This quick and easy Mexican coleslaw is the perfect side dish for picnics, BBQs and potlucks or as a topping for tacos, carnitas, burrito bowls, and more. It takes just 5 minutes to throw together and since it’s mayo-free it can sit out for longer than regular coleslaw!
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“Fabulous! Discovered this a year ago and have made & shared your recipe ever since. It’s a keeper!” -Alice, FoodieCrush reader
The Lime Dressing Takes This Coleslaw Over the Top!
There are some recipes I slave over. Working, reworking, and working them again to make them just perfect. That’s not this recipe.
Instead, this recipe came together the very first time I made it. It was perfect from the get-go, and I’m not the only one who said so.
When you hear the words “Mexican food” you might conjure up images of becoming a fire-breathing dragon. This slaw is far from that. Rather than spicy with heat, it’s simply spiced with a dressing of classic Mexican flavors.
I made it up to serve for a family BBQ with my DELICIOUS pulled pork tacos. This coleslaw won raves, proving it’s been tried, tested, and approved, so I KNOW it’s one you’ll have success with too.
Enjoy!
Heidi’s Tips for Recipe Success
Slice the onion into thin slivers. This helps it meld into the dressing and gives the coleslaw a mellower flavor.
A 30-minute rest brings the flavors together. I always make this ahead of time so the veggies have time to tenderize and soak up the flavors of the tangy lime dressing.
Don’t want to use packaged coleslaw mix? Buying a bag of coleslaw mix significantly reduces the hands on prep for this recipe, but you can replace it with roughly 14 ounces of finely shredded green cabbage and carrots if desired.
Ingredient Notes (+ Substitutions)
The full recipe, with amounts, can be found in the recipe card below.
- Coleslaw mix — Typically a blend of shredded cabbage (green and red) and carrots.
- Red onion — Adds a nice bite to the Mexican-style coleslaw without overpowering it. Want something less pungent? Finely chopped green onions (green and white parts) offer a milder flavor.
- Cilantro — If cilantro is not your thing, you can always give good old flat-leaf parsley a go or leave it out altogether.
- Canola oil — My neutral-flavored oil of choice for making the lime coleslaw dressing.
- Lime juice — Use fresh if possible.
- Honey — You need a little sweetness to balance out the spices and hot sauce. If you don’t have honey, use pure maple syrup or granulated sugar instead.
- Spices — The dressing is flavored with granulated garlic, ground cumin, dried oregano, and ground coriander.
- Hot sauce — Just a dash adds a nice zip of heat without giving you dragon’s breath.
The 3 Simple Steps to Making Mexican Coleslaw
- Toss the salad components together. I use bagged coleslaw mix but you can certainly slice and dice the cabbage on your own.
- Make the dressing. I use a glass jar with a fitted lid to shake the ingredients together. A slither of honey sweetens the dressing poured over the crunchy slaw with slivers of red onion and freshly chopped cilantro leaves.
- Toss it all and let it sit. 30 minutes is ideal, but you can also prep this the night before.
Storage and Make-Ahead Tips
This coleslaw needs to be eaten within 24 hours. After that, the cabbage will wilt to the point of being mushy.
If you’d like to prep this well in advance of serving, store the shredded and sliced veggies in a separate container from the dressing. If you do this, you can safely prep the ingredients 4 days in advance and toss together when ready to serve.
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating on this recipe below and leave a comment, take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #foodiecrusheats.
Tangy Mexican Coleslaw
Ingredients
Coleslaw
- 1 14-ounce package prepared coleslaw mix
- ¼ small red onion , thinly sliced
- ¼ cup cilantro leaves , chopped
Dressing
- ⅓ cup canola oil
- 2 limes , juiced (about ¼ cup)
- 3 cloves garlic , pressed
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 6 dashes hot sauce
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Toss. In a large bowl, toss the colelsaw mix with the sliced onion and chopped cilantro.
- Dress. In a small bowl or jar with a fitted lid, mix the canola oil, lime juice, garlic, honey, cumin, oregano, coriander, hot sauce, kosher salt, and freshly ground pepper. Pour over the coleslaw mixture and toss.
- Chill. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving. This recipe is best eaten day of, but can be refrigerated overnight.
Nutrition
Ways to Serve
This is the perfect cabbage slaw for tacos, burritos bowls, enchiladas, and more. Try serving it one of the following ways:
- As a taco topping. Pair it with my Copycat Taco Bell Ground Beef Tacos, Grilled Steak Tacos, Shredded Chicken Tacos, or Baja Fish Tacos.
- In a Mexican-inspired bowl. Pile it onto Fish Taco Bowls, Chipotle Lime Shrimp Bowls, or Veggie Burrito Bowls.
- As a side dish. This cabbage slaw is great with Carnitas, Chicken Mole Enchiladas, Beef Enchilada Casserole, Chicken Taquitos, and Taco Zucchini Boats.
More Easy Coleslaw Recipes to Try
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Adrienne
Delish! I added diced canned jalapenos and green onion instead of red (didn’t want to make an extra trip to the store for red….) thanks!
Tricia
This looks delicious! I will most definitely be using the cumin when I make mine
Ashley @ Foodie Crush
Yes!
Martin
Great recipe.
I just added a few more ingredients.
2 fresh jalapenos and green onions.
Ashley @ Foodie Crush
Thanks for sharing!
Andrew
My wife fell in love with this. We smoked a pork butt last night and it was an amazing topper for the leftover pork tacos we made today. Perfect!
Ashley @ Foodie Crush
I am so glad! That sounds delish!
Ash
Such a great recipe, my boyfriend made it for me and now I’m hooked! He added some corn and it was a great addition :)
Ashley @ Foodie Crush
YUM!
Sarah
Been making this for over a year now! Love love love it! My husband really likes coleslaw and I’m not a huge fan unless it’s with NC style pork bbq ;) this is great though! So full of flavor and is a great alternative to lettuce salad for a side dish to those spicy mexican dishes to cool the mouth off! :D
I thinly slice at least 1/2 a cabbage and skip the carrots. Use olive oil. Add extra garlic because we are garlic junkies and it adds a little more bite.
Thanks so much for this recipe! It gets the honor of being printed and added to my real cookbook! <3
Elaine
I’d like to make this, but I don’t keep honey in the house and don’t want to buy a jar of it just for this one recipe. Is there a substitution for the honey? I don’t keep any kind of syrup around either, but I’m wondering if I could substitute some amount of white sugar or coconut sugar?
Camy
I made this tonight to go with carinitas. It was fabulous!
Ashley @ Foodie Crush
Delicous!!
Rachel
I made this as a side for a taco party I had last night. Everyone loved it and it was so easy! Thank you. I’ll be making it a lot more!
Tabitha Dente
It sounds good, LOVE cole slaw, always on the lookout for new ways to make it, looking forward to trying it, but I’m not sure 1/3 CUP of oil is any better than 2 tablespoons of a high-quality, gourmet avocado mayo (or even less, depend on how creamy you prefer it). And one suggestion of OJ in place of the honey sounds like a GREAT idea for those of us looking to limit sugar.
Diann
My Grand daughter in law is Mexican she has taught me to make Mexican food and she does use cumin!! As for your Mexican coleslaw recipe I tried it when I made enchiladas it’s really good and tonight I’m serving it with my chili.
Ashley @ Foodie Crush
That is so interesting! Thanks for sharing, Diann!
Tiffany
I LOVE this slaw!!! I’ve been looking for the perfect topping for pulled pork tacos and this is IT! It’s perfection just the way it is!! I didn’t have coriander so I didn’t add it and I didn’t add the hot sauce because I didn’t think the kids would like the spice. This recipe is a keeper for me!
Debra
I have made a similar recipe. I use olive oil, Add 2 cup thinly julienned jicama and 1/8 cup OJ instead of the honey, thinly sliced seeds removed jalapeno (less if you don’t want the spice) instead of the hot sauce. I thinly slice one whole cabbage but usually buy the pre-shredded carrots. Mine makes more and we love having the leftovers!
I believe this recipe is better the next day!
Michelle
This is amazing! I’ve made it countless times, always a hit! I use it on fish tacos, pulled pork, leftovers as a salad topper – it’s incredible!!!
Sarah
I just made this and it’s delicious!!! Absolutely love it – thanks for sharing a great recipe!
Sue
Great recipe, just what I needed for my tacos tonight! I added sliced fresh jalapenos which gave it a little heat. Will definitely be making this again!
jessica
just made this recipe with my mom as we are wanting something new! we love it, and so does my dad! Very fresh and has great flavor. also very easy!
Laurie
This was great on my fish tacos tonight! Thank you.
Danielle
Loved this recipe. It saved me in the last minute to put my pork tacos over the top. Please keep posting your great recipes.
Kris O.
Donna Nordin has a very similar recipe in her cookbook based on dishes served at her now-closed Café Terra Cotta in Tucson. Hers includes avocado and jicama. I arrange avocado to the top just before serving but don’t mix it in – that way, any leftover slaw won’t turn brown or mushy. Looking forward to trying yours!
Chefette
What a refreshing alternative to the usual creamy-sweet slaw – and it really does have possibilities! Although it may not be an *authentic* Mexican recipe, it sure will play nice with all those hot & spicy platos mexicanos just the same. ;-) I’m not a big fan of cumin so I would reduce it to maybe 1/2 tsp (especially when using ground coriander) and double the oregano, but that’s my own preference.
And since when is a shortcut (ahem, pre-sliced cabbage/slaw) grounds for verbal lynching from the likes of a Jose Nobody? All those high-ranking chefs have prep cooks to do all the dirty work in their kitchens – I hardly think they’re chopping, slicing, shredding, and measuring all the ingredients themselves. Right?!
Thanks for slaving in the kitchen, Heidi.
Anna @ Crunchy Creamy Sweet
We are huge fans of coleslaw! This Mexican version sounds so good – I need to make it soon!
Nicole ~ Cooking for Keeps
My husband is a huge coleslaw enthusiast, me? Not so much. I just don’t love the typical coleslaw drenched in creamy dressing. This however, this I would love. Light dressing, bright flavors, and super unique. Definitely giving this a go next time he request coleslaw.
Shirley
Question: Should 1/4 TBSP chopped cilantro read 1/4 CUP??