Green Goddess Dressing manages to be both creamy and light at the same time—like magic! You’ll love the bright, herbaceous flavor of this healthy salad dressing recipe.
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Why You’ll Love This Salad Dressing
- Quick and Easy. Add the ingredients to your food processor, give it a whirl, and that’s it! Only a few minutes of prep time (and I promise it’s worth getting your food processor dirty!).
- Supremely Flavorful. This is a dressing that packs a punch! Tangy yogurt, citrusy lemon juice, all those herbs, garlic, and more. Plus, the dressing tastes slightly different each time depending on the herbs you use. It’s fabulous on Green Goddess Salad of course, but you can use it for many of my salad recipes.
- Versatile. You can use it as a salad dressing, dip, or sandwich spread (it is SO good on a BLT). Eat it with a spoon? Don’t mind if I do!
- Healthy. No mayonnaise or sour cream here! My version of green goddess dressing is made with protein-packed Greek yogurt, which gives it an even richer, creamier consistency, all while being more nutritious than the original (and certainly more nutritious than store-bought versions from Panera, Costco, and the like).
More About This Green Goddess Dressing
Green goddess dressing is a classic.
In fact, it’s even a bit retro (it was made famous by The Palace Hotel in the 1920s)—but with a few simple tweaks, we can update the recipe to make it lighter and healthier, but still just as creamy and rich.
While green goddess dressing is famous for being full of fresh herbs, there’s a lot more going on here!
The dressing is tangy, garlicky, and even a little bit umami. With so many layers of flavor, it’s perfect for jazzing up any salad.
Pair this green goddess dressing with an Arugula Salad, drizzle it over Grilled Potatoes, dunk it with Chicken Kabobs, use it for dipping homemade Zucchini Fries, or just spoon it onto all the things.
How to Make Green Goddess Dressing
The Ingredients
- Plain Greek Yogurt. You can use nonfat, low-fat, or whole—just make sure it’s plain!
- Freshly-Squeezed Lemon Juice. Add some extra zippy lemon flavor by blending some lemon zest into the dressing.
- Extra-Virgin Olive Oil. If you have one that’s a higher quality, this is a great place to use it.
- Mixed Fresh, Tender Herbs. Basically, anything that doesn’t have a woody stem. Fresh tarragon, parsley, dill, basil, chives, cilantro, or mint are all options here.
Tip!
Parsley, dill, tarragon, and chives is my favorite combination of herbs for homemade green goddess dressing.
- Garlic. Classic aromatic.
- Worcestershire Sauce. If you’re vegetarian or have seafood allergies, be sure to pick up a bottle of vegetarian Worcestershire sauce. Yes, you can swap an anchovy.
- Salt and Pepper. You can go heavy on the black pepper to make a peppercorn green goddess dressing.
- Onion Powder. Omit this if you’re using chives.
The Directions
1. Combine. Place all of the dressing ingredients in the bowl of a food processor or blender.
2. Process. Blend until the dressing is almost smooth, with small specks of herbs.
3. Finish. Season the dressing to taste and ENJOY!
Storage Tips
- To Store. Refrigerate green goddess dressing in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
- To Reheat. Freeze green goddess dressing in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 2 months.
- To Freeze. Let the dressing thaw in the refrigerator before using.
Storage Tips
Note that the tip for freezing only applies to this green goddess dressing recipe. Traditional green goddess dressing is made with mayonnaise, which doesn’t freeze well.
Leftover Ideas
Use leftovers to make a creamy herbed coleslaw, pasta salad, or potato salad. It’s also delicious on my Grilled Chicken Sandwiches and Portobello Mushroom Burgers!
What to Serve With Green Goddess Dressing
- Veggies. Crudités pair well with this dressing, or use it as a dipping sauce for Homemade Fries or Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries.
- Potatoes. Green goddess dressing is excellent drizzled over Crock Pot Baked Potatoes or Roasted Fingerling Potatoes.
- Meat. Try this dressing with Air Fryer Steak, Smoked Chicken Breast, or Air Fryer Pork Chops.
- Fish. The tangy, herbaceous flavor of this dressing makes it delicious with Poached Salmon.
- Salad. We can’t forget salad! Use green goddess dressing on Cobb Salad or as a savory option for Spinach Strawberry Salad. It’s a great way to dress up a simple bagged romaine or kale salad too.
Recommended Tools to Make this Recipe
- Mason Jars. I love using both the smaller size and larger size for storing salad dressing in the fridge.
- Citrus Juicer. The best way to make sure all the juice comes out of your lemon—without the seeds!
- Food Processor. For a smooth, creamy texture.
Tips for the Best Green Goddess Dressing
- Chop the Garlic Before Blending. This way, it will mix evenly into your green goddess dressing and no one will end up with a big hunk of garlic in their salad!
- Scrape Down the Food Processor if Needed. To make sure all the herbs are processed to a uniform size, you may need to stop the food processor once or twice and scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula.
- Use Kosher Salt. If you use table salt, you’ll need to use a little bit less because the crystals are smaller. Start with 3/4 teaspoon of table salt and add more to taste.
- User a Lesser Amount of Stronger Herbs. While you can add up to 1 cup of milder herbs like basil, limit how much of stronger herbs you use (like mint or tarragon) no one flavor takes over. See recipe notes for more guidance.
Green Goddess Dressing
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Ingredients
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt nonfat, low fat, or whole
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 cups roughly chopped mixed fresh tender herbs: parsley, dill, basil, chives, cilantro, tarragon, or mint*
- 1 garlic clove roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder omit if using chives
Instructions
- In a food processor, place the Greek yogurt, lemon juice, oil, mixed herbs, garlic, Worcestershire, salt, pepper, and onion powder.
- Blend until smooth and only tiny specks of herbs remain. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as desired. Enjoy on salads, as a dip, over pasta, with meat or fish, and more!
Video
Notes
- *To keep stronger herbs from over-powering the dressing, use a max of 1 cup parsley, 1/4 cup chives, 1/4 cup mint, and/or 2 tablespoons tarragon. Parsley, dill, tarragon, and chives is my favorite combo.
- TO STORE: Refrigerate green goddess dressing in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
- TO REHEAT: Freeze green goddess dressing in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 2 months.
- TO FREEZE: Let the dressing thaw in the refrigerator before using.
Nutrition
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Sign Me UpFrequently Asked Questions
Green goddess dressing has a creamy, tangy, and slightly umami flavor, but the star of the show here is definitely the herbs! Because you can use any herbs you like or have on hand, each batch of green goddess sauce has slightly different notes to it.
Green goddess dressing gets its name from the vibrant green color that comes from all the herbs used in the recipe. Food historians believe the dressing was invented by a chef at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco in the 1920s, in honor of the play “The Green Goddess.”
As with most dressings and dips, 2 tablespoons is a standard serving for green goddess dressing.
Traditional green goddess dressing does not contain avocado, but some recipes do include it.
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If all I have is dried herbs how much would one use?
Hi Dorina! This recipe is best with fresh herbs. Enjoy!
I recommend using 1/4 teaspoon salt, not one full teaspoon like the recipe calls for. I followed it as written and it was way too salty. For that fresh herbaceous flavor, you must use fresh herbs and be very liberal with them. I doubled the herbs called for. Would be perfect if it didn’t have so much salt.
Hi HN! Did you use kosher salt? Also feel free to adjust the amount of salt based on your own needs, we all have different taste.
So easy to make, so delicious and just what I need on my lo cholesterol diet. I am so happy I discovered this recipe.
So happy to hear! Thank you Rochelle!
So fresh and fabulous! Made after seeing your video on INstagram and we can’t stop eating it!
Yay! Thanks so much, Paula!