Ina Adds Blue Cheese to Her Coleslaw and I’m 100% Here for It

I have no doubt that Ina wouldn’t mind if I opted for store-bought coleslaw, but when I came across her Food Network recipe, I was easily convinced to make some slaw from scratch. Upon first glance, I was intrigued by one item on her ingredient list: blue cheese. I mean, if Ina instructs you to put a pungent, crumbly cheese into your next summertime slaw, you’re gonna do it, aren’t you? Here’s how it all went down.

Get the recipe: Ina Garten’s Blue Cheese Coleslaw

Like any coleslaw recipe, the method is pretty straightforward. First, shred green and red cabbage using the small grating attachment on a food processor. Next, swap out the attachment for the larger shredding blade and process the carrots. Add the cabbage and carrots to a large mixing bowl.

Once the vegetables are prepped, make the dressing: Combine mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, whole grain mustard, apple cider vinegar, celery salt, and celery seeds, then season it to taste with salt and pepper. Pour enough dressing over the vegetables to “moisten” them, then mix in fresh parsley and crumbled blue cheese. Cover and refrigerate the slaw for a couple of hours to allow the flavors to meld, then serve at room temperature.

I have always been an avid lover of blue cheese, so this slaw was right up my alley. I’ll admit that this is the first coleslaw I’ve ever had with blue cheese, but it most definitely will not be my last. It was just the right amount where you could get a subtle hit of the funkiness without feeling overwhelming or excessively cheesy.

This might go without saying, but if you cannot get down with the funk of any moldy cheese, then this slaw is absolutely not for you. Even though the cheese is nicely dispersed throughout the salad, you’re gonna get a taste of blue cheese in every bite. In other words, there’s no avoiding it. This could be a risky slaw to serve at a large party because blue cheese can be so divisive, but if you know you’re serving it to a crowd who’s down for roquefort, then this is going to be a winner.

The mayonnaise dressing was perfectly balanced, boasting just the right amount of acidity from the two mustards (Dijon and whole grain) and the apple cider vinegar. The celery salt and celery seeds provide a subtle tanginess that I really liked, as well.

My biggest and only grievance with this salad is the ratio of the slaw to dressing. She instructs you to “pour enough mayonnaise dressing over the grated vegetables and toss to moisten well.” In my experience, this left me with a pretty good amount of leftover dressing. Of course, it’s hard to precisely measure shredded cabbage and grated carrots, so it might vary from slaw to slaw, but I would caution that you are probably going to end up with extra dressing. Add a little bit to start, then gradually add more as you need.

Admittedly, I think my initial dressing pour was a bit heavy, so I remedied the situation by diluting the slaw with a little bit more cabbage to balance it all out. Of course, it’s all a balancing act, and the recipe encourages you to dress your slaw as lightly or heavily as possible. Just know that the amount of dressing that this recipe makes is likely much more than you’ll need.

Overall rating: 8/10