Before you start
What this method is trying to achieve
The moisture step happens before the dressing. Salt the shredded cabbage to draw out excess water, rinse it, dry it thoroughly, then coat with only enough creamy dressing to cling to the vegetables.
Success looks like
Know the target before you cook
The slaw should be crisp and lightly creamy, with no watery puddle and no diluted dressing.
Ingredients
What you need
Vegetables
- 700 g green cabbage, finely shredded
- 150 g red cabbage, finely shredded
- 100 g carrot, shredded
Moisture control
- 1 tbsp kosher salt, for pre-salting cabbage
Dressing
- 150 g mayonnaise
- 75 g sour cream
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 0.5 tsp celery salt
Seasoning
- 1 pinch freshly ground black pepper
Method
Cook by the cues, not just the clock
Salt cabbage
Toss shredded cabbage with kosher salt in a colander and let it drain 45 to 60 minutes.
Rinse and dry
Rinse the cabbage thoroughly, then spin or towel-dry until no obvious surface water remains.
Make dressing
Whisk mayonnaise, sour cream, vinegar, honey, Dijon, celery salt and pepper.
Toss
Combine dry cabbage, carrots and just enough dressing to coat evenly.
Chill and serve
Refrigerate 30 minutes, toss again and serve. Check the bottom of the bowl for free liquid before plating.
Critical checkpoints
Stop here and check
Cabbage released water?
Liquid has drained from the salted cabbage.Give it more drain time if almost no liquid has appeared.
Cabbage dry after rinsing?
No beads of rinse water remain on the shreds.Spin or towel-dry more thoroughly.
Coleslaw watery?
A watery puddle develops and the dressing thins.Use coleslaw-watery to check draining, drying, overdressing, salting and wet add-ins.
If yours looks different
Route the failure before changing the recipe
After cooking
Storage, reheating & substitutions
Storage
Refrigerate covered and keep cold. Stir before serving.
Reheating
Not applicable. Serve chilled.
Substitutions
Use all green cabbage or a mix of green and red. Greek yogurt can replace part of the sour cream with a tangier result.
Evidence
Sources & methodology
Technical claims and method decisions are tied to sources. Recipe-specific advice is not presented as a universal food-science law.
- Perfect Crunchy ColeslawFood Network / Ree Drummond
Food Network salts cabbage to draw out moisture before dressing, then rinses and dries it so the finished consistency stays better.
publisherPassage verified - The Best Creamy ColeslawFood Network Kitchen
Food Network uses a controlled mayonnaise-sour-cream dressing and chills the dressed cabbage briefly before serving.
publisherPassage verified