Easy Healthy Coleslaw Recipe
With thousands of shares, dozens of reviews and five-star ratings, you can be assured this creamy yet healthy coleslaw recipe will be the star of your summer cookouts, barbecues and picnics. Just chop, stir and serve! Only 70 calories per serving!
I originally shared this Healthy Coleslaw on May 13th, 2016. I have updated the text, added a video and some new photos today.
Table of contents
Why We Love This Healthy Coleslaw Recipe
This healthy coleslaw recipe really is super easy peasy to make, and it is completely classic tasting. I love a twist on coleslaw, but sometimes you just want good old-fashioned creamy coleslaw with your burger!
- I healthified this “skinny” coleslaw by cutting way back on the mayonnaise. I used plain Greek yogurt instead.
- And then I turned up the volume on the other flavors to compensate for the reduced fat and calories.
- One trick I used is that I shredded a bit of sweet onion right into the dressing.
- The result is tons of delicious flavor, but it’s only 70 calories per cup!
- I also made sure to use as many colorful vegetables as I could to really make it pop! We eat with our eyes first, right?
Love this recipe? Try our Healthy Potato Salad and Healthy Pasta Salad recipes too!
Key Ingredients For This Recipe
- Finely shredded green and purple cabbage: Chop the fresh cabbage finely by hand or use the slicer attachment in your food processor or mandoline. To cut back on prep time, you can definitely use a pre-shredded bag of coleslaw mix. You will want to use 9 cups total.
- Plain Greek yogurt: I used two parts non-fat Greek Yogurt to one part mayonnaise to drastically cut the calories for the dressing in this recipe. As I said a couple of weeks ago when I shared my Healthy Broccoli Salad, using a half cup of Greek Yogurt instead of Mayo, saves 700 calories per batch! Isn’t that incredible?! Look for plain non-fat for the lowest calorie option, or full fat for a creamier dressing.
- Mayonnaise: To give the dressing a classic taste of a traditional coleslaw recipe, we used a little mayonnaise. Just enough for the right flavor, but not too much to make it high in fat and calories.
- Seasonings for the coleslaw dressing: You’ll need vinegar, Dijon mustard, salt, celery seed and black pepper. The celery seed adds a classic coleslaw taste to the recipe. It can be omitted. Do not use celery salt in place of it or the dressing will be too salty. I also add a little sugar to balance the tangy yogurt and vinegar.
- Onion: I like to use a box grater to grate the onion. It blends into the dressing beautifully. If you are in a rush you can use a little (1/2 teaspoon) onion powder instead. I have also made this with chopped green onion instead of adding the onion to the dressing so if you have them on hand, you can try that swap too.
- Shredded carrots: To give the coleslaw bright color and added nutrition, I added freshly grated carrots. Feel free to use bagged shredded carrots instead.
- Minced celery hearts: I like using celery hearts, the pale light green parts of the head of celery with the leaves still attached. I use them in summer side dishes like Vegan Potato Salad, and my German Potato Salad. Celery pairs well with the creamy dressing and cabbage. Chop them finely and they add a bright chartreuse color to the slaw.
- Parsley: I also like to add in parsely for freshness and for bright green color. It really makes this coleslaw look so much more cheerful and healthy, not pale and soggy.
How To Make Healthy Coleslaw
Step 1: Make Coleslaw Dressing with Greek Yogurt
Grate onion with a box grater. Scrape grated onion into a large bowl. Add greek yogurt and mayonnaise and whisk to combineAdd vinegar, sugar, mustard, salt, celery seed and pepper and whisk to combine.
Step 2: Mix Coleslaw with Dressing
Add cabbage, carrots, celery hearts and parsley (if using) and toss to coat.
Variations To Try
To Make Healthy Coleslaw Vegan
You can sub vegan mayonnaise and vegan yogurt to keep this dressing creamy, or make this more of a vinegar coleslaw by dressing it with olive oil and vinegar or using one of our vinaigrettes from our salad dressing recipes. Our Lemon Juice Salad Dressing, Red Wine Vinaigrette or Tarragon Vinaigrette would be great options.
Vegetables To Add To This Healthy Coleslaw Recipe
We love adding crunchy vegetables that we happen to have on for more color and texture. Try adding strips of red bell peppers. But really any bell pepper would be tasty and pretty. We even like to add strips of thinly sliced lacinato kale or shredded Brussels slaw from Trader Joes.
Broccoli Slaw
Buy broccoli slaw, sold in bags in the produce department of large grocery stores, instead of the cabbages. You’ll need 9 cups total.
FAQs For This Healthy Coleslaw
This recipe can be made up to 12 hours in advance. In fact, I recommend making it a little ahead of time so that the cabbage softens a little bit. Toss the veggies, shredded cabbage and carrots with the dressing in a big bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Remember to stir before serving.
Keep leftovers stored in an airtight container for up to three days. Serve with a slotted spoon if it becomes watery.
Yes! You can use Savoy cabbage instead of green and red cabbage. I do not recommend Napa Cabbage or Chinese Cabbage for this recipe as they are not sturdy enough and will become limp.
We love our food processor! To make this with the food processor, use the flat slicer blade for the cabbages and the grater attachment for the carrots. To make the dressing you can even blend it with the steel blade attachment.
Yes, but the dressing makes all the difference! Depending on the recipe coleslaw can be either a healthy veggie-packed side dish or it can be a high-calorie addition to the plate. Cabbage is high in fiber and very low in calories. It is also rich in Vitamin C. If the dressing is made with mostly mayonnaise sweetened with sugar it can make the slaw high in calories. Instead opt for a creamy dressing made with Greek yogurt instead to make it lighter.
Serving Suggestions
- For a busy weeknight meal, you can serve this yogurt coleslaw along side of your favorite bean burgers or with Slow Cooker Maple Chipotle Pulled Chicken sandwiches.
- For a cookout you can also serve Maple Chipotle Barbecue Chicken Thighs or Chicken Breast made with the Best Chicken Marinade.
- Serve with our Grilled Greek Boneless Chicken Thighs for a quick and healthy summer meal.
- Other summer picnic and barbecue side dishes that go with this creamy healthy coleslaw are Israeli Couscous Salad, Mediterranean Quinoa Salad and Mexican Bean Salad.
More Healthy Classic Barbecue Side Dishes
At Healthy Seasonal Recipes, we specialize in cooking with fresh veggies and creating weeknight meals. Sign up HERE to get more produce-forward dinner ideas for FREE! If you make this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review. I would love to hear what you thought! Happy Cooking! ~Katie
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Easy Healthy Coleslaw Recipe
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 10 cups 1x
Description
This creamy, healthy coleslaw is super easy to stir together. It’s the perfect skinny coleslaw recipe for your summer cookouts, barbecues and picnics!
Ingredients
- 1/4 small sweet onion
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt, fat free if desired
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon celery seed
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 8 cups finely shredded green and purple cabbage
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 1/4 cup minced celery hearts
- 2 tablespoons parsley, optional
Instructions
- Grate onion with a box grater. Scrape grated onion into a large bowl. Add greek yogurt and mayonnaise and whisk to combine.
- Add vinegar, sugar, mustard, salt, celery seed and pepper and whisk to combine.
- Add cabbage, carrots, celery hearts and parsley (if using) and toss to coat.
Notes
Can be made 12 hours in advance. Store covered in the refrigerator.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Mixed
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 71
- Sugar: 3 g
- Sodium: 77 mg
- Fat: 5 g
- Saturated Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 6 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 2 g
More Coleslaw and Cabbage Recipes
- This superfast Mexican-inspired Lime and Cilantro Coleslaw is another easy coleslaw recipe that pairs well with enchiladas, tacos and more!
- We love this Asian-Inspired Sesame Coleslaw at barbecues. It is another healthy slaw recipe that can be paired with Asian-inspired meals. We also have a Cabbage and Ramen Salad which makes a great Asian-inspired side for a summer picnic.
- This Cucumber and Napa Cabbage Coleslaw is a summer favorite!
- This Napa Cabbage Caesar Salad is a creamy twist on caesar when Romaine is not in season.
- If you are new to kohlrabi, another favorite cruciferous vegetable, this Kohlrabi Slaw with jalapenos, lime and cilantro is a great introduction.
- This Raspberry Kale Slaw is a festive winter colesalw with almonds.
- Our Easy Healthy Holiday Slaw has pomegranates, dried apricots and Napa Cabbage in it.
We enjoyed this with fish tacos! Delicious!
That’s a great idea. Thank you Lisa! I appreciate your coming back to let me know how it went and to rate the recipe. That’s so helpful!
Love this coleslaw! And I love the calories saved with using a combo of fat free plain Greek yogurt and mayo. I do Weight Watchers and this recipe is only 1 point on blue! I will be making this a lot this summer! Thank you for the recipe!
That was amazing! It will certainly become a weekly choice in my family. To make even more fat free (we have food restrictions), I used zero fat yogurt and lightest than light mayonnaise.
I had to tweek this a bit to get it to my liking. I followed the recipe as written and thought it was too dry and too salty. I used a 14 oz bag of slaw mix which was about 7 cups measured. I added about a 1/2 cup of shredded carrots. I also added a couple more tablespoons of light mayo. Hopefully it will get a little creamier as it sits. Because of the saltiness, I added a couple more teaspoons of sugar. Now it tastes better, but still not the greatest.
Hey Laurie, Thanks so much for coming back to let me know what you think. Sorry to hear you thought it was dry. Did you use full fat mayo or light mayo in this. If so, you would definatly experience a less-dressed result. Light mayo has ingredients added to it to improve the mouth feel of it and extend it. But when mixed with all these other dressing ingredients, it won’t give you the same results as real may would. Either way, it sounds like you found a way to make it work. I happen to have a saltier palate, so that’s good feedback about your experience with the salt level. I should mention,next time if you want to make a recipe less salty, you can try adding more acidity instead of salt. They work to counterbalance each other on the palette and will keep the added sugars in check.
This was great! Lots more flavor than storebought coleslaw, which is normally swimming in sauce. I liked the celery seed addition, too. Thanks!
I don’t care for overdressed coleslaw myself. So glad you liked it. Thanks for coming back by to rate the recipe Ali.
I love a healthy side dish that can be made in advance! So perfect for all upcoming summer entertaining, thanks for sharing
Hi Jennifer. So glad you like the recipe!
This is the version we make most of the time, everyone loves coleslaw around here.
Hi Yang. So psyched you like it too! Enjoy!
Wow! This is so pretty! I can taste all the yummy flavor from here.
Any recipe that saves me a bowl by making the dressing right in the serving bowl is great by me! Love all the colors and textures and LOVE the trick of grating in the onion.
What a healthy and tasty side dish! I do love a good coleslaw, it goes so well with pretty much anything!
Hope, thanks so much for the comment and rating- and I could not agree more! It’s such a great addition to any meal!
It’s hard to go wrong with a crunchy yummy coleslaw in the summer! Love that you used Greek yogurt and looks fantastic.
Jean- thanks so much for the comment and rating! The Greek yogurt is a tasty substitute! Glad you enjoyed it 🙂
A good coleslaw is a must for the summer and you can’t beat having it be healthier too!
Kari- thanks so much for the comment and the rating! And I agree- things are so good when they’re healthier and still taste great! Hope you enjoy it!
Coleslaw is one of my favorite go to’s for a quick and healthy side! Love this version!
Thanks Tessa! Coleslaw is such a great dish for the summer, glad you enjoyed this version!
Looks lovely. This is exactly the kind of coleslaw I like.
Thanks so much Ivana! I hope you enjoy the recipe!
Sounds like an easy and delicious side for the summer!
Hey Raia- thanks for the comment and rating! And I agree, it’s great all summer long! I hope you enjoy it!