Absolutely, you can shred your cabbages and grate your carrots the day before and keep them in separate containers in the fridge (it is important to keep them separate as the red cabbage will bleed into the other vegetables). I like to keep them in water as this makes them crisper and means you can prep the veggies 2 days in advance (you will find detailed instructions in my Thai Asian Slaw post ). You make also make the dressing 4-5 days in advance and keep, in a sealed container in the fridge but not in the door. Chop the parsley and green onion the day before. This salad can also be completely made up the night and kept chilled in your fridge but just keep in mind that it will lose its crunch. I recommend making it an hour in advance to allow the flavours to infuse together and keeping it in the fridge until you are ready to serve.

Loaded Keto Coleslaw with Bacon Dressing

Craving a delicious keto side? Dive into our Loaded Keto Coleslaw with Bacon Dressing – vibrant, decadent, and just 4g net carbs. Follow our easy steps and tips for a mouthwatering side for pot lucks, barbecues or family dinners.

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Loaded keto coleslaw in a dark grey salad bowl on top of a wooden board with a red cabbage parsley garnish.

Picture this: crisp cabbages, grated carrots, and savory bacon all tossed in a creamy, keto-friendly dressing.

Easy to make? Absolutely.

Perfect for any occasion? You bet.

Meal-prep friendly? YES - make it ahead, store it for 4-5 days, and enjoy throughout the week.

In This Post:

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You Will Need

Labelled ingredients needed to make a loaded keto coleslaw recipe.

*You could also add a quarter of a cup of grated cheddar or tasty cheese to this salad for added protein.

⏰ TIME-SAVING TIPS!
This salad comes together in no time if you use a food processor to shred the cabbages and grate the carrots.
For super speedy food prep, you can use a pre-packed coleslaw mix - you will need approximately 5 cups.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1 - Make the Creamy Bacon Dressing

Heat up your grill (broiler), to medium-high heat. Cut off the rind from your bacon and arrange bacon on a lined baking tray so that the rashers are not touching.

Grill until golden and crisp on both sides, and drain the bacon fat into a heatproof container when you turn the bacon around as we are going to use it in our dressing.

Allow the bacon to cool then crumble it into bacon bits, reserve half to add to the salad.

Add half a cup of the crumbled bacon to a high-speed blender or small food processor, add the remaining dressing ingredients, season and blitz well to combine. Taste and adjust seasonings according to your liking.

Step 2 - Prepare Veggies

Wash your cabbages well, remove the core and the outer damaged leaves. Then either shred by hand, or with a mandoline or for super-fast salad making use the slicing attachment in your food processor.

Hands shredding red cabbage on a wooden board.

An aerial view of a field. A road runs through the upper right corner.

Wash, trim and peel your carrots and coarsely grate with either a box grater or with the grating attachment in your food processor.

Trim and wash your green onion then slice thinly.

THINLY SLICING SPRING ONNIOS WITH A STAINLESS STEEL KNIFE ON A WOODEN BOARD

Wash your parsley leaves, shake to remove excess water then pat dry, remove the stems and roughly chop the leaves.

HANDS CHOPPING PARSLEY ON A WOODEN BOARD WITH A KNIFE

Step 3 - Assemble Salad

Add all the salad ingredients to a large mixing bowl.

INGREDIENTS FOR KETO COLESLAW IN A MIXING BOWL

Season with sea salt and cracked black pepper, pour over the dressing.

POURING BACON DRESSING OVER KETO COLESLAW INGREDIENTS

Mix well to combine, make sure that the dressing is evenly distributed througout the salad.

Make sure the dressing is spread evenly throughout the salad.

MIXING COLESLAW IN A MIXING BOWL TO COMBINE

Arrange in a salad bowl and keep chilled in the fridge until you are ready to serve. It becomes tastier the longer you leave it!

Serving Suggestions 🍽

This loaded keto coleslaw recipe makes a great side for grilled meats and is great with pulled pork, buffalo chicken wings or with juicy burgers.

Tips and Questions

Is Loaded Coleslaw Keto Friendly?

As cabbage is a low carb vegetable (2g net carbs per cup) it is great for keto. However, most store-bought slaws have added sugar and are made with canola oils (14g net carbs per cup) which makes them unsuitable for a low carb keto diet.
In our low carb recipe, we have omitted the sugar and used a keto-friendly mayo with avocado oil to make our creamy bacon dressing.
If you would like a sweeter tasting low carb slaw then I recommend a powdered keto-friendly sweetener such as powdered erythritol for a smoother consistency.

Can I Make It Ahead?

Absolutely, you can shred your cabbages and grate your carrots the day before and keep them in separate containers in the fridge (it is important to keep them separate as the red cabbage will bleed into the other vegetables). I like to keep them in water as this makes them crisper and means you can prep the veggies 2 days in advance (you will find detailed instructions in my Thai Asian Slaw post).
You make also make the dressing 4-5 days in advance and keep, in a sealed container in the fridge but not in the door.
Chop the parsley and green onion the day before.
This salad can also be completely made up the night and kept chilled in your fridge but just keep in mind that it will lose its crunch.
I recommend making it an hour in advance to allow the flavours to infuse together and keeping it in the fridge until you are ready to serve.

How to Store Keto Slaw

This keto coleslaw recipe can be stored in the fridge for up to 4-5 days completely made up.
If you would like to keep it for a week or so then I recommend keeping the salad and the dressing separately and consider keeping the shredded cabbages and grated carrot in water separate containers to retain their crispness.

How to Meal Prep This Salad

An ideal salad to meal prep for weekday lunches as it lasts and tastes even better after a few days chilling in the fridge.
Make it up and portion it into your containers, for some added protein try adding some pulled pork, spicy grilled chicken tenders, or meatballs.