Freezer Slaw: How to Make Coleslaw You Can Freeze

ByRebecca Livermore
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When it comes to prepping meals ahead of time, freezer side dishes are a lifesaver. One of my favorite discoveries is freezer slaw. If you’ve ever wondered how to freeze coleslaw without it turning into a soggy mess, this recipe from the Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving (38th edition) is the answer. It makes a crisp, tangy freezer salad that you can pull out anytime — just thaw, drain, and stir in mayonnaise before serving.

freezer slaw ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

Why Make Freezer Slaw?

Freezer slaw is perfect if you want the convenience of coleslaw without having to shred cabbage at the last minute. Unlike traditional coleslaw, which doesn’t freeze well once mayo is added, this recipe freezes the cabbage mixture with a vinegar-based dressing. The result? A side dish that still has a fresh crunch after months in the freezer. And don’t worry – if you like a creamy coleslaw like my family does, all you need to do is add in some mayonnnaise right before serving.

My family honestly couldn’t believe it came from the freezer — they thought it was freshly made! While it isn’t exactly the same as straight-from-the-garden slaw, it’s close enough to fool most people.

Ingredients You’ll Need

Cabbage, carrots, pepper, onion, vinegar, and seasonings on a table for freezer slaw
All the ingredients ready to go for freezer slaw.

👉 This recipe is adapted from the Ball Blue Book, 38th edition. I’ve written it in my own words based on my experience, but I want to give credit to the original source.

Here are the ingredients. (The full recipe is in the printable recipe card at the end of this post.)

  • Green cabbage
  • Carrots
  • Green bell pepper
  • Onion
  • Salt
  • Sugar
  • Dry mustard
  • celery seed
  • Vinegar (5% acidity)
  • Water
freezer slaw ingredients pin

Step 1: Wash and Prep Your Vegetables

I started by rinsing the cabbage, carrots, and bell pepper under running water.

Cabbage, carrots, and bell pepper in colander being rinsed with water.
Fresh veggies getting a good rinse.

Next, I removed the outer leaves from the cabbage and cut it into four sections. The book says to quarter it, but I cut it in half first, removed the core, and then halved it again. Same end result, just my preferred method.

On the left are the outer leaves of the cabbage. On the right, next to the cabbage leaves, is the whole head of cabbage, with the outer leaves removed.
Start off by removing the outer leaves of the cabbage.
A head of cabbage cut in half, on a cutting board.
Next, cut the head of cabbage in half.
Two halves of cabbage, on a cutting board, with the core removed. The core from each half is sitting just below the cabbage halves.
Next, remove the core from the cabbage.
cabbage cut into fourths.
Cut the cabbage into fourths.

The bell pepper was halved, seeded, and cleaned.

Bell pepper cut in half, with the seeds still intact.
Cut the bell pepper in half.
Bell pepper, cut in half with the seeds and white part removed.
Then remove the seeds and the white part. (No need to remove all of the white, as you can see some still on the bell pepper.

Carrots were trimmed and peeled, and the onion peeled and diced.

Carrots with both ends cut off.
Start off by cutting off each end of the carrots.
3 peeled carrots next to a pile of carrot peels.
Next, peel the carrots.
Peeled whole onion sitting next to a pile of onion peel.
Remove the peel from the onion. I also like to remove the first, tougher layer of onion.
Half of an onion, cut side down, cut into slices.
Cut the onion in half. Put the cut side down, and then cut into thin slices. Keeping the onion slices more or less next to each other makes the next step easier.
diced onion.
Turn the onion the other direction and cut into small dices.
A half of an onion sitting next to a mason jar with diced onions.
The recipe called for a medium onion, but after chopping and measuring, I found that I only needed 1/2 of a medium onion.

Step 2: Shred and Chop Freezer Slaw Ingredients

I used my food processor with different shredding blades:

3 food processor shredding discs, fine, medium, and large.
These are the 3 shredding blades I used to shred the various ingredients, as noted below.
  • Coarse blade for the cabbage
  • Medium blade for the bell pepper (though next time I’ll just dice it with a knife — the processor made it too mushy and juicy)
  • Fine shredding blade for the carrots
shredded cabbage in a food processor container, for freezer slaw.
Even though I used a course shredding blade, the cabbage was shredded in small enough pieces, perfect for coleslaw.
Using the food processor shredding disc for the bell pepper didn’t work that great. You can see how mangled it was. The bell pepper was also very “juicy” after being shredded.
In addition to the problem of the bell pepper being pretty mangled and juicy, parts of it didn’t go through the shredding disc.
shredded carrots in a food processor bowl. Shredded carrots add a nice crunch to freezer slaw.
The fine shredding disc worked great for the carrots. You may want your carrots shredded thicker, but finer shreds of this harder vegetable work better for my 94-year-old mom.

All the prepared veggies went into a big bowl.

I put all of the freezer slaw ingredients into a large mixing bowl.

Step 3: Salt and Drain

I sprinkled salt over the mixture and tossed it with my hands. The salt draws out extra liquid so the slaw won’t be watery later. After resting for an hour, I pressed the mixture through a sieve to drain off the liquid.

Pouring salt into the prepare coleslaw vegetables.
Mixing salt into the coleslaw ingredients.
I find my hands the most efficient way to mix the salt into the rest of the ingredients, but you can use any method you prefer, such as a large spoon.

Let the salted freezer slaw ingredients sit for 1 hour, to allow the salt time to draw the liquid out of the vegetables. This step is super important, because it’s what yields a nice crisp coleslaw after the slaw has been frozen.

After waiting an hour, I put the vegetables into a sieve, and pressed with the back of a spatula to press out the liquid.

As I finished pressing the liquid out, I put the “pressed” coleslaw ingredients into a separate bowl.

On the left are the coleslaw mixture after pressing out the liquid, and on the right is the liquid that I tossed.

Step 4: Make the Coleslaw Dressing

The vinegar dressing is what gives coleslaw the characteristic mix of sweetness and zing. I combined sugar, spices, vinegar, and water in a saucepan, brought it to a boil, and let it simmer for a few minutes.

Vinegar, water, sugar, and spices in a stainless steel pot.
Bring it to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until the sugar completely dissolves.
Ladling dressing over freezer slaw vegetables.

Then I ladled the hot dressing over the drained vegetables, mixed it all together, and let it sit for five minutes.

Step 5: Pack and Freeze the Slaw

I always label my freezer bags before filling them — it’s so much easier when they’re flat and empty.

Freezer bags labeled coleslaw with date

To make filling easier, I placed each bag inside a wide-mouth mason jar with the top folded over the rim.

Using a mason jar as a freezer bag holder.
I used a 1-cup measuring cup. For my family, 2 cups in each freezer bag is a good amount. Use more or less based on the needs of your family.
Ladling freezer slaw through a canning funnel into a freezer bag.
A canning funnel make it easy to pour the coleslaw into the bag, which reduces the mess.
Here’s a top view of the first cup of coleslaw in the freezer bag.

Once filled, I flattened the bags and pressed out the air. This makes them much easier to stack in the freezer.

You can see that the quart size bags were about half full with 2 cups of slaw. You could easily fit 3-4 cups in a quart freezer bag.
Freezer bags filled with coleslaw, flattened for easy freezing.
Freezer slaw packed flat for storage.

Serving Freezer Slaw

When you’re ready to serve, thaw the slaw in the refrigerator overnight. Drain any extra liquid, then stir in mayonnaise. Do not freeze it with mayonnaise — it doesn’t freeze well and will ruin the texture.

bowl of coleslaw after thawing and mixing with mayonnaise.
Finished freezer slaw with mayonnaise added.

My family loved it so much that I plan to stock my freezer with other cabbage-based salads. Freezer salads are a great way to have fresh-tasting side dishes ready year-round.

Tips and Takeaways

  • Don’t skip the salt step — it keeps your slaw from being soggy.
  • Label first, fill later — so much easier than writing on full bags.
  • Shred smart — cabbage and carrots shred great in the processor, but peppers are better diced by hand.
  • Always add mayo last — after thawing.

Final Thoughts

If you’re looking for a crisp, refreshing freezer side dish, give freezer slaw a try. It’s an easy way to learn how to freeze coleslaw successfully without sacrificing crunch. Whether you serve it at a summer cookout or a winter dinner, this freezer salad is a time-saver that tastes surprisingly fresh.

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Yield: 10 Cups

Freezer Slaw (Make-Ahead Freezer Coleslaw)

Freezer Slaw (Make-Ahead Freezer Coleslaw)
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This freezer slaw is a crisp, tangy side dish made from cabbage, carrots, peppers, and onion in a vinegar-based dressing. It freezes beautifully and is the perfect way to enjoy coleslaw anytime — just thaw, drain, and stir in mayonnaise before serving. Adapted from the Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving, 38th edition.

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Additional Time 5 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds cabbage
  • 1 large green bell pepper
  • 3 medium carrots
  • 1 medium onion (about ¾ cup chopped)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 teaspoon dry mustard
  • 1 teaspoon celery seed
  • 1 cup white vinegar (5% acidity)
  • ½ cup water

Instructions

    1. Wash cabbage, carrots, and bell pepper under cold running water. Remove outer cabbage leaves. Cut into quarters and remove the core. Peel carrots and onion.
    2. Shred cabbage and carrots. Dice the bell pepper (avoid shredding — it gets too watery). Chop onion.
    3. Combine vegetables in a large bowl and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt. Toss well and let sit for 1 hour to draw out excess liquid. Drain thoroughly.
    4. In a saucepan, combine sugar, mustard, celery seed, vinegar, and water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 3 minutes.
    5. Pour hot dressing over drained vegetables. Stir well and let sit for 5 minutes.
    6. Pack into labeled freezer bags or containers, leaving ½ inch of headspace. Flatten bags for easier storage. Freeze.
      To serve: Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, drain excess liquid, and stir in mayonnaise just before serving.

Notes

  • Do not add mayonnaise before freezing — it will separate and ruin the texture. Always add after thawing.
  • Freezer slaw tastes surprisingly fresh — my family couldn’t believe it came from the freezer!
  • Store flat for easier stacking in the freezer. This will also make it thaw faster.
  • This recipe makes about 5 pints.

    • Did you make this?

    Tell me how it went in the comments or tag @stockingmypantry on Pinterest!

    © Rebecca Livermore
    Category: Freezing

    💬 I’d love to hear from you!

    Have you tried this yourself? Have a question or tip to share? Leave a comment below — your experience or question could help someone else, too!

    Rebecca Livermore is the creator of Stocking My Pantry, an author, and YouTuber. From her small home, she shares her journey mastering indoor gardening, small batch canning, and dehydrating in limited space. She believes everyone can be a prepper, regardless of their living situation. Join her as she turns "if only" into "I can", increasing food security and self-reliance without stress.