Last week, my husband and I celebrated our fourth anniversary in New England. We spent a few days in Brewster, MA – right in the heart of Cape Cod. On our way to the Cape, we spent some time driving along the Connecticut coast, exploring some of the quaint beach towns and taking in the scenery.
Around lunchtime, we found ourselves in Mystic, CT. We walked through a few of the shops on the main street, and then stopped at the Ancient Mariner for lunch. Along with our sandwiches, we were served a delicious cranberry apple coleslaw. The rest of the food was good, but we were especially fond of the slaw. I immediately made a note in my recipe ideas notebook.
After eating in restaurants all week, I was happy to be home in my own kitchen again. I enjoy eating out, but after an entire week of it, I had reached my limit. I ate entirely too much fried food and too many rich desserts. So, I was ready for a fresh, simple dinner at home tonight. My husband picked up a new bottle of barbeque sauce in Cape Cod that he wanted to try (he is a barbeque sauce fanatic, so we always pick up some new sauces when we travel). So, we decided to make grilled chicken and corn for dinner. Since no barbeque dinner is complete without some coleslaw, I decided to make my own version of the cranberry apple coleslaw. It turned out even better than I had remembered it – creamy, tart, and refreshing!
Ingredients:
- 14 ounces shredded cabbage and carrot coleslaw mix
- 2 granny smith apples
- 2 cups dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup light mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup light sour cream
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons agave syrup
Directions:
Core the apples and cut them into long thin strips (sort of like a large matchstick… there’s probably a French word for it, but I don’t know what it is!). I like to leave the skin on the apples for the extra texture and fiber, but if you want to peel the apples before you slice them, go right ahead!
In a large mixing bowl, combine the coleslaw mix, sliced apples, and cranberries. In a smaller mixing bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, vinegar, and agave syrup until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Pour the dressing over the coleslaw mixture and toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour prior to serving.
OH MY…does this sound good. And perfect for Thanksgiving too!
Since today is the first day of summer, you’ve picked a good dish to make. I love coleslaw especially with grilled meats. =)
Belated happy anniversary to you and your hubby.
This sounds delicious! I’m guessing the agave syrup could be subbed out as honey??
Michelle – Yes, this would be tasty for Thanksgiving! I can eat cranberries any time of the year.
Jenn – It totally escaped me that it was the first day of summer… I just lucked out on that one.
Mags – Yes, you could use honey instead of the agave. I just had some handy, and I tend to prefer the consistency of the agave over honey. Since it’s thinner, I find it easier to mix with the other ingredients in dressings, especially cold ingredients.
Congratulations on your anniversary! Your trip sounds wonderful, we’ll be off to a driving trip around New England for our vacation in July, I hope we can visit Mystic too. Cranberry Apple Coleslaw looks delicious!
Thanks for this! I live in Noank (next town over from Mystic). Haven’t been in the Ancient Mariner for years. This looks like a great recipe. Good to learn something about my own area!
Happy Anniversary!!! Your slaw look super delicious. I’m so picky about slaw but I have a feeling yours would be amazing. I hope you had fun on the Cape and in Mystic. I can’t help but think of “Mystic Pizza” every time I hear the name of the town:)
What a nice place to vacation! I love it there! This slaw looks so yummy with apples and cranberries! I love the sweet and savory flavor of it!
Happy belated anniversary! This coleslaw looks sooo delicious. I feel like making some right now. I will definitely be making this as soon as my family and I throw a pool party (probably this weekend).
Oh yum, that looks delicious. I love slaws, just made one with apple and cranberries too except I used kohlrabi instead of cabbage. So much fun!
Beautiful website! I like your photos as well. And I love the idea of putting fruit into salads, it makes it so much more delicious.
This looks great and I thought it would go great with Shredded Pork Sandwiches w/Barbecue Sauce and Chipolte Onions. One question, did you use lemon juice or anything else to keep apples from turning brown? Thanks for the great recipe.
BJ – Yes, it would be delicious with shredded pork! As for adding lemon juice, because the slaw recipe has vinegar in it (which is also acidic), there’s no need to add lemon juice.
Thank you for your reply. Can’t wait to try it :)
Today my husband and I were in Mystic for the antique wooden boat parade in the river. After the parade we had lunch at the Ancient Mariner and we’re so impressed with the apples/cranberry coleslaw, we headed home to look up recipes for coleslaw with apples & cranberries. Imagine my surprise when the first recipe I clicked on was yours -Thanks Button
I am kind of a coleslaw snob. It can’t be too sweet, have too much vinegar, be too saucy or too dry. This was some of the best coleslaw I’ve ever had. I have never cooked with agave nectar before. It gave the coleslaw a little sweetness without being overbearing. The tartness of the apples combined with the cranberries, was just perfect. Thanks for the great recipe !!!
I just wanted to say that I make this slaw all the time. My hubby and I are not coleslaw fans but one day a couple years ago I got the inspiration for an apple slaw to go with pork back ribs and found this! Over the years I’ve slightly altered the recipe to make it my own but this recipe is the base. I always use Granny Smith apples and toss them in the dressing first so the vinegar can stop them from browning. Most other apples are too mushy and the crispness of the granny smith is essential to the texture of this recipe! I also make this for thanksgiving and Christmas, but I add about a tsp of cinnamon and a touch of nutmeg. It goes sooo nicely with Turkey and the cinnamon does amazing things to this coleslaw. I also sub honey for agave nectar sometimes but you gotta use more honey then because it’s not nearly as sweet as agave nectar. Overall thank you for this amazing recipe!! It’s always all gobbled up at office potlucks.