On a summer day, there's nothing like a side of coleslaw to complement your meal! And of all the coleslaws I've tried, from various stores and restaurants, none has been able to beat this recipe we make at home. It has just the perfect balance of zest and creaminess! It's perfect for a picnic, or any other meal :-D.

We like ours best made a day in advance, but if you prefer a crunchier coleslaw you can make it the same day. It's a very versatile recipe; it can be made low-carb by using a calorie-free sweetener such as Splenda™, or egg-free by substituting vegan mayo for regular mayo.

This makes a fairly large bowl of coleslaw, great for a big family or a get-together; if you don't need that much, just halve the recipe :-).

Step 1: What You Need

To make this delicious coleslaw, you will need:

2 lb coleslaw mix, or a head of cabbage and a carrot or two
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup sugar, or cup-for-cup sweetener such as Splenda™
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp celery seed (very important!)
1/4 tsp pepper

Step 2: Make the Dressing

We start by making the dressing. First, put 1 cup mayonnaise, 1 cup sour cream, 1/4 cup sugar or preferred sweetener, 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar, 1/2 tsp of salt, and 1/4 cup pepper into a large bowl (these are all the same amounts listed in the last step; they're just repeated here for convenience). The bowl should ideally be glass or plastic, as putting vinegar in a metal bowl can cause your food to have a slight metallic taste. Then, take your teaspoon of celery seed, put it in your hand, and crush it between your palms. If you don't want to use your hands, you can crush the seeds by some other method, or you can put them in without crushing; crushing the seeds just helps enhance the flavor. Then toss them into the bowl with the other ingredients, and mix it all together! As with the bowl, a non-metal spoon is preferable, but as long as it isn't in there for an extended time it's not a big deal.

Step 3: Mix It All Together

If you're using a head of cabbage and a carrot, cut them to shreds. If you're using a coleslaw mix, that's already been done :-D. Put about half of the cabbage mixture into the dressing, and mix them together. Try to bring the dressing up from the bottom, rather than stirring round and round. Then add the rest of the cabbage and carrot, and mix it again in the same way. Mixing half of the cabbage at a time distributes the dressing better, and makes it easier to mix it without knocking cabbage out of the bowl.

Store it in the fridge until it's time to eat it. The vinegar causes the cabbage to wilt a bit, so you can serve it immediately for a crunchy salad, or let it sit overnight for a more wilted coleslaw. We like ours best the next day, but after a couple days it's a bit more wilted than we prefer (still perfectly edible, though).

Step 4: Enjoy!

Congratulations, you have made your own coleslaw! It's easy to tweak the recipe to suit your preferences; more sweetener if you like it sweeter, more vinegar if you like it more zingy, etc.

I hope you enjoy it as much as we do! :-D