Green Goddess Dressing
This Green Goddess Dressing is creamy, vibrant and filled with fresh herb flavor. Drizzle it over a crisp green salad or use it as a dip for fresh vegetables.
There’s nothing better than a healthy homemade dressing tossed with your favorite salad! If you love making homemade salad dressings, you might also enjoy our Homemade Ranch Dressing, Italian Dressing and Honey Mustard Dressing recipes.
What is Green Goddess Dressing?
Green goddess dressing is a creamy dressing that is typically made with sour cream, mayonnaise, lemon juice, garlic, anchovies and a generous amount of fresh herbs. The herbs give it its signature green color and a robust herby flavor. In this version I opted to use protein-packed Greek yogurt for the creamy base. The yogurt brings a wonderful tangy flavor and also lightens up this healthy green goddess recipe.
The ingredients are blended together in a food processor or blender until smooth. Besides spooning it over a green salad, this zippy dressing also makes a lovely dip for raw vegetables.
What does green goddess dressing taste like? This dressing tastes bright and fresh, with plenty of herby flavor. It’s tangy, creamy and just a bit garlicky.
Green Goddess Dressing Recipe Ingredients
Here’s a rundown of the ingredients you’ll need for this recipe, along with substitution options:
- Plain Greek Yogurt: Both 2% and full-fat yogurt work well here. If desired, you can use replace the plain Greek yogurt with 1/2 cup each of mayo and sour cream.
- Fresh Herbs: I’ve opted to use fresh parsley, fresh basil leaves, fresh chives and fresh tarragon leaves to infuse the dressing with herby flavor. Other herbs that you could use include cilantro, dill or mint. Green onion can also be added. Be sure to use fresh herbs, not dried.
- Lemon Juice: Use fresh squeezed lemon juice. The bottled stuff just doesn’t compare in flavor.
- Anchovy Paste: Adding anchovy paste or anchovy fillets brings a subtle salty, umami flavor to the dressing. For a vegetarian option, substitute 2 teaspoons of capers (save the rest of the jar for making Chicken Piccata).
- Garlic: Use just one small clove so that the raw garlic flavor won’t overpower the other flavors.
- Salt and pepper: To enhance all of the flavors.
How to Make Green Goddess Dressing
This green goddess sauce can be made in a food processor or blender. Just add all of the ingredients and then process or blend until everything is well combined. Process until the herbs are finely chopped. You’ll still see some flecks of green in the dressing. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl/blender as needed.
You can serve the dressing right away or chill it in the refrigerator until you’re ready to serve. It will stay fresh in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Recipe Tips
- The thicker the Greek yogurt that you use, the thicker the dressing will turn out. If it’s too thick for your liking, you can thin it out will a little buttermilk. You may want it a little thicker if you plan to serve the sauce as a dip, or thinner if you’d like to use it as a salad dressing.
- Blend the sauce until the herbs are finely chopped for a bright green color.
- To make a dairy-free green goddess dressing, sub a ripe avocado in place of the Greek yogurt. I’ve even seen recipes that use tahini to give the dressing its signature creaminess.
Ways to Serve Green Goddess Dressing
- Drizzle green goddess dressing over a green salad.
- Serve it as a dip with raw vegetables such as carrots, celery, radishes, cucumber and bell peppers and whole wheat pita bread.
- Spoon it over roasted vegetables, grilled vegetables or a baked sweet potato.
More Salad Dressing Recipes
Try one of these easy homemade salad dressings next:
Green Goddess Dressing
Ingredients
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt, 2% or full fat*
- 1 cup fresh parsley, leaves and tender stems
- ¼ cup fresh basil leaves
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
- 2 tablespoons fresh tarragon leaves
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon anchovy paste, or 2 anchovy fillets, or 2 teaspoons capers, optional
- 1 small clove garlic, coarsely chopped
- ⅛ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender. Process or blend until well combined. The herbs should be finely chopped, but you should still see flecks of green in the dressing. Scrape down the sides of the bowl/blender as needed.
- Use as a dip or salad dressing. Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- The thicker the Greek yogurt, the thicker the dressing will be. If the dressing is too thick, you can thin it out by blending in a little buttermilk.
