Tropical Slaw with Pineapple

This tropical slaw is a perfect way to kiss goodbye to summer.  It’s bursting with crunch, sweetness, and a hint of heat.  It goes wonderfully with grilled meats, shrimp tacos, or when you’re looking for a side dish that’s a little out of the ordinary.

Gray bowl full of crunchy, sweet tropical slaw - cabbage, carrots, jalapeno, scallions, and cilantro in a sweet and sour yogurt dressing.

For our Labor Day barbecue, I like to serve this tropical slaw with Spicy Grilled Jerk Chicken or Grilled Barbecue Pork Chops, Old Fashioned Macaroni Salad, Kansas City Baked Beans, and Sunny Lemon Cheese Tartlets for dessert.

TROPICAL SLAW INGREDIENTS
This recipe has the usual slaw ingredients like cabbage and carrots but includes pineapple, jalapenos, and a yogurt-based dressing.  No mayo here.

  • Greek yogurt.  I used plain, full-fat Greek yogurt.
  • Apple cider vinegar
  • Canned pineapple with some of the juice
  • Honey
  • Cabbage – I like using both green and red cabbage.
  • Carrots
  • Green scallions
  • Cilantro – not a fan?  Use fresh parsley instead.
  • Jalapeno 
  • Salt and pepper

Gray bowl full of crunchy, sweet tropical slaw - cabbage, carrots, jalapeno, scallions, and cilantro in a sweet and sour yogurt dressing.

HOW TO MAKE TROPICAL SLAW

The most time-consuming part of this recipe is prepping the vegetables.  

  1. Shred the cabbage and carrots.  Chop the green onions, cilantro, and jalapenos.
  2. Drain the canned pineapple and save the juice.
  3. Whisk together the yogurt, vinegar, pineapple juice, and hone.
  4. Toss the vegetables with the dressing and pineapple tidbits and chill.

SHORTCUTS AND SUBSTITUTIONS

  • Take advantage of pre-shredded cabbage and carrots.
  • The yogurt can be replaced with mayonnaise or sour cream.
  • Play with herbs.  Parsley or mint would work well instead of cilantro.
  • Mandarin oranges, unsweetened coconut shreds, dried mango, or papaya would be delicious additions.
  • The honey can be swapped with agave syrup, brown sugar to taste, or Stevia for a lower sugar slaw.

Gray bowl full of crunchy, sweet tropical slaw - cabbage, carrots, jalapeno, scallions, and cilantro in a sweet and sour yogurt dressing.

MORE SLAW RECIPES TO TRY

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TROPICAL SLAW

This tropical slaw is a perfect way to kiss goodbye to summer.  It’s bursting with flavor, crunch, sweetness, and a hint of heat.  It goes wonderfully with grilled meats, shrimp tacos, or when you’re looking for a side dish that’s a little out of the ordinary.

  • Author: Millie Brinkley
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Chilling time: 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 20 minutes + chilling time
  • Yield: Serves 8
  • Category: Side dish
  • Method: Toss
  • Cuisine: Caribbean

Ingredients

Scale

⅓ cup plain Greek yogurt

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

3 tablespoons pineapple juice (reserved from the canned pineapple)

3 tablespoons honey 

3 cups shredded cabbage (I used 2 ½ cups green cabbage and ½ cup red cabbage)

½ cup shredded carrots

½ cup chopped green onions

⅓ cup fresh cilantro, minced

8 ounce can pineapple tidbits, drained (reserve the juice for the dressing)

1 large jalapeno, seeded and minced

Salt and pepper to taste.

Instructions

In a large bowl whisk together the Greek yogurt, vinegar, pineapple juice, and honey until well combined.

Add the cabbage, carrots, green onions, cilantro, pineapple, jalapeno, salt, and pepper.  Toss to coat all of the vegetables with the dressing.

Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.  Toss again, if necessary.

Cover the bowl tightly and chill for at least one hour.

Serve cold.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 2/3 cup
  • Calories: 84
  • Sugar: 16.4 g
  • Sodium: 21 mg
  • Fat: 0.8 g
  • Carbohydrates: 19.1 g
  • Protein: 2 g
  • Cholesterol: 1.5 mg

Keywords: tropical slaw, cole slaw recipes, summer side dish, Labor Day recipes, cabbage, carrots, jalapenos, pineapple, Caribbean recipes,