enjoyed this salad more than us.

How to make the cabbage coleslaw-

Once the chopping work is all complete, you can assemble this salad in less than 5 minutes. If you are planning to make it for a party or potluck, I would recommend chopping the cabbage well ahead. That makes it all easy. You can either finely chop the cabbage or shred them or even grate them. But while grating, cabbage oozes out some water. If you are going to serve it immediately, you can grate the cabbage if not chopping it would be the best bet. Once chopping is all done, you need to prepare the dressing. I would highly suggest adding the dressing before serving to maintain the crispiness of cabbage.

Shelf Life of Coleslaw-

I have never tried storing coleslaw mixed dressing stored for more than 8 hours, and I always refrigerate right after using them. I would recommend chopping the vegetables and storing them. Cut cabbage and carrots stay well for about 5 to 7 in the fridge. So make the dressing when required and mix it with the vegetables. With apple cider vinegar, the pickling/fermentation effect will be there, so it’s better to prepare it fresh. Now here is my version of low-calorie cabbage coleslaw without the mayo,

Cabbage coleslaw recipe with step-wise pictures-

Shred or chop the vegetables and assemble them in the bowl. I went with 1 cup of purple and green cabbage and ½ cup of grated carrot and 2 tbsp of chopped onion.

In another bowl, add all the ingredients given under “dressing.” Check the measurements in the recipe card below.

Using a spoon or hand whisk, mix them.

Just before serving, add the dressing to the vegetables.

Mix gently and serve.

Recipe Notes-

Adjust the dressing ingredient measurements according to your preference. Sugar is optional. You can always make the dressing with mayo. And if you are looking for a vegan version of the cabbage coleslaw– then opt for vegan mayo. Skip honey mustard and use Dijon mustard instead. Make sure you are using raw/vegan sugar. Mix the dressing and the vegetable just before serving to maintain the crispiness. I went with a 1:1 ratio of green cabbage to purple cabbage. But you can adjust the measurement. Also instead of red/yellow/white onion, you can use shallots or green onions.

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