Creamy Keto Southwest Coleslaw

This creamy keto southwest coleslaw recipe is a nice change of pace from the classic coleslaw. It’s full of crunchy cabbage and carrots with a creamy southwestern dressing and roasted pecans! It’s full of flavor and is the perfect side dish for your next picnic or try it on fish tacos. Each serving has only 3.3g net carbs.

You might also like this keto creamy cilantro lime coleslaw recipe!

I had the idea for this creamy keto southwest coleslaw back when I made my go to zesty garlic pulled pork and needed something to go with it. The pork uses lots of garlic, lime, and salt to give it that zesty flavor. And this low carb side dish was the perfect accompaniment because it was creamy, sweet and with a bit of spice.

I’m not a huge fan of the sweetness of traditional coleslaw so I added some southwestern flavors for a different twist. And I wanted to make this a low carb dinner so the slaw and pork fit the bill.

While we ate it as a side dish and then as for lunch the next day, it would also work with fish tacos or even these shrimp tacos. This southwestern slaw was really easy to make and it was filling too because it’s full of crunch.

Is coleslaw keto friendly?

Some people wonder if you can eat coleslaw on a keto or low carb diet and the answer is yes. However you need to make your own. Classic coleslaw has sugar in it’s dressing but aside from that there are usually only around 3 net carbs in 1 ½ cups of coleslaw mix. 

So the veggies are not very high carb and if you use sweetener in your dressing you can make a low carb coleslaw and not worry about messing up your diet.

Recipe ingredients I used and substitutions.

The simple ingredients I used for this Mexican slaw was bagged coleslaw mix, mayonnaise, brown sugar sweetener, red onion, lime juice, cumin, dry mustard, cayenne, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and raw pecans.

Salad Vegetables
For the base of this salad, I used coleslaw mix this time for convenience but you can always shred your own cabbage and carrots with a food processor. You can also use purple cabbage if you want to add more color. And while I used red onion for color you use can use yellow onions.

Southwest Dressing
This coleslaw dressing uses mayonnaise, lime juice, Swerve brown sugar sweetener, cumin, garlic powder, dried mustard, cayenne and onion powder. The lime juice gives it that southwestern flavor but you could also use apple cider vinegar if you don’t have any.

You can use ½ teaspoon of regular yellow mustard for the dried if you don’t have any. And I like the kick of cayenne pepper but you can use black pepper if you don’t want the spice. I would use ½ teaspoon if substituting.

Sweetener
I like the flavor of brown sugar in this recipe so I used Swerve brown sugar sweetener. If you can use a brown sugar substitute that would be great but in a pinch you can use regular granular sugar sweetener. If you don’t care about carbs you can just use regular brown sugar.

How to make creamy keto southwest coleslaw.

Step 1: Get out a mixing bowl and add the mayonnaise, lime juice, sweetener and spices and mix well to combine.

Step 2: In a large bowl add the shredded cabbage mix and red onions. Spoon the dressing over top and mix to combine.

Step 3: If using roasted pecans add them to a dry skillet over medium heat. Stir occasionally until the pecans start to brown and are fragrant. Take off the stove and pour on to a cutting board and cool.

Step 4 : When the nuts cool, roughly chop them and add to the coleslaw. Refrigerate for a few hours to get the cabbage to soften.

This is a good keto side dish with meat on the grill, barbecue or pulled pork like I used it. They creamy crunchy aspect makes it’s very filling and satisfying so you wouldn’t really need anything else to make it a complete meal.

If you wanted to you could garnish with fresh cilantro leaves or sprinkle some paprika on top. Store leftovers in an airtight container. Please scroll down for the printable recipe card.

More keto cabbage recipes to try.

Cabbage is a great vegetable to eat on a low carb diet. Here are a few of my favorite keto cold salads and warm main dishes featuring cabbage.

• antipasto, Asian slaw or margarita slaw recipes
• air fryer cabbage steak pizzas or sheetpan lasagna
• spicy stir fried cabbage or Asian beef and cabbage noodles
• air fryer cabbage chips or low calorie soup

Recipe Tips And Notes

• As I mentioned above you can shred your own green cabbage and carrots with a food processor if you have these veggies on hand. However you can also just buy the bag of mix at the grocery store like I did today.
• You could probably add more cabbage or veggies to this keto coleslaw recipe as there is plenty of dressing. I think sweet bell peppers thinly sliced would go nicely.
• The roasted pecans are optional but I really like the crunch they give the salad. You can substitute walnuts or almond slices if you wish but I like pecans the best.
• The longer this marinates it the refrigerator the softer the cabbage will get. I personally like it crunchy and eat it right away but that is up to you.
• You can make this more spicy by adding more cayenne or even hot pepper flakes or hot sauce if you wish.

Well I have lots of low carb slaw recipes so if you like this keto southwest coleslaw recipe go and check one of them out. They make a great low carb side dish in the summer for picnics and parties. I hope you like this one as much as I do. Enjoy!

The nutrtional information for 1 serving is: 174 calories / 16.7g fat / 5.6g carbs / 2.3g fiber / 1.4g protein = 3.3g net carbs