Green Goddess Salad is full of fresh flavors and texture—crisp, crunchy, and creamy, with a lightened up dressing to bring it all together.
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5 Star Review
“First time making Green Goddess salad, I brought this (original recipe size) to a dinner party for 12 last night. There wasn’t a bite left; everyone loved it!”
— Cindy —
Why You’ll Love This Green Goddess Salad
- Healthy and Nutrient-Packed. This healthified green goddess salad shakes up the classic by taking that creamy, tangy, herbaceous dressing and swapping the mayonnaise with yogurt.
- No Anchovies! If you’re not a fan of anchovies, you’ll be glad to know I did away with those too—although technically speaking, they are still in the Worcestershire sauce.)
- Super Green. We keep the lettuce from the original recipe, but then I add all kinds of delicious green veggies, from crunchy broccoli to crisp snap peas. (Of course, you can feel free to customize your green goddess salad with any ingredients you like, green or otherwise.)
- Versatile. A big portion is filling enough to make a meal, but a smaller portion makes a nice side dish with something a little more indulgent, like Air Fryer Hamburgers or Stuffed Pork Tenderloin. Or make it into a topping-dense bowl and enjoy a Green Goddess Bowl.
About this Green Goddess Salad Recipe
You may have seen the viral TikTok green goddess salad all over social media; and it’s for a good reason!
Even just the name green goddess makes you think: Light! Healthy! Fresh!
Now, the original green goddess salad is one of those retro salad recipes that pairs a scant pile of lettuce with a heavy, mayo-based dressing. We’re not exactly bringing the light, healthy, or fresh factor, eh?
So I set out to make a green goddess salad worthy of a goddess.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Snow Peas or Sugar Snap Peas. These deliver some crisp texture to your salad. Celery can be substituted, or if you can’t choose between the two, you can use half the amount of peas and swap in celery for the other half.
- Broccoli. A small head should work! Not a fan of raw broccoli? Blanch it first!
- Bibb, Butter, or Romaine Lettuce. Or use a combination of these.
- Baby Arugula. Arugula adds a nice peppery bite that complements the herby dressing.
- English Cucumber. Persian cucumbers make a good substitute; garden cucumbers work too, but I recommend scooping out the seeds.
- Green Onions. Added color, freshness, and flavor.
- Avocado. Making this for meal prep? Leave the avocado out until you’re ready to eat.
- Green Goddess Salad Dressing. Here’s my Green Goddess Dressing recipe.
Step-by-Step Instructions
1. Prep Your Veggies. Chop the peas or celery and broccoli and put them in a large bowl.
2. Combine. Add the rest of the vegetables to the bowl.
3. Dress. Spoon some of the dressing over the salad, then gently toss to combine.
4. Finish. Season to taste, add the remaining avocado, and serve with extra dressing. ENJOY!
Leftover Ideas
Leftovers can be tucked into pitas or wraps with Grilled Chicken Tenders or another protein for a healthy meal prep lunch. You’ll have extra dressing, too, which is awesome for dipping veggies and tortilla chips or Homemade Naan!
Recipe Variations
- Add Protein. Add Grilled Chicken Breast, Air Fryer Shrimp, or Instant Pot Boiled Eggs for a heartier meal.
- Add Beans. Keep with the green goddess theme and add shelled edamame to your salad, or try Roasted Chickpeas for some extra crunch.
- Add Seeds, Nuts, or Eggs. Pepitas or pistachios will keep it green, but walnuts, sunflower seeds, cashews, and hemp seeds are protein-packed additions, too. Hard-boiled eggs are a favorite salad topping and would add a punch of protein.
- Add Cheese. Feta cheese and shaved Parmesan cheese add some salty flavor (and cheesiness!) to your salad.
- Add More Veggies. Grape tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, green cabbage, fresh basil leaves, a small shallot, shaved radishes—add whatever you like because the green goddess dressing tastes good with just about everything!
- Make It Chopped. Swap the arugula and romaine for chopped green cabbage.
- Green Goddess Cobb. Do your own version of Panera’s Green Goddess Cobb by adding hard-boiled eggs, chicken, and Baked Bacon. Or use the dressing to top my Cobb Salad.
What to Serve With Green Goddess Salad
- Grains. I love serving this green goddess salad with a scoop of quinoa, farro, or brown rice (this Instant Pot Brown Rice is great too).
- Meat. Green goddess salad makes a light side dish for Pan Fried Chicken Breast and Grilled Pork Chops.
- Soups. Have a soup-and-salad lunch with your favorite store-bought soup or my Roasted Carrot Soup.
- Sandwiches and Burgers. Skip the fries and serve green goddess salad with Salmon Burgers or my Air Fryer Grilled Cheese.
Green Goddess Salad
Prep: 10 minutes
Total: 10 minutes
Servings: 6 servings
Video
This Green Goddess Salad is full of fresh flavors and texture—crisp, crunchy, and creamy, with a lightened up dressing. Healthy and filling!
Email Me the Recipe!
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Ingredients
For the Green Goddess Salad:
- 2 cups snow peas or sugar snap peas or 2 celery stalks
- 1 small broccoli crown
- 1 head bibb, butter, or romaine lettuce, cut into bite sized pieces (about 3 to 4 cups)
- 2 cups baby arugula
- 1 English cucumber quartered lengthwise, then cut into thin slices (about 2 heaping cups)
- 2 green onions thinly sliced (about 1/3 cup)
- 1 ripe avocado cubed, divided
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
For the Goddess Dressing:
- 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
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder omit if using chives
Instructions
For the Salad:
- Thinly slice the snap peas (or celery). Chop the broccoli into fine florets (you will have about 1 1/2 cups). Place in a large serving bowl.
- To the bowl, add the lettuce, arugula, cucumber, green onion, and half of the avocado. Top with several big spoonfuls of dressing. Very gently toss to combine (I find clean hands work best for this). Everything should have a light coating of fressing, and the avocado will break down a bit to make the salad even creamier. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired. Scatter the second half of the avocado over the top. Serve immediately with extra dressing on the side.
For the Dressing:
- 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!
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 MAKE IT A BOWL: Pile on top of Quinoa or Brown Rice; top with Roasted Chickpeas or make Air Fryer Chickpeas.
- TO STORE: Refrigerate leftover salad in an airtight container for up to a day.
- TO FREEZE: While the green goddess dressing can be frozen, the salad won’t stand up to freezing and thawing, so enjoy it fresh!
- Dressing is my Green Goddess Dressing
Nutrition
Serving: 1 (of 6) salad only, no dressingCalories: 112kcalCarbohydrates: 14gProtein: 5gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gPotassium: 657mgFiber: 6gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 1286IUVitamin C: 116mgCalcium: 87mgIron: 2mg
Hi Erin! This salad is a save for me. It’s looks and sounds delicious. The best part? No difficulties finding the ingredients where I live. I have one question – where might I find your wooden salad servers? I love the handles, the length, everything. I’ve done a search but haven’t been successful so far. Thx. Have a beautiful day.
Hi Nora! So glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for this kind review! Yes, I have an affiliate link for them: https://amzn.to/3MpeW8e
So light and bright! Anxious to try it on so many fresh veggie appetizers too!
Hi Netti! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
First time making Green Goddess salad, I brought this (original recipe size) to a dinner party for 12 last night. There wasn’t a bite left; everyone loved it! I think the dressing would be excellent on salmon and will make it again with my garden herbs next summer. I used food processor for shopping, which cut down on prep time.
Makes me so happy to hear that, thank you Cindy!
I made this as part of Easter brunch and it was a big hit! The dressing is fabulous. The only change I made was to substitute baby romaine for the arugula, as some family members don’t like arugula. So green and springy! Thanks for a great recipe!
So glad to hear you enjoyed it, Vivian! Thank you!
I wasn’t sure how much I’d like this salad at first, but it turned out really well. The mix of greens was tasty, and the dressing was nice and brought everything together. I added a few cherry tomatoes and it made the salad feel even more colorful and fresh.
So glad to hear, Heather! Thank you!