No Shade? No Problem. Serve No-Mayo Coleslaw

It’s that time of year when we take every opportunity to dine al fresco. But there’s a big difference between dinner at home and a picnic lunch in the park. Any meal can survive a trip from the kitchen to the patio; the same can’t be said for an afternoon in the sun. Careful meal planning is essential for a picnic or other outdoor gathering.

One classic picnic dish is coleslaw, but it’s gotten a bad reputation over the years. Here, we offer a few no-mayo coleslaw options. Go ahead, enjoy your slaw without fear of foodborne illness.

No-Mayo Coleslaw: Is Mayo Really the Problem?

Store-bought mayonnaise is a red herring in the mystery of foodborne illness. All the acids and preservatives in mayonnaise inhibit growth of bacteria. It’s actually the proteins in a dish — beef, poultry, eggs — that bacteria love.

However, even if mayonnaise isn’t the preferred medium of bacteria, it’s arguably not too appetizing when it starts to warm up. That’s why we’re offering some alternatives that aren’t as temperature-sensitive as traditional coleslaw.

Spicy No-Mayo Coleslaw

We’ll start with this recipe from acclaimed food writer Mark Bittman. It features shredded cabbage, of course, along with red or yellow bell pepper and chopped scallions. The dressing is where you can really get creative. Choose from sherry or red wine vinegar for your acid and peanut or olive oil for your fat. Mince your preferred chile pepper, from jalapeño to habanero, based on the amount of heat you like.

Pittman also offers variations on this recipe, such as carrots and cilantro with lime juice, or apples and carrots and onion with lemon juice or cider vinegar. Regardless of what ingredients make the cut, the acid from the citrus or vinegar will keep this coleslaw bright and tasty all afternoon.

Cabbage Slaw with Miso-Carrot Dressing

Our next no-mayo coleslaw recommendation comes from Alexandra Stafford via Food52. It’s got a distinct Asian flavor, thanks to the miso paste, rice vinegar, and sesame oil. You can even add toasted ramen noodles, but add them just before serving so they don’t get soggy.

Speaking of soggy, heed Stafford’s advice to salt and drain the cabbage after shredding and before mixing with the other ingredients. Salting the cabbage helps pull out excess moisture so your slaw won’t be soggy. Instead, the cabbage will soak up more dressing.

Also, a food processor will really come in handy with this recipe. Use it to make the dressing, and then shred the cabbage and broccoli or cauliflower. Finally, Stafford recommends shredding the carrots for the dressing before blending with the other ingredients.

Stone Fruit Slaw

Perhaps you’re still not convinced coleslaw can be made without mayonnaise, or that cabbage is appetizing in any form. Our final recommendation is this recipe from Bon Appetit for stone fruit slaw. It includes a mouth-watering combination of sweetness and spice, thanks to fresh ginger, curry powder, red pepper flakes, and juicy peaches, plums, or nectarines.

Use a mandoline with a julienne blade to slice the fruit, and a Microplane zester/grater to grate the fresh ginger. If you think even 1/8-teaspoon of red pepper flakes will be too much, we understand. But please don’t leave out the curry, which pairs beautifully with the ginger and gives this slaw some zip.