Red Cabbage and Dill Slaw ~ this colorful coleslaw will be your go-to side dish this summer, it goes with anything and everything…I say skip the deli counter and make your own, it’s easy, healthier, and costs just pennies per serving!
I can feel it, this red cabbage cole slaw recipe is the beginning of a slaw binge. I don’t know how many of them will wind up on the blog, I don’t want to drown you in slaw, but for me, I’m craving the stuff, and the cool peppery crunch just feels right with everything these days.
Every cuisine has a version of slaw, and that’s because cabbages are the workhorses of the food world ~ they’re healthy, sturdy, and cheap.
This one had roots in Pennsylvania Dutch country, where slaw is serious business. A creamy buttermilk dressing, an entire bunch of fresh dill, chopped pickles, and pickle juice make this red cabbage and dill slaw stand out from the rest.
The best slaw is sliced, not shredded, at precisely 1/8″ ~ any thicker and it will be tough to eat, any thinner and it disintegrates into mush. Trust me on this.
I use a mandoline slicer for slicing my cabbage. This will be the quickest method with least cleanup. You can control the exact thickness of your slices, which is important. For this salad I cut up a small head of cabbage, and about a half of a small sweet onion, I love Vidalias when I can find them.
I add a whole bunch (literally, an entire bunch) of chopped fresh dill, and a couple of finely diced dill pickles.
The buttermilk mayo dressing is thinned with pickle juice and a touch of vinegar. There are mustard and celery seeds in there as well.
TIP: Don’t thin your dressing down too much, the cabbage will release moisture as it sits in the refrigerator, and will naturally thin out the dressing, so I like to start with a relatively thick mixture.
Red cabbage is so healthy, and that gorgeous purple color signifies so many nutritional benefits ~ it has more vitamin C than oranges, and tons of anti-oxidants.
FOOD STYLING TIP: Save some fresh dill to scatter over the red cabbage cole slaw just before serving, the colors will really pop.
Make this red cabbage slaw your own!
- Make it vegan by substituting oil and vinegar for the mayo and buttermilk, try 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar.
- Give it a kick ~ try a dab of horseradish or horseradish cream in the dressing.
- Add shredded carrots for extra color.
- Use gherkin pickles instead of dills.
- Sweeten it like the Amish do with a tablespoon of sugar in the dressing.
- Make it even healthier and reduce fat and calories by substituting Greek yogurt for the mayonnaise.
- This would make a pretty green slaw with regular, napa, or savoy cabbage.
Red Cabbage and Dill Slaw
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds red cabbage, (about 1 medium head)
- 1/2 Vidalia onion, Maui, or other sweet onion
- 1/3 cup finely chopped fresh dill, reserve some for garnish
- 1/2 cup finely chopped dill pickles, (2-3 whole pickles)
dressing
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 4 Tbsp buttermilk
- 4 Tbsp dill pickle juice, strained
- 3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar, or champagne vinegar (more if desired)
- 1 tsp yellow mustard seeds
- 1 tsp celery seeds
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
garnish
Instructions
- Cut the cabbage in half, and then into quarters. Slice away the white core. Cut the quarters into 1/8 inch slices, a mandoline slicer works well for this, Put the cabbage in your largest mixing bowl.
- Slice the onion into 1/8 inch slices, and cut the rounds in half. Separate the strands as you add them to the bowl. Add the chopped dill and pickles and toss well.
- Whisk together the dressing ingredients and give it a taste to adjust. Toss the slaw with enough dressing to thoroughly moisten, but don’t drown it, you may have extra dressing. Cover well and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.
- Just before serving toss again, add more dressing if necessary, and garnish with fresh dill.
Notes
Be sure to taste it before you serve it…you may want to add more salt, more vinegar, or more pepper, etc.
Nutrition
Thanks for pinning this healthy and delicious Red Cabbage and Dill Slaw!
Hi Sue!
The tangy flavour of this slaw is really lovely and very fresh tasting . . . thank you for another great recipe! I did not have any yellow mustard seeds on hand so I substituted 1/2 of the amount of brown mustard seeds due to their more ‘biting’ taste! Two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar satisfied our taste buds. Delicious!
I only have one question for you please and that is regarding the thickness of the dressing. In your comments you indicate you like to have a thicker consistency in the dressing as the slaw will ‘weep’ and give off liquid as it sits – as all slaws eventually do. You also advise that all of the dressing may not be used. I found the dressing to be extremely thin at the onset – flavourful, but very thin. I actually thought I had done something wrong but I rechecked through the recipe and content another 2 times. In the end I did not need even half of the dressing for the first coating, and did not need any more after the slaw had marinated.
Do you have any thoughts, Sue? Or I wonder if any of your other readers experienced the same thing?
Again, I love the flavour, but something just seemed a wee bit off in my kitchen!
Thank you again for your creativity and instruction; I’ll look forward to your thoughts!
“Cheers” from the Canadian Prairies.