Our Easy American Coleslaw recipe is the perfect blend of creamy, crunchy, tangy and a little sweet! We use simple, yet carefully selected ingredients that make it “oh so good” while still keeping it low sodium and kidney-friendly. It’s the perfect side dish at your next barbeque or with dinner any night of the week!
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Why Try Our Easy American Coleslaw Recipe?
There are several reasons that you’re going to want to make this recipe part of your regular rotation. Our Easy American Coleslaw recipe is:
Quick and Easy
One common request of my past and present clients is that they want recipes that are quick and easy but that don’t taste like they’re quick and easy. Does that sound like you? If so, our Easy American Coleslaw recipe fits the bill!
This recipe can be whipped up in 10 minutes or less and doesn’t use a ton of ingredients. The main ingredient is bagged coleslaw mix. No cutting or shredding necessary!
Convenient
Our Easy American Coleslaw can be mixed up ahead of time and put in the fridge for later. In fact, this recipe tastes best when the flavors can marinate a bit. 30 minutes will work, or better yet, make it several hours ahead of time or even overnight!
Low Sodium
Our Easy American Coleslaw recipe contains only 107 mg of sodium per serving. We use a special blend of ingredients and spices, including a “secret ingredient” that we’ll talk about below that gives it a punch of flavor. No added salt necessary!
To put this in context, The American Heart Association, Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and National Kidney Foundation for adults recommend to limit sodium intake to no more than 2300mg per day. For some with chronic health concerns such as those with high blood pressure and some with kidney disease, a limit of 1500 mg per day is recommended.
Kidney-Friendly
Diet recommendations for those with kidney disease vary depending on many factors, such as the stage of kidney disease and blood test results. Some people with kidney problems have been advised to simply limit sodium, while others also need to limit potassium and/or phosphorus as well.
We’ve already established this recipe is low sodium. In addition, at only 160 mg of potassium and 13 mg of phosphorus per serving, our Easy American Coleslaw (kidney-friendly) recipe is also low enough that those who need to watch these nutrients can safely enjoy it.
Also, many with kidney disease not on dialysis follow a low protein or plant-forward diet. This recipe fits in perfectly with these guidelines as well!
(Note: Please consult your kidney dietitian or doctor for your individual dietary recommendations).
Carb-Friendly
Our Easy American Coleslaw recipe contains 6.7 grams of carbohydrate per serving (less than ½ carb serving, for those who count carbs). So, it can easily be enjoyed by those with diabetes. However, for slightly lower carbs, use your favorite sugar substitute in place of the modest amount of sugar called for in this recipe. (we’ll talk about that a little more in the “Ingredients” section below).
Ingredients in our Easy American Coleslaw Recipe
Coleslaw Mix
This recipe calls for pre-shredded coleslaw mix, which is usually a blend of purple and green cabbage and shredded carrots. Both regular cut (which is what I used) or finer/ “angel hair” cut will work!
Mayonnaise
Compare brands and choose a mayo with a lower sodium content. Believe it or not, I used Great Value®️ brand mayonnaise because, at 70 mg sodium per tablespoon, it is lower sodium than most other brands. Many brands contain 90 mg or more per tablespoon!
Sour Cream
In addition to adding some extra creaminess, using sour cream in place of some of the mayonnaise helps keep the sodium content down. This is because sour cream contains only ~ 4mg sodium per tablespoon (in contrast to 70-90 mg or more of sodium in one tablespoon of mayo).
Vinegar
Distilled white vinegar works just fine in this recipe. However, feel free to use your favorite variety of vinegar, if you prefer. A few examples of vinegar types that would taste great in this recipe include:
- Apple cider vinegar
- White wine vinegar
- Red wine vinegar
Sugar
Our Easy American Coleslaw recipe uses 1 ½ tablespoons of granulated white sugar (which is about ½ teaspoon per serving). As mentioned above, feel free to use a sugar substitute, if desired. However, please note that substitution will only knock the carb content down from 6.7 g to 4.3 g per serving.
“Secret Ingredient” of our Easy American Coleslaw recipe: Celery Seed
The secret ingredient in this recipe that gives it a TON of flavor is celery seed! (be sure not to use celery salt!). In fact, this is one of the flavors that intensifies the longer the coleslaw marinates!
Other Spices
We also use two other basic spices that help round out the flavor:
- Garlic powder (not garlic salt)
- Ground black pepper
Variations to Easy American Coleslaw Recipe
Consider these variations:
- Use broccoli slaw instead of the standard coleslaw mix. Although this will not significantly change the sodium or phosphorus content of this recipe, the potassium content will increase to 208 mg per serving.
- For Cajun Coleslaw, add 1-2 teaspoons of a sodium-free cajun/creole seasoning. This brand is one of my favorites.
- Eliminate the sugar and instead add one diced/chopped apple (with or without the skin, your choice!) for some natural sweetness.
- Add some chopped bell peppers and/or onions as desired for some extra flavor!
- For a lower fat version, use low fat Greek yogurt in place of some or all of the mayo and sour cream. You may need to cut back on the vinegar a little, however, due to the natural tartness of the Greek yogurt.
- Another option for a lower fat coleslaw: You can use lower fat mayo and light sour cream. However, be aware that lower fat versions of foods are often higher in sodium than their full-fat counterparts.
- For a sweet and sour coleslaw, eliminate the current mayo, sour cream, sugar and vinegar, and replace with ¼ c sugar, ½ cup vinegar and ¼ cup vegetable or preferred oil (I like avocado oil!).
- Experiment with adding other spices such as onion powder, parsley, chives and dill.
Kidney-Friendly Accompaniments for Easy American Coleslaw Recipe
Our American Coleslaw recipe goes great with these other low-sodium and kidney-friendly recipes by The Everyday Kidney Cook:
- Easy Low Sodium Sloppy Joes (Kidney-Friendly)
- Low Sodium Chicken & Noodles (Slow-Cooker)
- Simple Salmon Stew Recipe
- Low Sodium Macaroni & Cheese (Dump & Bake)
- Easy Low Sodium Cornbread (Kidney-Friendly)
- Easy Low Sodium Meatballs (Beef or Turkey)
Wrap up
Our Easy American Coleslaw Recipe (Kidney-Friendly) is convenient and easy, uses minimal ingredients and tastes great! In addition, there’s a ton of different variations you can try to suit your taste preferences. Moreover, it can be enjoyed by anyone with any stage of kidney disease!
Enjoy!
Easy American Coleslaw Recipe (Kidney-Friendly)
Ingredients
- 16 ounce Bag of coleslaw mix
- ½ cup mayonnaise Choose one around 70 mg sodium or lower. I used Great Value®️ brand
- ⅓ cup sour cream
- 1 ½ tablespoon granulated sugar Adjust amount to taste
- 1 ½ tablespoon vinegar Use white vinegar or your favorite vinegar such as red wine, white wine and apple cider vinegar.
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder (careful not to use garlic salt)
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper (adjust to taste)
- 1 tsp celery seed
Instructions
- Mix all the ingredients well in a large bowl. It will look a little dry at first. However, as the coleslaw sets, juices will extract from the cabbage and make the dressing thinner.
- Allow coleslaw to marinate and the flavors to blend for at least 30 minutes. A few hours (or even overnight) works best!
- Enjoy!
Walker
This was really good and so easy to make! The celery seed gives it a nice flavor.
Chad
Good recipe. I didn't even miss the salt!