Easy Mexican coleslaw is bursting with the fresh flavors of tomatoes, roasted corn, jalapeno, and cilantro. This simple cabbage salad is so quick to prepare and is the perfect side dish for burgers, chicken tacos, sour cream chicken enchiladas, and chicken burritos, making it one of my favorite salads.
This dish can be prepared either the morning of or up to 24 hours in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge. The dressing will become slightly thinner as the slaw and tomatoes exude moisture. If you like this recipe, try creamy pea salad, ramen noodle salad, black bean and corn salad, and cucumber tomato salad.
Why I Love It
This Easy Mexican Cabbage Slaw can be prepped in about twenty minutes, making it the perfect side dish for picnics, potlucks, summer cookouts, and pool parties. It brings all those wonderful Tex-Mex flavors together in a coleslaw bursting with tangy flavor. This slaw recipe takes full advantage of pre-shredded cabbage, giving you more free time to do what you want.
With all the complex flavors in Tex-Mex dishes, our taste buds are tantalized, and our appetites are satisfied. Because of all the wonderful flavors melding together in this Easy Mexican Coleslaw, the jalapeno and the taco seasonings are pretty mild.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
See the complete list of ingredients below on the recipe card.
- Mayonnaise: I prefer Duke’s mayo
- Sour cream: preferably full-fat
- Taco seasoning: For more flavor, make it homemade
- Cilantro: fresh, of course
How to Make Mexican Coleslaw
This is the summary version; for the complete list of ingredients and instructions, see the recipe card below.
First, stir the mayonnaise, sour cream, lime juice, and taco seasoning in a small bowl. Next, add the coleslaw, red pepper, grape tomatoes, black beans, corn, jalapeno, and cilantro to a large bowl. Gently stir in the mayonnaise mixture. Finally, cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes to let all the delicious flavors meld together.
Preparation Tips
- Other vegetables to use include red onion, carrots, green onion, and green and red bell peppers.
- You can substitute Greek yogurt for the mayonnaise.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- You can easily blacken corn by placing it in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and tossing it every few minutes. Do not use any oil. You can also use canned corn, but drain it well.
Storage and Make Ahead
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. They will not be as crisp and crunchy, but they will still be delicious.
You can prepare the dish either the morning of or up to 24 hours in advance and store it in an airtight container in the fridge. The dressing will become slightly thinner as the slaw and tomatoes exude moisture, but you can stir in a little more mayo.
More Tex-Mex Recipes
Easy Mexican Coleslaw Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup mayo
- ⅔ cup sour cream
- 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 2 tablespoons taco seasoning
- 16 ounce bag tri-color coleslaw mix
- 1 diced red bell pepper
- 1½ cup grape tomatoes halved
- 1 (15.25 ounce) can black beans drained and rinsed
- 1½ cups grilled or blackened corn
- 1 jalapeno seeded and minced
- ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a small bowl, stir together mayo, sour cream, lime juice, and taco seasoning.
- In a large serving bowl, add coleslaw, red pepper, grape tomatoes, black beans, corn, jalapeno, and cilantro. Gently stir in the mayo/sour cream mixture. Season with kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste.
- Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Notes
- Other vegetables to try in Mexican slaw include red onion, carrots, green onion, and green and red bell peppers.
- Greek yogurt can be substituted for mayonnaise.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- You can easily blacken corn by placing it in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and tossing it every few minutes. Do not use any oil. You can also use canned corn, but drain it well.
Nutrition
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https://www.smalltownwoman.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Beth-1.pdf
Lori Hartsoe
Love the taste, but didn’t end up using all the mayo mixture, it seems like it would have been too much. Has anyone else experience this? Just made it, so I will save the extra till tomorrow to see if I need to add the rest back in.
Patricia Lonergan
The print functionality changed. The picture of the dish no longer appears. What happened?
As a visual person, I like to see the picture of the finished recipe
Mary
How would it be with Miracle Whip instead of mayo?
Krystyn
I left out the beans and corn to keep it low carb. Added shredded chicken but it was a little dry so added more mayo and seasoning. The rest of the family put it on tortillas but it was a full meal on its own!
Beth Pierce
Awesome! Chicken in it sounds wonderful!!
Katherine
Such an awesome idea to add Mexican flair to coleslaw. And thanks for the tips for choosing mild jalapenos.
Dannii
We always make a big batch of Mexican coleslaw of a BBQ. It always goes down well.
Beth Sachs
I love homemade coleslaw and I bet these Mexican flavours take it to the next level! I’ll be giving this a go soon.
Nart at Cooking with Nart
This recipe is super delicious and easy to make. Thanks for sharing the tips about choosing mild jalapenos too! Very useful 🙂
Jenn
I loved all the big and bright flavors in this coleslaw and it was a delish alternative to the standard fare! We’ll be making this again and again!
Megan M
Even more delicious than the picture! I added some tortilla strips for an extra crunch. I served it with taco spiced shrimp and cornbread. I will definitely be keeping this recipe nearby! Thank you!
Beth Pierce
Thanks so much Megan! Your meal sounds delicious!