Cilantro lime slaw is easy to make and seriously delicious! Make this spicy coleslaw recipe to serve on fish tacos or BBQ sandwiches, or as a side dish with your favorite grilled meats.

If you’re looking for a fresh way to add flavor to your favorite barbecue foods, coleslaw is a simple solution. Not only great as a flavorful side dish, slaw adds the perfect crunch to an otherwise soft sandwich.

Types of Coleslaw

The base ingredient for any slaw is usually a simple vegetable like cabbage or broccoli. What really makes a difference in the overall flavor is the coleslaw dressing. The ingredients can vary but there are three basic types of dressing; sweet, tangy, and spicy.

SWEET

The base ingredient of many sweet coleslaw recipes is often white or brown sugar, combined with mayonnaise. This isn’t always the case though!

Using fruit as the key ingredient allows for natural sweetness, eliminating the need for additional sugar. For example, I use apples in the slaw for my chipotle chicken tacos..

TANGY

Instead of mayo, recipes for tangy coleslaw usually use an acid for the dressing. Using buttermilk, citrus juice, or vinegar adds a delicious tangy flavor.

This is the case with my southern coleslaw recipe, making it the perfect topping for sandwiches with sweet sauce, like root beer pulled pork.

SPICY

Spicy coleslaw recipes are my favorite kind! The dressing can be either sweet or tangy, and the heat comes from a spicy ingredient like chili peppers.

This type makes a fantastic fish taco coleslaw because it adds a kick of heat to flavor up the bland fish.

Ingredients in cilantro lime slaw

• Shredded vegetables– For this recipe, I keep things quick and simple, using a basic coleslaw blend of green and purple cabbage, plus shredded carrots. I just buy the premade blend from the produce section of the grocery store.
  
  If you’d like to use homemade coleslaw mix, it’s simple to make. You’ll just need to shred whatever vegetables you want to include in a food processor.
  
  Another option is to use a chef’s knife to chop the vegetables into thin, julienne-cut strips. You’ll need a total of 8 cups of shredded veggies.

Ingredients for spicy coleslaw dressing

• Plain Greek yogurt– Yogurt gives the dressing a nice tangy favor, without needing to use vinegar. If you’ll be serving it as a fish taco coleslaw, feel free to kick up the citrus flavor by using lime flavored Greek yogurt
  
• Mayonnaise– Feel free to use any variety; full-fat, light, or non-fat
  
• Fresh cilantro
  
• Green onions (also known as scallions)
  
• Fresh garlic cloves
  
• Limes– You’ll need at least 2 limes, to zest and to squeeze for 1/4 cup of fresh juice 
  
• Chile peppers– One jalapeño or serrano chile will give the cilantro lime slaw a nice, feisty bite. If you want a spicier coleslaw, use more than one chie, or use a pepper that’s higher on the Scoville scale
  
• Spices– One of the best ways to make coleslaw taste better is to add spices! Just a bit of salt, black pepper and cumin make a big difference
  
• Toasted pepitas or pumpkin seeds– The seeds add a nice salty crunch to the slaw dressing. You can certainly substitute and use a different type, like sunflower seeds

FAQ