A Spicy Perspective

Mystical Green Goddess Dressing

Green Goddess Dressing – A DIVINE classic salad dressing that tastes creamy, perfectly fresh, salty, and slightly tangy. This fabulous recipe takes just 5 minutes and is even easy to make vegan!

Top down view plate of salad with green, snap peas, avocado, and pistachios, and bowl of vegan homemade green goddess dressing on the side of the plate.

Why We Love This Recipe

Green Goddess… The most mysterious of salad dressings. What exactly makes it green? What is that flavor I love, but can’t pinpoint? (Pssst.. the secret is just the right amount of anchovy and tarragon!)

And why does it make everything else taste so flipping good? That last question is a bit harder to answer with words alone, so you are just going to have to make a batch and see for yourself!

This worship-worthy Green Goddess Dressing recipe is a snap to prepare in only 5 minutes with less than a dozen ingredients. Simply toss everything into a blender, puree, and serve! It really could not be any easier to make a creamy, vibrant dressing that adds a big punch of flavor to any salad.

Plate of salad with bowl of dressing to the side.

Ingredients You Need

  • Mayonnaise – regular or low fat (and vegan if you prefer an entirely plant-based Green Goddess Dressing)
  • Lemon juice – freshly squeezed, no bottled stuff
  • Garlic – whole cloves
  • Anchovy paste – or substitute packed capers to make vegan
  • Fresh herbs – parsley, green onions, tarragon, and dill
  • Salt and pepper – to taste

Don’t see your favorite herb? Swap in fresh basil, cilantro, chives, or mint.

Top down view salad with bowl of vegan green goddess dressing.

How to Make Green Goddess Dressing

This is an easy no-cook no-bowl blender recipe that honestly doesn’t feel like a recipe at all. I mean, you don’t even need to chop anything beforehand! (If you don’t own a blender, you can also use a food processor.)

In a large blender add the mayonnaise, lemon juice, and garlic clove…

Open blender jar with mayo and garlic at the bottom.

… anchovy paste, fresh parsley, and scallions…

Hand squeezing a tube of anchovy paste into blender jar.

… fresh tarragon leaves, dill, 1/2 a teaspoon of salt, and a quarter teaspoon of black pepper.

Get the Complete (Printable) Green Goddess Dressing Recipe Below. Enjoy!

Hand adding fresh tarragon to blender jar.

Cover and purée until smooth. Taste, then add additional salt and pepper if needed, then blend again to combine.

Open top blender with pureed dressing mixture.

Serve immediately, or move to an airtight container and chill until ready to serve.

Pouring the homemade dressing from a blender jar into a small bowl.

Serving Suggestions

Green Goddess Salad Dressing is perfect to drizzle over a green salad brimming with your favorite fresh goodies. Pictured here is our favorite combination of lettuces, sugar snap peas, avocado, and chopped pistachios. But of course, feel free to serve on or alongside any salad you like!

It also makes a fabulous dipping sauce for snacks and appetizers! Serve in a ramekin with healthy dippers like carrot and celery sticks, cucumber and bell pepper slices, or any fresh veggies.

You can even use it as a tantalizing dip for roasted potatoes, french fries, or potato chips. Or use it as a sauce over a baked sweet potato or rice dish!

Bowl of salad with smaller bowl of dressing.

Recipe Variations

  • Sub traditional mayo with your preferred plant-based alternative and swap anchovy paste with capers to make a Vegan Green Goddess Dressing.
  • Make this a no-mayo Green Goddess Dressing recipe by swapping mayonnaise with sour cream or greek yogurt.
  • This dressing is savory, tangy, and salty. Add 1 tsp of sugar to give it a nice sweetness that balances the other flavors.
Top down view bowl of green salad with ramekin of dressing.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Green Goddess dressing taste like?

It is salty and a bit savory, but still very fresh and herby with just the right amount of tanginess. The consistency is creamy and rich without being too heavy or thick.

Does Green Goddess dressing contain avocado?

No, this traditional recipe is not made with avocado. Rather, the dressing gets its signature green color from fresh herbs.

Is this a healthy salad dressing recipe?

It depends on what you mean by “healthy.” Because it is made with mayo Green Goddess dressing is higher in fat and calories than, say, a vinaigrette or other thin oil-based dressings. However, it is not unhealthy and does offer a bit of nutrients from the fresh herbs and citrus. You can use low fat mayonnaise to lighten the calorie.

How long can you keep Green Goddess Dressing in the fridge?

Store the dressing in an airtight container and it will keep well for up to a week in the refrigerator.

Spoon drizzling green goddess dressing onto a salad.

Looking for More Delightful Dressing Recipes?

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5 from 4 votes
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Mystical Green Goddess Recipe

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
A DIVINE classic homemade salad dressing that's creamy, fresh, perfectly salty, and slightly tangy. This fabulous recipe takes just 5 minutes to prepare and is even easy to make with no mayo and vegan!
Servings: 16 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 cup mayonnaise could be vegan
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 2 teaspoon anchovy paste or packed capers for vegan
  • ¾ cup packed parsley
  • ¼ cup scallions
  • 3 tablespoons fresh tarragon
  • 2 tablespoons fresh dill
  • Salt and pepper

Instructions

  • In a large blender, combine the mayonnaise, lemon juice, garlic clove, anchovy paste, parsley, scallions, fresh tarragon leaves, dill, 1/2 a teaspoon of salt, and a quarter teaspoon of black pepper.
  • Cover and purée until smooth. Taste, then add additional salt and pepper if needed.
  • Move to an airtight container and chill until ready to serve.

Video

Notes

No need to chop the fresh herbs. Let the blender to the work!
Sub traditional mayo with your preferred plant-based alternative and swap anchovy paste with capers to make a Vegan Green Goddess Dressing.
No Mayo! If you aren’t a fan of mayonnaise, you can use 1 cup sour cream in this recipe.
Add in 1 tsp of sugar to balance the flavor.
Store the dressing in an airtight container and it will keep well for up to a week in the refrigerator.

Nutrition

Serving: 1.5tb, Calories: 103kcal, Carbohydrates: 1g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 11g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Trans Fat: 0.03g, Cholesterol: 7mg, Sodium: 119mg, Potassium: 69mg, Fiber: 0.2g, Sugar: 0.2g, Vitamin A: 321IU, Vitamin C: 6mg, Calcium: 23mg, Iron: 1mg
Course: Condiment, Dip, Dressing, Salad
Cuisine: American
Author: Sommer Collier

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6 comments on “Mystical Green Goddess Dressing”

  1. Not only is it a wonderful salad dressing, I slathered it onto a piece of toasted bakery bread, topped it with a slice of provolone and a think slice of salami, then baked it until the cheese melted. OMG, Good!!!

  2. This added so much flavor!! I will be making sure to always have some in the fridge!! It couldn’t be any easier to make!

  3. I had never heard of this before but I was looking for something new so I thought to give this a try and I am so happy I did, it made my salad so much better than I ever thought it could be.

  4. this is such a great copycat green goddess salad dressing, thank you for sharing this reicpe! 

  5. Thank you for this nice dressing.
    I would like to test it by replacing the mayo with greek yogurt and if necessary adding a tsp olive oil. do you think it might work?