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Chick-fil-A Cole Slaw, now discontinued, still remains a much-loved side dish. You can make it at home with their original recipe!
Fast food restaurant Chick-fil-A got into some deep doo-doo with many longtime customers Jan. 18, 2016.
The eighth largest fast-food chain in the U.S. ditched its iconic, sugar-heavy Cole Slaw — beloved for 49 years for its ability to pair nicely with their spicy fried chicken sandwich and waffle fries.
What happened after Chick-fil-A Cole Slaw was discontinued?
Apparently it wasn’t selling as well as they wanted. It’s hard for us mere mortals to believe, because if you went to Chick-fil-A, you got the cole slaw. AmIright?
In its place was put a brand new item developed for them by star chef Ford Fry: a side called Superfood Side. It was an on-trend-at-the-time kale salad, with kale, Broccolini (skinnier and milder than regular broc), dried sour cherries and roasted nuts — walnuts, almonds and pecans — in a tangy maple dressing.
While that new side salad sounded absolutely thrilling to me, since I love kale salads in general and salads with dried fruit and nuts in particular, not everyone was amused by the change.
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People took to social media with funny, profane, brutally honest reviews of the new salad (which had people choking on their green leafies), and they bombarded Chick-fil-A so much (#bringbackcoleslaw) that Snopes even felt the need to weigh in to confirm the discontinuation wasn’t all just an ugly rumor.- Why did they 86 the cole slaw? “The decision to remove Cole Slaw from the menu was a difficult one, but we have heard from guests that many of them are looking for new tastes and healthier side items,” the company said on its Facebook page.
- The company even made a solemn 1-minute “An Ode to Cole Slaw” video memorial to it. “To the side that was never just a side item. Gone but not forgotten.”
If you want NEED, this cole slaw, the company released, for the first time, the original Chick-fil-A cole slaw recipe. I hunted it down for you, because I’m a giver like that.
Here it is. This is what my version looks like! I know you want it in that little black plastic bowl, but hey, we work with what we have.
How to make Chick-fil-A Cole Slaw
It is so, so easy. Gather your ingredients (cabbage, carrot (or a pre-sliced bag of cole slaw mix), mayo, vinegar, sugar, dry mustard, salt).
Either buy bags of pre-shredded cabbage, or slice the cabbage you have on hand. Since I had a head of cabbage on hand from St. Patrick’s Day (don’t judge! It was still good!), I opted to slice my own.
Add the carrots, for color. I used a y-shaped vegetable peeler and then stacked up all the peels and chopped them. Easy peasy.
Once you have it all mixed, put it in a pretty bowl, and away you go!
You can store it in a takeout container in the refrigerator if that makes you feel better and more authentic.
And one other idea, but it’s going rogue. You could add a sprinkle of celery seed if you have it in your stocked spice rack like I do. It’s not authentic, but it’s good!
Sweet Chick-fil-A Cole Slaw, beloved to pair with one of the chain's spicy fried chicken sandwiches, is discontinued. Luckily, you can still make it at home.
Ingredients
- 4 teaspoons distilled white vinegar
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 2 (10-ounce) bags fine shredded cabbage, chopped to one-eighth inch
- 1/4 cup finely chopped carrots
Directions
- Whisk vinegar, sugar, mustard and salt together until sugar is dissolved. Add mayonnaise and whisk to mix. Add cabbage and carrots. Mix to combine. Refrigerate for 2 hours and serve.
- Makes 6-8 servings.
Notes
Recipe source: Chick-fil-A
Pin the image below for Original Chick-fil-A Cole Slaw to your Pinterest board to save it
Want the recipe for Chick-fil-A Original Carrot & Raisin Salad?
Other Chick-fil-A menu items that are gone but not forgotten are Carrot & Raisin Salad, original brownies, lemon meringue pie and cheesecake, according to people whining about it on Facebook.
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personally i do eat mostly healthy but i detest kale. Sad to turn your back on customers who for years have enjoyed the cole slaw. If i am eating healthy i stay home and cook from scratch
Take away what i enjoy the FEW times i do go out to eat and take away my reason to eat out
This is not good…!!!! The only reason why I visited the restaurant or the drive-through was to buy the cole slaw, now I have no reason to go there…this is a bad decision. The recipe will not help…!!!
RPM,
Many people are very disappointed with Chick-fil-A for their decision. Maybe you could at least try this recipe at home? Give it a go!
What brand of mayo” I made it but it doesn’t taste exactly the same. I think the brand of mayo is what makes the difference.
I,
Hmmm…the company did not say exactly what brand of Mayo they use.
I’ve never darkened the doorway of a Chick Fillet for political reasons. But anxious to try the coleslaw recipe. Actually, it’s essentially the same recipe I make, except I use horseradish instead of dry mustard. And west of the Rockies, we use Best Foods mayonnaise.
You can’t go wrong with Hellmans. It’s the only one I’ll use. It’s worth the extra dollar or so, even like me on a fixed income. I’ve tried the cheaper brands and ohhh what a disapointment. Please let me know what you think. Thanks!
Susan,
I believe Hellmann’s and Best Foods are owned by the same company, and the mayo is marketed on the East Coast as Hellmann’s, and is marketed west of the Rockies as Best Foods. So choose either, depending on where you live!
This is awesome! We love chick-fil-a and I’ve always enjoyed their cole slaw. I’m so glad to have the recipe!
I am all about the kale too! But who can say now to classic coleslaw?!
Whoa! 1/4 cup of sugar! Who knew? We are transplants to the south so CFA is not beloved in my family but my kids do love all Cole slaw. I might have to make it just to see what we missed out on. 🙂
Erin,
It’s like dessert!
what is cfa I make this slaw recipe all the time with a bag of preshreeded cabbage and carrots – easy!
Judy,
Chick-fil-A is a fast food chain in the United States that specializes in chicken. Their sides, such as cole slaw other things, are beloved, as well.
Would you believe that I’ve never even had Chick-fil-a? True story. However, I love coleslaw so I know I’d love this. It looks delicious!
There’s nothing quite look really good, tangy and sweet cole slaw!
Why would they get rid of the coleslaw???? sniff sniff. Thank you for sharing!! phew!
My brother LOVES coleslaw. I’ll be sending this recipe to my sister-in-law.
Their coleslaw is my weakness! Sad they’re removing it from the menu, but glad the recipe still hasn’t been lost 😀
I think both the new salad and the coleslaw both look good! Too bad they couldn’t keep both on the menu.
Melissa,
Totally agree. I’d order half of each if I could.
The new salad looks really good! However, it would be nice if they had both options. It’s sad when you have a favorite thing to order and it disappears.
Melissa,
I feel that way about Trader Joe’s too. I get hooked on a certain product, and then they discontinue it. So aggravating!
That kale salad looks and sounds awesome, but I do love coleslaw too. The recipe doesn’t even look that bad…would be so easy to make it healthier rather than ditch it all together.
Jenn,
You’re right…a few simple steps and that thing can be waaaay more nutritious!
So this makes me sort of sad — I don’t have chick-fil-a that often, but when I do I want a big o’ pile of that slaw on my sandwich. Wonder if they’d be offended if I brought my own slaw? Looks like your recipe is a great substitute! 🙂
April,
I’ll bet you’re not the only one threatening to do that. 🙂
The good news is that people can make this cole slaw at home and then just bring it in to the restaurant with them…haha.
Nutmeg,
Great minds think alike! See April’s comment.
Our family has always loved this coleslaw; thanks for sharing this recipe for us to make at home!
This sounds awesome, I’m glad that we all of the recipe now!
There is so much pressure on the fast food industry, but as soon as they make changes everyone cries! Glad to see you can recreate an old recipe, but I am sure we will still hear about this “atrocity!”
Kacey,
Agreed! I wonder if sales slipped a bit and they just abandoned the cole slaw. It would be nice if they could offer both the old and the new.
Yum! So happy to have this recipe now that it’s being removed from the Chic Fil A menu!
Erren,
Looks like a classic keeper to me! I might be tempted to tweak and reduce the sugar a bit. Have to see.
What about the Chick-a-fil Chicken Salad Recipe. They took this off the menu, too. It was so good.
Mary,
Oh, that DOES sound good. Let me poke around and see if that recipe is floating around anywhere.