17 Fresh Coleslaw Ideas for Crunchtastic Summer Meals

Combine all the feel good foods of hemp seeds, crunchy cabbage, creamy avocado, and more. The lemon takes this salad from average to deliciously tangy!

Fresh lime, cilantro, sweet chili sauce, and rice vinegar make this a zesty coleslaw to go with Mexican or Asian dishes. 

Cucumbers and carrots supply the crunch, and sweet/sour apple cider vinegar keeps things light and zingy. Try it with a grilled steak to see how it balances out the richness of the meat. 

This is different twist on cabbage slaw. It's very easy and the mango and honey make it sweet; no sugar in this recipe! Great by itself or wrap a corn tortilla around grilled tilapia and top with this cilantro slaw for a great-tasting fish taco!" —Randy Warner

Pineapple and mandarin oranges spiced up with a bit of ginger and nutmeg get tossed around with cabbage and mayo to make a perky, creamy slaw. Perfect for luau menus. 

Nuts adds a whole new dimension to this creamy coleslaw. Remember: the toastier the almonds, the better! This coleslaw is full of sweet and salty components —  including the honey-basil dressing.

Apples and jicama team up with cabbage to make a slaw with triple the crunch. Scoop it onto pulled pork sandwiches for an excellent balance of crisp, tender, sweet, and savory. 

Use the season's best peaches in this slaw for a bowl o sweet, tangy, crunchy, juicy, deliciousness. How about some grilled pork chops to go with it? 

Three kinds of cabbage go into this colorful slaw along with red bell peppers, carrots, green onions, and cilantro. A homemade dressing flavored with peanut butter, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, and ginger make this a 5-star favorite.

The vibrant colors of summer truly shine in this dish. With grilled corn, purple cabbage, crumbled queso fresco, and more, this slaw will make all the other side dishes a little jealous.

Bagged broccoli salad, ramen noodles, and sunflower seeds are the big crunch factors in this creamy, tangy slaw. Try it as a colorful side dish for grilled chicken, and find more ways to turn broccoli slaw into quick dinners. 

Hit up the Asian aisle of your market for the pickled ginger and miso paste you'll use in this exotic slaw. You'll love it with this grilled ginger-glazed salmon. 

Make a big batch of this no-mayo slaw when you need a crowd-pleaser for your next summer potluck. You can sub crispy chow mein noodles for the ramen noodles if you wish. What to serve it with? Everything, including grilled shrimp kabobs. 

With cucumbers, sweet bell peppers, tomatoes, and green onions in the mix, this colorful slaw is like a garden on a plate. Serve it with a big, messy plate of BBQ ribs to cut down on the guilt just a bit. 

Can you handle this much heat? With two kinds of hot peppers in this slaw, the answer had better be yes. Of course, you can always dial down the peppers and just enjoy the crispy, crunchy, sweet/savory vibe of this Asian-style coleslaw. Even so, with flavor this big you'll want to pair it with something clean and fresh like grilled tuna or halibut to keep your mouth from getting overwhelmed. 

Sweet, mild Napa cabbage (aka Chinese cabbage) makes a refreshing break from the standard red or green cabbage. In this 5-star recipe, it's paired with crunchy ramen noodles and green onions in a vinegar, sugar, and soy sauce dressing.

"When people think of coleslaw, they think of that bowl of soggy, shredded cabbage sitting at the end of the picnic table. This is a completely different approach; a fresh-shredded cabbage prepared as a fast (12 seconds adding ingredients, 30 seconds to mix), crisp, low-cal, low-carb, slightly spicy, and delicious side dish that you should be eating as part of your regular veggie-side-dish rotation." —Chef John