German Coleslaw is an easy to prepare low carb vegan salad side dish.
The slaw is aromatic and seasoned nicely to bring out the fresh crisp slaw flavors.
I show you how to make a proper German European recipe further below.
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📕 What's the German coleslaw?
The German coleslaw is a traditional shredded cabbage salad. This is a South German version with Caraway seeds.
The slaw is popular in Germany and neighboring countries such as Austria, Poland, and the Czech Republic
Yet, the German coleslaw is also a huge hit on the North American continent, where it was introduced by German immigrants.
In Germany and in the German version of Austria, the coleslaw is known as Krautsalat, which simply means cabbage salad in German.
The german slaw is prepared with simple ingredients but includes common spices from the region.
🥬 Ingredients
This cabbage slaw includes a handful of basic ingredients.
The German coleslaw recipe is prepared without mayo and is a vinegar coleslaw.
Use quality ingredients to get the most out of your german coleslaw.
Cabbage
You can use regular white cabbage or purple-red cabbage to make this coleslaw.
However, plain white/green cannonball cabbage is the most commonly used cabbage variety to make coleslaw in Germany.
Other varieties which you can use as well include pointed white cabbage, savoy cabbage, and napa cabbage.
Feel free to use lesser-known cabbage varieties too, just make sure the leaves are crisp and mild in flavor (not overly bitter).
Vinegar
You can use a flavorful vinegar which has character and taste to make a tangy coleslaw dressing.
The vinegar compliments the raw cabbage as it softens the chopped cabbage pieces while retaining the crunchiness.
Lemon juice doesn't really live up to that and while it can still be used to lend acidity, it is not something I recommend.
So you see, a vinegar-based coleslaw turns the shredded cabbage salad into a proper coleslaw.
I like to use french style apple cider vinegar but you can use flavored vinegar too such as a herb-infused vinegar or berry vinegar or even coconut vinegar.
Oil
The oil completes the coleslaw dressing recipe and helps to balance the flavors in your german coleslaw.
Traditionally people tend to use canola/rapeseed or sunflower oil because that's what grows in Germany.
Besides, canola/rapeseed and sunflower oil tend to be healthier as they contain less saturated fats and almost no trans fats, which are the bad guys in the fats department.
You can also use safflower or soybean oil in this slaw dressing.
Olive Oil is not a suitable oil choice in a traditional coleslaw recipe but you may use it if you like.
Don't use palm oil, which is the cheapest of the lot because it contains loads of saturated fats, which are not good for your health, and palm oil harms the environment as it is a cause of deforestation in South East Asia.
Salt
Salt has it's own place in this healthy coleslaw recipe as it is an important ingredient.
Salt doesn't only season your slaw salad but also helps in taking out excess waters from your cabbage.
Shredded cabbage can get soggy when combined with the dressing and the flavors get compromised.
So the cabbage is left to "cure" with quality salt to take out excess liquids before the shredded cabbage is mixed with the dressing.
You can use plain kitchen salad but if you want to add flavor AND nutrients to your coleslaw, then use Fleur de Sel or pink Himalayan Salt.
You can also add a pinch of black salt which adds a special sulphuric flavor to your coleslaw and that way it will taste a bit as if you have added eggs to your shredded salad.
Seasoning
The seasoning is straightforward and includes black pepper and caraway seeds.
I think black pepper is self-explanatory, just make sure to use quality black pepper, it makes a huge difference in terms of flavors.
Caraway seeds are not that common outside Europe but they are what makes central European cuisine to special.
I LOVE my caraway seeds because they are easy to use and add so much flavor to a dish, including this homemade coleslaw.
It's hard to explain the flavor profile, just know that caraway is related to cumin and sometimes they are confused with each other.
Mainly because caraway is called Kümmel in German and what may be known as caraway seeds in Asia (shahi or shia jeera cumin in India) is not really the same caraways that we have in Europe.
Trust me, I'm always adding caraway seeds to my German cabbage salad
If you like central European cuisine and/or spices, then I recommend you buy caraway seeds whole asap!
Chives
Freshly chopped chives are to garnish your coleslaw.
You can do without but the chives lend the salad a nice tangy fresh touch and help you to eat with the eyes.
📜 Variations
You can pep up this basic coleslaw recipe by enhancing it further with more ingredients or by switching out ingredients.
- Add shredded root vegetables such as onion, carrot, kohlrabi or radish
- Include fresh fruits such as pear or apple
- Turn this slaw into a cabbage salad with crispy fried bacon pieces or add small strips of soft lard
- Add celery seeds to make this german salad recipe all the more special
🔪 How to make it?
This is an easy coleslaw recipe and the preparation method includes a marination period.
That way your green cabbage slaw will turn into a real delight.
Step 1
Shredd your cabbage fine.
Place cabbage into a large mixing bowl and drizzle salt over the cabbage, plus add some water.
Mix well and leave your cabbage to marinate aside so that excess waters come out.
Step 2
Leave your cabbage like this for at least 1 hour or keep overnight as this will soften your cabbage while retaining the crunchiness.
When done, quickly rinse your cabbage under running water to get rid of excess salts.
Strain your cabbage to get rid of excess waters and tap dry with a clean kitchen towel to make sure that no waters are left.
Step 3
Pour vinegar and oil over cabbage.
Season with black pepper and caraway seeds.
Combine your coleslaw mix.
At this point, you can allow the slaw to marinate further in the dressing to get more flavorful or serve directly if you are in a hurry.
🥣 Serving
Here are some ideas on how you can serve up and enjoy your coleslaw.
I love my coleslaw served with traditional German/Austrian foods but it works great too with any other world food.
The traditional way to serve the slaw
I absolutely adore this slaw with other common meals in the Central European region.
For example, goulash soup or goulash meat gravy with spaetzle is great with a german coleslaw.
Or Knödel dumplings with pork roast or sausages.
Just start a search on my page to find various recipes for goulash, spaetzle, knödel and pork recipes.
More ideas to enjoy this slaw
Over the year I caught myself preparing this slaw with other international meals.
I love this slaw with gravy based suppers, Western and Asian.
For example, curries such as Chicken Tikka Masala are great too with this slaw.
Or I love to serve it too with meat stuffed tomatoes, polenta or zucchini boats.
So, you can experiment and enjoy this german slaw with shrimp and grits if you like and I bet it will taste amazing!
👁️ More German Salads
- Bavarian Warm Potato Salad
- Cucumber Dill Salad
- White Radish Salad
- Sausage Salad (Wurstsalat) by platedcravings.com
- Rapunzel Salad by steffensdinners.com
Dear Reader, have you made this german coleslaw?
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📖 Recipe
German Coleslaw Recipe
Ingredients
For the Marination
- 1.1 pound Cabbage
- 1 Tablespoon Salt *see post for salt qualities
- ½ cup Lukewarm Water
For the Dressing
- 2 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
- ¼ cup Oil *see post for a recommendation
- ½ Teaspoon Black Pepper
- 1 Teaspoon Caraway Seeds
To garnish
- chives fresh chopped
Instructions
- Rinse your cabbage and discard outer tough layer.
- Shred your cabbage and place into a large mixing bowl.
- Add salt and lukewarm water to the cabbage and combine.
- Leave the coleslaw to marinate for at least one hour to take out excess waters and to soften the coleslaw.
- Rinse the coleslaw quickly under running water and strain well + tap dry with a clean kitchen towel to get rid of all waters.
- Pour vinegar and oil over the coleslaw in a salad bowl, season with black pepper and caraway seeds and combine well.
- Sprinkle some cut chives over the slaw to garnish and serve cold.
Notes
- The cabbage marinated in the salt and excess salt is rinsed off. So, you don't need to salt the cabbage later on again. Yet, if you feel your slaw lacks salt, you are free to salt it a little more.
In my early days in Germany we could get a Schwedensalat and Pommes, That was like a Cole slaw, at the time I knew nothing about USA, I was a child in school
Can you use bagged cabbage? I can’t wait to try this!
Yes you can use bagged cabbage.
I'm a huge fan of brats and found that this was a great addition to them. I have made it multiple times and everyone turned up their noses till they tasted it. Now a staple at my house. I added a bit more vinegar to it but otherwise perfect.
Sorry for all the typos!!
This is slaw recipe DELICIOUS!! I cannot have any sugar and this recipe is wonderful! I have to make more, because I didn't think it would be THIS GOOD!! Makes the taste buds do a little dance!!
My husband and I love German cuisine..so interesting and just yummm!
Thnak you!
That's great Deborah! I'll try to share more recipes like this. I have already a collection of sugar-free salad recipes on the page. You can look through the salad category in the side bar, in the home tab, or simply search for "salad" in the search function.
WHY caraway seeds? I had this salad years ago.. loved it . SO just made and not so good with caraway seeds... seems like the good tasting one had green pepper sugar.onion... can’t remember but this recipe is terrible..
Lady, whatever you had years ago was not German. There is no green pepper and sugar in a German coleslaw. point. Please don't teach a person from the area how to prepare the food from the area. That pisses off folks and that's how misunderstandings between the cultures come to be.
Immer gruenen paprika im krautsalat. Bin von norddeutschland. Sued deutschland und nirddeutschkand nachen will viele rezepte unterschiedlich. Musste nicht jemanden runterputzen. Wie in diesem kommentar
Liebe Conny, wie würden Sie sich fühlen wenn jemand zu Ihnen nach Hause kommt, alles gratis bekommt und noch dazu kritisiert? So hat sich der Kommentar dieser Dame angefühlt und da darf ich mich schon wehren auf meiner Seite. Ich möchte aber auch darauf hinweisen, dass Ihr deutsch kaum deutsch ist, deswegen glaube ich Ihnen kaum, dass Sie von Norddeutschland sind. Aber, ich werde jetzt im Text auch darauf hinweisen, dass dies ein Süddeutsches Rezept ist. Danke.
My mother used to make German coleslaw and I was always afraid to as she never measured and it always came out wonderful. I tried yours and it was a success. Brought back memories. Now I’m not afraid to make it. Thanks.
I made this and my wife loved it. It is very nice for a change from southern cole slaw. I would give it a four, my wife gave it a five. So 4.5 stars.
Thanks for sharing Paul. I wished you could do half stars so that your ranking would reflect better. 🙂
hm that's odd. Here is the Butternut Squash Soup.
Just like my friend Frau Steg used to make in her house near Augsburg. Thank you. I made it exactly as recommended and was transported back to my wonderful years in Germany.
<3 Glad, you liked it and that it brought back memories :)
I have one pet peeves. No onions in coleslaw. I don't recall it in German coleslaw. But, never liked it in the other kind..
Dear Eileen, this is an actual German coleslaw, the way we make it in South Germany and Austria (because well our cultures are similar and we share many recipes). It's a proper authentic recipe.
Yes, I put a half an onion in mine too.
Going to find that really nice sweet and soft carrot and cucumber salad I loved so much now.
I tried to duplicate this salad before just by looking at listed ingredients in the shop, but thank you for the specific recipe. I certainly prefer it more than my own independent attempt, and I don't like other styles with mayonnaise or mustard.. Also, special thanks for sharing details about environmental consciousness. Too many products in Germany still use Palm Oil.
I'm glad to read that you enjoyed the recipe as much as we do. And yes, we tend to overlook that we ought to know where our food comes from.
My husband made this and it is so nice and refreshing a great accompaniment to ptotein, it ll be a regular side at our Family getogethers
Thank you Linda, I appreciate you taking the time to report back with your experience. Glad to hear that your husband loves the coleslaw as much as my husband did. 🙂
I had German coleslaw back in the 70's at a place called Humphrey Yogurts. I had lunch there all the time just for the side of cold slaw. It was so good with a bit of sweetness, and served warm. I was heart broken when they closed and I never got the recipe...