Creamy Pineapple Hawaii Coleslaw Recipe

Our Hawaii coleslaw recipe is sweet with pineapple and crunchy with both green and red cabbage. Authentic Hawaiian flavors you’ll love. An easy side dish that is great for brunch or at a barbecue.

Hawaiian Coleslaw

Ok so I was born on Oahu and lived there for 6 years. I ate a lot of traditional foods there and it truly shaped my tastebuds for sure. I could eat fish every single day and serve rice several times a week, and this dish just isn’t the same unless it has all of those island flavors integrated with in it.

We have shared this easy cole slaw recipe that just uses a bagged mix, and homemade red cabbage coleslaw too. NOW was the time to share our all time favorite one. If you ask my kids, everything is better with fruit. Pineapple specifically.

Cole Slaw with Pineapple

If you have never thought of adding something sweet into something that is normally savory you have a treat coming to you. Better yet, if you serve this with our Instant Pot Hawaiian chicken you can use half your can for each and I guarantee you everyone will go crazy for them.

Can you use bagged cole slaw cabbage to make this? Well sure. If you are in a rush or just don’t want to go thru the hassle of shredding your vegetables then by all means you can buy coleslaw mix. Typically it’s only like a dollar a bag and you’d likely want two.

Then just follow our recipe for coleslaw dressing below and fold it all together. You’d need to buy a can of pineapple tidbits too because that won’t come in your mix. Alternatively to add sweet you could peel an apple and dice into small tidbits too.

What is cole slaw dressing made of?

If you are making it homemade there are many variations to it but the main ingredient is always mayonnaise with a bit of apple cider vinegar. You know that zing you get when you taste this popular easy side dish? That is the vinegar, which makes sense.

1. Mayonnaise, I like Best Foods vs. Miracle Whip
2. Apple cider vinegar
3. Brown sugar
4. Salt
5. Pepper

That is what is in this one. Quite simple to whisk together. Taste when it is done and adjust as you like. If you wanted it add a bit of spicy to it you could use a pinch of dry Sriracha, chili powder or crushed red pepper. Then toss with veggies and add tidbits, finely chopped fresh pineapple or crushed pineapple.

Love lots of add ins, try our blue cheese coleslaw twist on things too.

Pineapple Cole Slaw

There is a printable recipe card at the bottom with nutritional information as well. Here is a quick step by step of how we made this;

• In a bowl whisk together mayo, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, salt and pepper until smooth.
  • feel free to double if you want a larger batch
• Inside a large bowl combine together both cabbages, carrots, green onions and cilantro (or slaw mix).
• Pour sauce over the top of the cabbage and toss to coat. Gently fold in pineapple at end. Best if covered and refrigerated for at least one hour before serving.

This Hawaii coleslaw dish goes well with slow cooker or our Hawaiian pulled pork sandwiches for sure. You can use those small sweet rolls as slider buns. Add the meat with the shredded cabbage mixture on top and enjoy away. Or make a bowl of rice with meat and a dollop of this to cool it off and serve it that way.

Hawaiian Pineapple Coleslaw

If you’re having a crowd over for a potluck or barbecue feel free to double or triple Hawaii coleslaw for a really large batch. You will want to keep this cold though so if it is sitting outside or for a while on the countertop you might want to do our trick; Fill a large bowl half way full of ice cubes with this bowl of food sitting on top.

That way it will continue to stay cool even when they melt the water beneath will stay really cold. Nobody would want this to warm up at all. Then you can save it if there are leftovers. Just know that it’s only decent the next day, and even then the texture will be different. It will soften a decent amount as it sits in the fridge.

No need to do anything other than just enjoy it the next day since it should be served cold anyway. You’ll likely have some protein left too so just reheat that and enjoy for lunch the next day. I hate wasting food so I always think about how to enjoy it until it’s completely done. Salads of any kind are kinda’ tough ones though with the sauce on it.