Southern Louisiana Coleslaw Buttermilk Recipe

This Southern Louisiana Coleslaw features a buttermilk dressing that tastes like Southern cuisine. It also features unique Louisiana ingredients that set this crunchy Cajun coleslaw apart.

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My Maw-Maw had a special way of feeding a crowd using simple ingredients. She would mix buttermilk with a package of Ranch dressing mix and then toss it with thinly sliced cabbage to create a unique and delicious salad. It wasn't your traditional coleslaw but rather her signature two-ingredient salad, served at Sunday dinners. I still enjoy her salad today, but it must be made with real buttermilk for that perfect zing.

This Southern Louisiana coleslaw features a buttermilk dressing and is enhanced with Steen's 100% Cane Syrup, Cajun seasoning, and pecans, adding both sweetness and crunch. It pairs wonderfully as a side dish for meat entrees. Still, it is also delicious when layered in a barbecue sandwich or stuffed into a fish taco-making it an excellent way to enjoy your vegetables.

Speaking of fish tacos, we like adding another layer of flavor by drizzling my Louisiana Comeback Sauce over the coleslaw. The horseradish adds a whole new level to the taco!

Another cabbage recipe is the healthy Cabbage Soup With Andouille Sausage. It's easy and delicious! Classic cabbage rolls are a Southerner's favorite cabbage dish, and they can be made easily in an Instant Pot, the oven, or on the stovetop.

Now, back to the coleslaw.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Substitutions
• Variations
• Storage
• TOP TIP
• FAQ
• RELATED
• PAIRING
• 📖 Recipe
• Comments

Ingredients

Aren't the combination of these purple and green cabbage colors striking?

Ingredients

• Aren't the combination of these purple and green cabbage colors striking? This Cajun slaw is perfect for Mardi Gras season, with its gold, green, and purple color scheme. 
• Green and red cabbage - freshly shredded cabbage or from a bag of mixed coleslaw from the grocery store.
• Geen onion - gives a mild onion flavor and adds a bright color to the mix.
• Pecans - their rough, chopped crunch and flavor make this a signature Louisiana dish.
• The following ingredients are for the buttermilk dressing made from scratch. 
• Mayonnaise - for a creamy dressing base.
• Sour cream - adds tanginess to the dressing.
• Plain Greek yogurt - adds a rich creaminess and a mild sourness to the dressing.
• Buttermilk - there is nothing like that unique buttermilk taste in a dressing.
• Creole mustard - a very southern spicy, horseradish-flavored mustard.
• Cane syrup - adds a rich molasses sweetness.
• Cajun seasoning - this loaded spice adds salt, paprika, and heat to the coleslaw.

Instructions

Let's begin this Southern coleslaw recipe by slicing red and green cabbage. You can use a sharp knife, mandoline slicer, or a food processor. The mandoline is my choice for thinly and evenly slicing cabbage. It is a serious kitchen tool, and I highly recommend using the guard.

You can also chop the cabbage into small pieces, which is how my husband prefers to eat coleslaw. Or, for easier prep, use a 10 oz bag of cabbage mixture from the grocery store.

Next, combine the green onions, pecans, and cabbage into a large bowl.

HINT: This makes more dressing than you need. Add a little dressing at a time to the slaw mixture, tossing until the cabbage is evenly coated and as much dressing as you like.

If you aren't familiar with Steen's syrup, it's made in Abbeville, Louisiana, my birthplace, and is an essential pantry item in our home. (It makes the best peanut butter and syrup sandwiches!)

Substitutions

• Are you out of buttermilk? You can substitute it with ⅔ cup of milk and ⅔ teaspoon of white vinegar or lemon juice, stirred in. Let it set for 10 minutes, and watch it clabber.
• Substitute Creole mustard with regular or dijon mustard. 
• You can use regular yogurt instead of Greek yogurt, but Greek yogurt has more protein and half the carbs and sugar of regular yogurt.
• Season the dressing with salt, pepper, and garlic, or use the House Seasoning Blend in place of Cajun seasoning.

Variations

You can use this dressing on any combination of mixed salad greens or anything you eat with a prepared buttermilk dressing. Prepare and store it in a glass jar with a tight screw-on lid in the refrigerator for later use.

Storage

It's best to store mixed cabbages and the dressing separately in air-tight containers in the refrigerator. Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 days.

TOP TIP

Serve the salad soon after mixing the dressing with the cabbage to keep it crispy. Don't let the coleslaw sit in the refrigerator overnight or for too long after mixing the dressing and cabbage, or it will wilt and lose its crispiness.

FAQ

RELATED

Looking for other recipes like this? Try these salad dishes:

PAIRING

These are my favorite main dishes to serve with this Southern Louisiana Coleslaw Buttermilk Recipe:

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📖 Recipe

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"How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these."                                            

George Washington Carver