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
Barb
This Easy Mexican Cabbage Slaw recipe was delicious. I served it with some grilled chicken. I’m looking forward to making it again soon!
Kelly
This was amazing and different! I served it with some burgers and the family loved it. I will make it again.
Beth Pierce
Thanks, Kelly! I am so glad that you liked it!
Rich
This looks like a wonderful and healthy recipe. I’ve added it to my recipe book.
Shreya
This is so delish. My husband wants me to make it again. like tomorrow. LOL
Nyxie
This looks gorgeous! I love the fact it’s also (reasonably) healthy too!
Beth
This is such a great recipe! We had tacos last night, and I made this to go with it. It was fantastic.
Angela
This coleslaw was super easy to make and was packed with flavor! We served it as a side dish for burgers for dinner last night and everyone loved it!
Beth Pierce
Thanks, Angela! I am so glad that everyone like it.
Steve
Absolutely fantastic! Our new go to salad!
Beth Pierce
Thanks, Steve! So glad that you like it. We love it too!
Debbie
Making it for family gathering. It taste wonderful! Hope my family likes it.
Theresa Kilian
Hi there, I’m from north east Connecticut. How do you make blackened corn? Very much interested in this recipe to make.
Beth Pierce
You can easily blacken corn by placing it in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and toss every couple of minutes. Do not use any oil. You can use canned corn but drain well.