Coleslaw with Asian Salad Dressing Recipe - Talking Meals - Easy Side Dishes (2024)

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This Coleslaw in an Asian Salad Dressing Recipe is crunchy and delicious. Easy to make ahead and goes great on the side or on top of food!

This Super Sidekick Sesame Asian Coleslaw creamy, crunchy, tangy, sweet, and savory, all wrapped up into one unbelievable bite! It’s definitely my go-to slaw to go on top of, on the side of, and inside so many foods (scroll down for ideas)!

First, you get crunchy textures from the cabbage and carrots, which both hold up so well to dressings over time. Then you get saltiness from the soy sauce and a slight bite from the scallions. Subtle nuttiness shines through from the Sesame Oil and Seeds. Finally, the creaminess comes from just a touch of mayonnaise. Make a ton because you will want leftovers of this delicious Asian salad with tangy dressing.

Asian-Inspired Coleslaw is a Super Sidekick

This amazing Coleslaw with an Asian Salad Dressing Recipe is truly a Super Sidekick! The Asian Sesame dressing is one of my favorite salad dressings! Not only is it great as a side dish, but it’s a great condiment or main dish! Make it again and add it on top of Korean Bulgogi Sauce Beef Tacos or on a burger or grilled cheese or chicken sandwich! Or mix into a Chicken salad, topped on top of a greens salad, or on top of a tomato soup!

You know what else is a terrific sidekick? Homemade Ketchup! Oh, and is there anything that Bacon Mac and Cheese wouldn’t go great with??!!

Simple Ingredients and Substitutions

• Sesame seeds, toasted – You can use white or black sesame seeds, but I love the black as they really stand out. If you don’t have sesame seeds, you can add another toasted seed or even chopped cashews. You can also leave them out.
• Rice wine vinegar or white wine vinegar – Most vinegars will work in this recipe. So if you don’t have tangy rice vinegar or white wine vinegar, you can use red wine vinegar white vinegar or apple cider vinegar. You can also use lime juice or lemon juice.
• Toasted Sesame oil – The sesame oil in this recipe is really for flavor vs. the added fat content. If you don’t have sesame oil, you can replace it with another teaspoon of soy sauce.
• Honey – Sweet Honey brings in sweet notes and helps to balance out the acid and the salt. You can substitute with maple syrup or granulated sugar.
• Soy Sauce – Savory Soy sauce brings the salty asian flavor. If you do not have soy sauce, you can use teriyaki sauce or simply add salt along with the sesame oil.
• Mayonnaise – Mayonnaise brings the creaminess to this dressing. You can substitute it with plain greek yogurt or you could swap it with extra virgin olive oil for more of an Asian vinaigrette dressing.
• Shredded cabbage – I used green cabbage, but you can use Napa cabbage, Red/purple cabbage, or a combination.
• Carrots – Shredded carrots brings in color, texture, and flavor. You can leave it out if you prefer.
• Scallions, or green onions – I love these for the mild onion flavor that they impart. You can substitute with thinly sliced red onion or shallots diced or sliced finely.

Prep-Ahead For Coleslaw with Asian Dressing

You guessed it, this entire Asian salad recipe can be made ahead! I cut my own cabbage and shredded carrots in this recipe. But, you can make it even easier by using the coleslaw mix already shredded and ready to go at the store! It is also extremely forgiving, you can go a little more or less on most of the ingredients depending on your tastes.

If you do want to just prep the ingredients, here are the prep ahead steps you can do up to 4 days ahead (assuming an additional 2 days after mixing the slaw).

Cabbage

I used regular green cabbage because it firmer and holds up better to the dressing over time. You could Nappa cabbage too if that’s all you have. It just may not hold up for more than a day.

Cut the cabbage very thinly. You could use a food processor as well for this, but I like cutting it myself. To do this, cut it into large chunks or slices so it is more manageable. Then slice very thin and transfer to a large mixing bowl.

Other Ingredients in this Asian Slaw

Shred the carrots using the large side of a grater. Or use your food processor. Thinly slice the scallions. Place both in the same bowl with the cabbage.

For the sesame seeds, you can use white or black, either are great! I like the black because the color pops more.TIP: Store your sesame seeds in the freezer so they last for months! The oils in seeds can make them spoil if you leave them in the pantry. Click here to get lots moreFreezer Hacks to make easy dinners!

Place sesame seeds in a preheated pan on low heat and stir constantly for a minute until slightly fragrant.

You can also make the dressing ahead and store it in an airtight container like a mason jar. Mix the mayonnaise, vinegar, sesame oil, soy sauce, honey, and salt and pepper.

Mix the cabbage, carrots, scallions, and dressing.

Sprinkle the sesame seeds on top. Enjoy!

One thing more, feel free to add purple cabbage too!

Coleslaw with Asian Dressing FAQs

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