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This refreshing Pineapple Coleslaw tosses fresh pineapple, shredded veggies, and spicy jalapeños in a tangy lime vinaigrette to give you a perfect topping for burgers, tacos, and more! Vegan and Gluten-Free.
Bursting with fruity, refreshing, and tropical flavors, this Pineapple Coleslaw gives classic creamy coleslaw a run for its money. It’s mayo-free, sugar-free, and easy to make in 15 minutes with a vibrant mix of fresh pineapple, crunchy veggies, jalapeños, and a 5-ingredient lime vinaigrette. Pile it on your veggie burgers, tacos, and endless other summer meals!
Table of Contents
Sweet Summer Coleslaw with a Tropical Twist
Do coleslaw girlies exist? If they do, I’m definitely one. I love the fresh crunch of cabbage combined with a salty, sweet, and tangy dressing! Talk about a flavor and texture dream.
I’ll eat coleslaw year-round but this Easy Pineapple Coleslaw Recipe is my go-to in the summer. Fresh and juicy pineapple is combined with a few of its best friends, like shredded cabbage, jalapeños, and cilantro, to give every bite just the right amount of sweetness, spice, and crunch.
What’s better is that this is a mayo-free coleslaw recipe! I ditched the classic creamy dressing for a simple lime vinaigrette. It’s super tangy and zesty, which complements the tropical flavors beautifully.
You can’t go wrong serving coleslaw with pineapple on vegan tacos or veggie burgers, as a side dish with a few of your barbecue favorites, or by the bowlful! It adds a burst of refreshing tropical flavors no matter where or how it’s served.
What You Need for Pineapple Coleslaw
A handful of fresh and colorful ingredients are tossed in a simple vinegar-based dressing to make this fruity coleslaw recipe. Here’s what you need:
- Cabbage: shredded cabbage is the backbone of any great slaw. It’s crunchy, refreshing, and adds bulk. Any type of cabbage works well in this pineapple slaw, like green cabbage, red cabbage, and savoy cabbage. Or, to play with the colors, use a combination of all three!
- Pineapple: finely diced ripe pineapple brings sweetness and a tropical twist to every bite. When shopping, look for a pineapple that smells sweet and feels heavy but has a slight give when squeezed.
- Carrot: finely shredded or grated carrots give the coleslaw extra color and crunch.
- Red Onion: if you don’t have a red onion, you can use diced green onions or a white onion instead.
- Jalapeños: the exciting punch of spice from the jalapeños complements the sweet and tart pineapple perfectly. If you don’t like spicy food, you can tone down the heat by removing the seeds/veins from the peppers beforehand or by omitting them entirely.
- Cilantro: because fresh cilantro, lime, and pineapple scream summer!
- Lime Vinaigrette: forget everything you know about mayo-based coleslaw. This recipe swaps the creamy classic for a light and simple vinegar-based dressing made from white vinegar, lime juice, oil, salt, and pepper.
How to Make Pineapple Coleslaw
- Add the vinegar, lime juice, oil, salt, and pepper to a small jar. Seal the lid on top and shake until it’s emulsified.
- Mix the grated cabbage, pineapple, carrot, red onion, jalapeño, and cilantro in a bowl.
- Pour the dressing over the slaw and toss to coat.
- Chill the coleslaw in the fridge for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
Caitlin’s Cooking Tips
- Prep time shortcuts: Either buy store-bought pre-shredded coleslaw and carrots or a coleslaw mix instead of dicing the veggies yourself. You can also shred the cabbage and carrots in a food processor fitted with a shredding blade to save on prep time.
- Chill it in the fridge before serving: Letting the finished coleslaw chill in the fridge before serving gives all of the flavors a chance to meld together and soak into the veggies. If you have the time, make it the night before serving.
Serving Suggestions
Use this pineapple coleslaw to take your summer meals up a notch. One of the best ways to use it is as a crunchy and tangy topping! Pile some on these BBQ Tempeh Tacos, these Sweet Potato Tofu Tacos, or these Mushroom Veggie Burgers to add some vibrancy to every bite.
Coleslaw with pineapple is also a wonderful summer side dish. Either eat it by the bowl (this is what I do!) or pair it with this Easy Sheet Pan Vegan BBQ or this Buffalo Cauliflower Pasta Salad for a little refreshment.
If you’re looking for more cabbage recipes, you’ll also love this Crunchy Ginger Cabbage Slaw and this Creamy Pico De Gallo with Cabbage!
How to Store Leftover Pineapple Slaw
Transfer the leftover coleslaw to an airtight container and store it in the fridge for up to 5 days. Serve it chilled straight from the fridge or place it on the kitchen counter for 15 minutes to bring it to room temperature.
I do not recommend freezing coleslaw because the veggies will lose their crunch after thawing.
Substitutions and Variations
- Add More Veggies: Toss the coleslaw with grated brussels sprouts for earthy and savory notes.
- Pineapple Substitute: The slaw is just as tropical and refreshing when made with freshly diced, ripe mangos instead of pineapple.
- Use a Mayo-Based Dressing: If you prefer creamy coleslaw, use my Vegan Mayo or store-bought vegan mayo as the base of the coleslaw dressing.
Recipe FAQs
Personally, I prefer fresh pineapple here because it’s the sweetest and most flavorful, but you can use frozen or canned pineapple if you prefer. Frozen pineapple should be thawed ahead of time and dried really well before it’s added to the coleslaw. For canned pineapple, drain the juices from the can, then finely chop the pieces.
You can avoid a watery coleslaw by patting the pineapple pieces dry and draining the excess water from the cabbage. To drain the water, add the shredded cabbage to a colander and sprinkle a good amount of salt over top. Let it sit for about 30 minutes, then squeeze out any excess water. Rinse, pat dry, and prepare as normal.
Enjoy! If you make this recipe and decide to share it on Facebook or Instagram, don’t forget to tag me @FromMyBowl + #FromMyBowl! I would also love it if you could leave a comment below with a recipe rating! Thank you for the support 😊
Pineapple Coleslaw
Ingredients
For the Vinaigrette:
- 3 tablespoons white vinegar
- Juice of 1 lime about 2 tablespoons
- 3 tablespoons neutral oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Black pepper to taste
For the Slaw:
- 4 cups shredded cabbage (1/2 small head)
- 1 1/2 cup finely diced pineapple*
- 1 cup shredded carrot
- 1/2 red onion fine dice
- 2 jalapeños de-seeded and finely diced
- 1/2 bunch cilantro stems and leaves finely chopped
Instructions
- Make the Vinaigrette: Add the vinegar, lime juice, oil, salt, and pepper to a small jar. Seal the jar and shake well, until emulsified. Set aside.
- Combine: Add the cabbage, pineapple, carrot, red onion, jalapeño, and cilantro to a large bowl. Pour the dressing over the slaw and mix well with tongs.
- Serve & Store: Let the slaw sit for 5-10 minutes (preferably in the fridge) before serving to allow all flavors to combine. Serve chilled; store leftovers in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Recipe Notes
- There is no added sugar in this recipe so make sure your Pineapple is ripe, juicy, and sweet! You’ll know when a Pineapple is ready to cut once the exterior portion of it is yellowing and smells sweet.
- Oil-Free: You can omit the oil from this recipe, but it will be more acidic and the dressing will not cling to the veggies as well.
So delicious. Adding pineapple, jalapeño and cilantro to cole slaw is so summery and refreshing. The lime vinaigrette was perfect and light. Thank you for a fabulous recipe
You’re so welcome, Gabrielle!
This recipe was amazing. I would reduce the salt next time. But I LOVED IT!! Taking it to the river for a family gathering. Hope they like it as much as I do. Thank you
Glad you loved it, Cristy!
Would this recipe work with apple cider vinegar?
I think that would be fine! It’s a smaller amount of vinegar and apple cider vinegar shouldn’t color it enormously.
This is exactly the recipe I was looking for for my mayo hating gal. I had thought jalapeños and pineapple but you brought the rest to the table. Perfect. It was a tiny too much tart, likely my pineapple wasn’t as ripe as need be. Next time we will get it right!
Pineapples can definitely be tricky sometimes! Thanks for the review, Jan 🙂
We made this in the morning and ate it at night with BBQ jackfruit – AMAZING! The slaw is great on its own but it also added crunch and taste to the jackfruit. Will make this again. My meat eating family loved this.
I made this last week and truthfully didn’t love it at first. I WANTED to like it, it wasn’t BAD, just lacking in flavor in my opinion. I added more pineapple and pineapple juice and then let it sit while I was away for a couple of days. When I came back – WOW. This coleslaw definitely requires time for the ingredients to sit and marinate together. It’s also not like traditional vinegar-based coleslaw I’m used to – it almost gives this pickled effect that reminds me of the pickled veggies found on bahn mis. Maybe this is weird but I chopped up leftover veggie burgers and hot dogs from the weekend and combined with the coleslaw for lunch and dinner over the past few days – it’s actually really good like that ! I’d like to make it again with pulled pork (sorry…not a vegetarian). If you give this dish the time it deserves to sit and allow the flavors to meld it’s a great healthy alternative to normal coleslaw! I’m sorry for doubting this at first, I’m now a believer. Thank you, Caitlin!