Cole Slaw with a Twist

If you are like me, you are scrambling today to come up with that perfect side dish for your memorial day BBQ. I just love a good cold refreshing crunchy cole slaw and when I stumbled across these fabulous recipes I just had to share them with all of you. Happy BBQing!

Blue Cheese Coleslaw via Smitten Kitchen
This slaw would be delicious as a side dish or even piled atop your hamburger!


1/2 small head green cabbage finely shredded
1/2 small head red cabbage finely shredded
4 large carrots, scrubbed or peeled and finely shredded
2 cups (16 ounces) mayonnaise
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons whole grain mustard
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon celery salt
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) crumbled Roquefort blue cheese
1 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

In a medium bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, both mustards, vinegar, celery salt, kosher salt and pepper. Pour enough mayonnaise dressing over the grated vegetables and toss to moisten well. Add crumbled blue cheese and parsley and toss with vegetables. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour or more to allow the flavors to meld. Serve cold or at room temperature.

Broccoli Slaw via Smitten Kitchen
My mom has been making a variation of this slaw for years and it is always a hit!


2 heads of broccoli
1/2 cup thinly sliced almonds, toasted
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup buttermilk, well-shaken
1/3 cup mayonaise
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons finely chopped shallot (or, you could just use a little extra red onion to simplify it)

Trim broccoli and cut it into large chunks. From here, you can either feed it through your food processor’s slicing blade, use a mandoline to cut it into thin slices, or simply had chop it into smaller pieces. I used the steam and the flowerets, but if you have a broccoli stem aversion you can just use the tops.

Toss the sliced broccoli with the almonds, craberries and red onion in a large bowl. Meanwhile, whisk the dressing ingredients in a smaller one, with a good pinch of salt and black pepper. Pour the dressing over the broccoli (if you’ve skipped the stems, you might not want it all; I otherwise found this to be the perfect amount) and toss it well. Season well with salt and pepper to taste.
Should keep up to a week in the fridge.

Green Onion Slaw via Bobby Flay
This recipe had me at cilantro and serrano chilies!

2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 serrano chilies
1 cup green onions coarsely chopped
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup pure olive oil
1 head purple cabbage, finely shredded
1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced
1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves

Blend green onions, vinegar, chiles, mayonnaise, salt, pepper and oil in a blender until emulsified. Place cabbage and red onions in a bowl, add the dressing and stir until combined. Fold in the cilantro and season with salt and pepper to taste.

A huge thank you to Smitten Kitchen and Bobby Flay for letting me share these wonderful recipes and photos!