Simple Slaw

By John Willoughby and Chris Schlesinger

Simple Slaw
Ryan Conaty for The New York Times
Total Time
30 minutes, plus cooling time
Rating
4(720)
Notes
Read community notes

Clean and simple. Eight ingredients — apple cider, cider vinegar, cabbage, mustard seeds, celery seeds, sugar, salt and pepper to taste — combine into what ought to be a staple of your repertoire. You’ll need to cook the cider down by half before using it, but everything else goes in raw, and the combination matures over the course of a few hours into a side dish that can accompany just about anything grilled or roasted, pulled or hacked.

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Ingredients

Yield:About 6½ cups, 10 to 12 servings
  • 2cups apple cider
  • ½cup cider vinegar
  • 6cups shredded cabbage
  • 1tablespoon mustard seeds
  • 1tablespoon celery seeds
  • 2tablespoons sugar
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (12 servings)

43 calories; 0 grams fat; 0 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 0 grams monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 9 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 7 grams sugars; 1 gram protein; 209 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a small pan, bring cider to a boil over high heat. Turn heat down slightly and continue to boil until reduced by about half, about 20 minutes. Allow to cool to warm room temperature, then stir in vinegar.

  2. Step 2

    Put cabbage, mustard seeds, celery seeds, sugar and salt and pepper in a large bowl. Pour in cider mixture, and toss well to coat.

Ratings

4 out of 5
720 user ratings
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Cooking Notes

hl

May I suggest a quick--if subversive--substitution here? If you don't have the time to cook down the cider (or don't have access to it in the summer), keep a can of frozen apple juice concentrate in the freezer. For this recipe, scoop about 1/3 cup of the concentrate out and use it with the rest of the ingredients. It will have the concentrated apple flavor and will result in a less liquid dressing as well.

Steve

Salt the chopped cabbage in a colander for an hour or two then rinse several times and squeeze out the water. This will keep the slaw crisper for several days longer.

Barbara

I added a large chopped apple and chopped almonds - excellent

Karen

When I made this, there was too much liquid. I poured most of it off, added Greek yogurt and a little more sugar before I took it to a potluck.

Ted Hardman

Several hours before serving put the shredded cabbage in a bowl salt and toss. Drain before adding the dressing. Dressing adheres to the cabbage much better

Molly Darden

The mustard seeds should be fried until they sizzle, in order to release their full flavor.

Joanne Peterson

Any mild tasting vinegar would work. I often use a rice wine vinegar if I don't happen to have apple cider vinegar.

Sada

I like that this keeps very well ( refrigerated), has No Mayo, tastes better with age and happily goes with most everything also easy to memorize

Adeline Marchand

You can take apple cider and cook it down for three or four or more hours to make an apple essence that keeps in the fridge indefinitely. You can then use just a couple of tablespoons of it as it is very intense. It comes in handy for many uses. I do it every fall with a gallon of cider. It's liquid gold.

Barbara

I have been making this since my freshman roommate was a salad girl at jenny Lake lodge in1967. No mustard seed. A little more sugar and sometimes Splenda. if I leave out the apple cider. I think mine is more Southern.

kittypro

I didn't have any apple cider on hand. But I DID have a bottle of HARD cider. I reduced it by half (cooking off all the alcohol), and it made a delicious dressing for my slaw. Serving it up with some pulled pork bbq for our Memorial Day feast today. Yum!

Jay

Apple juice would be fine. Apple cider is not apple cider vinegar. The recipe calls for apple cider and apple cider vinegar.

Jane Eyrehead

I have made something very like this for a long time, only I add a healthy couple of shakes of red pepper flakes. Delicious, and a great accent to the sweetness of the cooked-down apple cider. This is an excellent recipe, and it tastes really good if you can remember to make it the day before.

Alicia

Agree with others that this creates way too much liquid. Also, it's flavorless, even with salting/sweating the cabbage first to draw in the dressing. I employed a mayonnaise rescue and that did the trick. Would NOT recommend this as go-to slaw recipe.

Sueparenio

Where do you get apple cider in the summer, when slaw is welcome?

david k

Way too much celery seed - should be 1 teaspoon, otherwise the slaw has a harsh, bitter finish. For sure salt the cabbage and let it rest an hour before using to tenderize it I added finely diced apple and found joy

JeanO

Salting the cabbage toasting the mustard seeds using frozen apple juice concentrate in lieu of cider = perfection.

Nancy R

This sounds like a great recipe ( no Mayo!), but I’m allergic to mustard. Any substitution suggestions?

Margaret R

I used boiled down apple cider I got from King Arthur instead of boiling down my own. Worked great!

pkewer

This recipe did turn out excellent, although messy to prepare. #2. Cut cabbage into big hunks then salted and waited….hopefully easier to rinse and squeeze out moisture. Then continue with recipe adding apple again.

Elena

I followed the recipe to the letter, and thought it was awful. The worst slaw I’ve ever made. If you want to try it, I would suggest cutting down on the mustard and celery seeds by at least half to reduce the overwhelming bitterness. I’m all for a low fat dressing, but this dressing is very bland. More ingredients, such as minced red or green onion and/or finely grated garlic would help. Toasted sliced almonds, apple and Greek yogurt mentioned in other comments sound like good additions.

t travi

Made a very modified version; toasted mustard seeds and added to cider vinegar plus some pomegranate molasses, wee bit of honey and Dijon left from the corned beef glaze.

Diane Kay

Way too wet. Won't make again.

Peter

I found this much too bland, unremarkable. However, I will follow some of the recommendations in these notes; some seem promising. For now, I wouldn’t make this again.

Stephen

Mustard seeds are a must, but have pickled ones on hand at all times. They make a world of difference when recipes like this call for mustard seeds.

cam

Had to throw the whole batch out. My celery seed was very bitter. Too old. Threw that out also.

Pliflander

Delicious! Very light and refreshing

Jennifer

King Author Flour carries a product called boiled cider which is just the thing you need. A wonderfully versatile product useful in all kinds of dishes.

Helen

My "simple" slaw recipe. Shredded green or red cabbage. Depending on the amount of cabbage, in a smaller bowl, mix larger or smaller dollops of Hellmann's mayonaise with a good squeeze of Dijon mustard, a few grinds of black pepper, and white wine vinegar. Add shakes of dried parlsey if you wish. The mixture to be quite liquid and taste vinegary. Pour over cabbage and mix. No salt as the mayo is salted NO SUGAR! Vinegary taste will ebb as cabbage & dressing blend. Remix several times.

Joan

Is it necessary to refrigerate the slaw after it is dressed? Thanks

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