This pineapple coleslaw recipe combines crisp cabbage and carrot with juicy pineapple, red onion, jalapeños, and fresh cilantro. Instead of a creamy mayonnaise dressing, everything is tossed in a bright mixture of white vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and black pepper.
The sweet pineapple, crunchy vegetables, and little kick of jalapeño make this slaw especially good with savory meals. Serve it with Baked Crunchy Hot Honey Chicken, spoon it alongside Chicken Quesadillas, add it to Smash Burger Tacos, or pair it with Fresh Cucumber Lemonade with Mint for a fresh meal.
What Is Pineapple Coleslaw
Pineapple coleslaw is a crunchy cabbage slaw with sweet pieces of pineapple mixed throughout.
This version also includes shredded carrot, finely diced red onion, jalapeños, and cilantro. Instead of mayonnaise, it uses a simple vinaigrette-style dressing made with olive oil, white vinegar, and fresh lemon juice.
That makes the finished slaw bright, crisp, sweet, tangy, and slightly spicy rather than creamy.
Table of contents
Ingredients
Let’s Make Pineapple Coleslaw
- Make the Dressing
Add the white vinegar, fresh lemon juice, olive oil, kosher salt, and black pepper to a small bowl.
Whisk until the dressing looks evenly combined.
- Add the Slaw Ingredients
Add the shredded cabbage, pineapple, shredded carrot, red onion, jalapeños, and chopped cilantro to a large mixing bowl.
- Dress the Pineapple Slaw
Pour the dressing over the vegetables and pineapple.
Toss thoroughly until the cabbage and carrot are evenly coated and the pineapple, jalapeño, onion, and cilantro are distributed throughout.
- Serve
Transfer the pineapple coleslaw to a serving bowl or plate.
Give it one final toss before serving so the dressing is evenly distributed.
Pineapple Coleslaw Without Mayonnaise
This is a pineapple coleslaw without mayonnaise, so the texture stays lighter and more crisp than a traditional creamy coleslaw.
The dressing gets its acidity from both white vinegar and fresh lemon juice, while olive oil rounds out the sharpness.
Pineapple adds natural sweetness, which balances the vinegar and lemon without adding a separate sweetener to the tested recipe.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Cutting the cabbage too thick: Thin shreds mix more evenly with the remaining ingredients.
Leaving large pineapple pieces: Keep them finely diced so the pineapple doesn’t dominate individual bites.
Skipping the deseeding step: Your tested recipe specifically uses deseeded jalapeños.
Leaving the red onion too large: A fine dice gives better distribution.
Using bottled lemon flavor instead of the tested fresh lemon: Keep the juice from the whole fresh lemon used in your recipe.
Not mixing the dressing first: Whisk the dressing separately before pouring it over the slaw.
Tossing too lightly: The dressing needs to coat the cabbage throughout the bowl.
What to Serve With Pineapple Coleslaw
This fresh slaw works especially well with:
- Grilled chicken
- Baked chicken
- Pulled chicken sandwiches
- Burgers
- Tacos
- Quesadillas
- Grilled fish
- Barbecue dishes
- Rice bowls
FAQs
Combine shredded cabbage, diced pineapple, shredded carrot, red onion, deseeded jalapeños, and cilantro.Whisk white vinegar, fresh lemon juice, olive oil, kosher salt, and black pepper separately, then toss the dressing with the slaw.
Yes. This recipe is naturally mayo-free.
It uses olive oil, white vinegar, and lemon juice for the dressing instead of mayonnaise.
This version contains cabbage, pineapple, carrot, red onion, jalapeños, and cilantro.
The dressing is made with white vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper.
Yes. This version has pineapple, jalapeño, cilantro, red onion, lemon, and vinegar, so its flavor profile works particularly well with savory taco fillings.
It contains 2 deseeded jalapeños, so there is some pepper flavor and potential heat.
Actual heat can vary considerably from one jalapeño to another.
The tested version contains jalapeños. If you leave them out, you’ll change the flavor balance, so I would keep the 2 deseeded peppers in the official recipe.
Pineapple Coleslaw
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Add the white vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and black pepper to a small bowl.
- Whisk until evenly combined.
- Add the cabbage, pineapple, carrot, red onion, jalapeños, and cilantro to a large bowl.
- Pour the dressing over the slaw.
- Toss thoroughly until everything is evenly coated and distributed.
- Transfer to a serving bowl or plate and serve.
Nutrition
Video
Notes
- Shred the cabbage thinly and dice the pineapple, onion, and jalapeños finely for the most even texture.
- Remove the jalapeño seeds as directed in the tested recipe.
- Mix the dressing separately before tossing it with the slaw.
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
