This Green Goddess Dressing is ultra creamy and packed with flavor, thanks to myriad fresh herbs and lemon juice.
What Is Green Goddess Dressing?
Green Goddess sounds exotic, doesn’t it? It’s salad dressing typically containing mayo, sour cream (or Greek yogurt), lemon juice, and fresh herbs.
What Does Green Goddess Dressing Taste Like?
This creamy dressing tastes bright, herby, and ultra fresh! There is a slight hit of tanginess from the lemon juice, vinegar, and Greek yogurt. We combine four different herbs in this dressing, giving it a lovely depth of flavor and plenty of nuance.
Green Goddess Dressing Inspiration
My sisters and I were in LA recently and right next to our hotel we found a Sweetgreen® restaurant. Right after we settled in, we shared a few bowls and thoroughly enjoyed each one. However, the “Super Green Goddess” was definitely the favorite. We could not get enough of that green goddess dressing (and may have returned the next day for lunch!).
Naturally, it needed to be re-created the minute I got home.
The folks at Sweetgreen shared the ingredients in their dressing online, so making a re-creation was easier than ever! I tweaked the ingredients a bit, but the result is just like Sweetgreen’s famous green goddess dressing — so good!
Why Is It Called Green Goddess Salad?
It’s said that the Green Goddess Salad was made as a tribute to George Arliss, the star of the play “The Green Goddess” in San Francisco in 1923. (More on the history in the NY Times). And while Green Goddess dressing is green, it’s a light green, not grass green. If you run into bright-green dressing, it probably has some food dye in it.
What Is Green Goddess Made Of?
Mayonnaise, yogurt, lemon, herbs, and a few more ingredients go into this dreamy Green Goddess Dressing.
More on each ingredient below (none of these brands are sponsored; just our preference!):
- Mayonnaise: We love Hellman’s/Best Foods® in this dressing. Since there’s a lot of mayo, we want a really tasty one (the tastier the mayo, the better the dressing).
- Greek yogurt: Our favorite here is Greek Gods® plain traditional Greek yogurt.
- Fresh lemon: We love zesting the lemon with a microplane and then juicing with this citrus juicer.
- Minced garlic: Use jarred, frozen, or fresh — whatever you have.
- Fresh herbs: We combine dill, basil, cilantro, and parsley. Even the small amount of each herb makes a big flavor difference overall!
- Red onion: Just a tiny bit adds a great depth of flavor (use the leftovers in Avocado Salsa).
- Hot sauce: This is a nice balancing flavor; it doesn’t make the dressing spicy. We use Cholula® hot sauce.
- White wine vinegar: This adds a nice punch of flavor to the Green Goddess Dressing.
- Salt and pepper: Add to taste preference, remembering that an extra pinch can be the difference between a good and a stellar dressing.
How To Make Green Goddess Dressing
This is an easy Green Goddess Dressing recipe; we simply add all the ingredients to a blender and let it whirl. Blend to break down and disperse the herbs. If needed, thin the dressing with water, adding 1 tablespoon at a time.
Quick Tip
Chop herbs quickly by using a pair of kitchen shears instead of a knife!
What To Put Green Goddess Dressing On
Here are some of the ways we love using this salad dressing:
- Drizzle on a salad (Check out all our salad recipes here!) or make a basic one with some greens, cherry tomatoes, and croutons!
- Serve as a dip in the center of fresh veggies, pita chips, etc.
- Drizzle over roasted veggies like Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Roasted Broccoli, Roasted Cauliflower, or Roasted Butternut Squash.
- Jazz up a Quinoa Salad!
- Top a grain bowl like these Nourish Bowls or a Buddha Bowl.
- Add to potato salad. (This No-Mayo Potato Salad would be delicious with Green Goddess dressing!)
- Use as a sandwich spread, loading the sandwich with lots of veggies.
- Make a batch of Baked Sweet Potatoes, stuff them with Air Fryer Chickpeas, and then drizzle this sauce all over — delish!
Storage
Storage
This Green Goddess Dressing only improves as it sits and chills! It will stay good for up to a week when stored in an airtight container in the fridge. Unfortunately, it’s not a great candidate for freezing and thawing.
More Tasty Salad Dressing Recipes:
- Poppy Seed Dressing with a hint of lemon
- Lemon Vinaigrette with honey
- Honey Mustard Salad Dressing only four ingredients!
- Citrus Vinaigrette with orange and lemon juice
- Greek Salad Dressing with dried herbs
Green Goddess Dressing
Ingredients
- 1-1/4 cups mayonnaise Note 1
- 3 tablespoons plain Greek yogurt
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon diced red onion
- 1 tablespoon each: chopped fresh basil, fresh cilantro, fresh parsley
- 1-1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
- 1-1/2 teaspoons each: fresh lemon juice, white wine vinegar, hot sauce Note 2
- Salt & pepper
Instructions
- Chop herbs before measuring for accuracy.
- Add ingredients to a blender or food processor in order. Season with 1 teaspoon fine sea salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Blend until well combined and herbs are evenly dispersed.
- Taste the dressing and adjust salt, pepper, garlic, or herbs to preference. It will taste best after chilling in fridge.
- Transfer dressing to a mason jar or lidded container and store in the fridge. Stir before using and drizzle over salad or roasted veggies. Thin with cold water, one tablespoon at a time, if needed.
- The dressing will stay good for up to a week in an airtight container in the fridge. It doesn't freeze and thaw well.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
