Name: Coleslaw with Condensed Milk Dressing
Prep time: 3 min
Total time: 1 h 3 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk; 1 teaspoon dry mustard powder; 1 teaspoon salt; 2 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar; 1/2 teaspoon celery seed; 1/8 teaspoon onion powder; 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper; 14 oz. bag coleslaw mix

Jump to Recipe

Homemade coleslaw with condensed milk dressing is a perfect side dish for picnics, fish fries and BBQs. It takes just a few ingredients, most of which you are likely to have on hand.

Bowl of creamy coleslaw with homemade condensed milk dressing.

Did you know you can make homemade coleslaw dressing from sweetened condensed milk? Well, you can, and the resulting coleslaw is every bit as creamy and tangy as you would expect for it to be.

Why Condensed Milk?

One of the YouTube channels we follow cooks recipe from vintage cookbooks. Not too long ago she featured a cookbook featuring sweetened condensed milk.

Of course that piqued my curiosity as we love a good condensed milk recipe around these parts. But what really surprised me was she made a recipe for faux mayonnaise.

Ingredients: bagged coleslaw mix, condensed milk, vinegar, mustard powder, salt, pepper and celery seeds ready to be made into coleslaw.

Layers of condensed milk, vinegar and seasonings in jar ready to be mixed into dressing.

Now I don’t know if that was a marketing ploy on the part of big condensed milk companies. Or maybe the economics and food preservation technology of that Era actually made that a necessity.

Either way, it’s out there.

Large glass bowl filled with shredded cabbage next to jar of condensed milk dressing.

Hand pouring condensed milk slaw dressing over shredded cabbage.

So when I found myself with a bit of condensed milk left after making some cookies and cream fudge, it seemed fitting to try something completely different with it. That’s where this old fashioned coleslaw recipe came in.

I adjusted the seasonings a bit to mirror the flavors in our favorite creamy coleslaw and the rest is history.

The Results

I know that it seems like using condensed milk coleslaw dressing would be too sweet. However, the acid from the vinegar and the mustard powder really cuts the sugar.

If anything it was much zestier than I expected and the sweetness is really subtle. It was no more sweet than a standard slaw you would get at a restaurant or using another recipe.

Small pool of creamy dressing on top of shredded cabbage in a glass bowl.

Like with most coleslaw recipes, it doesn’t seem like there is going to be enough dressing at first. Just stir it in, cover it and refrigerate it for a half hour or so.

The vinegar and salt will work to soften the cabbage a bit and it will start to release some liquid. Give the slaw another toss and suddenly it will be enough dressing to coat the whole salad.

Tips and Tricks

Using a bag of coleslaw mix makes this sald super easy. You can use fresh veggies or broccoli slaw. Just keep the total to about a pound.

For added sweetness, shred an apple into your coleslaw mix.

Serving bowl filled with coleslaw dressed with a creamy homemade condensed milk dressing.

Don’t skip the celery seed, that is what gives this salad the classic coleslaw flavor.

Coleslaw is best once it has chilled for about an hour. It will stay good in the refrigerator for several days but will lose its crunch over time.

More Recipes to Try

We enjoyed our old-fashioned coleslaw with some BBQ ribs and Instant Pot macaroni and cheese. It was a delicious dinner, and the slaw was a perfect tangy foil to the rich meat and cheesy pasta.

It would also be great served on top of a pulled pork sandwich. Or serve it with cheese cracker chicken fingers for a fun and easy meal.

Did you make this recipe? Please leave a review in the recipe card below!

Yield: 6 Servings