Fruity Mango Slaw

This tropical Fruity Mango Slaw features juicy ripe mangoes, crunchy cabbage, and vibrant bell peppers in a fruity mango cilantro lime dressing. It’s a refreshing and flavourful twist on the classic coleslaw that brings a taste of the tropics to any meal.

Whether you’re looking for a healthy side dish or a tasty topping for Pulled Pork Sandwiches, Fish Tacos, or burgers, this easy-to-make coleslaw is sure to become one of your go-to recipes.

Fruity Mango Slaw

Friends, this cabbage mango slaw isn’t your grandmother’s coleslaw. The usual green cabbage is there but that’s where the similarities end. With matchstick bell peppers, crunchy celery, and strips of juicy mango, it’s more like a chopped-salad-meets-slaw situation.

I’ve messed with coleslaw salad recipes before. This Tropical Pineapple Coconut Coleslaw contains pineapple and cilantro in a dairy-free creamy coconut lime dressing. It’s such a family favourite that I had to create a mango version. Now I have two vegan recipes for coleslaw, and no one would ever know the difference.

Some people say that you can’t or shouldn’t mess with a classic, but this is a delightful salad packed with tropical mango flavour. There are two whole mangos in this recipe, which includes the vegan dressing.

The sweet and sour flavours in this mango slaw go so well with any kind of barbecue but where it really shines is on shrimp tacos or fish tacos.

What is Coleslaw?

Google ‘coleslaw’. What you’ll most likely see is photos and recipes for a classic creamy cabbage salad with a few vinegar-dressed versions thrown in the mix. Most slaw recipes contain shredded green cabbage (or a mixture of green and red cabbage), carrot matchsticks, and sometimes even grated apple.

Coleslaw, or ‘slaw’ for short, is a category of salads that contain shredded vegetables and sometimes fruit. This popular summer barbecue side can have either a creamy dressing or vinaigrette, but it always contains some variety of cabbage.

Mango Slaw Ingredients

This inclusive slaw recipe contains fresh shredded vegetables and mangoes. It is dairy free and gluten free so that everyone at the barbecue can enjoy the fresh flavours. You can buy a small cabbage and shred it yourself or save time and use a 16 oz bag of pre-shredded cabbage. PRO TIP: Buy matchstick carrots too!

• Green Cabbage
• Red Onion
• Carrots
• Celery
• Cilantro
• Red Bell Pepper
• Mango
• Lime
• Garlic
• Ginger
• Canola Oil
• Honey
• Rice Wine Vinegar
• Salt
• Pepper
• Red Chili Flakes

Use any combination of vegetables you like. The red onion, celery, red bell pepper, and carrots are only suggestions for a tasty and visually pleasing salad. Feel free to use green onions instead of red onions, or any colour of bell pepper in place of the red pepper. The only ingredients you can’t replace are the shredded cabbage and mango!

To keep this salad at its tastiest, only use fresh lime juice, fresh garlic (not powder) and fresh ginger root in the dressing.

Feel free to replace the canola oil with your favourite salad oil and use either maple syrup or agave in place of the honey (for an entirely vegan version). Apple cider vinegar is a suitable replacement for the rice wine vinegar.

Our family loves a bit of heat in the dressing, so I add red chili flakes. They are entirely optional.

How to Choose the Best Mango

Let’s face it, choosing the right mango can be a bit tricky. Here are a few handy tips to help you select the ripest and most flavourful mangoes for this recipe.

1. Check for colour: The first thing to look for when selecting a mango is its colour. A ripe mango will have bright and vibrant hues of yellow, orange, or red on its skin (depending on the variety). Avoid mangoes with green patches as they are not yet fully ripened.
2. Smell it: Give your potential purchase a good sniff around the stem area – if it smells sweet and fragrant then it’s ready to eat!
3. Press gently: Another way to tell if a mango is ripe is by giving it a gentle squeeze with your fingers – if it’s slightly soft but still firm, then it’s ready! Be careful not to press too hard as this can damage the fruit.
4. Look at texture: The texture of the skin should also be taken into consideration when picking out your perfect piece of fruit. Mangoes with smooth skin indicate freshness while wrinkled or dry skin suggests overripe fruit.
5. If a mango has sticky syrup leaking out the stem end, chances are you’ve got a good one!

How to Make Mango Slaw

The first step for making this mouth-watering Mango Slaw is preparing the vegetables and mango.

The easiest way to cut the cabbage is with the straight edge blade on a mandoline. Cut the cabbage in half and remove the core before running it through the mandoline. Then use the mandoline to slice the celery, carrots, and red onion. Then, cut the sliced carrots into matchsticks.

If you aren’t comfortable using a mandoline, use a food processor or a sharp knife with a cutting board. NOTE: If you are prepping the vegetables by hand, the prep time of this recipe will increase.

Once all the vegetables are shredded, place them in a large bowl and set in the refrigerator while you make the mango dressing.

How to Make Mango Dressing

To make the mango dressing place the diced mango, fresh lime juice, garlic, ginger, 1 Tablespoon honey, 1 Tablespoon rice wine vinegar, crushed red chilies (if using) to the pitcher of a high-speed blender. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper then blend the ingredients together until smooth.

Next, with the blender running on low speed, slowly drizzle the canola oil through the top hole of the blender. Allow it to emulsify into the mango mixture. There should be just under one cup of mango dressing when you are finished.

Test the flavour of the dressing and adjust seasoning with honey or rice wine vinegar, if needed. Since the sweetness and size of mangos vary, you may need to adjust the sweetness or vinegar level accordingly. If the mango is sweet, you’ll need less honey, more vinegar and if it a sour mango you will need more honey, less vinegar.

Finally, pour the dressing into the mixed mango slaw ingredients and mix well. Serve immediately.

Make Ahead and Leftovers

Mango slaw is best if eaten within an hour of being dressed. If you plan on eating only some of the slaw in one sitting, I recommend only dressing a portion of the salad.

To make ahead of time, keep the mango separate from the other vegetables until right before dressing the slaw. The mango will release moisture as it sits, which will cause the cabbage to become soggy. Undressed slaw can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours with the mango and up to three days without the mango.

The dressing recipe will yield slightly less than one cup. It can be refrigerated in an airtight container or jar for up to five days.

Hi! I’m Bernice Hill and I’ve been the sole recipe developer, photographer, and writer at Dish ‘n’ the Kitchen for the past eleven years. It is my pleasure to share easy to follow recipes that are delicious, nutritious, and approachable for the whole family.

If you make this Fruity Mango Slaw recipe, I’d love to hear about it in the comments section or in the ratings. Be sure to follow me on Facebook and Pinterest for my latest recipes. Also, if you do make this recipe please share your photos and tag me on Instagram. I hope you like this recipe!