Creamy Kale Slaw

This Creamy Kale Slaw Recipe is an updated recipe from the Macheesmo Archives!

Many times side dishes get only a few minutes of thought in the summer. People are focused on burgers, hot dogs, and any other grillable. But, side dishes can sometimes be the star of the show! 

This Creamy Kale Slaw is a pretty special one.

One of the basic sides at pretty much every BBQ meal will be coleslaw. It’s cold. It tastes great with burgers and steaks. And frankly, it’s probably the healthiest thing some people will eat all weekend.

If you’ve never made coleslaw, it’s basically just raw cabbage which doesn’t seem very appetizing, but if you add a few other veggies and a thick mayo sauce, it ends up being pretty good.

This version replaces the cabbage with kale, adds a few other crunchy veggies and some good toppings, and is tossed together in a light creamy dressing!

Preparing The Kale for Slaw

If you take a big bite of raw kale, you probably won’t be too happy. It usually has a kind of bitter, iron-like taste. If you steam it or saute it with some lemon, this completely goes away, but the raw stuff is a bit dangerous.

This isn’t a hard problem to solve though in a slaw. Step one is just to make sure you take the time to prep your kale correctly. Cut out the bit middle ribs (stems) and then mince it very finely into narrow strips.

Speaking of veggies, make sure to take time prepping the other two veggies in this slaw also.

Carrots are pretty standard in slaw and I like to just grate them in a box grater.

The kohlrabi is maybe a new vegetable for you. It’s one of my favorite vegetables to add to slaw like this because it’s so crunchy. I recommend peeling it and slicing it into matchsticks.

The Creamy Slaw Sauce

If you were going to ever make your own mayo, a simple slaw is a great reason to do it. But, I break my own advice all the time and use store-bought if I have to.

I wanted to make homemade mayo for this stuff, but I was out of eggs and the idea of going to the store just for mayo was a bit soul-crushing. So, back to the store-bought stuff for this post.

It worked fine for a slaw like this, but it does make a noticeable difference if you make it myself.

I just stirred my mayo with some lemon juice (1/2 lemon) and a few dashes of hot sauce.

The hot sauce works really well with the kale flavor.

Then drizzle your dressing in with your veggies! I would recommend starting with just a little and letting people add more creamy dressing if they want it.

Stir this all together and taste it for salt and pepper. It’ll probably need a good pinch of both.

You could serve this stuff with almost anything off the grill.

It’s a fantastic and interesting side that’s a great change from the standard stuff.

Extra Add-ins for the Slaw

The slaw needs something besides just sauce and veggies. I recommend adding a dried fruit for some sweetness. Blueberries are particularly nice, but any dried fruit would probably work okay.

Also, a crunchy seed is a great add. Sunflower seeds are my personal favorite for slaws but any smaller seed would probably work well!

Servings and Storage Ideas

I served mine with my sriracha beer can chicken and some grilled potatoes. Very solid meal.

Any summer meal would benefit from this slaw though. I think it would even be great served on top of BBQ sandwiches!

As far as storage, it’s totally fine to make this kale slaw in advance. I think it breakfast down a bit after a few days so I would plan to eat it within a day or two of making it.

Give it a shot this summer!

Here are a few other great kale recipes!

• Kale & Chickpea Caesar Salad
• Garlicky Bean and Kale Salad
• Potato Breakfast Pie with Bacon and Kale
• Grape and Feta Kale Salad from The Girl Who Ate Everything