Rudy's BBQ Copycat Recipe for Southern Style Coleslaw (2024)

Rudy's BBQ Copycat Recipe for Southern Style Coleslaw (1)

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Coleslaw is a family favorite in our house. It’s one of those side dishes that is easy to make and goes great with so many dishes. There are so many different coleslaw recipes out there.

The one my family likes best is this Tri-Color Southern Coleslaw Recipe. It’s a copycat recipe for Rudy’s coleslaw. It combines both green and red cabbage, carrot, mayo, cider vinegar, and a touch of white sugar.

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Side Dish for Barbecue

My family LOVES, LOVES, LOVES barbecue. Actually, that’s putting it mildly. We LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Barbecue. We’ve lived in California, Texas, Oklahoma, and North Carolina. So, we have tried all kinds of barbecue and different coleslaw recipes.

Rudy’s BBQ – Copycat Recipe

This version is a southern coleslaw recipe based on the coleslaw you get at Rudy’s BBQ, a regional chain of barbecue restaurants. Their coleslaw is a sweet slaw with shredded carrot, green, and red cabbage.

This southern coleslaw recipe is great with smoked sausage and brisket at a picnic or backyard party, during Sunday supper with Roasted Chicken, or for lunch with a ham and cheese sandwich. Here I’ve added this sweet coleslaw to pulled pork and Hawaiian rolls to createCarolina Sliders with Coleslaw (shown below)

Make Ahead Coleslaw

You can serve this sweet coleslaw immediately or store it in the refrigerator until ready to use it. I prefer to let it sit for at least 1 hour to let the flavors meld. My kids love that the slaw will turn pink if you let it sit overnight. Either way, it’s a great side dish using real food ingredients.

How to Make Coleslaw

Let’s talk about kitchen safety for just a minute here. For this recipe, you’re going to cut the cabbage and carrots up into small pieces. This is how Rudy’s does it and how we like it. But that kind of prep work takes forever by hand. If you use a tool like a mandolin, you run the risk of cutting yourself. I finally got rid of my mandolin because I ALWAYS knicked a finger or a nail. Now, I use my Kitchenaide Stand Mixerwith the food processor attachmentto save time and my finger tips. It lets me slice the cabbage into thin ribbons and grate the carrots with relative ease. Plus, best of all, my fingers are intact.

What should you use to cut and grate? That’s up to you. You can use a food processor, a mandolin, or just cut up everything my hand. With the food processor, it takes less than 10 minutes to make this delicious tri-color sweet southern coleslaw recipe. So you decide.

Yield: 12 servings

Southern Style Coleslaw

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Additional Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Ingredients

1 medium green cabbage
1/4 small red cabbage
3 carrots
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

Shred cabbages using a shredding blade on a food processor or knife (thinly slice and chop) into small pieces
Grate carrots using box grater or grating blade in a food processor.
In a big bowl, combine mayonnaise, sugar, vinegar, salt, and pepper.
Add cabbage and carrots. Mix to combine.
Serve immediately, but is best after the salad has been refrigerated for at least 1 hour.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 152Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 8mgSodium: 216mgCarbohydrates: 7gFiber: 1gSugar: 5gProtein: 1g

Did you make this recipe?

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If you like this side dish recipe, you may also like these:

Roasted Butternut Squash and Farro Salad
Mom’s Potato Salad with Egg
Crock Pot Ribs and BBQ Beans
Russian Salad (potato, beets, and pea salad)
Broccoli Crunch Salad

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About Nicky Omohundro

Nicky Omohundro is a travel and active family lifestyle blogger and social media influencer based out of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. She shares stories, destinations, and ideas on food, family, health, and outdoor recreation to help families find their own adventures. Her spirit animal is a caffeinated squirrel fueled by coffee, real food, and the desire to seek new adventures.

Reader Interactions

Comments

Bill Madison
March 25, 2014 at 12:07 pm

Thanks for sharing. Always looking for good vegitarian recipes
Reply
- Little Family Adventure
  
  March 26, 2014 at 7:15 pm
  
  You’re welcome Bill. I hope you enjoy it.
  Reply
Heidy L. McCallum
March 25, 2014 at 10:14 pm
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Awesome idea for my work potluck! Looks so yummy!
Reply
- Little Family Adventure
  
  March 26, 2014 at 7:19 pm
  
  Thanks Heidy. This would be great for work.
  Reply
Little Family Adventure

March 26, 2014 at 7:16 pm

Ribs sound really good right now. I am ready for the weather to warm up so my husband can start grilling.
Reply
Little Family Adventure

March 26, 2014 at 7:16 pm

Thanks Kecia. I’ll have the slider recipe up tomorrow.
Reply
Little Family Adventure

March 26, 2014 at 7:18 pm

Thanks Linda. I’m ready for the warm weather to signal picnic season.
Reply
Little Family Adventure

March 26, 2014 at 7:19 pm

Yes, healthy and delicious.
Reply
Katerina
March 27, 2014 at 5:15 am

Such a refreshing salad and now that temperatures rise, it is the perfect light lunch!
Reply
- Little Family Adventure
  
  March 27, 2014 at 2:00 pm
  
  Yes, it would be. WIth grilling comes many salads like this. I can’t wait,
  Reply
Bev
March 28, 2014 at 4:43 am

For some reason I’m not a big slaw person, but my husband loves the stuff! I will have to pass this recipe on to him. Stopping by from the Let’s Get Real Blog hop.
Reply
- Little Family Adventure
  
  March 28, 2014 at 12:44 pm
  
  Hi Bev! I’m picky about my coleslaw, but I make several different varieties of it. I hope your husband will like this version. I’ll wonderful to have you join us this week. I hope you enjoyed what everyone has been sharing.
  Reply
  See Also
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Little Family Adventure

March 28, 2014 at 12:40 pm

Thanks Michelle. This would be great on fish tacos is you are looking for a sweet slaw. For tacos, I like to add a touch of apple cider vinegar to the dressing and give it a little zip. I have a few cabbage recipes on my site; spring rolls, braised cabbage and unstuffed cabbage roll casserole that are both really good.
Reply
Little Family Adventure
March 28, 2014 at 12:47 pm

Thanks Christina. I haven’t had it with raisins before, but I have had it with shredded apple. I make a few different versions of slaw and they are all great.
Reply
- Lydia
  April 19, 2019 at 9:56 am
  
  Raisins are yuck. Try it with craisins.
  I add the craisins only to as much as my family will eat at that meal. Otherwise, the craisins plump up and turn the whole salad pink.
  Reply
  - Nicky
    
    April 19, 2019 at 6:40 pm
    
    I like to bake with raisins, but not in slaw. I agree that they get soggy.
    Reply
Little Family Adventure

March 28, 2014 at 10:18 pm

Thanks Kristina.
Reply
Rachel
March 29, 2014 at 9:45 am

Coleslaw is such a great side – and you can make it so many different ways! Yours is gorgeous with all those colours.
Reply
- Little Family Adventure
  
  March 29, 2014 at 10:07 am
  
  Thanks Rachel.
  Reply
Jenne
March 29, 2014 at 11:38 am

I really enjoy pulled pork and coleslaw together with a good sweet and spicy bbq sauce! Looks yummy!
Reply
- Little Family Adventure
  
  March 30, 2014 at 2:10 pm
  
  Thanks Jenne. It’s a great combination of flavors.
  Reply
Jessica (Savory Experiments)
March 30, 2014 at 8:44 am

So vibrant!
Reply
- Little Family Adventure
  
  March 30, 2014 at 2:13 pm
  
  Thanks Jessica. It’s all about eating the rainbow.
  Reply
Little Family Adventure

March 30, 2014 at 2:12 pm

I like vinegar based coleslaw too, especially on fish tacos. I like sweeter slaw on my pulled pork sandwiches and with barbecue chicken.
Reply
Little Family Adventure

March 30, 2014 at 2:19 pm

We make roasts more during the winter and make sandwiches the next day too. It’s been wonderful having you join us during this week’s hop too. I enjoyed reading your articles and learning more about you.
Reply
Nicole
March 30, 2014 at 4:36 pm

Mmmm… I love coleslaw- especially the colorful kind! And all over our BBQ sandwiches 🙂 I put pineapple and sugar in mine which is much less healthy for you, but great if you are going for the sweet/savory combo. 🙂 Great recipe!
Reply
- Little Family Adventure
  
  March 30, 2014 at 8:22 pm
  
  Pineapple is healthy. For sweet slaw I have to add a little sugar. Other sweeteners throw the taste off for me. I’m happy you liked it Nicole. Thanks!
  Reply
Bex

July 21, 2018 at 6:45 pm

Thanks for this copycat Rudy’s recipe! I always have to run to Rudy’s to get a container of their delicious slaw. In fact, there’s one in my fridge right now. Can’t wait to try this recipe.
Reply
Jennifer Soltys
October 3, 2018 at 6:26 pm

Yum! This looks great. It’s funny, I only started to like coleslaw this year. Now I love it!
Reply
- Nicky
  
  October 3, 2018 at 8:18 pm
  
  There are so many different kinds of coleslaw. Some I like and some…. well not so much. So I completely understand.
  Reply
Mary

February 7, 2021 at 11:10 am

Rudy’s coleslaw is the only one I like. Made this husband loved but I felt there was too much dressing. I put half as much sugar as well. I will try to tweet to see if I can get it closer to Rudy’s.
Reply