Try this fresh, tangy cilantro lime coleslaw on your next taco night! Add the perfect crunch and loads of zesty flavor to your dinner with this quick and easy Mexican slaw that comes together in only 5 minutes.
Whether we’re having Spicy Shrimp Tacos, Black Bean and Corn Salsa Tacos, or Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos, every taco night is better when you add cilantro lime coleslaw.
If you’ve been around here for any length of time, you know that my family loves taco night. This cilantro lime coleslaw emerged as a result of our obsession with my Slow Cooker Carnitas, but its goodness reaches way past taco land – it’s also an amazing side dish with pulled pork, chicken sandwiches, or even just as part of a quick lunch spread.
There’s just something about the fresh cilantro and lime that I love, and I can’t tell you how many compliments I’ve gotten on this combination. For the classic flavor you find at every cookout, my Creamy Coleslaw Recipe is perfect, but for taco night, we stick with this one.
CILANTRO LIME COLESLAW
Here’s why I love this easy coleslaw recipe:
- It tastes amazing!
- Simple, real food ingredients
- Quick to make
- Adds great flavor to many different meals
- Budget-friendly
CILANTRO LIME SLAW RECIPE INGREDIENTS
The ingredients for cilantro coleslaw are incredibly basic and cost-effective. It’s hard to attribute the flavor of this cilantro lime slaw to just one ingredient, so you’re going to have to trust me when I say everything together makes this amazing. Kind of like Thai peanut sauce.
With that said though, you still have substitution options:
- Olive Oil. The base of the dressing.
- Green Onions: Use white, yellow, or red onions if that’s what you have.
- Chopped Fresh Cilantro Leaves: There’s flavor in cilantro stems, so if you want to save the leaves for topping, definitely use the stems in the slaw!
- Garlic: Fresh garlic will knock your socks off, but if you’re out (or don’t feel like peeling and chopping garlic), garlic powder will work too.
- Salt. Not all salts are made the same! I love Ava Jane’s Kitchen because it doesn’t have microplastics (gross, right?) and it’s SO GOOD! Plus, you can get a free 8oz. bag of sea salt (just pay shipping and handling!).
- Fresh Lime Juice: Like garlic, freshly squeezed lime juice simply cannot be beaten, but I’ve used bottled lime juice as well. The flavor is more muted with bottled, so you might want to add more here too.
- Greek Yogurt: Greek yogurt means you’re getting a bit of probiotics in your dinner (and you can make Greek yogurt too), which is always a win, but you can substitute sour cream or mayo (my Failproof Homemade Mayo Recipe) as well.
- If you use mayonnaise or even sour cream, you might want to up the lime juice or add a splash of apple cider vinegar for the extra tart flavor.
- Cabbage. I used mostly green cabbage, with a little bit of purple cabbage just for color. Honestly, pick whatever cabbage works for your budget and/or is on sale. Bagged coleslaw mix is useful in a pinch!
- Napa cabbage is SO good and great for those who typically don’t like cabbage in general.
- Bok choy is also in the cabbage family. I haven’t tried it in this recipe, but if you like bok choy, I’m sure you won’t go wrong.
- Additional Vegetables. I added julienned carrots to my version, partly for color, but also because making cilantro lime coleslaw is an easy way to get the kids to eat more vegetables.
- You can add julienned broccoli stems, which is a GREAT way to use those stems up if you tend to favor the florets.
- You can also add shaved Brussels sprouts too like I did in the Costco-copycat Sweet Kale Salad.
INSTRUCTIONS HOW TO MAKE CILANTRO LIME SLAW
Step 1. Combine the coleslaw dressing ingredients (except the apple cider vinegar) in a blender. Pulse until the ingredients are combined, yet some green leaves are still visible.
Step 2. Adjust the dressing. The consistency should be similar to salad dressing, so if you used Greek yogurt, sour cream, or mayo, you might need to thin it. Taste it first, and thin using either water, apple cider vinegar, or additional lime juice as desired starting with 1 tablespoon. Stir well after each addition and taste.
Step 3. Combine dressing and vegetables. When the dressing is ready, place the cabbage (and carrots, if using) in a very large bowl and toss using two forks or a pair of tongs.
Step 4. Let the cilantro lime slaw sit in the fridge for about 30 minutes for the flavors to develop. Serve cold.
Store your cilantro coleslaw in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 1-2 days. This cilantro lime coleslaw is best within 24 hours – after that, it loses a lot of its crunch. Luckily, it’s easy to whip up another batch!
COLESLAW RECIPE FOR FISH TACOS
This is the perfect coleslaw recipe for fish tacos (or any tacos really), but it’s also yummy with a bunch of other recipes too!
- Serve it up with some Instant Pot Whole Chicken
- Make Carnitas, add some Homemade Flour Tortillas or Homemade Corn Tortillas, wrap it up, and call it dinner!
- Use it as the base of a burrito bowl, or as a garnish if you like to start your bowl with Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice
- Throw it on as a side with Homemade Fish Sticks
- Enjoy with Instant Pot BBQ Chicken sandwiches.
FISH TACO COLESLAW RECIPE FAQS
What is cilantro lime coleslaw?
Cilantro lime coleslaw gets its distinctive flavor from two signature ingredients – cilantro and lime. Cilantro is an herb with a fragrant, citrusy flavor found often in Mexican food, which is why this is the perfect fish taco coleslaw recipe! The lime gives it an extra sweetness and tang.
Is cilantro lime coleslaw keto-friendly?
Yes! To make this cilantro lime coleslaw keto-friendly, use full-fat, plain Greek yogurt in the dressing. All the vegetables and the lime in this recipe are allowed on the keto diet.
How do I make cilantro lime dressing?
Cilantro lime dressing is easy to make! All you need to do is puree olive oil, green onions, cilantro, garlic, salt, lime juice, and Greek yogurt in a blender and pour it over your coleslaw!
PAIR THIS MEXICAN SLAW FOR TACOS WITH:
Looking for other ways to dress up your tacos? Try these other recipes with your Mexican slaw for tacos:
- Coconut Rice
- Instant Pot Spanish Rice
- Refried Beans
- Southwestern Corn
- Easy Homemade Salsa
- Guacamole
- Homemade Frank’s Hot Sauce
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Cilantro Lime Coleslaw
Try this fresh, tangy cilantro lime coleslaw on your next taco night! Add the perfect crunch and loads of zesty flavor to your dinner with this quick and easy Mexican slaw that comes together in only 5 minutes.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 5–6 cups 1x
- Category: Sides
- Method: Bowl
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Coleslaw Dressing Ingredients
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1–2 garlic cloves
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 limes, juiced (about 3 tsp lime juice)
- ½ cup chopped green onions (4–5 whole green onions)
- ½ cup cilantro leaves (about ½ bunch)
- ½ cup Greek yogurt, regular yogurt, sour cream or mayo (or any combination of these)
- up to ¼ cup water or apple cider vinegar or lime juice
Coleslaw Vegetable Ingredients
- 3–4 cups shredded green cabbage
- ½ cup julienned carrot (optional)
- ½ cup shredded red cabbage (optional)
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients except the water and cabbage (and carrots, if using) in a blender. Pulse until the ingredients are combined, yet some green leaves are still visible.
- The consistency should be similar to salad dressing, so if you used Greek yogurt, sour cream or mayo, you might need to thin. Taste first, and thin using either water, apple cider vinegar or lime juice as desired starting with 1 tablespoon. Stir well after each addition and taste.
- When the sauce is ready, place the cabbage (and carrots, if using) in a very large bowl and add sauce.
- Stir well using two forks or a pair of tongs.
- Let the coleslaw sit in the fridge for about 30 minutes for the flavors to develop. Serve cold.
Notes
- You can add julienne broccoli stems, which is a GREAT way to use those stems up if you tend to favor the florets.
- You can also add shaved Brussels sprouts too, like I did in the Costco-copycat Sweet Kale Salad.
Nutrition
- Calories: 49
I made your carnitas recipe last night for a nice crowd. Everyone loved them and the comments were the crispy edges after baking them. Perfectly seasoned and a versatile taste for any entree! Leftovers frozen for a quick bbq sandwich or meal!
So glad it worked out well Tracy! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
I made this last night in preparation for Cinco De Mayo! I added a bit of jalepeno too for a little extra heat and I am a happy girl. Will be eating this for DAYS.
Love this recipe! I’ve made it several times and always get compliments. I prefer to make the slaw a few hours ahead so the liquid can soften the cabbage a bit.
I’m so glad you like it Teresa! I often make it ahead of time too, to meld flavors and to save time at dinner!
Tiffany, this was amazing! We made this tonight to go with slow cooker tacos. We made a few changes, the most notable of which is that I used half the oil, and it was still delicious. I also added a teaspoon of sugar, which I’m sure not everyone would want to do. It was delicious. We had more chicken taco meat and slaw than we could fit on our tiny corn tortillas, so we mixed the two together in a small dish to eat on the side. OMG! I’m going to try this recipe again, but use dill instead of cilantro and mix in some albacore to make a light and crunchy tuna salad. Thank you so much!
I add 1 tsp of honey since I’m accustomed to it for balance in dressings. It is such a yummy recipe!
I have a similar recipe for my grilled fish tacos. It was such an easy recipe i started making it all the time. But my husband has issues with too many cruciferous vegetables. So i tried substituting the cabbabe with raddichio, and it worked out really well. The flavor and texture were perfect, and, even though it looks cabbage-like, the raddichio is a member of the chicory family, so not digestive issues 🙂
That’s such a great tip – Thanks for sharing Amanda!
Just made our fourth batch of this. It is SO delicious! I made extra dressing to use on taco salad tomorrow. Winner recipe!
WOW! Glad it’s a winner Erin!
The magic and success of your recipes is in the ingredient list. Even if something tastes amazing, if it asks for 100 different ingredients, there’s no way I’ll make it. Imagine my surprise when this list is very long. Turn out, somehow the list repeated itself. So, it looks double the length it really is :-). Please feel free to delete my comment after!
*magic and success ARE…
LOL – thanks for letting me know Sangeetha!! 🙂