• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Harvest and Wild Community Table logo

  • Meet Matt
  • Recipes
    • Breakfast and brunch recipes
    • Lunch
    • Dinner
    • Desserts and sweets
    • Snacks
    • Sides
    • Drinks, Smoothies and Cocktails
  • Entertain
    • Menus
    • Music
    • Resource Library
    • Set up your kitchen
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact us
  • Harvest and Wild
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Start here
  • Recipes
  • Menus
  • Resource Library
  • Music
×

Scandinavian Slaw

Published: May 25, 2020 · This blog uses cookies and may contain ads or affiliate links. See this page for more details · 9 Comments

Sharing is caring!

65 shares
  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Email
Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

Make coleslaw healthy and fresh with this rustic Scandinavian slaw. Fresh herbs and root vegetables, it is the perfect spring and summer addition to your table and a healthy side to your burgers.

scandinavian slaw top down shot

This post was originally written back in April 2015. It has been updated with an improved recipe, tip and variations and much better photos!

Jump to:
  • Ingredients
  • Instructions
  • Equipment
  • Tips and Variations
  • You might like these other recipes
  • Pairings
  • Recipe
  • Scandinavian Slaw

I have a not so secret confession, if I had to pick one regional cuisine to eat for the rest of my life it wouldn’t be French or Italian. No, I would start at the top of Norway and draw a line down to Austria. Yes, I love Scandinavian and Germanic food. It can be very rich, but it can also be very light and delicate. Plus, despite the whole ‘new Nordic cuisine’ chicness, at its core, it is very rustic. It makes use of fresh herbs and vegetables but also pickling to make them last longer. My Scandinavian slaw is an example of this rustic, yet light and full of flavour from fresh herbs and crunch vegetables. It is the perfect spring and summer addition to your table and a healthy side to your burgers.

We all love a bit of mayonnaise, I go through too much of it. Summer BBQs are almost synonymous with lots of mayonnaise-based dishes. Let’s be honest though, we’ve all sat there enjoying an amazing burger (or delicious chicken sandwich), only to think you need something healthier than coleslaw with mayo. In spring we are spoiled with fresh vegetables, like carrots, radishes and cucumber. So, take a page from the Scandinavians and use them in a salad.

In this case, we’re making this coleslaw healthier by making it a recipe for no mayo coleslaw. As Scandinavians are famous for pickling, instead of mayo we are using vinegar for a healthy and crunchy scandi slaw. Bursting with the flavour of fennel, radishes, onion and dill, Scandinavian slaw will stand out on your table. I love how rustic and colourful this slaw looks. The zip of the vinegar helps cut through rich foods like burgers, and the fresh vegetables mean it will equally go with light foods like roast chicken, cold picnic foods and, my favourite, smorrebrod. Make this instead of coleslaw and you won’t be disappointed.

Ingredients

  • Cucumber
  • Red onion
  • Carrots
  • Fennel
  • Radish
  • White wine vinegar
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Fresh dill
  • White sugar
scandinavian slaw angle shot

Instructions

  1. Prepare your vegetables. Peel your carrots (if you want), onions and any bits of the other veg. Also, seed your cucumber. Do this by slicing the cucumber in half lengthwise, and then use a spoon to scoop out the seeds in the centre. 
  2. If you have a mandolin, set it on a thin setting and slice up the carrots, fennel, onion and radishes. You can also do this for cucumber, or chop by hand. If you don’t have a mandolin, use a good sharp knife and slice your veg very thinly. Place all chopped vegetables into a bowl.
  3. Chop the dill, stalks and all, toss this into the bowl.
  4. Mix the oil, vinegar sugar with a bit of salt and pepper. Wisk and toss with the vegetables. Then set in your fridge for at least 30min.
  5. To serve, give a stir and then sprinkle over the remaining dill. Perfect with a BBQ!

Equipment

A mandolin is a great kitchen tool. This is a good one, but you also find them at IKEA and other stores. 

scandinavian slaw top down corner shot

Tips and Variations

What other vegetables could you use in slaw?

I would look to try other heartier vegetables in your slaw. Cabbage is an obvious choice.

Could you add fruit to your slaw?

Yes, it is worth a shot. A chunky chopped crisp apple would be good, as it would add some sweetness and acidity to the salad. Just adjust the sugar down.

What meat goes well with Scandinavian slaw?

If the salad is a side dish, then rich dishes such as burgers or BBQ chicken work really well. However, if you wanted to make the salad the main dish, try adding some poached chicken. Either place it on the top of a salad or chop it up and mix in. 

What other herbs work well in slaw?

I love it, but not everyone likes dill (my long-suffering husband is one of them). So, if you want to omit the dill replace it with other soft herbs such as parsley or mint. It will change the flavour, so it is worth experimenting. 

You might like these other recipes

  • Smorrebord – I LOVE smorrebord. I’ve got about 4-5 new recipes coming up soon!
  • Peruvian Chicken Sandwiches – A great chicken sandwich to have with Scandinavian slaw
  • Knackerbrod – a great Swedish crispbread. Could easily be used as crutons with this Scandianvain slaw!

Pairings

Drinks

Fresh lemonade, but mix it up by making lemonade with sparkling water and a spring of mint for a fresh drink.

Music

I’m loving my Wild Kitchen playlist at the moment, so check it out on the music page.

Recipe

scandinavian slaw top down shot

Scandinavian Slaw

Matt
Make coleslaw healthy and fresh with this rustic Scandinavian slaw. Fresh herbs and root vegetables, it is the perfect spring and summer addition to your table and a healthy side to your burgers.
5 from 7 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 35 mins
Course Salad
Cuisine scandinavian
Servings 8 people

Equipment

  • Mandolin

Ingredients
  

  • 1 Cucumber
  • 1 red onion
  • 2 large carrots
  • 1 bulb of fennel
  • a few radishes
  • 1 tbsp of white wine vinegar
  • 2 tbsp Extra-virgin olive oil
  • Small bunch of fresh dill About 4 tbsp when chopped
  • 1 tsp White sugar

Instructions
 

  • Prepare your vegetables. Peel your carrots (if you want), onions and any bits of the other veg. Also, seed your cucumber. Do this by slicing the cucumber in half length wise, and then use a spoon to scoop out the seeds in the centre.
  • If you have a mandolin, set it on a thin setting and slice up the carrots, fennel, onion and radishes. You can also do this for cucumber, or chop by hand. If you don't have a mandolin, use a good sharp knife and slice your veg very thinly. Place all chopped vegetables into a bowl.
  • Chop the dill, stalks and all, toss all but about 2 tbsp of this into the bowl.
  • Mix the oil, vinegar sugar with a bit of salt and pepper. Wisk and toss with the vegetables. Then set in your fridge for at least 30min.
  • To serve, give a stir and then sprinkle over the remaining dill. Perfect with a BBQ!
Keyword bbq sides, danish, salad, swedish, vegan, vegetable
« Bombay Frankie {Indian Burrito}
Apple and cheddar open-faced sandwiches {smorrebrod idea} »

Food, Lunch, Salads, Sides, Spring recipes, Summer recipes BBQ, Fennel, Scandinavian Slaw, Slaw, Sweden

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Neil says

    May 25, 2020 at 1:37 pm

    I’m always up for trying out different coleslaw recipes Matt. I love how fresh this one is with the fennel and radishes added. When I eventually get my BBQ out this year, this could be on the menu!

    Reply
  2. Milena says

    May 25, 2020 at 9:09 pm

    I share your fascination with Scandinavian and Germanic food. It was created for beer lovers if you ask me:) This vibrant coleslaw is absolutely a must as far as I am concerned. Bookmarked and pinned.

    Reply
  3. Katherine | Love In My Oven says

    May 26, 2020 at 4:10 am

    This looks like a great slaw for the summer, especially on a super hot day! I would love this next to something grilled 🙂

    Reply
  4. David @ Spiced says

    May 26, 2020 at 2:06 pm

    First off, I love all of the fresh dill on this slaw! The fresh herbs just scream summer to me. You’re right about rich foods like burgers. I absolutely love a grilled backyard burger, but sometimes a heavy potato salad next to that is just too much. This Scandinavian version sounds like a fun twist. I’m totally putting this on our summer menu plans!

    Reply
  5. Kristen says

    May 29, 2020 at 2:52 pm

    Love a good coleslaw recipe and we have so many radishes from the garden, so this is going to be a great way to use ‘em!

    Reply
  6. Colleen says

    May 29, 2020 at 9:24 pm

    My husband is Scandanavian (Finnish) and I love their cuisines as well, especially since our trip to Finland, Sweden, and Estonia. This slaw looks absolutely delicious, perfect for our next cookout.

    Reply
  7. nancy says

    May 30, 2020 at 12:28 am

    oh this thick cut slaw is perfect when i’m craving texture!

    Reply
  8. Kelly Neil says

    June 01, 2020 at 5:06 pm

    This may just be the prettiest coleslaw ever (but to be honest you had me at fresh dill). YUM!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Smørrebrød - Rough Eats says:
    February 17, 2016 at 11:39 pm

    […] look like in my room. I mean visiting the food hall, in all its Scandinavian goodness (which I clearly love) There is the pick and mix, the slightly weirdly named desserts and drinks, the overpriced […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

I’m a husband, dad, bluenosers and an avid cook and picture taker and business owner. I think food is meant to be shared, and good food brings people together. about me!

Browse all recipes

Foodies100 Index of UK Food Blogs
Foodies100

Footer

  • © 2021 Harvest and Wild Condiments Ltd
  • About – Meet Matt
  • Advertising and Privacy Policy
  • Contact

Copyright © 2023 Total Feasts