Coleslaw is a family favorite in our house. It’s one of those side dishes that is easy to make and goes great with so many dishes. There are so many different coleslaw recipes out there.
The one my family likes best is this Tri-Color Southern Coleslaw Recipe. It’s a copycat recipe for Rudy’s coleslaw. It combines both green and red cabbage, carrot, mayo, cider vinegar, and a touch of white sugar.
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Side Dish for Barbecue
My family LOVES, LOVES, LOVES barbecue. Actually, that’s putting it mildly. We LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Barbecue. We’ve lived in California, Texas, Oklahoma, and North Carolina. We have tried all kinds of barbecue and different coleslaw recipes.
Rudy’s BBQ – Copycat Recipe
This version is a southern coleslaw recipe based on the coleslaw you get at Rudy’s BBQ, a regional chain of barbecue restaurants. Their coleslaw is a sweet slaw with shredded carrot, green, and red cabbage.
Ingredients for Copycat Rudy’s Coleslaw
Coleslaw is generally very easy to make. It uses fresh vegetables and a bit of dressing. Everyone has their favorite coleslaw recipe. Here’s what you’ll need for this one:
- Green shredded cabbage
- Red cabbage
- Carrots
- Mayonnaise
- Sugar
- Apple cider vinegar
- Salt and pepper
Note: To save time, use a bag of coleslaw mix from the grocery store.
How to Make Coleslaw
Let’s talk about kitchen safety for just a minute here. For this recipe, you’re going to cut the cabbage and carrots up into small pieces. This is how Rudy’s does it and how we like it.
Chopping coleslaw vegetables can take forever by hand. Mandolins are helpful but then you run the risk of cutting yourself. I finally got rid of my mandolin because I ALWAYS knicked a finger or a nail.
Now, I use my Kitchenaid Stand Mixer with the food processor attachment to save time and my finger tips. It lets me slice the cabbage into thin ribbons and grate the carrots with relative ease. Plus, best of all, my fingers are intact.
Once you have the vegetables chopped or grated put them in a bowl. In a separate small bowl, mix the dressing ingredients together. Finally, pour the dressing over the slaw.
Refrigerate the coleslaw for a couple hours before serving so the flavors meld together.
What to Serve with Coleslaw
This southern coleslaw recipe is great with smoked sausage and brisket at a picnic or backyard party, during Sunday supper with Roasted Chicken, or for lunch with a ham and cheese sandwich. Here I’ve added this sweet coleslaw to slow cooker pulled pork sandwiches to create Carolina Sliders with Coleslaw (shown below)
Make Ahead Coleslaw
You can serve this sweet coleslaw immediately or store it in the refrigerator until ready to use it. I prefer to let it sit for at least 1 hour to let the flavors meld. My kids love that the slaw turns pink if you let it sit overnight. Either way, it’s a great side dish using real food ingredients.
Southern Style Coleslaw
Ingredients
- 1 medium green cabbage
- 1/4 small red cabbage
- 3 carrots
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Shred cabbages using a shredding blade on a food processor or knife (thinly slice and chop) into small pieces
- Grate carrots using box grater or grating blade in a food processor.
- In a big bowl, combine mayonnaise, sugar, vinegar, salt, and pepper.
- Add cabbage and carrots. Mix to combine.
- Serve immediately, but is best after the salad has been refrigerated for at least 1 hour.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 152Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 8mgSodium: 216mgCarbohydrates: 7gFiber: 1gSugar: 5gProtein: 1g
More BBQ Side Dishes You’ll Love
- Roasted Butternut Squash and Farro Salad
- Mom’s Potato Salad with Egg
- Crock Pot Ribs and BBQ Beans
- Russian Salad (potato, beets, and pea salad)
- Broccoli Crunch Salad
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Thanks for sharing. Always looking for good vegitarian recipes
You’re welcome Bill. I hope you enjoy it.
Awesome idea for my work potluck! Looks so yummy!
Thanks Heidy. This would be great for work.
Ribs sound really good right now. I am ready for the weather to warm up so my husband can start grilling.
Thanks Kecia. I’ll have the slider recipe up tomorrow.
Thanks Linda. I’m ready for the warm weather to signal picnic season.
Yes, healthy and delicious.
Such a refreshing salad and now that temperatures rise, it is the perfect light lunch!
Yes, it would be. WIth grilling comes many salads like this. I can’t wait,
For some reason I’m not a big slaw person, but my husband loves the stuff! I will have to pass this recipe on to him. Stopping by from the Let’s Get Real Blog hop.
Hi Bev! I’m picky about my coleslaw, but I make several different varieties of it. I hope your husband will like this version. I’ll wonderful to have you join us this week. I hope you enjoyed what everyone has been sharing.
Thanks Michelle. This would be great on fish tacos is you are looking for a sweet slaw. For tacos, I like to add a touch of apple cider vinegar to the dressing and give it a little zip. I have a few cabbage recipes on my site; spring rolls, braised cabbage and unstuffed cabbage roll casserole that are both really good.
Thanks Christina. I haven’t had it with raisins before, but I have had it with shredded apple. I make a few different versions of slaw and they are all great.
Raisins are yuck. Try it with craisins.
I add the craisins only to as much as my family will eat at that meal. Otherwise, the craisins plump up and turn the whole salad pink.
I like to bake with raisins, but not in slaw. I agree that they get soggy.
Thanks Kristina.
Coleslaw is such a great side – and you can make it so many different ways! Yours is gorgeous with all those colours.
Thanks Rachel.
I really enjoy pulled pork and coleslaw together with a good sweet and spicy bbq sauce! Looks yummy!
Thanks Jenne. It’s a great combination of flavors.
So vibrant!
Thanks Jessica. It’s all about eating the rainbow.
I like vinegar based coleslaw too, especially on fish tacos. I like sweeter slaw on my pulled pork sandwiches and with barbecue chicken.
We make roasts more during the winter and make sandwiches the next day too. It’s been wonderful having you join us during this week’s hop too. I enjoyed reading your articles and learning more about you.
Mmmm… I love coleslaw- especially the colorful kind! And all over our BBQ sandwiches 🙂 I put pineapple and sugar in mine which is much less healthy for you, but great if you are going for the sweet/savory combo. 🙂 Great recipe!
Pineapple is healthy. For sweet slaw I have to add a little sugar. Other sweeteners throw the taste off for me. I’m happy you liked it Nicole. Thanks!
Thanks for this copycat Rudy’s recipe! I always have to run to Rudy’s to get a container of their delicious slaw. In fact, there’s one in my fridge right now. Can’t wait to try this recipe.
Yum! This looks great. It’s funny, I only started to like coleslaw this year. Now I love it!
There are so many different kinds of coleslaw. Some I like and some…. well not so much. So I completely understand.
Rudy’s coleslaw is the only one I like. Made this husband loved but I felt there was too much dressing. I put half as much sugar as well. I will try to tweet to see if I can get it closer to Rudy’s.