One summertime meal that I think it just perfect is a bucket of fried chicken and a couple of sides--whether that is baked beans, mashed potatoes and gravy, coleslaw or potato salad. 

Do you know who has the BEST coleslaw? KFC! Who knew. Their coleslaw is chopped super fine and is tangy and slightly sweet and is honestly my favorite coleslaw you can buy. The strange thing is, you can’t buy the side separately--you can only get it if you get the full meal with a bucket of chicken. The good news is I found the best knockoff recipe that tastes EXACTLY like the one from KFC. In a blind taste test, I don’t think you would be able to tell the difference! If you have never had the coleslaw at KFC, no worries, just know that this is an amazing coleslaw recipe and could be your new go-to side dish to bring for potlucks.

There are just a few simple ingredients and the vegetable base of the salad only has green cabbage, a little bit of yellow onion, and carrots. They are all chopped super small, about the size of rice, which is part of what makes this particular coleslaw so great! It gives it great texture. This works best if you have a food processor to get those fine bits, but you can absolutely chop away with a good knife. You can get prepackaged shredded coleslaw or carrots, but to be true to the original recipe, try not to get a package with purple cabbage or any other additions that are sometimes in prepackaged cabbage mixes.

For this recipe you will need:

• Cabbage
• Carrots
• Yellow onions
• Mayonnaise
• Sugar
• Whole milk
• Buttermilk
• Lemon juice
• Apple cider vinegar
• Salt and pepper

You can see how it gets nice and tangy from the vinegar, lemon juice and buttermilk. So you mix all the dressing ingredients and then combine everything and let it sit and meld together in the fridge overnight, or at least six hours. 

Make Ahead

You can make the dressing and vegetable mix up to 5 days in advance, just make sure to keep them separate until you are ready to serve a fresh batch. 

Leftovers can last in the fridge up to 3 days in an airtight container. It becomes more runny and soupy the longer it is in the fridge, which is fine, but feel free to drain some of the sauce if it is too runny for your liking.

Have you tried KFC coleslaw? Is coleslaw an essential side dish for your summertime picnics or backyard BBQ’s? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.



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